BACK TO WORK

SHIP'S LOG:

Well, it was back to work. And before you ask, "NO," the fireplace has not been installed. Skip and I just can't seem to get our schedules to jive but they will eventually. By the time they do though, it probably will be time to put it away for the warm weather.

Got the word from Fred at Dockside Electronics that the Radar works just fine . . . for a 20 year old unit. Evidently the problems with the unit ( the lack of contrast and brightness of the image) is the result of a dead battery in the unit. This battery "remembers" the setting on the unit and with it being "dead", once the unit is turned on, I will have to go through all the set-up procedures to set it up as I want. Fred said that taking the unit apart to replace the battery would be a $145 charge so I decided against it. I am perfectly able to manually set the parameters for the unit each time it goes on. This radar unit is referred to as an "entry level" radar unit. Such a things actually existed 20 years ago. Nowadays, you simply buy a radar unit that, as Fred noted, does everything but make toast in the morning. So as long as this unit works, I'll use it and when it breaks for good, I'll buy one of those "toast making" units.

I spent the afternoon looking for leaks in the overhead in the aft cabin. The antenna tuner for the SSB is affixed the to headliner in the aft cabin, as close as possible to the antenna. Such an arrangement supposedly enhances the output and reception of the SSB transceiver. I took the tuner off the headliner and affixed it to the nearby bulk head and in so doing, found the interior of the headliner, it is a type of acoustic tile, covered with mold and mildew. Yuck!!!! Taking the entire headliner down, it became clear that the water was leaking in from the thru-deck fittings for the GPS, SSB and the VHF. Damn those anagrams! I'll have to pop all the thru-deck fittings, re-bed and re-caulk them. The temperature is getting to the level will the "goop" will actually begin to take hold and work as it should. Another week should do it, though there is supposed to be torrential rain today and even some snow possible over the next few days. It will just make it more fun . . .though I am not sure that I can stand any more fun.

I found out that the automatic bilge pump actually does work. A good thing, a very good thing. As I mentioned before, the cockpit drains into the bilge (strange English design) and the rain of the last few days evidently put enough rain into the cockpit and thus into the bilge to activate it. I was getting off yesterday when the pump activated and pump the bilge dry. Outstanding! At least ABISHAG won't sink at the dock!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Doing the little jobs around the boat are getting frustrating. For the most part it is busy work and I am more than eager to finish-off the last few items and get out of Dodge(Mystic). I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait!!!!!!

IT'S GOING TO BE A HOT TIME IN THE OLD BOAT SOON!!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

At last, at last, Crown Manufacturing and Metal Fabrication called to say that the heat shield for the fireplace is complete! I will be picking it up on Monday (tomorrow) and as soon as good friend Skip can find the time to help, we will install the whole shebang and ABISHAG will be warm enough (hopefully) to live on. That being the case, all the little things that need to be done can e begun and finished and then we are away. Well, at least for a test sail, shake down cruise type of sailing. But who cares, sailing is sailing and that is what counts. Huzzah!!!!

There was a hell of a blow last night, preceded by several inches of rain. I have to get down to the boat to she how she handled it all. I really have no doubt that it was a piece of cake for ABISHAG but hanging on the dock is not what she likes. I am sure that the leaks are still going on in the aft cabin. I am beginning to think that the water is coming in through the old thru-deck connectors for the old electrical cables for antennas and the like that got cannibalized last fall. I probably didn't plug them as well as I thought I had . Of course it means taking down the overhead panels but what the heck, I haven't had a lot of "fun" over the last few months so this might be the time to do so.

I wish that there was more to report but such is not the case. Of course, there should be a lot more coming up in the days ahead. I am still awaiting to hear from the diesel company that is trying to find out what sort of lubricating filter I need for the 12 year old re-powered English Ford engine that was installed in Bermuda in 1996. It will be another opportunity to practice patience waiting on someone else to do something before I can make a move. Of course, it is always possible to jury - rig a filter system but I would rather have the system in place that was intended. Then again, it is an English system and so far some of the English engineering approaches on this boat have been inventive and entertaining to say the least. So it comes down to waiting to see what will happen.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

And on it goes. The weather, as crazy as it has been, seems to be heading towards being more like spring than winter. I feel as though I can knockout the list of items that need to be done rather quickly which means doubling the time I estimate, but with all the built up energy I have stored, I can't wait to get started. This week, doing the fireplace will be a great thing, getting my psyche geared for the Spring work. I want to get it started. It can't happen soon enough.

IT'S MARCH . . . BIG DEAL!!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

I wish I could share that many new things have been done on ABISHAG but unfortunately such is not case. In fact, with the crappy weather of the last week or so, I haven't even gotten down to the boat. So things are unchanged and the most work I have done is create a new list of things to do in the Spring, along with coalescing the files I have put on my computer from various Sailing magazines and books. Along with become a stud at HO 229 and HO 249, that is what has occupied my time.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I am chomping at the bit. I want to go sailing. Actually, right now I would settle for nice weather so I can commission the boat, live on it and get it ready to sail. Strangely, if I had made the trip "South," right now I would be beginning the planning for the trip back. Sometime in the next few weeks, I will be sailing if only a day at a time, but it will be sailing.

Another little something that I have to begin to plan for is that soon, exactly when I don't know, but soon I will have to vacate the slip in which ABISHAG currently resides and leave the Mystic Shipyard. To where exactly is the question. I can go back to TYC but I will have to set a mooring which will run 2 Marine Units, plus the 6 Marine Units I need to pay the sales tax on the boat and register her here in Connecticut. I may have the use of a mooring in Newport Harbor which would be something but I would also probably have to register ABISHAG in Rhode Island at several Marine Units (I'll have to check.)

Just the thought of getting back on the water is worth it all. And I can't wait!!!!!

IT DEFINITELY AIN'T SPRING . . NOT BY A LONG SHOT!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

It was a rather crappy day to work on ABISHAG, gray and rainy and cold . . . . and that was inside the boat. I dropped 1/2 a marine unit to pick up 1.) a smoke alarm; 2.) a CO detector; 3.) 3 yards of HyperVent Condensation Preventer and a bunch of screws and some hose.

The Smoke Alarm and the CO Detector are the last two items required by the insurance policy. Almost 6 months after the fact, I am now "legal" in the insurance sense. The Smoke Alarm went into the ceiling in the passageway from the galley into the aft cabin. That was an easy setup. The CO Detector was a little bit more of a logistical problem. According to the installation literature, you could not put it: 1.) too close to a hatch companionway; too close to any heating element; 3.) to close to a stove or hot water heater; 4.) too close to the head compartment; 5.) or too close to the engine compartment. On a 39 foot by 12 foot boat, it doesn't leave you a lot of options for a location. It ended up in the aft cabin which is probably a very good thing anyhow. When I hit the test button after installing it, it produced an alarm tone that would wake the dead. So it now appears I am safe from burning to death and suffocating to death, both of which are very good things. It certainly makes the insurance company happy.

The HyperVent Condensation Preventer is a 3/4" mesh that you place under the cushions on the boat. This allows air to move under the cushions and prevents the pooling of condensation building up under the cushions. I am not sure if the stuff actually works but the theory sounds pretty good. In the aft cabin especially, where it is often the "warmest" because the stern points South, it is always wet under the cushions. If the stuff works there, it will work anywhere. The stuff comes on a roll 40" wide and as long as you want. Trying to battle the stuff into submission and get it into place so you can cut it to fit was a bit of a bear. It is not what you call extremely flexible and the mesh itself is sort of sharp. I received lots of little nicks all over my hands and, because it is made of some type of spun polymer, it is a beast to cut. The only thing that really cut the stuff, and not all the well, was a pair of kitchen shears. The aft compartment and the forepeak cushions are all done and I still have some stuff left over. I am not sure that I will do the cushions in the saloon. Right now, I am constantly removing them to get to the lockers underneath and it would be one more headache if I used the stuff there right now. Perhaps after I am underway, I'll install it but not right now.

I took the radar unit to Dockside Electronics to have them look at the unit. The image resolution on the unit is very faint and hard to see and some of the controls don't seem to work. We used it on the way up from Annapolis and it worked enough so that we could use it but it is far from dependable and easy to use. The shop owner didn't laugh out loud when he saw the unit and asked what I wanted him to do, so hopefully it is fixable. If not, it means the expenditure of more Marine Units.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

It was good to get a few more items taken care o0f on ABISHAG. Each little thing that gets done creates a feeling that soon, soon I will be sailing. Even though it was raining and cold and sitting for awhile in the cockpit before leaving for the day made me feel warmed. I can see palm trees and feel warm breeze and see azure water. Coming out of that reverie is no fun but as the days count down, the dream come closer to reality.

ALMOST SPRING ..... SORT OF!

SHIP'S LOG:

It was something close to Spring today . . . .well, sort of. The temperature actually got up into the 40's. It was a T-shirt sort of day... ... well sort of. The snow covering the ground gave lie to that thought. Moreover the snow covering ABISHAG insured that the temperature inside hovered somewhere around freezing if not below, but I was still able to take care of a few more little items.

First on the list was wiping up the moisture that had condensed everywhere inside the boat! It is really amazing how much condensation gets produced inside the boat. This week should be stellar for this as the temperature is supposed to be in the 40's during most day this week . It is not a problem one has all that much in the Caribbean!

I finally took all of the linens and stored them in the vacuum storage bags. They are truly amazing little items. A load of stuff that had all but taken over the forepeak was reduced to a plastic covered pile about the size of a bed pillow. I moved them into the aft cabin as there are a few little items that have to be dealt with in the forepeak. The chain from the windlass get stored in a little "chamber" just in front of the forepeak bulkhead. The chain fits but it doesn't quite fit right. It piles up right under the hawser pipe (the hole in the deck through which the chain runs) and as a result, unless you have someone in the fore peak guiding the chain, it "pyramids" and blocks the opening. I am considering an opening that would allow the chain to fall into the forward part of the bilge area. Gravity, in this situation, would do away with the need of someone in the forepeak guiding the chain. The major problem is how to drill the hole, followed by the second problem of having to drill another hole in the boat. Perhaps i should have named her "SWISS CHEESE!"

I dismantled the teak grating in the cockpit to get at the drain which drains the cockpit. The English engineers, in designing this boat, decided that rather than running the drain out of the boat, which would have necessitated two more holes so that the cockpit could drain on either tack, decided to have the cockpit drain into the bilge inside the boat. At first blush, it doesn't seem that this would be much of a problem as the cockpit is somewhere near 10 feet above the waterline and is in the center of the boat rather than at the aft end. This would lead one to the belief that the chances of water boarding the boat and getting into the cockpit and need to be drained away were rather remote. This seems perfectly reasonable so long as one doesn't allow the drain to become blocked. Dirt and items dropped in the cockpit( the odd candy wrapper for instance) easily slip under the cockpit grating and cover the drain in a most unreachable place. Ice will also work very nicely as it has this winter and successive layers of snow, ice, sleet and slush tend to bury the grating several inches deep. Made of teak and fragile due to its age, the grating waits for the forces of nature to melt the covering and evaporate the water away. Today it was actually sufficiently warm to get it up to clean the drain. The teak grating is in three pieces and simply lay in the cockpit . . . sort of. To keep them in place and yet allow them to be removed in case of need (cleaning the drain for instance), they are not affixed to the cockpit with any kind of fasteners. Instead, the English engineers simple created each if the three pieces just the tiniest bit larger than it actually needed to be. This way the pressure of each piece against the other two holds the three in place. It also means that breaking that pressure without breaking the pieces is a trick and a half. It doesn't help that the supports for the wheel go through two different pieces which means that the pieces cannot be fully removed. Suffice it to say that it was a fun time that everyone should get the opportunity to experience. Only slightly more fun was putting the pieces back in place, but that's another tale for another time. The drain was cleared and works very well . . . . thankfully so to does the automatic bilge pump.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

The need to go sailing is getting into my sub-conscious. I actually dreamed about it last night. I was in Florida sailing down U.S. Route 1 which was how I knew it was a dream. Days like today, with a hint of Spring in the air, really get get the itch going. The frustration is lessening and the excitement is starting to grow. February has sped past and with March will come the sound of the sander as people start to come down to work on their boats. As soon as the weather allows for it, I just have to get out for a sail. As Jack Sparrow, . . .sorry, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow said, "Show me that horizon."

ON IT GOES!

SHIP'S LOG:

As my old sailing buddy John Plante, it was "really blowin' stink" yesterday! Often times, the breeze ashore is not nearly as strong as it is by the water. Iguess that it has less to restrict it, but whatever th reason, it was really steaming up the Mystic River yesterday. At times it was blowing so hard, the governor on the wind generator trip and it would shut down. Nice to know that it works!

Took care of a couple of little things that needed doing. When I was setting up for the water maker, I had to remove a dish rack and a paper towel dispenser. I reinstalled both . It cleared a little of the clutter off the only counter in the galley area. I found the remains of the wind generator and GPS installations. Mostly it consisted of the packing boxes an a host of papers that came with each. Some were worth saving and were saved, some were trash and got trashed, and some were soaking wet which meant that I had found another leak. We had a really street cleaner of a storm the other day and it certainly found every potential leaky location and got them to reach their full potential. This one turns out to be a the corner of the port over the stove. It dripped into the boxes and so reaveal itself. Unfortunately, until the temperature gets above say a low of 40-ish, there aren't any caulking compounds that will work. So it is a case of noting it and putting it on the list, the never ending list of things to do.

I also discovered that I probably need to recaulk the the installation of the wire for the SSB. I had thought that I had done it well but there was an indication that such wasn't the case. The indication was the small puddle on the aft buck right under the spot on the overhead where the antenna wire attaches to the rear shrouds. The water is getting in through the deck plate and following the wire and dripping onto the bunk. I'll have to take down the over head to be sure and re-bed the wire. Again, aside from find the leak, there isn't much I cna do to stop it and fix it permanently until the weather warms. A distressing state of affairs.

Over the winter, I have collect several boxes and bags for stuff used on various projects completed. So I took the time to "de-trash" the boat. It actually freed up a significant amount of room. It might even contribute to the boat being less damp as the carboard collects and holds the moisture. Maybe, then again maybe not. Condensation is always a problem on a boat during the winter months.

I have still not heard from the metal fabricating company on the reflector shield for the fireplace. If there is nothing by Friday I will give them a ring. I would really like to get the fireplace in and running. It is frustrating not being able to live on the boat yet. It is very frustrating to have to wait on other people to provide something or to do something so I can complete a project, but it is all a part of this learning experience. I am not quite sure what I am learning but I must be learning something.

It appears that the last fix on the propane locker was a ragging success. With all the rain we had recently the locker should have flood some but it was dry and that is a relief. I am still trying to figure out how to weather seal the deck lid to this locker. It is set right in the deck. It has not lip or ridge to deflect the water and laying in weather stripping will lift i partially above the level of the surrounding deck. In addition, putting weather stripping on the inboard side will raise the out boat side of the lid exposing it to water. There just doesn't seem to be a way to seal it properly. It appears that the weight of the lid was intended to keep it closed and the water out. Not a very effective design. If there was a way to be able to lock it down without creating a tripping hazard then the weather stripping would probbaly work, but I can't quite figure out how to accomplish this. And the cold temperatures seem to make coming up with a solution even harder.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

On it goes. Spring is coming but things are not quite going as well as I would like. A perfect example is the "Spell Check" on this blog site. It hasn't been working in a while and if there is one thing I really need it is spell checking.

Not being able to do much of anything on ABSIHAG does raise the level of frustration. Patience is an acquired virtue, but acquiring it is a pain in the ass. I must content myself with learning weather and navigation. Weather is not bad but celestial navigation is a chore. It would help to be anally retentive as the worksheets for sight reduction ( the process of working out where you are based on where a star or some other heavenly body is at a particular moment) brook no mistakes nor admit the absnece of any data. In other words, they are a root canal of sailing. They are like the early stages of learning to play an instrument: tortuous, boring, no end in sight and no improvement observable. But i will master it as it has a "certain" importance.

With the passage of the month, I am looking forward more and more to Spring and getting sprung. It really can't happen soon enough. I need something to change .

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS.....SORT OF!!!!

SHIP' LOG:

Would that it were true! ABISHAG floats at her dock and gets rained on, snowed on and worked on but all this is happening in Mystic, Connecticut . . . . not according to my plan but evidently according to God's plan and let's face it, we know whose plan is going to take precedence! So I guess until our plans merge, I'll remain in Mystic.

I did not get the firsplace in and as a result I am still not living on the boat. The hold up is the stainless steel reflector plate that is being fabricated. The fireplace needs a plate between it and the bulkhead ( and anything else flameable) so that keeping warn does not entail burning down the boat! It would sort of defeat the purpose of the whole sabbatical! Once the piece is fabricated, it should be a rather quick install. Why do I think it will happen just about the time the weather breaks and stablizes and I will no longer need the fireplace?

It appears the the SSB (Single Sideband Radio) works though figuring out exactly how to operate it correctly ( and legally) is another matter. While I can listen to any station I can pick up, I have to avoid transmitting on those frequencies that are reserved for HAM Operators. The first thing I learned was how to send an emergency signal which will trip screaming alarms on all receiving SSBs. I did it, not because I expect to have to send such a signal but rather, since it is an automatic function on the radio, how not to do and get a S&R (Search and Rescue) operation going unintentionallt. I would not want to do this as it is my understanding that the Coast Guard looks dimly on "false alarms" and levie some rather stiff fines accordingly. But it is nice to have this particular piece of hardware functioning as I can sit in Mystic and pick-up Cruisers far, far away. It keeps the dream alive.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

One of the things that is frustrating at this time of year is that there are few things I can accomplish on ABISHAG. Not that there are many tings that need doing, but there are a host of little odds and end that could be done. Perhaps the most important is just learning to live comfortably my boat. So far I haven't fallen over board, but just getting comfortable moving around the inside (and outside too) is most important to that sense of comfort, that sense of being at home. I am learning Celestial Navigation. It will be a back up for the electronics and I don't expect to have to depend on it a great deal, still everyone, in every book says that you can not depend solely on one mode of navigating ( especially the electronic) as it just may come a cropper when you most need it and if you don't have another means of navigating, things could get a bit dicey. The same people also reiterate the same idea, that it is not a question of "IF" something will break, rather it is a question of "WHEN." SO redundancy, back ups, and secondary systems are all the rage for a prudent sailor. Learning Celestial Navigation is not only boring, it is also a difficult and rather arcane. One had to learn a whole new lexicon of jargon and technical terms nazd even the best videos have presenters who come across like someone reading the Mahattan phone directory as an epic poem. Now if Emeril LaGasse new celestial navigation, that would be a CD to get. Unfortunately, William F. Buckley, yes that William F. Buckley, not Emerilis the one with the Celestial Navigation DVD. And on it goes.

SORRY ABOUT THE MISPELLINGS AND BAD GRAMMAR