SHIP'S LOG:
It is not that I minded the work. well, actually I did, but if it had paid off, that is if it had fixed the problem, I wouldn't have minded a bit. Actually, I would have been very full of myself for having done the job correctly. In reality, I did do the job correctly . . . re-bedding the two ports to stop the leaks. The problem was that was not where the leaks were coming from!
Last night, TYC was rocked for 45 minutes with a great thunder-n-lightning storm which also included a heck of a lot of rain. I was asleep in the aft cabin when a drip landed right in the middle of my back. Not the way one wishes to be awakened from a dead sleep.On went the flash light and the drip was leaking in the same spot. I went to the nav station and the leak there was still leaking as well. I was not happy.
Staring at the leak in the aft cabin port, I slowly began to realize that the source of the leak was the gasket that was holding the Plexiglas in the aluminum frame. The gaskets in all of the ports are 34 years old and they just are no longer completely up to the task. The rubber, or whatever the material is that they are made out of, has just seen too many years of sun and salt and no longer really have the flexibility to keep a tight seal. The water in migrating in through the gaskets and hence the leaks. Rather than pop the ports again right now, I will cover the gaskets with silicon and see if that will seal them short term. If so, their replacement can await the spring. If not, I will be very unhappy.
I also had the joy this day of getting a filling replaced. I cracked it a couple of months ago down in Georgia and while it wasn't a major pain, every now and then , if I chewed the right way, it became a major pain. Today was the first day the dentist could fix it and he did and when I got back to the boat, it was too beautiful a day to do anything other than go sailing. So I went. There was great wind out of the SW and, even with her dirty bottom, ABISHAG was doing over 6 knots, which is pretty good for an 11 ton ketch! And if I get over the side and clean her bottom, she will do even better!The best part was I really didn't have to go anywhere. I just had to sail and enjoy the fact that I was sailing. She heeled quite abit and so everything that was not properly stored got tossed about the cabin and pretty much everything was not properly stored. It comes from living on a boat in one place for almost a month and then going out sailing in some real wind.. Even with the clean-up that it entailed at journey's end, it was more than worth it. Weather permitting, I will do the same tomorrow, post siliconing the ports.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
At Last!
SHIP'S LOG:
At last, I popped the port over the navigation station, re-bedded it and put it back in. Now I have to wait to see if the leak that was there is gone for good. It was a total pain to do it of course and took about three hours.
First, I had to unscrew all of the screws holding the port window and frame in place. There were about 12 screws and all came out rather easily . . . except for one. There is ALWAYS one that has to be a pain. Prying, unscrewing, hammering, yelling and threatening eventually got it free. Praying the frame out was harder than expected as the caulking held it firmly in place. It took a lot of leveraging with screw drivers to eventually get it to yield and come out. I discovered the cause of the leak(I think). The metal frame holding the window in place was made of two pieces , a straight lower and a curved upper. Where they joined over the nav station, the two pieces butted together but there was a separation and that was probably where the rain got in. I drilled an extra hold for an extra screw to hold it tight.
Next, I took of the inside frame, more a decorative piece than a really integral part of the port. It had two stubborn screws and two missing screws.
Next I had to scrape off all of the old caulking and spread on some new goop. Then it was merely a matter of fitting the frames back into their proper places and reinserting the screws. I even replaced the missing screws. I let you know if the three hours was worth it.
About the goop. It was black polysulfide caulking and it has a mind of its own. It seems that no matter how careful I am with the stuff it gets everywhere. I even wore rubber gloves but it still got on my hands and under my fingernails. And get one little dab on you and you tend to mark everything and every place on the boat. It is maddening and a real pain to clean up. I had to clean all the tools as well. Like I said, it gets everywhere. Still in all, the job is done and if it works, well there are only five more ports to do. You can just do one, you know!
At last, I popped the port over the navigation station, re-bedded it and put it back in. Now I have to wait to see if the leak that was there is gone for good. It was a total pain to do it of course and took about three hours.
First, I had to unscrew all of the screws holding the port window and frame in place. There were about 12 screws and all came out rather easily . . . except for one. There is ALWAYS one that has to be a pain. Prying, unscrewing, hammering, yelling and threatening eventually got it free. Praying the frame out was harder than expected as the caulking held it firmly in place. It took a lot of leveraging with screw drivers to eventually get it to yield and come out. I discovered the cause of the leak(I think). The metal frame holding the window in place was made of two pieces , a straight lower and a curved upper. Where they joined over the nav station, the two pieces butted together but there was a separation and that was probably where the rain got in. I drilled an extra hold for an extra screw to hold it tight.
Next, I took of the inside frame, more a decorative piece than a really integral part of the port. It had two stubborn screws and two missing screws.
Next I had to scrape off all of the old caulking and spread on some new goop. Then it was merely a matter of fitting the frames back into their proper places and reinserting the screws. I even replaced the missing screws. I let you know if the three hours was worth it.
About the goop. It was black polysulfide caulking and it has a mind of its own. It seems that no matter how careful I am with the stuff it gets everywhere. I even wore rubber gloves but it still got on my hands and under my fingernails. And get one little dab on you and you tend to mark everything and every place on the boat. It is maddening and a real pain to clean up. I had to clean all the tools as well. Like I said, it gets everywhere. Still in all, the job is done and if it works, well there are only five more ports to do. You can just do one, you know!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Good Things Come To Those Who Wait!
SHIP'S LOG:
After about a week or waiting, give or take 9 months, my niece and her husband are delivered of their first child, Alexia Grace - if the reports be true. Somehow, everyone seems to have expected this wondrous event a week earlier, but as mother & child are happy and healthy and dad can begin to breathe again, all the rest of us can relax too and make plans to spoil the little girl outrageously! Congratulations Nicole, we all knew you had it in you!(pun intended!)
Waiting also produced some decent weather for a change and that mean that some work on ABISHAG could go forward. High humidity and actual rain impaired a lot of what I wanted to do. But after a fog so thick I could barely see the bow of the boat Saturday night, Sunday became a nice sunny day which allowed for the popping out of a port in the aft cabin and re-begging it so as to stop the leak that was too close to my head for comfort in the rain. I did not test the repair as it required "RAIN" and there has been much to much of that since my return. I can wait a few weeks before becoming disappointed.
I still have been unable to find someone who can repair the broken stanchion with a weld. Actually, I could but no one I can afford and/or who would come to TYC to do it. As the Bard would say, "Aye, there's the rub." It will get done as all good things come to those who wait. Besides, there are a host of other projects that can easily occupy mind time and attention . . .if I should let them.
It seems as though the summer is finally getting here though the days have begun to get shorter. Did you notice? The weather seems to have warmed sufficiently, when it isn't raining, to be called summer. Racing is underway at TYC, as is the sail training program for kids, and most of the boats are back in the water and the picnics and parties have gotten off the ground, so i guess it is summer after all up here. For me, summer has been going on since about the 5th of January so it is a little hard to tell really, but I guess that this is it it. I intend to enjoy it.
After about a week or waiting, give or take 9 months, my niece and her husband are delivered of their first child, Alexia Grace - if the reports be true. Somehow, everyone seems to have expected this wondrous event a week earlier, but as mother & child are happy and healthy and dad can begin to breathe again, all the rest of us can relax too and make plans to spoil the little girl outrageously! Congratulations Nicole, we all knew you had it in you!(pun intended!)
Waiting also produced some decent weather for a change and that mean that some work on ABISHAG could go forward. High humidity and actual rain impaired a lot of what I wanted to do. But after a fog so thick I could barely see the bow of the boat Saturday night, Sunday became a nice sunny day which allowed for the popping out of a port in the aft cabin and re-begging it so as to stop the leak that was too close to my head for comfort in the rain. I did not test the repair as it required "RAIN" and there has been much to much of that since my return. I can wait a few weeks before becoming disappointed.
I still have been unable to find someone who can repair the broken stanchion with a weld. Actually, I could but no one I can afford and/or who would come to TYC to do it. As the Bard would say, "Aye, there's the rub." It will get done as all good things come to those who wait. Besides, there are a host of other projects that can easily occupy mind time and attention . . .if I should let them.
It seems as though the summer is finally getting here though the days have begun to get shorter. Did you notice? The weather seems to have warmed sufficiently, when it isn't raining, to be called summer. Racing is underway at TYC, as is the sail training program for kids, and most of the boats are back in the water and the picnics and parties have gotten off the ground, so i guess it is summer after all up here. For me, summer has been going on since about the 5th of January so it is a little hard to tell really, but I guess that this is it it. I intend to enjoy it.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Longest Day of the Year
SHIP'S LOG:
Actually, when you think about it, it is actually a misnomer. All days after all, are 24 hours in duration and what we actually have here, or there, was the day with the longest duration of sunshine. Just semantics I guess, but it was a vary nice day. Unfortunately, I was rushing off here and there getting to several appointments and really didn't spend any time on the water or sailing ABISHAG. And now today, Wednesday, when I have the time, i also have rain to go along with it. (Sigh!) Such is the life of a boater. And the next couple of days don't promise a much better outlook but then I have to deal with what comes my way whatever it is. And as On the trip, there are always thousands of items on the projects list that can be attended to. O drat!
Actually, when you think about it, it is actually a misnomer. All days after all, are 24 hours in duration and what we actually have here, or there, was the day with the longest duration of sunshine. Just semantics I guess, but it was a vary nice day. Unfortunately, I was rushing off here and there getting to several appointments and really didn't spend any time on the water or sailing ABISHAG. And now today, Wednesday, when I have the time, i also have rain to go along with it. (Sigh!) Such is the life of a boater. And the next couple of days don't promise a much better outlook but then I have to deal with what comes my way whatever it is. And as On the trip, there are always thousands of items on the projects list that can be attended to. O drat!
Monday, June 20, 2011
A Happy Father's Day
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, NOAA got it right. It was a fine day. A nice, easy breeze. A nice, partly sunny sky, with just enough cloud cover. Not much in the way of waves. Just a nice day for a sail. Not that I really went anywhere, certainly not like the last few months anyway. I did got to New York but then again, New your is but four miles away . . .Fishers Island, New York. Closer actually than Rhode Island! It is one of the great things about New London where resides TYC, In an easy day's sailing, you can hit three, even four states' waters and still be home for dinner. And if you are adventurous, a short sail can take you through the Race into the open Atlantic!
There were a fair amount of sailboats out, a number involved in Father's Day Races and/or regular Sunday set-to's and a larger number just out there enjoying the day, and I was certainly among the latter!
The projects list for ABISHAG keeps growing and I am going to have to start to whittle it down some, though I am not sure that I have the items and/or parts to do all that needs to be done. Somethings are simply a re-arrangement of things. I have had a problem with the Mizzen sail that I had re-cut just before I left on the trip. I really couldn't get it to run all the way to the top of the mast. The problem was easily corrected by simply re-positioning the gooseneck (where the boom attaches to the mast) a few positions higher on its track. A simple fix yet it actually took all of an hour of trying all sorts of different things until I stumbled on it. I had dismissed it out of hand as it just didn't seem to make sense but I guess it did have to in order for it to work which it now does.
I know longer have to store all the two back-up anchors on deck. In fact, I gave the smallest to the TYC launch drive to see if he could find a use for it. The other is now temporarily residing in the forepeak but I will have to find another spot. The forepeak is getting too crowded and I will need the space for Russ if we take a trip this summer.I am also going to have to dispose of my "trip library." I have a couple of dozen novels that I used to pass the time on the trip and, having gone through them several times, including the ones I swapped out on the way, it is a good time to send them ashore. TYC doesn't "technically" have a Book Swap as we don't get a lot of transient cruisers during the season, but the members go tripping often enough that the books will find good, though probably temporary, homes aboard other craft.
Tomorrow, Tom the Launch Driver and I will will go over maps and charts of the ICW as he is planning a trip south this fall. Right now he is thinking of scooting down to Morehead City and out into the Atlantic to the Bahamas, probably to the Abacos. As his wife will be going along,fe havens along the ICW as she probably won't like being on the boat and tripping for more than 5 days at a stretch. It will be fun to go over the charts and guides and share"my experience" with someone else. I am still not up for making the trip again . . . right now, but if someone needs crew on a 50+ foot motor yacht, I just might consider it. Ah, the luxury!
Well, NOAA got it right. It was a fine day. A nice, easy breeze. A nice, partly sunny sky, with just enough cloud cover. Not much in the way of waves. Just a nice day for a sail. Not that I really went anywhere, certainly not like the last few months anyway. I did got to New York but then again, New your is but four miles away . . .Fishers Island, New York. Closer actually than Rhode Island! It is one of the great things about New London where resides TYC, In an easy day's sailing, you can hit three, even four states' waters and still be home for dinner. And if you are adventurous, a short sail can take you through the Race into the open Atlantic!
There were a fair amount of sailboats out, a number involved in Father's Day Races and/or regular Sunday set-to's and a larger number just out there enjoying the day, and I was certainly among the latter!
The projects list for ABISHAG keeps growing and I am going to have to start to whittle it down some, though I am not sure that I have the items and/or parts to do all that needs to be done. Somethings are simply a re-arrangement of things. I have had a problem with the Mizzen sail that I had re-cut just before I left on the trip. I really couldn't get it to run all the way to the top of the mast. The problem was easily corrected by simply re-positioning the gooseneck (where the boom attaches to the mast) a few positions higher on its track. A simple fix yet it actually took all of an hour of trying all sorts of different things until I stumbled on it. I had dismissed it out of hand as it just didn't seem to make sense but I guess it did have to in order for it to work which it now does.
I know longer have to store all the two back-up anchors on deck. In fact, I gave the smallest to the TYC launch drive to see if he could find a use for it. The other is now temporarily residing in the forepeak but I will have to find another spot. The forepeak is getting too crowded and I will need the space for Russ if we take a trip this summer.I am also going to have to dispose of my "trip library." I have a couple of dozen novels that I used to pass the time on the trip and, having gone through them several times, including the ones I swapped out on the way, it is a good time to send them ashore. TYC doesn't "technically" have a Book Swap as we don't get a lot of transient cruisers during the season, but the members go tripping often enough that the books will find good, though probably temporary, homes aboard other craft.
Tomorrow, Tom the Launch Driver and I will will go over maps and charts of the ICW as he is planning a trip south this fall. Right now he is thinking of scooting down to Morehead City and out into the Atlantic to the Bahamas, probably to the Abacos. As his wife will be going along,fe havens along the ICW as she probably won't like being on the boat and tripping for more than 5 days at a stretch. It will be fun to go over the charts and guides and share"my experience" with someone else. I am still not up for making the trip again . . . right now, but if someone needs crew on a 50+ foot motor yacht, I just might consider it. Ah, the luxury!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Sorry 'Bout The Rain
SHIP'S LOG:
I think that I have seen more rain since the 3rd of June when I got back than in the entire 8 months st that I was away. The interesting thing is the reactions of the "locals" to it all. They are shocked at the intensity, the wind and that rain, and the falling trees and power lines they take out. But none of the storms lasted much more than 20-25 minutes and I doubt if the winds gusted above 40mph. Compared to the storms that I had to deal with on the trip, these have been summer breezes with a few sprinkles tossed in. The lightning and the thunder have been right up there with Florida, but again, the duration was no where near as bad. Not that I am looking for any more, mind you, and I would like a week or so of hot and humid and sultry weather, with a nice 12 knot breeze out of the Southwest!
Not much was accomplished boat-wise yesterday as it was a crappy day. Besides, I am still in the process of trying to restore my computer. Everything is re-loaded but it all has to be put back in some sort of recognizable and usable order. It is surprising how time consuming that can be. In addition, my computer was attacked and hijacked yesterday and it took "Gunga Din" at IYOGI almost an hour to reestablish control and clean out the viruses and malware that did the attacking and hijacking. He said such things can be a real pain in the neck. I have a lower opinion of them!
Right now I am fogged-in in the club house at TYC which will give me some time to do more computer work. I am still going through the 8 months of mail, trying to get some control over my bills, dealing with phone calls from those "service suppliers" for whom I am "late" this month and trying to come up with some cash. (Pay no notice to the upcoming string of convenience store robberies about to occur. I'm Kidding!)
Even though it is past the middle of June, it seems more like ear;y spring here than a few days before official "Summer." Ia m sure that all this will change.
I have to admit that I have really not tackled getting ABISHAG back into fighting trim. Getting here really took all the sense of urgency out of me for the most part. I have a lot of ties ashore that I really didn't have before that are demanding on my time and I am getting suckered into that. I have dentist appointment again next week, along with an appointment to get some blood work done for the annual physical I have in two weeks. I am hoping that by the time June is passed, all those sort of things will be passed.
Russ is interested in take a trip for a few days and it would be fun to do so. We haven't done something like that in a number of years. Maybe head up to the Cape or to Boston. We'll just have to see what time and tide bring forth.
I think that I have seen more rain since the 3rd of June when I got back than in the entire 8 months st that I was away. The interesting thing is the reactions of the "locals" to it all. They are shocked at the intensity, the wind and that rain, and the falling trees and power lines they take out. But none of the storms lasted much more than 20-25 minutes and I doubt if the winds gusted above 40mph. Compared to the storms that I had to deal with on the trip, these have been summer breezes with a few sprinkles tossed in. The lightning and the thunder have been right up there with Florida, but again, the duration was no where near as bad. Not that I am looking for any more, mind you, and I would like a week or so of hot and humid and sultry weather, with a nice 12 knot breeze out of the Southwest!
Not much was accomplished boat-wise yesterday as it was a crappy day. Besides, I am still in the process of trying to restore my computer. Everything is re-loaded but it all has to be put back in some sort of recognizable and usable order. It is surprising how time consuming that can be. In addition, my computer was attacked and hijacked yesterday and it took "Gunga Din" at IYOGI almost an hour to reestablish control and clean out the viruses and malware that did the attacking and hijacking. He said such things can be a real pain in the neck. I have a lower opinion of them!
Right now I am fogged-in in the club house at TYC which will give me some time to do more computer work. I am still going through the 8 months of mail, trying to get some control over my bills, dealing with phone calls from those "service suppliers" for whom I am "late" this month and trying to come up with some cash. (Pay no notice to the upcoming string of convenience store robberies about to occur. I'm Kidding!)
Even though it is past the middle of June, it seems more like ear;y spring here than a few days before official "Summer." Ia m sure that all this will change.
I have to admit that I have really not tackled getting ABISHAG back into fighting trim. Getting here really took all the sense of urgency out of me for the most part. I have a lot of ties ashore that I really didn't have before that are demanding on my time and I am getting suckered into that. I have dentist appointment again next week, along with an appointment to get some blood work done for the annual physical I have in two weeks. I am hoping that by the time June is passed, all those sort of things will be passed.
Russ is interested in take a trip for a few days and it would be fun to do so. We haven't done something like that in a number of years. Maybe head up to the Cape or to Boston. We'll just have to see what time and tide bring forth.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
To Err Is Human, To Really Mess Things Up Takes A Computer!
SHIP'S LOG:
The great joy of getting together with family on Sunday was mitigated by the fact that my computer, while it was being optimized, suffered a nervous break down and I have spent hte last few days trying to get it all back up and working, along with Mohamed, Rajy and Gunga Din. And I am happy to say that everything is restored . . .except for the Quicken Program that controls my money(HA!) and let's me know how much I have to spend. Unfortunately, even a trip to my old stomping grounds did not reveal the needed dick and so it looks as though I am going to have to buy a new program. Just what I need!
I tried to uncover the leaks on ABISHAG, pressuring the boat with a shop vac and coating every fixture and potential opening with soap suds but no leaks were revealed, even in those spots where I absolutely know there are leaks. Perhaps it was too wind or something but I'll give it another try in the near future.
The whole process did reveal that my anchor chain needs oiling. Sitting in the chain lock, subjected to sea water and rain water and ICW water has corroded it a tad and so today I will take it all out into the sun and oil it down.
I also, on a more personal note, made a couple of my doctors appointments. The pronounnced me alive but didn't want to go any farther out on that limb. The day after my orthopedic appointment, my left knee started acting up. Perhaps it is because I have been favoring it so as not to dislocate my shiney new right hip. It is sort of like walking in jello. Perhaps I have a reoccurance of the Baker's Cyst that I had a few years ago. Unfortunately, that turn into a serious mass that had to be removed surgically and it took out 1/3 of the muscle in my left calf. I would not like to go through that again, so it means another visit to the orthopedist. Gosh, it is so much fun to be home!
The great joy of getting together with family on Sunday was mitigated by the fact that my computer, while it was being optimized, suffered a nervous break down and I have spent hte last few days trying to get it all back up and working, along with Mohamed, Rajy and Gunga Din. And I am happy to say that everything is restored . . .except for the Quicken Program that controls my money(HA!) and let's me know how much I have to spend. Unfortunately, even a trip to my old stomping grounds did not reveal the needed dick and so it looks as though I am going to have to buy a new program. Just what I need!
I tried to uncover the leaks on ABISHAG, pressuring the boat with a shop vac and coating every fixture and potential opening with soap suds but no leaks were revealed, even in those spots where I absolutely know there are leaks. Perhaps it was too wind or something but I'll give it another try in the near future.
The whole process did reveal that my anchor chain needs oiling. Sitting in the chain lock, subjected to sea water and rain water and ICW water has corroded it a tad and so today I will take it all out into the sun and oil it down.
I also, on a more personal note, made a couple of my doctors appointments. The pronounnced me alive but didn't want to go any farther out on that limb. The day after my orthopedic appointment, my left knee started acting up. Perhaps it is because I have been favoring it so as not to dislocate my shiney new right hip. It is sort of like walking in jello. Perhaps I have a reoccurance of the Baker's Cyst that I had a few years ago. Unfortunately, that turn into a serious mass that had to be removed surgically and it took out 1/3 of the muscle in my left calf. I would not like to go through that again, so it means another visit to the orthopedist. Gosh, it is so much fun to be home!
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