SHIP'S LOG:
I got another call from John the Yard Boss and the prop came in . . .again. He had it put on and it fit!, so much so that the boat is in the water! ! ! ! ! ! ! Huzzah! They will check it out tomorrow, taking her for a spin, that is if the weather will allow that. Failing that, they will do so Monday and if all is copacetic, (and what are the odds of that?) I am off Tuesday!!!!!!Huzzah!
I'll take the stuff removed from the boat down tomorrow and re-store it so that nothing will prevent me from taking off immediately on Tuesday. I will install the side drapes for the cockpit enclosure so that it will retain the heat better.
Boy am I exited!!!!!!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
And now For Something Completely Different
SHIP'S LOG:
I got a call from the yard boss yesterday afternoon to tell me that the re-bored prop was in. They fitted it to the shaft and it fit . . .but not perfectly! There was enough of a "wobble" in it to make it not acceptable and so they pulled it off and sent it back. I am happy that they did so because I would want a poorly bored prop to wreak itself and damage the shaft as well some time in the future and so have to go through all this all over again. Disappointing, yes, but I'd rather they'd get it right. I would hate to be whoever the yard boss is dealing with at the "Prop Shop." To say that he is "not happy" is to damn with faint praise. It will be another couple of days and then we try it again! ( There has got to be a Ben Stiller movie in this somewhere!)
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I spent some of the time this week checking out the possibility of doing New Jersey and the DelMarVa Peninsula ( Delaware-Maryland-Virginia Peninsula) completely on the outside (ocean-side). If ABISHAG could do a steady 10-12knots that would be one thing but it doesn't seem that it would be workable at this time of the year for me. It would be shorter by couple of days but I am not comfortable with it. Thinking about it is more a sign of my desire to get going than anything else. I will do the Delaware Bay. C&D Canal/ Chesapeake Bay route. It makes the most sense.
I got a call from the yard boss yesterday afternoon to tell me that the re-bored prop was in. They fitted it to the shaft and it fit . . .but not perfectly! There was enough of a "wobble" in it to make it not acceptable and so they pulled it off and sent it back. I am happy that they did so because I would want a poorly bored prop to wreak itself and damage the shaft as well some time in the future and so have to go through all this all over again. Disappointing, yes, but I'd rather they'd get it right. I would hate to be whoever the yard boss is dealing with at the "Prop Shop." To say that he is "not happy" is to damn with faint praise. It will be another couple of days and then we try it again! ( There has got to be a Ben Stiller movie in this somewhere!)
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I spent some of the time this week checking out the possibility of doing New Jersey and the DelMarVa Peninsula ( Delaware-Maryland-Virginia Peninsula) completely on the outside (ocean-side). If ABISHAG could do a steady 10-12knots that would be one thing but it doesn't seem that it would be workable at this time of the year for me. It would be shorter by couple of days but I am not comfortable with it. Thinking about it is more a sign of my desire to get going than anything else. I will do the Delaware Bay. C&D Canal/ Chesapeake Bay route. It makes the most sense.
Monday, November 17, 2008
There is Good News & There Is Bad News
SHIP'S LOG:
The Good News - the prop came in . . . . . . last Friday ! ! ! ! ! !
The Bad News - it didn't FIT ! ! ! ! ! ARGH ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I talked to yard boss today and he said that the prop came in Friday afternoon and when they tried to fit it, the taper of the bore ( the hole in the prop into which the shaft fits) was wrong. The prop simply would not go on correctly. Who would believe it after all that has gone on? Somewhere way do deep inside something kept telling me that there would still be more wrinkles to come. The yard boss then sent it back to the manufacturer for them to re-bore the hole and "it should be back in a day or so." Everybody who believes that please stand on your head!
Well, I believe it. After topping off the fuel tank, I am planning to depart from Bruce & Johnson Marina in Branford, CT before the week is out, to be through to the head of the Chesapeake by Thanksgiving Day and through the Chesapeake by the end of the first week of December . . . . the George Armstrong Custer "I've Got A Plan" Proviso notwithstanding.
I will be going down to ABISHAG tomorrow and repack everything I took out and store the few new items I bought and generally get things all ready again so that after the prop is fitted and tested, I can fuel up and GO!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, it WILL be happening soon, before the week is out. I am going to have to get into the proper mindset to voyage again. Not as simple as it sound, as aside from me Jesus will be the only one aboard and as much as I have requested it, he won't stand a watch, though he is on watch all of the time. My initial biggest fear is going to be dropping the hook for the first time post the New Haven Breakwater. The odds of my screwing up again are astronomically high but odds are odds, no matter how great they are and it will lead to a probable uneasy first night's sleep. One safe and secure anchoring experience will go a long way to relieving that that worry and concern. In any case, my insurance is paid up!
The Good News - the prop came in . . . . . . last Friday ! ! ! ! ! !
The Bad News - it didn't FIT ! ! ! ! ! ARGH ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I talked to yard boss today and he said that the prop came in Friday afternoon and when they tried to fit it, the taper of the bore ( the hole in the prop into which the shaft fits) was wrong. The prop simply would not go on correctly. Who would believe it after all that has gone on? Somewhere way do deep inside something kept telling me that there would still be more wrinkles to come. The yard boss then sent it back to the manufacturer for them to re-bore the hole and "it should be back in a day or so." Everybody who believes that please stand on your head!
Well, I believe it. After topping off the fuel tank, I am planning to depart from Bruce & Johnson Marina in Branford, CT before the week is out, to be through to the head of the Chesapeake by Thanksgiving Day and through the Chesapeake by the end of the first week of December . . . . the George Armstrong Custer "I've Got A Plan" Proviso notwithstanding.
I will be going down to ABISHAG tomorrow and repack everything I took out and store the few new items I bought and generally get things all ready again so that after the prop is fitted and tested, I can fuel up and GO!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, it WILL be happening soon, before the week is out. I am going to have to get into the proper mindset to voyage again. Not as simple as it sound, as aside from me Jesus will be the only one aboard and as much as I have requested it, he won't stand a watch, though he is on watch all of the time. My initial biggest fear is going to be dropping the hook for the first time post the New Haven Breakwater. The odds of my screwing up again are astronomically high but odds are odds, no matter how great they are and it will lead to a probable uneasy first night's sleep. One safe and secure anchoring experience will go a long way to relieving that that worry and concern. In any case, my insurance is paid up!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Hope Springs Eternal! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
As St. Paul says, " Hope is belief in things not seen" . . . like my prop for instance! Another week has dawned and I am still stranded ashore, though I really expect that I will be off this week. After all, the prop was supposed to be "here early next week" last week and the weather for the coming week is to be cold and blustery and Tuesday and Thursday promise "SNOW FLURRIES!" Considering I originally departed on a fine Fall day with the sun shining and the temperature in the 70's it is only to be expected I guess. Then again, every mile traveled brings me closer to warmer weather, sunshine and the absolute need to done shorts and tee-shirts! Ah! Mistaken fools who dream of heaven!
I will give the yard boss a call on the morrow to see what to story is. I am sure that he is doing his best as I am a bit of a bur under his addle, taking up yard space. He can rightly point to someone else in the "chain" for the delay and it will be completely reasonable and rue besides, as he and the yard benefit not in the least by my continuing presence. Of course as Roland mentioned the other night, the next thing will be that the prop is in but the one and only person capable of installing it properly: 1.) is out sick; 2.) is on vacation; 3.) has quit and they are looking for a replacement.
A recent sociological investigation has determined that the Danes are the happiest people in the world. The reason why is that they set their expectations low, so low that they have little trouble meeting them and rarely get disappointed, thus leading to them being happy. I ain't ready to go that far . . . yet.
CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:
I Fully expect to get the call tomorrow and be gone on Tuesday.
As St. Paul says, " Hope is belief in things not seen" . . . like my prop for instance! Another week has dawned and I am still stranded ashore, though I really expect that I will be off this week. After all, the prop was supposed to be "here early next week" last week and the weather for the coming week is to be cold and blustery and Tuesday and Thursday promise "SNOW FLURRIES!" Considering I originally departed on a fine Fall day with the sun shining and the temperature in the 70's it is only to be expected I guess. Then again, every mile traveled brings me closer to warmer weather, sunshine and the absolute need to done shorts and tee-shirts! Ah! Mistaken fools who dream of heaven!
I will give the yard boss a call on the morrow to see what to story is. I am sure that he is doing his best as I am a bit of a bur under his addle, taking up yard space. He can rightly point to someone else in the "chain" for the delay and it will be completely reasonable and rue besides, as he and the yard benefit not in the least by my continuing presence. Of course as Roland mentioned the other night, the next thing will be that the prop is in but the one and only person capable of installing it properly: 1.) is out sick; 2.) is on vacation; 3.) has quit and they are looking for a replacement.
A recent sociological investigation has determined that the Danes are the happiest people in the world. The reason why is that they set their expectations low, so low that they have little trouble meeting them and rarely get disappointed, thus leading to them being happy. I ain't ready to go that far . . . yet.
CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:
I Fully expect to get the call tomorrow and be gone on Tuesday.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Still Stuck Ashore
SHIP'S LOG:
I am not sure what type of calendar the Yard Boss is using but it is evidently far different that the one I use. Last week, his exact words were "early next week" for the arrival and installation of the new prop. It didn't happen Monday. I didn't really expect it on Tuesday as it was a federal holiday. Certainly Wednesday, Hump Day, would bring the phone call and the good news, but no such luck. Nothing Thursday nor Friday, and now I am into another November weekend. Considering the weather beating up the east coast, it is probably a good thing, but still . . . . . .
I suppose that I could call up the Yard Boss and ask him "what'sup", but again it is probably, out of his control. I am waiting on him, and he is waiting on his supplier, and he is waiting on his retailer, and he is waiting on the foundry, etc. I am sure that all this waiting will serve its purpose though I am beginning to be concerned about what situation, what set of circumstances is going to require that I have such patience.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It seems like an awfully long time ago now, but that first day sailing, even though it ended not good at all, was wonderful, fantastic, truly everything I wanted it to be. I am really looking forward to another such day. I can't wait to go through New york City, not just because it means I am really on my way, but just to go through that particular piece of water. Seeing the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazanno Narrow Bridge, Sandy Hook . . . it will be fantastic. And I would like to be able to do it before it gets to the point where I am more concerned about how cold I am rather than what is going on around me. Maybe before Thanksgiving?
I am not sure what type of calendar the Yard Boss is using but it is evidently far different that the one I use. Last week, his exact words were "early next week" for the arrival and installation of the new prop. It didn't happen Monday. I didn't really expect it on Tuesday as it was a federal holiday. Certainly Wednesday, Hump Day, would bring the phone call and the good news, but no such luck. Nothing Thursday nor Friday, and now I am into another November weekend. Considering the weather beating up the east coast, it is probably a good thing, but still . . . . . .
I suppose that I could call up the Yard Boss and ask him "what'sup", but again it is probably, out of his control. I am waiting on him, and he is waiting on his supplier, and he is waiting on his retailer, and he is waiting on the foundry, etc. I am sure that all this waiting will serve its purpose though I am beginning to be concerned about what situation, what set of circumstances is going to require that I have such patience.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It seems like an awfully long time ago now, but that first day sailing, even though it ended not good at all, was wonderful, fantastic, truly everything I wanted it to be. I am really looking forward to another such day. I can't wait to go through New york City, not just because it means I am really on my way, but just to go through that particular piece of water. Seeing the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazanno Narrow Bridge, Sandy Hook . . . it will be fantastic. And I would like to be able to do it before it gets to the point where I am more concerned about how cold I am rather than what is going on around me. Maybe before Thanksgiving?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
And The WORD Is . . . . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
And the word is . . . . Zip! Zilch! Nothing! Nada! Bupkis!!!!!!!!!!!! As of 10:35AM this date, I have received no word from the Yard Boss that the prop has arrived let alone has been installed, tested, and so the boat is ready to go. ARGH! Ah, such is life. It will get here eventually I know but the waiting is what tends to drive one up the wall. Had this happened in the Keys, or St. Bart's, or Tortola, of course I would not be all that concerned or frustrated. Hey, how could you get upset being "forced" to wait is such locations. As Jimmy likes to sing, it would be "just another shitty day in paradise."
I spent one (1) Marine Unit procuring the last few items for ABSHAG. None of the items were "absolutely" necessary but since I was able to do so, I did it. A secondary anchor & rode, spinnaker sheet, some cordage, some updated flares, fire extinguished, switch for the water maker, mildew control stuff - like I said, not all that absolutely necessary stuff, but nice to have nonetheless. I need to get going before I "fill" the boat again.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
So far, the temperature hasn't really nosedived . . .yet. It was nice that the last hurricane, a post Hurricane Season hurricane by the by, decided to head out into the ocean to die. The thought of dealing with the Jersey Coast and the Delaware Bay with even the leftovers of that storm hitting the coast was not exciting to contemplate. I have three invites for Thanksgiving dinner at three different spots in the Chesapeake and one in Virginnia. There is even some place, I'll have to find it again in the cruising guide, where the people of the town host the ICW Transicents for Thanksgiving. By that time I will probably be ready for a home cooked meal as my boat cooked meals will be rather spare and simple.
I hope I get the word today. I am definitely ready to go!
And the word is . . . . Zip! Zilch! Nothing! Nada! Bupkis!!!!!!!!!!!! As of 10:35AM this date, I have received no word from the Yard Boss that the prop has arrived let alone has been installed, tested, and so the boat is ready to go. ARGH! Ah, such is life. It will get here eventually I know but the waiting is what tends to drive one up the wall. Had this happened in the Keys, or St. Bart's, or Tortola, of course I would not be all that concerned or frustrated. Hey, how could you get upset being "forced" to wait is such locations. As Jimmy likes to sing, it would be "just another shitty day in paradise."
I spent one (1) Marine Unit procuring the last few items for ABSHAG. None of the items were "absolutely" necessary but since I was able to do so, I did it. A secondary anchor & rode, spinnaker sheet, some cordage, some updated flares, fire extinguished, switch for the water maker, mildew control stuff - like I said, not all that absolutely necessary stuff, but nice to have nonetheless. I need to get going before I "fill" the boat again.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
So far, the temperature hasn't really nosedived . . .yet. It was nice that the last hurricane, a post Hurricane Season hurricane by the by, decided to head out into the ocean to die. The thought of dealing with the Jersey Coast and the Delaware Bay with even the leftovers of that storm hitting the coast was not exciting to contemplate. I have three invites for Thanksgiving dinner at three different spots in the Chesapeake and one in Virginnia. There is even some place, I'll have to find it again in the cruising guide, where the people of the town host the ICW Transicents for Thanksgiving. By that time I will probably be ready for a home cooked meal as my boat cooked meals will be rather spare and simple.
I hope I get the word today. I am definitely ready to go!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Light at The end Of The Tunnel
SHIP'S LOG:
I received a call from the Yard Boss yesterday and I got the word: it will be early next week . . . or at least that what he says. I have gotten to the point to where I will get excited only when he calls and says he is splashing the boat. Then again, hope springs eternal.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have the courses laid out. I have the goal anchorages noted and dozens of ancillary fallback locations. The boat is stocked with eats and water. The only thing missing is the prop . . .and ABISHAG being in the water. I am planning to leave as soon as she is in the water and the tide begins to ebb. That'll get me to the Little Bay anchorage at the Throggs Neck Bridge and the next day through Hell's Gate and on to New Jersey. It won't be September. It won't be October. It won't be the first week of November but it will happen. Huzzah!
I received a call from the Yard Boss yesterday and I got the word: it will be early next week . . . or at least that what he says. I have gotten to the point to where I will get excited only when he calls and says he is splashing the boat. Then again, hope springs eternal.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have the courses laid out. I have the goal anchorages noted and dozens of ancillary fallback locations. The boat is stocked with eats and water. The only thing missing is the prop . . .and ABISHAG being in the water. I am planning to leave as soon as she is in the water and the tide begins to ebb. That'll get me to the Little Bay anchorage at the Throggs Neck Bridge and the next day through Hell's Gate and on to New Jersey. It won't be September. It won't be October. It won't be the first week of November but it will happen. Huzzah!
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