SHIP'S LOG:
The weather has been a little crazy the last 24 hours. Yesterday, we got 3 inches of snow and it was bitterly cold, down in the high 20's. The roads were icy and even I had to turn up the heat! This morning it was in the mid 50's and the snow was all but gone. Very Bizarre!
According to NOAA, the rest of the week should be mild with more snow on Christmas! Everyone who believes that stand on your head! It would be nice to have a white Christmas, but I don't buy it. I have along history with NOAA tat is not pleasant. Truly, I wouldn't trust it if they claimed the Sun rose in the east! At least, I would take it with a grain of salt. But as I have learned over the years, it rally doesn't matter what is forecast, one has to deal with whatever weather shows up. So it is hope for the best, plan for the worst!
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Winter Be Coming!
SHIP'S LOG:
According to the "Never-Wrong" forecasters at NOAA, we should be getting snow Sunday night. Considering the blizzard that haws been hitting the upper mid-west, it is a bit of a no brainer. Hopefully, NOAA will be as accurate as the usually are as I am not ready for winter.
Working in the sail loft the past week has been like working in a refrigerator. There is "radiant" heating, but it is more for the machines and the cloth than for the workers. Ya gota keep the computers and sewing machines at the proper temp or the cease to function, or at least cease to function well. Then again, I have been working in the part of the loft that the heat misses. It is so chilly that the tape used to stick sail patches and panels together doesn't stick really well. It tends to stop sticking a couple of days after you lay it down. I have to go back and go over each piece of tape and pr4ess it down, getting it to stick again.
I haven't chastised my fingers together yet simply because I haven't been sewing. I did however slice finger tips nicely. I forgot that sail cloth is so stiff that it can slice you like a knife. It is something like a "paper cut" but on steroids.
I have been working about two weeks and I am still "paying off" the furler, something like an indentured servant. I have about $800 to go. I "make" $10/hour and probably will average about 5 hours a day, tops. Hopefully, I will have it all paid off by the beginning of the new year and can actually start making some money. I will need it to pay the yard-bill and TYC membership dues and for all of the little items I will need to get ABISHAG ready for launching in the spring. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
According to the "Never-Wrong" forecasters at NOAA, we should be getting snow Sunday night. Considering the blizzard that haws been hitting the upper mid-west, it is a bit of a no brainer. Hopefully, NOAA will be as accurate as the usually are as I am not ready for winter.
Working in the sail loft the past week has been like working in a refrigerator. There is "radiant" heating, but it is more for the machines and the cloth than for the workers. Ya gota keep the computers and sewing machines at the proper temp or the cease to function, or at least cease to function well. Then again, I have been working in the part of the loft that the heat misses. It is so chilly that the tape used to stick sail patches and panels together doesn't stick really well. It tends to stop sticking a couple of days after you lay it down. I have to go back and go over each piece of tape and pr4ess it down, getting it to stick again.
I haven't chastised my fingers together yet simply because I haven't been sewing. I did however slice finger tips nicely. I forgot that sail cloth is so stiff that it can slice you like a knife. It is something like a "paper cut" but on steroids.
I have been working about two weeks and I am still "paying off" the furler, something like an indentured servant. I have about $800 to go. I "make" $10/hour and probably will average about 5 hours a day, tops. Hopefully, I will have it all paid off by the beginning of the new year and can actually start making some money. I will need it to pay the yard-bill and TYC membership dues and for all of the little items I will need to get ABISHAG ready for launching in the spring. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Sail HO!
SHIP'S LOGS:
It is back to the sail loft today. I am hopeful that all of the skills I've developed have not atrophied in the last few months. I am not eager to put a needle through a finger.
It is back to the sail loft today. I am hopeful that all of the skills I've developed have not atrophied in the last few months. I am not eager to put a needle through a finger.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
How Much Fun Is That?
SHIP'S LOG:
Having owned boats for some 36 years, you would think I would be used to leaks by now, but not this one!
I went out to breakfast to celebrate New Years Day ( 1st Sunday of Advent, the start of the Liturgical New Year) and when I got back t and opened the Little Hermitage's door, there was the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the roof. Unfortunately, it wasn't on the roof so much as it was on the floor, on the stove (missed the sink . . .figures) the kitchen table, the kitchen rug and the microwave. It seems that the people in the apartment on the fifth floor broke their toilet and they tired to fix it themselves . All they did was bust it further and began to overflow. It flooded their apartment, then the one on the 4th floor, then the one on the 3rd floor (mine), then the one on the second floor. It didn't flood the one on the 1st floor as there isn't one, just a stairwell which is now flooded.
Kenny the Maintenance Dude got here is record time from Baltic and shut the water off on the 5th floor and is in the process of fixing the toilet. He then went around to check each apartment for damage. I've got ceiling damage in a couple of place but it doesn't look too bad. I would expect that there will be work that needs to be done less it falls down.
Personal damage . . . well the microwave got "rained on" though I am not sure it is damaged. After a couple of hours of dry-time, I'll run it to see if it works or shorts out. The cabinet it sits on got a wipe down and should be fine. The stove, again dry-time and then all the elements on and we will see what's what. It missed my computer but got the discharge paper tray of the printer, I turned it on and it ran. I'll try printing something in awhile. The kitchen rug is drip-drying in the shower. That will take a couple of days, but all-in-all not too bad. At least the apartment won't "sink!"
Having owned boats for some 36 years, you would think I would be used to leaks by now, but not this one!
I went out to breakfast to celebrate New Years Day ( 1st Sunday of Advent, the start of the Liturgical New Year) and when I got back t and opened the Little Hermitage's door, there was the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the roof. Unfortunately, it wasn't on the roof so much as it was on the floor, on the stove (missed the sink . . .figures) the kitchen table, the kitchen rug and the microwave. It seems that the people in the apartment on the fifth floor broke their toilet and they tired to fix it themselves . All they did was bust it further and began to overflow. It flooded their apartment, then the one on the 4th floor, then the one on the 3rd floor (mine), then the one on the second floor. It didn't flood the one on the 1st floor as there isn't one, just a stairwell which is now flooded.
Kenny the Maintenance Dude got here is record time from Baltic and shut the water off on the 5th floor and is in the process of fixing the toilet. He then went around to check each apartment for damage. I've got ceiling damage in a couple of place but it doesn't look too bad. I would expect that there will be work that needs to be done less it falls down.
Personal damage . . . well the microwave got "rained on" though I am not sure it is damaged. After a couple of hours of dry-time, I'll run it to see if it works or shorts out. The cabinet it sits on got a wipe down and should be fine. The stove, again dry-time and then all the elements on and we will see what's what. It missed my computer but got the discharge paper tray of the printer, I turned it on and it ran. I'll try printing something in awhile. The kitchen rug is drip-drying in the shower. That will take a couple of days, but all-in-all not too bad. At least the apartment won't "sink!"
Monday, November 21, 2016
Timing Is Everything In Life
SHIP'S LOG:
Friend Fred and I spent Saturday putting ABISHAG to bed for the winter. A good thing too as yesterday it rained and rained hard. And overnight, it snowed as well. I am not sure how much actually fell in Portland but we got about half an inch in New London so I am sure that they got more. The snow here is already melting and should be gone by this afternoon, but the snow in Portland may stick around for awhile. I just hope that this isn't a sign of the kind of winter we can expect. Oh well, we have to deal with what we get and, in the end, it will all melt away come spring!
Friend Fred and I spent Saturday putting ABISHAG to bed for the winter. A good thing too as yesterday it rained and rained hard. And overnight, it snowed as well. I am not sure how much actually fell in Portland but we got about half an inch in New London so I am sure that they got more. The snow here is already melting and should be gone by this afternoon, but the snow in Portland may stick around for awhile. I just hope that this isn't a sign of the kind of winter we can expect. Oh well, we have to deal with what we get and, in the end, it will all melt away come spring!
Saturday, November 19, 2016
HIBERNATION
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, at last, at last, ABISHAG is all snuggled down and wrapped up for the winter. The tarps are on, the batteries are out, the oil is changed, all the water systems are drained and/or filled with anti-freeze, everything that needed doing has been done. Now the long wait begins, the wait until the great unwrapping in the spring when we undo all that has been done for the winter. And now the project list begin to grow. I still have the list from the "Year of the Falling Tree" as well as last years, and it will grow even further for the coming spring. There is nothing like putting the boat to bed for the winter to fire you mind projects that absolutely "need" to be done before launching.
Truth be told, the only things that absolutely, positively must be done before the boat is launched is to 1.) uncover it; 2.) replace the sacrificial zincs; 3.) paint the bottom. Ah but there are so many more things that I want to do, so many things that have been put off for far too long, and so many other things that are absolutely not needed but would be so nice. I will be perusing the Defender catalog and the one from West Marine. I will log in daily to their web sites and plan, my dreams limited only by money such a paltry thing, but oh so necessary. So may important decisions will be worried over and debated and planned for and, for the most part, scrapped do to the infamous "lack of funds." But it is fun to dream.
Well, at last, at last, ABISHAG is all snuggled down and wrapped up for the winter. The tarps are on, the batteries are out, the oil is changed, all the water systems are drained and/or filled with anti-freeze, everything that needed doing has been done. Now the long wait begins, the wait until the great unwrapping in the spring when we undo all that has been done for the winter. And now the project list begin to grow. I still have the list from the "Year of the Falling Tree" as well as last years, and it will grow even further for the coming spring. There is nothing like putting the boat to bed for the winter to fire you mind projects that absolutely "need" to be done before launching.
Truth be told, the only things that absolutely, positively must be done before the boat is launched is to 1.) uncover it; 2.) replace the sacrificial zincs; 3.) paint the bottom. Ah but there are so many more things that I want to do, so many things that have been put off for far too long, and so many other things that are absolutely not needed but would be so nice. I will be perusing the Defender catalog and the one from West Marine. I will log in daily to their web sites and plan, my dreams limited only by money such a paltry thing, but oh so necessary. So may important decisions will be worried over and debated and planned for and, for the most part, scrapped do to the infamous "lack of funds." But it is fun to dream.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
I Have The Plague!
SHIP'S LOG:
This past Saturday, friend Fred and I decided that we would get ABISHAG all snuggled in for the winter. I should have suspected that it wasn't going to happen as I had come down with a cough earlier in the week and Fred was an hour late showing up at the boatyard. Not good omens!
When she finally got hauled, ABISHAG was set right at the entrance of the boatyard. A very convenient place for working on her except if you needed water and/or electricity. Both of those two useful times were each at least 150 feet away, 100 feet or more further than any hose and/or electrical cord I have can reach. These things happen and it is best not to dwell on them less you get depressed.
Truth be told,neither electricity and/or water was really necessary for the tasks at hand though both would have made them easier. While Fred winterized the engine and the water systems, I started the project of wrapping the boat with tarps. This is and easy and fun project so long as the air is absolutely still. One first has to spread the tarp and affix lines to the grommets on each side. Then one has to get off the boat and grab the lines and tighten them up sealing the boat in a blue cocoon. The air wasn't still but still it was not blowing hard. There was just the occasional gentle puff that was more annoying that a full breeze. Had there been a real breeze, the task would simply have been delayed until the atmospherics were better, but faced with "just an occasional breeze" one was lulled into the foolish idea that it could be done by one person no problem. Three small traps were laid and secured over the deck hatches. Not a bad problem as all the work was done aboard the boat. The real difficult came when the large trap, covering 1/3 of the boat was set in place. If you have ever battled with a blue-poly tarp you know of what I speak. This one was 15' X 19' with a mind of its own, encouraged by the wind to complete rebelliousness.
I was able to get it in place and secured by the time Fred had completed his tasks aboard and we had a couple of beers left over from the trip up river. Following that, we removed the electronics and the sails and called it a day. I have never been a supporter of the idea that cold gives you colds, in other words that being out in cold weather renders you more susceptible to coming sown with a cold. Whatever is true, my cough became worse over night and by Monday, the days we were to go up and finish up the internalization, have advance to a gastro - intestinal malaise of the "two exits no waiting" variety. Currently I am battling it and appear to be winning but it is a hard fought battle. I should be healthy enough to resume and finish the winterization process by Saturday next. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
This past Saturday, friend Fred and I decided that we would get ABISHAG all snuggled in for the winter. I should have suspected that it wasn't going to happen as I had come down with a cough earlier in the week and Fred was an hour late showing up at the boatyard. Not good omens!
When she finally got hauled, ABISHAG was set right at the entrance of the boatyard. A very convenient place for working on her except if you needed water and/or electricity. Both of those two useful times were each at least 150 feet away, 100 feet or more further than any hose and/or electrical cord I have can reach. These things happen and it is best not to dwell on them less you get depressed.
Truth be told,neither electricity and/or water was really necessary for the tasks at hand though both would have made them easier. While Fred winterized the engine and the water systems, I started the project of wrapping the boat with tarps. This is and easy and fun project so long as the air is absolutely still. One first has to spread the tarp and affix lines to the grommets on each side. Then one has to get off the boat and grab the lines and tighten them up sealing the boat in a blue cocoon. The air wasn't still but still it was not blowing hard. There was just the occasional gentle puff that was more annoying that a full breeze. Had there been a real breeze, the task would simply have been delayed until the atmospherics were better, but faced with "just an occasional breeze" one was lulled into the foolish idea that it could be done by one person no problem. Three small traps were laid and secured over the deck hatches. Not a bad problem as all the work was done aboard the boat. The real difficult came when the large trap, covering 1/3 of the boat was set in place. If you have ever battled with a blue-poly tarp you know of what I speak. This one was 15' X 19' with a mind of its own, encouraged by the wind to complete rebelliousness.
I was able to get it in place and secured by the time Fred had completed his tasks aboard and we had a couple of beers left over from the trip up river. Following that, we removed the electronics and the sails and called it a day. I have never been a supporter of the idea that cold gives you colds, in other words that being out in cold weather renders you more susceptible to coming sown with a cold. Whatever is true, my cough became worse over night and by Monday, the days we were to go up and finish up the internalization, have advance to a gastro - intestinal malaise of the "two exits no waiting" variety. Currently I am battling it and appear to be winning but it is a hard fought battle. I should be healthy enough to resume and finish the winterization process by Saturday next. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
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