SHIP'S LOG:
The weather has been great and so has the sailing, so I took the morning and the early afternoon to go out and play tag with a couple of Luders 44 Yawls from the Coast Guard Academy. The USCGA has 5 of these yawls which are used to held the students learn how to sail as part of a crew. They learn to sail on much smaller one person boats up the river by the academy, but learn to sail as a crew on the bigger boats out on the Sound. Eventually, they will sail on the EAGLE and most will probably end up commanding a 15foot Zodiac.
The Sounds was actually fairly hazy though the wind was decent. I sail around the yawls which were practicing over by the Dumplings. The kids must have all been from Kansas or Nebraska for they all seemed rather transfigured by the Sound, as if it was the largest body of water they had ever seen. Lots of correcting going on aboard, especially "Pay Attention to what you're doing!"
Was back on the mooring by 1:30 as there were a couple of jobs to do. The first was to haul the auxiliary rudder from the Hydro-vane to scrape it and paint it. It was a job I should have done when the boat was on the hard but I just kept putting it off to do other more important tasks, so now it had to be done on the water.Disconnecting the rudder is as simple as pulling one safety pin - not that kind of safety pin - and pull it up on the back deck. Then scrape off the various nautical life-forms who have made it home. It is important to wash down the deck after this as these little formerly living creatures do tend to give off a rather pungent odor if they sit in the sun out of the water for too long. Then it is simply a matter of painting one side, bottom paint and then re-attaching it. No big deal and it went off without a hitch.
The other job was painting the caprail with the polyurethane to seal it and give it a "nice, shiny, glossy finish." As with the scraping and staining, it was more of an acrobatic exercise than anything else. As with all, or at least most projects, while it went well, actually easily, it uncovered another project. Some of the teak deck pieces are "mushy" and need to be be replaced and re-attached to the deck itself. This is what undoubtedly accounts for some of those pesky interior leaks. I can't afford to replace the teak slats, so I will re-caulk the deck and seal the offending slats with the polyurethane and "Capt. Tolly's Creeping Crack Cure." But not today!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
We got hit with another storm on Thursday morning, short and strong, with lots of rain, thunder and lightning, and even a tornado waring. Being on the boat during a storm is exciting to say the least. Such a storm on land , in your house or car, wouldn't raise an eyebrow. One the boat however, I notice, am aware of the wind - how strong it is, the rain - how hard it is falling, and just how long the whole thing lasts. These are thing I never think of on land but are of real concern on the boat. A lightning strike, especially if you are it, holds real concern. But as I said, most of these things pass unnoticed on land. I suppose it is all a matter of perspective.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Caping the Rail! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday was spent doing maintenance on the caprail. The caprail is a flat railing of wood that goes around the edge of the boat. Traditionally it "capped" the bulwark along the edge of the boat and you could brace yourself against it when the boat was heeling to stay on board. On most boats today it is more decorative that truly functional, but it needs maintenance nonetheless.
I had hoped that it was made of teak in which case maintenance would have been to do "nothing." It had been varnished once sometime ago and the varnish was peeling off in places and look fairly gross. It became clear that the wood was not teak and that to let it just go would mean more maintenance in the future along with probably replacement. So yesterday was spent scraping down the rail over its entire length. It also meant filling and faring all the holes, cracks and small missing sections and sanding it all down. I am getting pretty good at this as it all requires a certain ability to contort your body into some crazy positions in order to get at the places you want to get at.
I decided after the prep work was done, to stain the would and cover it with a polyurethane coating to seal it. I didn't know what type of wood it was, but since it was an English made boat, odds were pretty good that it was oak. So I stained it "Walnut." Hey, it was the only stain I had and why let it go to waste? Actually, with the dark blue hull, the "almost black" walnut stain looked pretty good, far better than the honey colored varnish that proceeded it. Today, I will coat it with the polyurethane and that should be that for at least awhile.
Yesterday was spent doing maintenance on the caprail. The caprail is a flat railing of wood that goes around the edge of the boat. Traditionally it "capped" the bulwark along the edge of the boat and you could brace yourself against it when the boat was heeling to stay on board. On most boats today it is more decorative that truly functional, but it needs maintenance nonetheless.
I had hoped that it was made of teak in which case maintenance would have been to do "nothing." It had been varnished once sometime ago and the varnish was peeling off in places and look fairly gross. It became clear that the wood was not teak and that to let it just go would mean more maintenance in the future along with probably replacement. So yesterday was spent scraping down the rail over its entire length. It also meant filling and faring all the holes, cracks and small missing sections and sanding it all down. I am getting pretty good at this as it all requires a certain ability to contort your body into some crazy positions in order to get at the places you want to get at.
I decided after the prep work was done, to stain the would and cover it with a polyurethane coating to seal it. I didn't know what type of wood it was, but since it was an English made boat, odds were pretty good that it was oak. So I stained it "Walnut." Hey, it was the only stain I had and why let it go to waste? Actually, with the dark blue hull, the "almost black" walnut stain looked pretty good, far better than the honey colored varnish that proceeded it. Today, I will coat it with the polyurethane and that should be that for at least awhile.
Monday, August 2, 2010
The End OF July! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
The rain finally quite and took with it the humidity! Hallelujah! The weather for the Friday OPTI Regatta, of which I was the Chairman - how I got that job I really don't know - was perfect. Winds less that 10mph, bright, partly cloudy skies, and just about everything else you could want , weather-wise. The Regatta went off without a hitch and all was right with the world.
I had to motor into the dock in the early morning to both perform my morning "ablutions" as well as the help with getting all squared away for the start of the regatta. Now ABISHAG is not what you would call a "spritely" maneuvering boat by any means and even less so at slow speeds. It took three passes to approach the dock correctly and even then I didn't quite do it. I had a slight altercation with a piling, whacking it with my bow rail. After a few choice words, and after having tied up to the dock, I found that the stanchion for the bow rail on the port side, where I took the hit, had sheared. The bow rail is a stainless steel tube, welded to a disc, to which is weld a stud. The stud goes through the deck, the disc sits on the deck, and a washer and nut are screwed on the stud anchoring the rail to the deck and the boat. The stud sheared off at deck level just below the disc. Actually, it broke. looking at the stud, it didn't snap off, it broke for it was coroded all the way through. I am not sure why. There didn't seem to be any dissimilar metals, all was stainleess steel. The is not galvanic activity there. The miniscule amoung to bedding compound precluded water being trapped. Whatever the cause, all it took was a glancing blow for it to break.
The fix was easy enough. Brush the area with a five-minute epoxy to seal the deck and eliminate any cracks. Drill three holes in the ss disc and three corresponding holes through the deck. Insert three ss bolts and affix them with washers and nuts, after first caulking them to a fare-thee-well. Then crank it all down nice and secure. As I said, a easy fix and for once I had everything I needed on board.
One other thing I noticed was that that cap-rail that runs around the boat is not made of teak. Teak you can leave untreated, unpainted, unvarnished, unseal and it developes a silver color and is the best non-skid surface anywhere. The cap rail, well it ain't teak and I have let it slide and now I am going to pay the price. There were two cracks in it and one of these happened to be right where one of the lines from the fenders cross the cap rail. By the end of a day of bumping and sawing, a three inch piece had been cut out. I had to spend part of Sunday gluing it back in place, filling the cracks with wood putty and fairing compound and then sanding it. Today, I will fix any mistakes, do more sanding and stain the fix. Then I will go over the whole rail, sanding and making any repairs. I will purchase a can of stain and some sealer and get the cap rail looking Bristol!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Boy has the sailing been great! Winds 10 - 15 knots every day. ABISHAG sails great under reduced sails, loosing most of her heel but little of her speed. That is the great thing about a ketch. It evens out the sail area and keeps the center of effort low allowing for good speed and not a lot of heel, once you get to understand the right sail combinations. Went out and around and through the Race and Race Rock Light on Saturday and went off to Montauk on Sunday. And since I live aboard, there is no rush to get back by any specific time which makes it even more relaxing!
The rain finally quite and took with it the humidity! Hallelujah! The weather for the Friday OPTI Regatta, of which I was the Chairman - how I got that job I really don't know - was perfect. Winds less that 10mph, bright, partly cloudy skies, and just about everything else you could want , weather-wise. The Regatta went off without a hitch and all was right with the world.
I had to motor into the dock in the early morning to both perform my morning "ablutions" as well as the help with getting all squared away for the start of the regatta. Now ABISHAG is not what you would call a "spritely" maneuvering boat by any means and even less so at slow speeds. It took three passes to approach the dock correctly and even then I didn't quite do it. I had a slight altercation with a piling, whacking it with my bow rail. After a few choice words, and after having tied up to the dock, I found that the stanchion for the bow rail on the port side, where I took the hit, had sheared. The bow rail is a stainless steel tube, welded to a disc, to which is weld a stud. The stud goes through the deck, the disc sits on the deck, and a washer and nut are screwed on the stud anchoring the rail to the deck and the boat. The stud sheared off at deck level just below the disc. Actually, it broke. looking at the stud, it didn't snap off, it broke for it was coroded all the way through. I am not sure why. There didn't seem to be any dissimilar metals, all was stainleess steel. The is not galvanic activity there. The miniscule amoung to bedding compound precluded water being trapped. Whatever the cause, all it took was a glancing blow for it to break.
The fix was easy enough. Brush the area with a five-minute epoxy to seal the deck and eliminate any cracks. Drill three holes in the ss disc and three corresponding holes through the deck. Insert three ss bolts and affix them with washers and nuts, after first caulking them to a fare-thee-well. Then crank it all down nice and secure. As I said, a easy fix and for once I had everything I needed on board.
One other thing I noticed was that that cap-rail that runs around the boat is not made of teak. Teak you can leave untreated, unpainted, unvarnished, unseal and it developes a silver color and is the best non-skid surface anywhere. The cap rail, well it ain't teak and I have let it slide and now I am going to pay the price. There were two cracks in it and one of these happened to be right where one of the lines from the fenders cross the cap rail. By the end of a day of bumping and sawing, a three inch piece had been cut out. I had to spend part of Sunday gluing it back in place, filling the cracks with wood putty and fairing compound and then sanding it. Today, I will fix any mistakes, do more sanding and stain the fix. Then I will go over the whole rail, sanding and making any repairs. I will purchase a can of stain and some sealer and get the cap rail looking Bristol!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Boy has the sailing been great! Winds 10 - 15 knots every day. ABISHAG sails great under reduced sails, loosing most of her heel but little of her speed. That is the great thing about a ketch. It evens out the sail area and keeps the center of effort low allowing for good speed and not a lot of heel, once you get to understand the right sail combinations. Went out and around and through the Race and Race Rock Light on Saturday and went off to Montauk on Sunday. And since I live aboard, there is no rush to get back by any specific time which makes it even more relaxing!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Another Shitty Day In Paradise!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Sunday last was the day of the Governor's Regatta. I didn't race in it but with the help of friends I was scheduled to work as part of the race committee. We were scheduled to be the "Windward Mark Boat." What this entails is setting a floating mark in the water 1 1/2 to 2 miles upwind from the starting line on a course "absolutely perpendicular" to the staring line. Once the mark was set, we would back off a hundred yards or so and watch to 1.) mark sure the mark stayed in place; and 2.) that everyone went around it the right way. I say "scheduled" to be the windward mark for the direction of the wind made us unnecessary. There was a fixed "navigational aide" at the approximate location we would have occupied, so we were given the sincere thanks of the race committee and with a cooler of beer and sandwiches, lunch for the race committee works, we were set free to sail for the afternoon. The wind was great , the skies were clear, the beer was cold, the sandwiches tasty and the sailing fantastic. True, by the time the race was over and everyone was ashore it was pouring rain, but who cared at that point.
I have found one serious drawback to living on a boat by yourself: pride of onwership. The reason it is a drawback is that you get the boat and everything on it situated just the way you like it and want it and having visitors messes the whole works up. On Sunday, I dropped the crew on the dock and sent them off to get started on the "Dark & Stormies", while I took ABISHAG back out to the mooring. I then had to go through the entire boat and put everything back in order. What a pain in the patoot! And what some people do with line! I thought macrame went out with the '60's!
Monday the wind was honking at a steady 15knots with gust in the 30's. Not really having used the Mizzen much this season, I had to condition it by greasing the tracks. I took the opportunity to arrange the baby back stays so they were more out of the way. I only need them when using the Mizzen at less than fully close hauled, but they are in the way all of the time. I affixed them to the shrouds for the Mizzen and now they seem out of the way. I bought a $4 solar powered walk light and affixed it to a stanchion. It got enough sun so that it lit up pretty well at night. I might pick up a couple more so that traversing the deck at night will be a little safer.
Sunday last was the day of the Governor's Regatta. I didn't race in it but with the help of friends I was scheduled to work as part of the race committee. We were scheduled to be the "Windward Mark Boat." What this entails is setting a floating mark in the water 1 1/2 to 2 miles upwind from the starting line on a course "absolutely perpendicular" to the staring line. Once the mark was set, we would back off a hundred yards or so and watch to 1.) mark sure the mark stayed in place; and 2.) that everyone went around it the right way. I say "scheduled" to be the windward mark for the direction of the wind made us unnecessary. There was a fixed "navigational aide" at the approximate location we would have occupied, so we were given the sincere thanks of the race committee and with a cooler of beer and sandwiches, lunch for the race committee works, we were set free to sail for the afternoon. The wind was great , the skies were clear, the beer was cold, the sandwiches tasty and the sailing fantastic. True, by the time the race was over and everyone was ashore it was pouring rain, but who cared at that point.
I have found one serious drawback to living on a boat by yourself: pride of onwership. The reason it is a drawback is that you get the boat and everything on it situated just the way you like it and want it and having visitors messes the whole works up. On Sunday, I dropped the crew on the dock and sent them off to get started on the "Dark & Stormies", while I took ABISHAG back out to the mooring. I then had to go through the entire boat and put everything back in order. What a pain in the patoot! And what some people do with line! I thought macrame went out with the '60's!
Monday the wind was honking at a steady 15knots with gust in the 30's. Not really having used the Mizzen much this season, I had to condition it by greasing the tracks. I took the opportunity to arrange the baby back stays so they were more out of the way. I only need them when using the Mizzen at less than fully close hauled, but they are in the way all of the time. I affixed them to the shrouds for the Mizzen and now they seem out of the way. I bought a $4 solar powered walk light and affixed it to a stanchion. It got enough sun so that it lit up pretty well at night. I might pick up a couple more so that traversing the deck at night will be a little safer.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
More Of The Same . . . . RAIN! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, the mystery continues . . . from whence comes the leaks?
When I left for a doctor's appointment Friday morning, there was only a 30% chance of rain. That is the usual figure given in the marine weather reports by the forecasters basically to cover their asses. I didn't bother to set up the awnings, I simply closed the hatches. And of course, before I got half way to the doctor's, it started to rain. Not spectacularly hard as Wednesday night, just steadily, hour after hour.
I hit the PMB for the mail, the Dollar Store for paper towels and cleaners and such, bought some libations and hit West Marine for some screws I need for a project. By the time I got back to the boat in the late afternoon, the rain had stopped but had done its damage. The leaks were back! With all of the hatches closed but the dodger and awnings not in place, there was a leak around the salon hatch and the cockpit cabin hatch. From whence it comes I have no idea. Knowing that it would rain again, the percentage was still 30%, I put up the dodger and the awnings and voila!, no leaks!
I also took the time to create a panel to cover the gap between the awnings on each side of the boat. If there ever was such a panel it is long gone. All it took was some Velcro and two sections of the old Mizzen sail cover. And it even got tested right away as the 30% became 100% before the project was actually complete. It rained on and off through the night and with the boat pretty much closed up, it was a sauna! When the rain stopped, I opened the hatch in the rear sleeping cabin and when I started getting rained on, I closed up and the sauna started again.
Today day is to be a three "H" day - hazy, hot and humid and I have several small project to do to get the boat ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the annual Governor's Regatta. I am not racing, I am merely a Mark Boat, one of the things the racers go around. AH, but we get to the end of the race party first!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The project list keeps getting whittled down and re-filled but it is nice to see ABISHAG becoming more and more livable, more and more a home. The greatest struggle is to always put things in the ir places when you have finished using them. It is amazing how things can get lost on a boat. Right now, I am looking for my awl punch. I have no idea where it is but I absolutely knoiw that it ain't where it should be! Well, it's one less place I have to look!
Well, the mystery continues . . . from whence comes the leaks?
When I left for a doctor's appointment Friday morning, there was only a 30% chance of rain. That is the usual figure given in the marine weather reports by the forecasters basically to cover their asses. I didn't bother to set up the awnings, I simply closed the hatches. And of course, before I got half way to the doctor's, it started to rain. Not spectacularly hard as Wednesday night, just steadily, hour after hour.
I hit the PMB for the mail, the Dollar Store for paper towels and cleaners and such, bought some libations and hit West Marine for some screws I need for a project. By the time I got back to the boat in the late afternoon, the rain had stopped but had done its damage. The leaks were back! With all of the hatches closed but the dodger and awnings not in place, there was a leak around the salon hatch and the cockpit cabin hatch. From whence it comes I have no idea. Knowing that it would rain again, the percentage was still 30%, I put up the dodger and the awnings and voila!, no leaks!
I also took the time to create a panel to cover the gap between the awnings on each side of the boat. If there ever was such a panel it is long gone. All it took was some Velcro and two sections of the old Mizzen sail cover. And it even got tested right away as the 30% became 100% before the project was actually complete. It rained on and off through the night and with the boat pretty much closed up, it was a sauna! When the rain stopped, I opened the hatch in the rear sleeping cabin and when I started getting rained on, I closed up and the sauna started again.
Today day is to be a three "H" day - hazy, hot and humid and I have several small project to do to get the boat ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the annual Governor's Regatta. I am not racing, I am merely a Mark Boat, one of the things the racers go around. AH, but we get to the end of the race party first!!!!!!
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The project list keeps getting whittled down and re-filled but it is nice to see ABISHAG becoming more and more livable, more and more a home. The greatest struggle is to always put things in the ir places when you have finished using them. It is amazing how things can get lost on a boat. Right now, I am looking for my awl punch. I have no idea where it is but I absolutely knoiw that it ain't where it should be! Well, it's one less place I have to look!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
And The Rain Keeps On Coming! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday (Wednesday), we had a real street cleaner of a storm. The storm drains popped and washed away part of the beach next to the club and almost half of the only "free beach" in New London! I was having dinner with Russ and got back on ABISHAG just as the rain was just beginning to fall. I got all the awnings down and tied and sat in the cockpit having a beer and reading a book while the rain came down so hard, I could barely, and I mean BARELY make out the clubhouse 200 yards away.I could not see the other side of the river nor the ferries that went up and down blowing their horns like they were in a fog. On top of the rain was the wind, the topped out at 40 knots plus in the gusts. It was a serious storm with lots of thunder and enough lightning to make one consider the appropriateness of sitting on a boat with two, count'em, two lightning rods . . .I mean masts. But there were no strikes on any of the boat, mine in particular, but the heavy rain did uncork a mystery.
There has been a leak that seeming comes through the main salon hatch and another by the main cockpit hatch. I have run a fat highlighter around the inside of both hatches and thrown water over the hatches to try and track down from where comes the water. But nothings shows up, yet when it rains, leaks appear in both places except .. . . . . .. and this is new, except when I have the awning up. Obviously, the awning are protecting the entrance point of the water for the leaks yet I can not figure out where it is. Every possible candidate, is lower than the leaks themselves and water, even on a boat doesn't run up hill. I am sure I'll find it some day, but for now, I will be happy with putting up the awnings and getting rid of the leaks.
The awning were evidently intended to be joined in the middle where the is Velcro on the edges of the awning. There is a gap however, and they don't quite meet. Vinyl doesn't shrink, so it was either a bad measuring job by whoever build the awnings or there was a closure piece for each side which is no AWOL. In the wind we had the last two storms, some rain did get through and into the enclosure, so I am going to have to construct and over lap of some kind with the old vinyl sailcover of the Mizzen.
I still haven't found the missing two volts to the propane solenoid. For the life of me, I can't figure out how the bus-bar to which it is connected is getting power. It is but I can't see how. Several disbelievers in this miracle have promised to com e by and see it, but so far no one has. I am still 2 volts short. It is probably a bad ground.
In the access hatch over the windlass, I cut and fitted a piece of PCV pipe so that the rope rode can run and used without the hatch being opened. I had to cut a hole in the hatch, cut the PVC Pipe at an angle so it receded into the hatch, and epoxy the whole mess in place. And It actually went off without a major "whoopsie" and works just fine.
Next Tuesday, the refeer gets its check over and at last I will be able to keep cold things cold.
I had to empty the "in-law apartment" locker to access the batteries for their monthly check and also to find out just how many amp hours I have in the boat. Each battery is rated at 105 amp hours which gives me 315. I have to find out as the monitoring device, the LINK 2000 does its thing based on battery capacity and that hadn't been adjusted since the installation of the new batteries . . . 3 years ago. There is absolutely no ventilation the that lockers and it was brutal working in there, but now the monitor is all synced and things are fine, though electricity is still all voodoo to me.
I don't like it but I am having to run the engine for 30-60 minutes a day to keep the batteries topped up. Living on the boat constantly uses more juice and as spare as I am, I do use it up. I am going to have to try another ways of generating power besides the engine and the wind turbine.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The sailing has been wonderful and even the storms have been great. The last one had thunder so loud it shook the boat. The thunder sound waves hit the water and rush through the air and you feel it not only from above and below as well. It was exhilarating to say the least . . .and no leaks which was great.
I am definitely getting more and more comfortable living on the boat. I am knocking off lots of little project, though more are always presenting themselves. It is nice however, just to shut it all down, raise the sails and go, 't ain't something you can do with a cottage.
I am consuming reading material at an alarming rate. Thank goodness there is a small library at the club but I will be through that before too much longer, as I have read and/or own most the books. There are also some magazines. There was a copy of YACHTING and in a special section on powerboat, there was one huge YACHT that could cruise cruise at 28 knots and only burn 280 gallons of fuel per hour. And you wonder why I have a sailboat?
Yesterday (Wednesday), we had a real street cleaner of a storm. The storm drains popped and washed away part of the beach next to the club and almost half of the only "free beach" in New London! I was having dinner with Russ and got back on ABISHAG just as the rain was just beginning to fall. I got all the awnings down and tied and sat in the cockpit having a beer and reading a book while the rain came down so hard, I could barely, and I mean BARELY make out the clubhouse 200 yards away.I could not see the other side of the river nor the ferries that went up and down blowing their horns like they were in a fog. On top of the rain was the wind, the topped out at 40 knots plus in the gusts. It was a serious storm with lots of thunder and enough lightning to make one consider the appropriateness of sitting on a boat with two, count'em, two lightning rods . . .I mean masts. But there were no strikes on any of the boat, mine in particular, but the heavy rain did uncork a mystery.
There has been a leak that seeming comes through the main salon hatch and another by the main cockpit hatch. I have run a fat highlighter around the inside of both hatches and thrown water over the hatches to try and track down from where comes the water. But nothings shows up, yet when it rains, leaks appear in both places except .. . . . . .. and this is new, except when I have the awning up. Obviously, the awning are protecting the entrance point of the water for the leaks yet I can not figure out where it is. Every possible candidate, is lower than the leaks themselves and water, even on a boat doesn't run up hill. I am sure I'll find it some day, but for now, I will be happy with putting up the awnings and getting rid of the leaks.
The awning were evidently intended to be joined in the middle where the is Velcro on the edges of the awning. There is a gap however, and they don't quite meet. Vinyl doesn't shrink, so it was either a bad measuring job by whoever build the awnings or there was a closure piece for each side which is no AWOL. In the wind we had the last two storms, some rain did get through and into the enclosure, so I am going to have to construct and over lap of some kind with the old vinyl sailcover of the Mizzen.
I still haven't found the missing two volts to the propane solenoid. For the life of me, I can't figure out how the bus-bar to which it is connected is getting power. It is but I can't see how. Several disbelievers in this miracle have promised to com e by and see it, but so far no one has. I am still 2 volts short. It is probably a bad ground.
In the access hatch over the windlass, I cut and fitted a piece of PCV pipe so that the rope rode can run and used without the hatch being opened. I had to cut a hole in the hatch, cut the PVC Pipe at an angle so it receded into the hatch, and epoxy the whole mess in place. And It actually went off without a major "whoopsie" and works just fine.
Next Tuesday, the refeer gets its check over and at last I will be able to keep cold things cold.
I had to empty the "in-law apartment" locker to access the batteries for their monthly check and also to find out just how many amp hours I have in the boat. Each battery is rated at 105 amp hours which gives me 315. I have to find out as the monitoring device, the LINK 2000 does its thing based on battery capacity and that hadn't been adjusted since the installation of the new batteries . . . 3 years ago. There is absolutely no ventilation the that lockers and it was brutal working in there, but now the monitor is all synced and things are fine, though electricity is still all voodoo to me.
I don't like it but I am having to run the engine for 30-60 minutes a day to keep the batteries topped up. Living on the boat constantly uses more juice and as spare as I am, I do use it up. I am going to have to try another ways of generating power besides the engine and the wind turbine.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The sailing has been wonderful and even the storms have been great. The last one had thunder so loud it shook the boat. The thunder sound waves hit the water and rush through the air and you feel it not only from above and below as well. It was exhilarating to say the least . . .and no leaks which was great.
I am definitely getting more and more comfortable living on the boat. I am knocking off lots of little project, though more are always presenting themselves. It is nice however, just to shut it all down, raise the sails and go, 't ain't something you can do with a cottage.
I am consuming reading material at an alarming rate. Thank goodness there is a small library at the club but I will be through that before too much longer, as I have read and/or own most the books. There are also some magazines. There was a copy of YACHTING and in a special section on powerboat, there was one huge YACHT that could cruise cruise at 28 knots and only burn 280 gallons of fuel per hour. And you wonder why I have a sailboat?
Monday, July 19, 2010
And Then There Was Rain!!!!!!
SHIP LOG:
IT IS NOT LIKE IT HAS BEEN RAINING ALL THE TIME . . . truth be told, we actually do need the rain. But as I write this, New London just got hit with a major thunderstorm. It is raining so hard, you can not see across the river from the Club. Even seeing my boat is a bit of a stretch. good thing is that as intense as it is, it will not last long.
I have still not found the 2 missing volts. I have been endeavouring to trace the power for the propane solenoid from the solenoid switch back to battery and I am having a problem in that I can't shrink myself to tiny size to get to the places where the wire goes. And so far where I have been able to reach is showing only 10 volts instead of the magical 12! And until I can get 12 volts to the solenoid, the stove will the get gas and I'll continue to eat cold food!
There were actually a couple of days of very good sailing when it paid dividends to get off the mooring and out under sail. The humidity "out there" is so much less than on shore or even at the mooring and the breeze is always cool coming off the water. Plus it is just great getting out there sailing!
There is a constant drop in the innumerable small projects that need doing but there is a constant addition to the project list as well. It is sort of a trade off . You get something done and it inspires another project. Or as I am sitting down relaxing, I look a something and try to decide if it could be made to work better, look better or just be better. The end result is more projects. The definition of an artist is one who knows when to stop. I am not artist!
IT IS NOT LIKE IT HAS BEEN RAINING ALL THE TIME . . . truth be told, we actually do need the rain. But as I write this, New London just got hit with a major thunderstorm. It is raining so hard, you can not see across the river from the Club. Even seeing my boat is a bit of a stretch. good thing is that as intense as it is, it will not last long.
I have still not found the 2 missing volts. I have been endeavouring to trace the power for the propane solenoid from the solenoid switch back to battery and I am having a problem in that I can't shrink myself to tiny size to get to the places where the wire goes. And so far where I have been able to reach is showing only 10 volts instead of the magical 12! And until I can get 12 volts to the solenoid, the stove will the get gas and I'll continue to eat cold food!
There were actually a couple of days of very good sailing when it paid dividends to get off the mooring and out under sail. The humidity "out there" is so much less than on shore or even at the mooring and the breeze is always cool coming off the water. Plus it is just great getting out there sailing!
There is a constant drop in the innumerable small projects that need doing but there is a constant addition to the project list as well. It is sort of a trade off . You get something done and it inspires another project. Or as I am sitting down relaxing, I look a something and try to decide if it could be made to work better, look better or just be better. The end result is more projects. The definition of an artist is one who knows when to stop. I am not artist!
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