SHIP'S LOG:
In keeping with our cultural tradition for the day, I thought it would be a good idea to put forth some resolutions for the coming year. . . . . and then see how long it takes for me to break them. A resolution is, after all, a lot less binding than a promise and carries with it little penalty aside from the embarrassment for failure, but then the number of people who will be in the same state will be legion.
My first resolution will be not to run aground again! It is getting on toward a month since I last "discovered land," then again, it is hard to "run aground" when one is not in the water! To keep this First Resolution, the Second Resolution is needed . . . . .
"do better at planning trips." Actually, I had thought that I had done this very well as I knew exactly where I was when I ran out of water. I suppose that it is not so much "the planning" part that needs the work so much as paying better attention to what I "planned!" It would have help that much in the New Haven debacle but certainly would have been most beneficial at Southport in recognizing I was in the wrong harbor and using the wrong chart. As someone once noted, it is not the water that is the danger for a boat, rather it's the hard parts around the edges that cause most of the problems.
The Third Resolution, complete all of the projects/jobs necessary to be done before launch. Now that might seem like a no brainer, but it all has to do with your definition of necessary. The absolute- bare bones - priorities are to 1.) Keep water outside the boat; 2.) Keep the rig on the boat; 3.) Keep the keel, hull and deck intact; 4.) Be able to control the vessel's direction; 5.) Keep the crew onboard; 6.) Know where you are and where you are going. Thus it is that replacing the zincs, painting the bottom, replacing the packing in the stuffing box and other such items, 27 in total, are necessary, but . . . . . they can all actually be delayed for another season "if", if one is willing to run the risk of having to do them at a highly disadvantageous time, in a certainly more difficult situation and location, at what will undoubtedly be at a much greater financial price. Every boat owner lets something slide each year in the rush to get "into the water." Considering how things have gone, it is probably best that I resolve not to do so this year and get them all done.
The Fourth Resolution will be to "GO SOUTH!" I will get out of Long Island Sound! I will get through New York Harbor! I will get down the Jersey Coast and up the Delaware Bay! I will get into and through the Chesapeake Bay! I will traverse the ICW! I will get to the Decision Point (Fort Lauderdale) and either continue to the Keys or head for the Bahamas. I will! I will! I will!
Well, I will if everything works out. If it was merely a question of resolve, I'd be there already, laughing at everybody up here in the cold and snow. Still, I resolve to do it! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It is always a good thing to keep one list of resolutions small, as the fewer the number of resolutions, the easier it is to keep them. Looking out on the snow and the thermometer that hovers in the single digits, sailing seems a long way away but it is merely 120 days or less if I get the work done early. Trying to live in the moment while trying to make plans for the future seems kind of counter-intuitive and tends to give me a headache. I wish that the weather would break and there would e a short winter so that I can get started on stuff. It is no fun working around a boat, inside or out, when the weather is cold. It makes everything exponentially more difficult and raises the screw-up quotient significantly. Waiting and simply being present can be a real struggle. Thank goodness I don't have any Marine Units or I would be spending them like a drunken sailor . . . . sort of appropriate, on stuff that I really don't need. So I will enjoy the beauty of the day and pray for an early, very early, incredibly early Spring!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
I am off at my sister's in Newport, RI, "where the elite meet to eat!" Perhaps the one great thing about have a mental vapor lock that put poor ABISHAG aground is that I get to celebrate
Christmas with family and friends . . . . . plus I don't have to cook!! ! ! !...which is perhaps the best part.
Another good point is that ABISHAG is on the hard along the coast of Connecticut which means the storms of the past weekend covered her mostly with rain and not snow and/or ice.
despite what some people think water doesn't seem to harm boats, though ice and snow, especially when they go through the freeze - thaw - freeze - thaw - freeze two step tend actually to do a lot of damage, mostly hidden until something breaks or goes south and you suddenly find where all that melt water went!
After the turn of the new year, I will pay her a visit and begin to lay out the projects: 1.) those that need to be done before launching; 2.) those that can be done after launching; 3.) those that are not needed but would be very helpful; and 4.) those that are completely unnecessary but are wonderful. It would be: 1.) painting the bottom; 2.) rigging the new halyards; 3.) installing new shelves; 4.) putting in a Jacuzzi( I didn't say realistic!) It will be time to get started, after all the days are getting longer.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I bought another Powerball ticket to see if my winning a jackpot had become part of God's plan. It's tough to say as I actually got one, count it "1", correct number. The first bill from the Seaport showed up . . . . $800. The tow company bill American Express and then got paid directly by the insurance company and so are sending me a credit . . .. . . I hope!
p
n
I am off at my sister's in Newport, RI, "where the elite meet to eat!" Perhaps the one great thing about have a mental vapor lock that put poor ABISHAG aground is that I get to celebrate
Christmas with family and friends . . . . . plus I don't have to cook!! ! ! !...which is perhaps the best part.
Another good point is that ABISHAG is on the hard along the coast of Connecticut which means the storms of the past weekend covered her mostly with rain and not snow and/or ice.
despite what some people think water doesn't seem to harm boats, though ice and snow, especially when they go through the freeze - thaw - freeze - thaw - freeze two step tend actually to do a lot of damage, mostly hidden until something breaks or goes south and you suddenly find where all that melt water went!
After the turn of the new year, I will pay her a visit and begin to lay out the projects: 1.) those that need to be done before launching; 2.) those that can be done after launching; 3.) those that are not needed but would be very helpful; and 4.) those that are completely unnecessary but are wonderful. It would be: 1.) painting the bottom; 2.) rigging the new halyards; 3.) installing new shelves; 4.) putting in a Jacuzzi( I didn't say realistic!) It will be time to get started, after all the days are getting longer.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I bought another Powerball ticket to see if my winning a jackpot had become part of God's plan. It's tough to say as I actually got one, count it "1", correct number. The first bill from the Seaport showed up . . . . $800. The tow company bill American Express and then got paid directly by the insurance company and so are sending me a credit . . .. . . I hope!
p
n
Saturday, December 20, 2008
And It Is Not Even Winter Yet ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
In that ABISHAG is almost 70 miles distant and I have not heard anything to the contrary, I am presuming all is well with her. I contacted the Insurance company and they had not gotten an estimate from Captain's Cove Seaport as of yet, so they were going to contact them. It seems to be a cases of everybody involved waiting for everybody else, or somebody else, to blink first and make the first move. I am not sure what everyone is waiting for but I am not worrying about it as there is nothing I can do about it . . . except enjoy the snow, "spend" lots of imaginary Marine Units, plumb the depths of the mysteries of electricity and make plans for projects for the Spring.
Along with Christmas Cards, I am getting besieged with offers from various financial institutions to "lend me money." Actually, the basically want to refi my mortgage. They say I am pre approved but they will drop that as soon as they find that my condo 1.) is not a full-time residence( and so is considered an "investment Property); and/or 2.) that one entity owns more than 10% of the condos in the complex; and/or 3.) the condo hasn't been off the market for their criteria of days. No one likes a tease! At lease I am able to block the offers that come by email.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, this certainly the scenario I had in mind at this time last year. Out of dangerous curiosity, i check the weather down the ICW. Virginia - l0w 60's; North Carolina - mid to upper 60's; South Carolina - upper 60's . . . I stop there as I didn't want to perform any more self-torture. Truth be told though, I am pretty peaceful about it all, as there is really nothing I can do about it except accept it and go with the flow. I spent as hour watching it snow yesterday and as "a living in the moment" moment it was rather fine. Now if I can only get a chance to experience a "Green Flash" before Christmas 2009, that would also be very fine.
In that ABISHAG is almost 70 miles distant and I have not heard anything to the contrary, I am presuming all is well with her. I contacted the Insurance company and they had not gotten an estimate from Captain's Cove Seaport as of yet, so they were going to contact them. It seems to be a cases of everybody involved waiting for everybody else, or somebody else, to blink first and make the first move. I am not sure what everyone is waiting for but I am not worrying about it as there is nothing I can do about it . . . except enjoy the snow, "spend" lots of imaginary Marine Units, plumb the depths of the mysteries of electricity and make plans for projects for the Spring.
Along with Christmas Cards, I am getting besieged with offers from various financial institutions to "lend me money." Actually, the basically want to refi my mortgage. They say I am pre approved but they will drop that as soon as they find that my condo 1.) is not a full-time residence( and so is considered an "investment Property); and/or 2.) that one entity owns more than 10% of the condos in the complex; and/or 3.) the condo hasn't been off the market for their criteria of days. No one likes a tease! At lease I am able to block the offers that come by email.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Well, this certainly the scenario I had in mind at this time last year. Out of dangerous curiosity, i check the weather down the ICW. Virginia - l0w 60's; North Carolina - mid to upper 60's; South Carolina - upper 60's . . . I stop there as I didn't want to perform any more self-torture. Truth be told though, I am pretty peaceful about it all, as there is really nothing I can do about it except accept it and go with the flow. I spent as hour watching it snow yesterday and as "a living in the moment" moment it was rather fine. Now if I can only get a chance to experience a "Green Flash" before Christmas 2009, that would also be very fine.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Days Will Soon Be Getting Longer! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
It is sad to say, but unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere somewhere, this is the awful part of the sailing season. Boats are out of the water and all wrapped up. All the stuff from the boats is stuck in garages, storage units or someone's attic or basement. The boat is usually too far distant to make regular, accidental, "just-happened-to-be-passing-by" visits. And you start to develop what good friend and sailing mentor, John Plante, called "flange foot," a terribly debilitating illness that can only be cure by walking the deck of a boat - preferably in the Caribbean!
It is also a time when you start spending Marine Units (MUs) like they were Monopoly money. If you are wise, however, you only spend them in your mind and not in reality . . .any that's where a lot of sailors find their minds at this time of the year, not in reality!
A new set of closed cell foam cockpit cushions to replace the old vinyl covered foam ones that came with the boat 31 years ago and retain water like a sponge - $1,200 + or -! 2.1MU!
Reupholster the interior cockpit cushions - $1,800 or so 3.2MU!
Charts from Bock Island Sound to the Canadian Border - $125 (cheap!)
Bottom Paint - $250 ( relatively cheap!)
New spinnaker Halyard - $160 with thimble and snap shackle
New Secondary Jib Halyard - $160 with thimble and snap shackle ( both halyards would be cheaper if I did the work myself, but I hate working with double braided line, but triple twist line stretches too much. It's a cost-benefit-ratio thing!)
Replace the four(4) deck hatches - $3,000 give or take - 6MU!
New Wind Speed/Direction Indicator System - $750 for the Unit PLUS $450 to drop the mast so the wring can be installed and putting the mast back PLUS $65 - $85 per hour for the installation - figure 5 hours minimum $325 - $425 = $1,525 - $1,625 or about 3 MU.
Two 85 watt Solar panels and installation kit - $1,500 or 3MU
Well, you get the idea. Nothing worse that a computer, a catalogue, a credit card and an itch at this time of the year! O course, I am lucky, well sort of, as I am going to have to come up with $1,600 again to pay the deductible sometime soon. And if Tow Boat/US and my insurance company can't come to an agreement as to whether it was a tow or a soft salvage or a hard salvage, I'll be on the hook for some or all of the $5,529 Tow Boat/US is looking for. That can put a real damper on any and all spending beyond the necessities. But then as the great American Sailor-Philosopher - Singer Jimmy Buffett notes, "Need is a relative thing these days, it borders on desire...."
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am back into the books again, trying to comprehend the mysteries and magic of electricity. No matter which text I read and try to understand, no matter how the various authors try to explain it, it only seems to get more and more confusing. It doesn't help that ABISHAG is British built. After driving the MGB for all those years and dealing with the electrical system from Lucas Electric in it, I have already experienced that truth that the electrical system on ABISHAG is even more mysterious than on your average boat. After all, British car owners still refer to Lucas with expletives and curses, the mildest of which is to refer to the CEO as JOHN LUCAS - PRINCE OF DARKNESS in reference to cars with Lucas Electrical systems in them which have a tendency to just stop working at the most inopportune times. Hopefully, I will learn the proper incantations and spells by Spring.
It is sad to say, but unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere somewhere, this is the awful part of the sailing season. Boats are out of the water and all wrapped up. All the stuff from the boats is stuck in garages, storage units or someone's attic or basement. The boat is usually too far distant to make regular, accidental, "just-happened-to-be-passing-by" visits. And you start to develop what good friend and sailing mentor, John Plante, called "flange foot," a terribly debilitating illness that can only be cure by walking the deck of a boat - preferably in the Caribbean!
It is also a time when you start spending Marine Units (MUs) like they were Monopoly money. If you are wise, however, you only spend them in your mind and not in reality . . .any that's where a lot of sailors find their minds at this time of the year, not in reality!
A new set of closed cell foam cockpit cushions to replace the old vinyl covered foam ones that came with the boat 31 years ago and retain water like a sponge - $1,200 + or -! 2.1MU!
Reupholster the interior cockpit cushions - $1,800 or so 3.2MU!
Charts from Bock Island Sound to the Canadian Border - $125 (cheap!)
Bottom Paint - $250 ( relatively cheap!)
New spinnaker Halyard - $160 with thimble and snap shackle
New Secondary Jib Halyard - $160 with thimble and snap shackle ( both halyards would be cheaper if I did the work myself, but I hate working with double braided line, but triple twist line stretches too much. It's a cost-benefit-ratio thing!)
Replace the four(4) deck hatches - $3,000 give or take - 6MU!
New Wind Speed/Direction Indicator System - $750 for the Unit PLUS $450 to drop the mast so the wring can be installed and putting the mast back PLUS $65 - $85 per hour for the installation - figure 5 hours minimum $325 - $425 = $1,525 - $1,625 or about 3 MU.
Two 85 watt Solar panels and installation kit - $1,500 or 3MU
Well, you get the idea. Nothing worse that a computer, a catalogue, a credit card and an itch at this time of the year! O course, I am lucky, well sort of, as I am going to have to come up with $1,600 again to pay the deductible sometime soon. And if Tow Boat/US and my insurance company can't come to an agreement as to whether it was a tow or a soft salvage or a hard salvage, I'll be on the hook for some or all of the $5,529 Tow Boat/US is looking for. That can put a real damper on any and all spending beyond the necessities. But then as the great American Sailor-Philosopher - Singer Jimmy Buffett notes, "Need is a relative thing these days, it borders on desire...."
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am back into the books again, trying to comprehend the mysteries and magic of electricity. No matter which text I read and try to understand, no matter how the various authors try to explain it, it only seems to get more and more confusing. It doesn't help that ABISHAG is British built. After driving the MGB for all those years and dealing with the electrical system from Lucas Electric in it, I have already experienced that truth that the electrical system on ABISHAG is even more mysterious than on your average boat. After all, British car owners still refer to Lucas with expletives and curses, the mildest of which is to refer to the CEO as JOHN LUCAS - PRINCE OF DARKNESS in reference to cars with Lucas Electrical systems in them which have a tendency to just stop working at the most inopportune times. Hopefully, I will learn the proper incantations and spells by Spring.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
How 'Bout That Rain ? ? ?
SHIP'S LOG:
All things being equal, had I not pulled a Fernande Magellan( discovering new land), I would have spent the last couple of days either in the Delaware or Chesapeake Bays in some truly awful weather. Looks like God did know better than I as to the future and saw to it that I spent the time safe and sound and dry and warm and on land! A very good move on God's part, at least from my present perspective.
I was not planning to do any planning for the boat but after having closed her up, I began to reflect on what needed to be done to get her back in the water in the Spring. Not surprisingly, there really is very little.
1.) Find out why the mainsail jams and/or doesn't furl properly and fix. If I can't get it squared away, I might just remove the whole system. Luckily, the Facnor Furling System didn't require any disruption of the former Mainsail system. It would require re-adapting the mainsail, adding a Lazy Jack system and a Jiffy reefing system, but it would by simpler and less prone to complications. Best of all, it could be done for under one(1) Marine Unit.
2.) Remove the Lectrosan system from the forward head. I don't envision going any place in the near future where I can use it and discharge the result. Just about all of the East Coast from Maine to the Keys is one large no discharge zone. It eat amps and is one more electrical problem waiting to break and be in need of fixing.
3.) Move the holding tank from the aft head to the the forward head. Right now, it is located at the foot of the starboard aft bunk. It is an unsatisfactory solution to the problem of needing to have a holding tank. Unfortunately, there is no locker storage space available in the aft spaces of the boat to accommodate it. I didn't put it forward due to the presence of the Lectrosansystem. With that becoming problematic and due to be removed come the Spring, moving it forward now becomes the best and most sensible solution. The best part, is that I basically have all that I need to do it already present in the old system. I will add a pump so that I can discharge overboard when necessary, when beyond the three(3) mile limit, and still be able to have it pumped out. I will return the aft head to a direct discharge, usualbe only when appropriate. Again, the cost will be less than one (1) Marine Unit.
4.) Correct the last of the electrical problems - make sure all the lights, bells and whistles work. I may never get all the ghosts out of the system, it is English after all(if you have ever owner an MG or Triumph, you understand), but I will chase at least a few more out.
5.) Fix or replace the anntenna cable and/or Anntena for the GPS. Way less than 5% of a Marine Unit.
Other than that, while there are a never ending list of things that can be done, there are no other "haves to be done" - at least at this time. But is isn't even Officially Winter yet, let alone Spring. Who knows what else "will NEED to be done" come Spring?
All things being equal, had I not pulled a Fernande Magellan( discovering new land), I would have spent the last couple of days either in the Delaware or Chesapeake Bays in some truly awful weather. Looks like God did know better than I as to the future and saw to it that I spent the time safe and sound and dry and warm and on land! A very good move on God's part, at least from my present perspective.
I was not planning to do any planning for the boat but after having closed her up, I began to reflect on what needed to be done to get her back in the water in the Spring. Not surprisingly, there really is very little.
1.) Find out why the mainsail jams and/or doesn't furl properly and fix. If I can't get it squared away, I might just remove the whole system. Luckily, the Facnor Furling System didn't require any disruption of the former Mainsail system. It would require re-adapting the mainsail, adding a Lazy Jack system and a Jiffy reefing system, but it would by simpler and less prone to complications. Best of all, it could be done for under one(1) Marine Unit.
2.) Remove the Lectrosan system from the forward head. I don't envision going any place in the near future where I can use it and discharge the result. Just about all of the East Coast from Maine to the Keys is one large no discharge zone. It eat amps and is one more electrical problem waiting to break and be in need of fixing.
3.) Move the holding tank from the aft head to the the forward head. Right now, it is located at the foot of the starboard aft bunk. It is an unsatisfactory solution to the problem of needing to have a holding tank. Unfortunately, there is no locker storage space available in the aft spaces of the boat to accommodate it. I didn't put it forward due to the presence of the Lectrosansystem. With that becoming problematic and due to be removed come the Spring, moving it forward now becomes the best and most sensible solution. The best part, is that I basically have all that I need to do it already present in the old system. I will add a pump so that I can discharge overboard when necessary, when beyond the three(3) mile limit, and still be able to have it pumped out. I will return the aft head to a direct discharge, usualbe only when appropriate. Again, the cost will be less than one (1) Marine Unit.
4.) Correct the last of the electrical problems - make sure all the lights, bells and whistles work. I may never get all the ghosts out of the system, it is English after all(if you have ever owner an MG or Triumph, you understand), but I will chase at least a few more out.
5.) Fix or replace the anntenna cable and/or Anntena for the GPS. Way less than 5% of a Marine Unit.
Other than that, while there are a never ending list of things that can be done, there are no other "haves to be done" - at least at this time. But is isn't even Officially Winter yet, let alone Spring. Who knows what else "will NEED to be done" come Spring?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
ABISHAG is all closed up and snuggled down for the winter. I was able to take the pictures above of the damage. Top is the stern of the keel, the center is the gouge along the side of the keel, the bottom is the front of the keel. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
I'm Still Watching The Weather
SHIP'S LOG:
I am going to have to go down to ABISHAG today. Have to in that the weather in the next couple of days is going to be rather "wintry" and there are still a couple of things to do. The gas containers, along with the outboard and the generator really need to be removed from the boat. If the Genoa and Mizzen are still bent-on, they have to be removed and stored. The dinghy has to0 be removed and deflated and stored. The wind vane needs to be removed and I have to find my IPOD! O what fun ! ! ! ! ! ! ! If I can figure out just how they go, I might even put on the side-curtins that are suppose to be fixed to the bimini (the sun cover that goes over the cockpit) in some way . . .to keep the snow out of the cockpit over the winter.
I also want to take a few pictures of the damage. I doubt that they have begun work on the keel as I haven't heard that the Insurance company has gotten an estimate or approved the work as of yet. Then again, Bruce and Johnson began the work before they got the OK from the Insurance company figuring, quite rightly, that the work was going to be done n matter who was going to pay for it. I suspect that the same approach might be taken by the crew at Captain's Cove Seaport and that will also be right.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am not really excited to go down to the boat and finish off the unloading. It's not the work so much as it is going down and feeling stupid about being on the hard instead of being at this moment approaching the ICW. True the weather is nasty and going to get more so, but for a navigation error, I would, in all likelihood, be well on the way down the Chesapeake, heading for the sun. I am going to miss the Sun ! ! ! ! !
I am going to have to go down to ABISHAG today. Have to in that the weather in the next couple of days is going to be rather "wintry" and there are still a couple of things to do. The gas containers, along with the outboard and the generator really need to be removed from the boat. If the Genoa and Mizzen are still bent-on, they have to be removed and stored. The dinghy has to0 be removed and deflated and stored. The wind vane needs to be removed and I have to find my IPOD! O what fun ! ! ! ! ! ! ! If I can figure out just how they go, I might even put on the side-curtins that are suppose to be fixed to the bimini (the sun cover that goes over the cockpit) in some way . . .to keep the snow out of the cockpit over the winter.
I also want to take a few pictures of the damage. I doubt that they have begun work on the keel as I haven't heard that the Insurance company has gotten an estimate or approved the work as of yet. Then again, Bruce and Johnson began the work before they got the OK from the Insurance company figuring, quite rightly, that the work was going to be done n matter who was going to pay for it. I suspect that the same approach might be taken by the crew at Captain's Cove Seaport and that will also be right.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I am not really excited to go down to the boat and finish off the unloading. It's not the work so much as it is going down and feeling stupid about being on the hard instead of being at this moment approaching the ICW. True the weather is nasty and going to get more so, but for a navigation error, I would, in all likelihood, be well on the way down the Chesapeake, heading for the sun. I am going to miss the Sun ! ! ! ! !
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