SHIP'S LOG:
I went down to see ABISHAG yesterday. along the coats, the snow is all but gone and it was warm enough that there was some actual thawing. This meant that the ground around the boat was more mud than dirt. Thank goodness for rubber boots!
Much to my disappointment, but expected nonetheless, the "Fiberglass Fairy" and the " Epoxy Elf" had not shown up since the last visit and the keel was still damaged and in need of repair. The interior also remained untouched and still rather disheveled. I don't know why the gremlins had not shown up to clean-up and arrange the the items wintering on board. They must be busy elsewhere these days. Even with the "thaw," the interior was freezer-like.
Skip, good friend and master carpenter, came with me so that I could point out the things I would like to do with the interior. Carpentry is right up their with electrical work work on my skills lists so it behooves me to get the advice of someone who actually knows what they are doing, and Skip knows. He will provide some simple solutions to the needs (mostly storage) along with practical and easy plans for doing the deed.
The good news came today from Allison Burgess of Zurich Marine Insurance. They will pay for the repair work, less $1,600 and the check is in the mail.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
It was great to be on board even if ABISHAG wasn't in the water. I wanted to start working immediately but it will have to wait. The slight thaw is soon to be followed by a real return to winter so things will have to wait a bit. I still have 75 days before launching.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
OUCH! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, the proposal from the Marine Repair-er showed up today. The total outlay for the proposed work, a "good faith estimate" as they like to say in the marine trade, is 24 MUs or in real money $11,936.80. OUCH! ! ! ! !
Of course, and thank goodness, the vast majority of it will be paid by the Insurance Company, the total less my $1,600 deductible. and afterwards, if I am lucky, they will only double my premiums. Not feeling particularly lucky, I fully expect to get dropped like a hot potato, but I can't blame them though. Let's see: incident #1 tow plus repair work = $14,000; incident #2 tow plus repair work = $17,000 for a total of $31,000! Considering that my yearly premium is, or was, $1,200 in these tough economic times, it is a losing proposition even for a company who business is "risk taking." The fun task of the spring will be finding another insurance carrier if possible. Just think of the conversation I'm going to have to have with the agent. On second though, I don't want to think about it.
It is quite possible also that there will be some downward adjustment, possibly as much as 50%, in my compensation this spring as well. OUCH! ! ! ! ! I have been trying to unload the condo so that I can get rid of its bills and payoff the credit card debt. The realtor says that, strangely, there is an increasing interest in the condos at the present time. So I have dropped the price and hopefully it will be attractive enough to get it sold. they I can pay off the mortgage, the taxes and the credit cards and still actually have a few bucks left to repair my retirement fund.
The crazy part of this financial disaster that we call the American economy is that those things that most people counted on to be financial bellweathers against tough times have become, in many cases, more of a hinderance than a help. If you own a house with a mortgage that has an adjustable rate, you know of what I speak. If I can unload the condo, I hopefully won't have to unload ABISHAG. Yes, that's right, I have to consider selling my boat. Of course right now there aren't a whole lot of boats selling. I have a dear friend who works for a finance company that specialize in boating loans. She has worked all the winter shows so far and there has been little in the way of loans going on. From what she and others in the marine business say, I suspect that there will be a sudden increase in boat "thefts," "accidents" that total boats, and irrecoverable "sinkings" that are of a "suspicious nature" if the financail scene doesn't improve by the end of summer. Many marinas took a real beating from the high fuel prices of this past summer and it had a ripple effect through the industry back then. Fewer people bothered to launch and even those who did, didn't go out as much. This was especially true for power boats. Those that actually saw water were used as "summer cottages" as opposed to being used as boats. I know I commented previously about the dearth of boating traffic over the summer months as indicated by the lack of traffic on the VHF Marine radio channels and it was probably worse than i imagined. This coming season should be even worse. The yard wherein ABISHAG slumbers the winter away already has had abandonments, boats hauled and whose owners, went sent the bill, just ignored it. Surely there will be more by spring.
It is a real buyers market so selling the boat will make selling the condo look easy by comparison. Check the boating web pages shows some incredible deals available. Sellers are dropping their prices by huge chucks of cash trying to unload their boats and having little success. I am hoping that I won't have to get into that craziness.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have come to the conclusion that God really doesn't have a plan. I have come to believe that God will make all things right and good. It may not sound like all that much of a difference but it is. Rather than following a script, I can just do what comes naturally, make my choices, good and bad and, in some way, God will get involved and bless the good and correct the bad. Unfortunately, it also seems that it is still not a part of God's plan or of his making good. that I win Powerball. I thought . . . .maybe . . . and bought a ticket on the off chance . . . . not even one number. I was one off on several numbers such that if I had had the adjustment it would have made for a nice financial windfall. As it was, no numerical adjustment, no windfall, only god saying once again, "Trust me, like it says on the money!"
Well, the proposal from the Marine Repair-er showed up today. The total outlay for the proposed work, a "good faith estimate" as they like to say in the marine trade, is 24 MUs or in real money $11,936.80. OUCH! ! ! ! !
Of course, and thank goodness, the vast majority of it will be paid by the Insurance Company, the total less my $1,600 deductible. and afterwards, if I am lucky, they will only double my premiums. Not feeling particularly lucky, I fully expect to get dropped like a hot potato, but I can't blame them though. Let's see: incident #1 tow plus repair work = $14,000; incident #2 tow plus repair work = $17,000 for a total of $31,000! Considering that my yearly premium is, or was, $1,200 in these tough economic times, it is a losing proposition even for a company who business is "risk taking." The fun task of the spring will be finding another insurance carrier if possible. Just think of the conversation I'm going to have to have with the agent. On second though, I don't want to think about it.
It is quite possible also that there will be some downward adjustment, possibly as much as 50%, in my compensation this spring as well. OUCH! ! ! ! ! I have been trying to unload the condo so that I can get rid of its bills and payoff the credit card debt. The realtor says that, strangely, there is an increasing interest in the condos at the present time. So I have dropped the price and hopefully it will be attractive enough to get it sold. they I can pay off the mortgage, the taxes and the credit cards and still actually have a few bucks left to repair my retirement fund.
The crazy part of this financial disaster that we call the American economy is that those things that most people counted on to be financial bellweathers against tough times have become, in many cases, more of a hinderance than a help. If you own a house with a mortgage that has an adjustable rate, you know of what I speak. If I can unload the condo, I hopefully won't have to unload ABISHAG. Yes, that's right, I have to consider selling my boat. Of course right now there aren't a whole lot of boats selling. I have a dear friend who works for a finance company that specialize in boating loans. She has worked all the winter shows so far and there has been little in the way of loans going on. From what she and others in the marine business say, I suspect that there will be a sudden increase in boat "thefts," "accidents" that total boats, and irrecoverable "sinkings" that are of a "suspicious nature" if the financail scene doesn't improve by the end of summer. Many marinas took a real beating from the high fuel prices of this past summer and it had a ripple effect through the industry back then. Fewer people bothered to launch and even those who did, didn't go out as much. This was especially true for power boats. Those that actually saw water were used as "summer cottages" as opposed to being used as boats. I know I commented previously about the dearth of boating traffic over the summer months as indicated by the lack of traffic on the VHF Marine radio channels and it was probably worse than i imagined. This coming season should be even worse. The yard wherein ABISHAG slumbers the winter away already has had abandonments, boats hauled and whose owners, went sent the bill, just ignored it. Surely there will be more by spring.
It is a real buyers market so selling the boat will make selling the condo look easy by comparison. Check the boating web pages shows some incredible deals available. Sellers are dropping their prices by huge chucks of cash trying to unload their boats and having little success. I am hoping that I won't have to get into that craziness.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have come to the conclusion that God really doesn't have a plan. I have come to believe that God will make all things right and good. It may not sound like all that much of a difference but it is. Rather than following a script, I can just do what comes naturally, make my choices, good and bad and, in some way, God will get involved and bless the good and correct the bad. Unfortunately, it also seems that it is still not a part of God's plan or of his making good. that I win Powerball. I thought . . . .maybe . . . and bought a ticket on the off chance . . . . not even one number. I was one off on several numbers such that if I had had the adjustment it would have made for a nice financial windfall. As it was, no numerical adjustment, no windfall, only god saying once again, "Trust me, like it says on the money!"
Friday, January 23, 2009
I'm Going To Take It As A Good Sign
SHIP'S LOG:
Today in the mail I received a copy of Cruising World magazine, on the cover of which was a 53 Friendship just sailing along on a beautiful day. In the mail today I also received a copy of SAIL magazine and on the cover was a Swan 48 heralding the lead story of "How You Too Can Join The Caribbean Racing Scene." In the mail I also received a promotional package from Pond Bay on the island of St. John in the American Virgin Islands, touting a wonderful assortment of luxury cottages and palatial villas available for time share. I also received an email from Michael Harris of the Catamaran Company offering a truly insane deal on a 35 foot Island Spirit Catamaran. Tonight the temperature is supposed to drop like the rock again and I gather there is the possibility of more snow by Wednesday.
AH, but I am one day closer to launching. Actually it is 99 days and counting down. The mist around the mystery that is electricity is beginning to lift and that in the next few days it will all become clear, at least enough to know what I don't know. I am really chomping at the bit to get started but with the weather hovering around ZERO!!!!, and possibly less inside the boat, that is not going to happen, at least not for a week or two. It doesn't matter when, I will be ready!!!! I've got the work list all planned out ( it keeps growing with unnecessary but really neat projects). Hopefully, I will even have enough MUs to pay for the truly, absolutely necessary stuff - like bottom paint (approx. $218) - and perhaps have a few leftover for other , not necessary but would-be-nice-to-have items. In any event, I can't wait to start.
At another time, such an array of such items would have
Today in the mail I received a copy of Cruising World magazine, on the cover of which was a 53 Friendship just sailing along on a beautiful day. In the mail today I also received a copy of SAIL magazine and on the cover was a Swan 48 heralding the lead story of "How You Too Can Join The Caribbean Racing Scene." In the mail I also received a promotional package from Pond Bay on the island of St. John in the American Virgin Islands, touting a wonderful assortment of luxury cottages and palatial villas available for time share. I also received an email from Michael Harris of the Catamaran Company offering a truly insane deal on a 35 foot Island Spirit Catamaran. Tonight the temperature is supposed to drop like the rock again and I gather there is the possibility of more snow by Wednesday.
AH, but I am one day closer to launching. Actually it is 99 days and counting down. The mist around the mystery that is electricity is beginning to lift and that in the next few days it will all become clear, at least enough to know what I don't know. I am really chomping at the bit to get started but with the weather hovering around ZERO!!!!, and possibly less inside the boat, that is not going to happen, at least not for a week or two. It doesn't matter when, I will be ready!!!! I've got the work list all planned out ( it keeps growing with unnecessary but really neat projects). Hopefully, I will even have enough MUs to pay for the truly, absolutely necessary stuff - like bottom paint (approx. $218) - and perhaps have a few leftover for other , not necessary but would-be-nice-to-have items. In any event, I can't wait to start.
At another time, such an array of such items would have
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
It's A New Day ! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
It's a new day. We have a New President, the sun is shinning and I am one day closer to launching (100 days even!)! ! ! ! !Now if the temperature will just climb a few more degrees and stay there for awhile, all will be well with the world, or at last my little corner of it.
I am actually going to have to start judiciously buying a few items next month for the spring work. Nothing major of course as I can't do major but a few maintenance items nonetheless. The actual work will be more sweat equity type work. I have developed a new project . . . as if I needed anymore to do. Access is always of major importance on a boat, not just for maintenance but also for safety, ie. being able to access the seacock attached to that badly leaking hose for instance. But maintenance is also a key and to that end I want to get all of the wiring out of the bilge, from behind the headliner and as much as possible, run it through cable raceways along the sides of the boat where the headliner(ceiling) meets the bulkhead (wall). Done the right way it will mean ease of access and the ability to add or subtract circuits as needed. Some small portion may still have to go behind the head line as as when a light is located away from the bulkhead and that will be fine, but having 90-95% of the wire instantly accessible, support and high and dry will certainly be an improvement, and a safe one at that.
I spent yesterday going over all the manuals for all of the equipment that is on ABISHAG - Windless, refrigeration, etc. It will all receive the proper maintenance and be up and running by launching or it will be gone. It is sort ridiculous to have stuff on the boat not working and taking up space. I also went over the wiring diagram from the owner's manual. Tougher to understand that someone explaining differential calculus in Chinese. To make matters worse, the diagram is spread over two(2) different pages and is very, very tiny making it almost impossible to read and/or follow. Add to that the factors that a.) it is 31 years old; b.) the boat has had two previous owners who added and removed equipment; c.) that neither was an electrician and so the wiring they added is really follows no logical plan; d.) that rather than pulling out old wire before installing new (no I didn't get it all out last year); e.) that few wires are labeled or even the correct colors ( different colors for connections to different items) - well I could go on but you get the picture - I could probably do as well with a wire diagram from another boat entirely.
O, by the way, I bought (virtually) another boat yesterday. It is a 50' Scarelli Schooner made in Italy. It was for sale for a mere $109,000, and a mere $99,000, and a mere$95,000. The same boat was websites for those three different prices. "From the pictures" it looks a beautiful boat and it is down in Miami. However because the owner is obviously hot to sell it, putting it up for sale at three different prices, and it is a Florida boat ( probably not a lot of sailing or maintenance), and since I don't have even the $95,000, I had to let it go. It was really nice, very well appointed and equipped, and, if I had turned Debbie Soudan loose on the broker, she would have gotten the price down to $80,000 if not less. It was just one of those summer flings in the middle of winter. Once I can start working on ABISHAG, everything will be just fine.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Boy, it sure seems that I have been doing not much other than "waiting patiently" for the last two years. I am getting pretty good at it but it is a drag. I want to go sailing. I way to go cruising, I want to go somewhere I have never been before. I haven't been down to the boat as I don't want to see ABISHG snow covered reminding me that this is winter and not just a bad dream or an illusion. Still, i can do no more than wait patiently, preparing for the coming spring work season in anticipation of going sailing and cruising and going to somewhere I have never been before.
It's a new day. We have a New President, the sun is shinning and I am one day closer to launching (100 days even!)! ! ! ! !Now if the temperature will just climb a few more degrees and stay there for awhile, all will be well with the world, or at last my little corner of it.
I am actually going to have to start judiciously buying a few items next month for the spring work. Nothing major of course as I can't do major but a few maintenance items nonetheless. The actual work will be more sweat equity type work. I have developed a new project . . . as if I needed anymore to do. Access is always of major importance on a boat, not just for maintenance but also for safety, ie. being able to access the seacock attached to that badly leaking hose for instance. But maintenance is also a key and to that end I want to get all of the wiring out of the bilge, from behind the headliner and as much as possible, run it through cable raceways along the sides of the boat where the headliner(ceiling) meets the bulkhead (wall). Done the right way it will mean ease of access and the ability to add or subtract circuits as needed. Some small portion may still have to go behind the head line as as when a light is located away from the bulkhead and that will be fine, but having 90-95% of the wire instantly accessible, support and high and dry will certainly be an improvement, and a safe one at that.
I spent yesterday going over all the manuals for all of the equipment that is on ABISHAG - Windless, refrigeration, etc. It will all receive the proper maintenance and be up and running by launching or it will be gone. It is sort ridiculous to have stuff on the boat not working and taking up space. I also went over the wiring diagram from the owner's manual. Tougher to understand that someone explaining differential calculus in Chinese. To make matters worse, the diagram is spread over two(2) different pages and is very, very tiny making it almost impossible to read and/or follow. Add to that the factors that a.) it is 31 years old; b.) the boat has had two previous owners who added and removed equipment; c.) that neither was an electrician and so the wiring they added is really follows no logical plan; d.) that rather than pulling out old wire before installing new (no I didn't get it all out last year); e.) that few wires are labeled or even the correct colors ( different colors for connections to different items) - well I could go on but you get the picture - I could probably do as well with a wire diagram from another boat entirely.
O, by the way, I bought (virtually) another boat yesterday. It is a 50' Scarelli Schooner made in Italy. It was for sale for a mere $109,000, and a mere $99,000, and a mere$95,000. The same boat was websites for those three different prices. "From the pictures" it looks a beautiful boat and it is down in Miami. However because the owner is obviously hot to sell it, putting it up for sale at three different prices, and it is a Florida boat ( probably not a lot of sailing or maintenance), and since I don't have even the $95,000, I had to let it go. It was really nice, very well appointed and equipped, and, if I had turned Debbie Soudan loose on the broker, she would have gotten the price down to $80,000 if not less. It was just one of those summer flings in the middle of winter. Once I can start working on ABISHAG, everything will be just fine.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
Boy, it sure seems that I have been doing not much other than "waiting patiently" for the last two years. I am getting pretty good at it but it is a drag. I want to go sailing. I way to go cruising, I want to go somewhere I have never been before. I haven't been down to the boat as I don't want to see ABISHG snow covered reminding me that this is winter and not just a bad dream or an illusion. Still, i can do no more than wait patiently, preparing for the coming spring work season in anticipation of going sailing and cruising and going to somewhere I have never been before.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Let it Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Might as well let it snow as there is nothing I can do about stopping it. It is something like the advice you are often given about dandelions in your lawn - since you can never really get rid of them, learn to love them. So it is with the snow and the cold in New England and other points north, you can't change the winter weather so you just have to deal with what you get. dealing with weather is one of those curses that particularly afflict sailors. Where's the wind coming from? How strong? Is there rain with it? Will it intensify or diminish? Will it shift its bearing? And on and on and on it goes. It makes a certain sense when you are on the boat heading somewhere, but ashore, with the boat on the hard, it is almost comforting not to really care about what Mother Nature is sending my way outside. Actually the snow (it's snowing right now) is really quite beautiful and I can take an hour or so and just watch it fall. It is really peaceful and relaxing, especially since I know I don't have to deal with shoveling it.
The mystery that is electricity is still a dark one though there seems to be a little bit of light beginning to break in the darkness. Currently I am reading a book by Don Casey on Sailboat Maintenance , the section on electricity. Do states, " The objective of this book is to show you exactly how to service and modify the electrical system on your boat.Assuming the less theory I throw at you, the happier you are going to be, I have included electrical arcana only where it is absolutely essential . . . .I'm not teaching electricity here, I'm just trying to show you how to make a safe, durable connection." I'll see how it goes.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The month of January seems to be speeding along. Great! I'm getting closer and closer to Launch Day. I pretty much have the work all planned out, down to the expenses involved. I am chomping at the bit to get started. Having to exercise patience and wait for the weather can be very frustrating, but with all the waiting I have been doing over the last two years, it will pass constructively.
Might as well let it snow as there is nothing I can do about stopping it. It is something like the advice you are often given about dandelions in your lawn - since you can never really get rid of them, learn to love them. So it is with the snow and the cold in New England and other points north, you can't change the winter weather so you just have to deal with what you get. dealing with weather is one of those curses that particularly afflict sailors. Where's the wind coming from? How strong? Is there rain with it? Will it intensify or diminish? Will it shift its bearing? And on and on and on it goes. It makes a certain sense when you are on the boat heading somewhere, but ashore, with the boat on the hard, it is almost comforting not to really care about what Mother Nature is sending my way outside. Actually the snow (it's snowing right now) is really quite beautiful and I can take an hour or so and just watch it fall. It is really peaceful and relaxing, especially since I know I don't have to deal with shoveling it.
The mystery that is electricity is still a dark one though there seems to be a little bit of light beginning to break in the darkness. Currently I am reading a book by Don Casey on Sailboat Maintenance , the section on electricity. Do states, " The objective of this book is to show you exactly how to service and modify the electrical system on your boat.Assuming the less theory I throw at you, the happier you are going to be, I have included electrical arcana only where it is absolutely essential . . . .I'm not teaching electricity here, I'm just trying to show you how to make a safe, durable connection." I'll see how it goes.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
The month of January seems to be speeding along. Great! I'm getting closer and closer to Launch Day. I pretty much have the work all planned out, down to the expenses involved. I am chomping at the bit to get started. Having to exercise patience and wait for the weather can be very frustrating, but with all the waiting I have been doing over the last two years, it will pass constructively.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
No News Is Good News! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
I have yet to hear from the crew down at the Boat Shop at Captain's Cove Seaport which is both good and bad. Good in the sense I still have time to come up with the deductible (3.2 MUs) and bad in the sense that it means they haven't begun to make a start at doing the work. Intrusion of snow/sleet/rain/runoff into the damage areas of the keel, along with the freezing temps will probably mean that the job will become just a tad bigger. There really is nothing that I can do about it and as you know(if you have been following this blog) from the experience of last Fall, boat yard crews move at their own pace and it is a mystery how and why and when they tackle particular tasks. I just trust that it will get do and done right and done by May 1, 2009.
I also have not heard from the Insurance company since the follow-up contact. They paid off Tow Boat/US and I presume that they have, are, will do the same with Captain's Cove Seaport Boat Yard. Also there has been no word on whether they will institute a premium rate increase or drop me altogether. Again, a good new/potentially bad news situation.
I have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 (20 MUs) of various items for the Spring outfitting. Spent it in my mine not in reality. In reality, I haven't got that much, not unless I win Powerball or something. However, expenses should run somewhere around 2 MUs. The bottom paint alone in $109 a gallon and I need two gallons to do the hull. putting the boat aground twice didn't jive well with my plan to just paint the parts that needed painting which you can do with an ablative paint. An Ablative paint dries soft and wears away as you sail. When you have the boat and power wash the bottom, the paint that remains will still be effective when the boat goes back into the water. You don't need to sand the bottom (a hateful job requiring gloves, a respirator, coveralls and a grant from the EPA). One needs only to slap on paint on those places where it has worn away completely and those other places where it is obviously getting thin. Of course, power washing the boat 's hull twice in two months, putting it aground twice in two months, and have hull work done twice in two months goes a long way rendering most of that plan moot.
I am plugging away at the mystery know as electricity. So far, it has only been academic inquiry, no hands on yet. Being dyslexic(SPELL CHECK was crated for me), it is hard for me to follow a lot of the material from the printed page and there is a surprising dearth of videos on the Internet. But I keep plugging away and hopefully when I get to the hands on part, I won't be the cause of another "Great New England Blackout!"
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
105 days to go! It would move a lot faster if I were down at the boat working on stuff and I would be if she were in a shed or undercover, but as she is right now, work is close to impossible. we are half way through January, so time is passing rather quickly, or so it seems, and the weather will so moderate so I can get started. It is waiting until then that is the drag. And I do me DRAG
I have yet to hear from the crew down at the Boat Shop at Captain's Cove Seaport which is both good and bad. Good in the sense I still have time to come up with the deductible (3.2 MUs) and bad in the sense that it means they haven't begun to make a start at doing the work. Intrusion of snow/sleet/rain/runoff into the damage areas of the keel, along with the freezing temps will probably mean that the job will become just a tad bigger. There really is nothing that I can do about it and as you know(if you have been following this blog) from the experience of last Fall, boat yard crews move at their own pace and it is a mystery how and why and when they tackle particular tasks. I just trust that it will get do and done right and done by May 1, 2009.
I also have not heard from the Insurance company since the follow-up contact. They paid off Tow Boat/US and I presume that they have, are, will do the same with Captain's Cove Seaport Boat Yard. Also there has been no word on whether they will institute a premium rate increase or drop me altogether. Again, a good new/potentially bad news situation.
I have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 (20 MUs) of various items for the Spring outfitting. Spent it in my mine not in reality. In reality, I haven't got that much, not unless I win Powerball or something. However, expenses should run somewhere around 2 MUs. The bottom paint alone in $109 a gallon and I need two gallons to do the hull. putting the boat aground twice didn't jive well with my plan to just paint the parts that needed painting which you can do with an ablative paint. An Ablative paint dries soft and wears away as you sail. When you have the boat and power wash the bottom, the paint that remains will still be effective when the boat goes back into the water. You don't need to sand the bottom (a hateful job requiring gloves, a respirator, coveralls and a grant from the EPA). One needs only to slap on paint on those places where it has worn away completely and those other places where it is obviously getting thin. Of course, power washing the boat 's hull twice in two months, putting it aground twice in two months, and have hull work done twice in two months goes a long way rendering most of that plan moot.
I am plugging away at the mystery know as electricity. So far, it has only been academic inquiry, no hands on yet. Being dyslexic(SPELL CHECK was crated for me), it is hard for me to follow a lot of the material from the printed page and there is a surprising dearth of videos on the Internet. But I keep plugging away and hopefully when I get to the hands on part, I won't be the cause of another "Great New England Blackout!"
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
105 days to go! It would move a lot faster if I were down at the boat working on stuff and I would be if she were in a shed or undercover, but as she is right now, work is close to impossible. we are half way through January, so time is passing rather quickly, or so it seems, and the weather will so moderate so I can get started. It is waiting until then that is the drag. And I do me DRAG
Saturday, January 10, 2009
ZZZZZZZZ - Hibernating - ZZZZZZZZZZ
SHIP'S LOG:
Unless one builds a shed over one's boat or one enjoys chilblains and frostbite, there is not a great deal that one can do so long as the temperature stays below say 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Most sealants and chemicals won't set or react the way that they should. Metals lose their flexibility and plastics their pliability. Most of the interior gets coated with moisture condensing from your breath as well as from the seaside atmosphere and seemingly the only things that you can really work on have been winterized, at considerable expense, effort and man-hours, and really can't be touched until spring gets here permanently less the damage you sought too prevent takes place during a sudden "Hey!-It-wasn't- suppose-to-freeze-anymore" surprise last shot of winter. Add to this you have two choices of dress: 1.) like Nanook of the North - bundled up enough to stay warm but so much so that you don't have enough flexibility to actually work on anything; and 2.) wearing so few items that you can move and get into places you need to at the risk of contracting pneumonia when you stop working and your sweat freezes. No, winter is still for boating but virtual boating.
I have already put together a list of this year's Spring Projects - the Necessary, the Nice to have, and the No Way I can afford it. I spend some time on the Net looking at boating sites and looking at pictures of boat similar to ABISHAG. I was able to actually find pictures of other Camper Nicholson 39 Ketches though there are only 4 out there for sale at the present time. I examine the pictures to see how various owners have dealt with issues such as I have on ABISHAG. In some cases, I have found some rather interesting approaches that just may be worth trying this Spring. And examining the other ketches of a similar size, other approaches, from the very simple and inexpensive to the insanely complex and expensive present themselves. I take my time to sort through these projects and incorporate those that seem feasible and worthwhile.
The only downside of this type of web surfing is that so many of the boat you see look " so much better" than what you have at the present time. Actually, in most cases, they are not, for every boat is a compromise and every boat comes with its own unique set of problems, ghosts and gremlins. And if it is a used "lightly pre-owned" boat, odds are that the previous owner(s) have installed(usually poorly) equipment that no longer works or have performed repairs that are ham-handed and badly done. It is why there are SURVEYORS but you can't really survey solely by photographs on a website. Actually this type of boating fantasy usually happens in the winter and continues to the Spring when it becomes the inspiration and driving force behind your own poor installations an badly done repairs.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I hate winter, this one especially, since I didn't plan to be here where there comes snow and ice. It is only 110 days until I "have to be," by contractual obligation, in the water and hopefully will be before that date, but 110 is good enough for counting down.
No indication that any repair work has yet been done . . .and that's a good thing because once it is done, the insurance company will seen a check for the amount - less the $1,600 deductible - to the Yard Repair Shop and they will want that $1,600 ASAP. Right now, I don't have the $1,600 and it will take some time to raise it. So it is that the longer they delay the work, the better I'll be - in a financial sense.
And speaking of sense, making none is electricity. I am going to have to sit down with an electrician and see if he might be able to impart the wisdom of his craft. It is important for marine electrical/electronic items seam to be hyper-sensitive and one small poke or prod in the wrong spot at the right time can induce an expensive catastrophe - read lots of Marine Units wasted.
Unless one builds a shed over one's boat or one enjoys chilblains and frostbite, there is not a great deal that one can do so long as the temperature stays below say 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Most sealants and chemicals won't set or react the way that they should. Metals lose their flexibility and plastics their pliability. Most of the interior gets coated with moisture condensing from your breath as well as from the seaside atmosphere and seemingly the only things that you can really work on have been winterized, at considerable expense, effort and man-hours, and really can't be touched until spring gets here permanently less the damage you sought too prevent takes place during a sudden "Hey!-It-wasn't- suppose-to-freeze-anymore" surprise last shot of winter. Add to this you have two choices of dress: 1.) like Nanook of the North - bundled up enough to stay warm but so much so that you don't have enough flexibility to actually work on anything; and 2.) wearing so few items that you can move and get into places you need to at the risk of contracting pneumonia when you stop working and your sweat freezes. No, winter is still for boating but virtual boating.
I have already put together a list of this year's Spring Projects - the Necessary, the Nice to have, and the No Way I can afford it. I spend some time on the Net looking at boating sites and looking at pictures of boat similar to ABISHAG. I was able to actually find pictures of other Camper Nicholson 39 Ketches though there are only 4 out there for sale at the present time. I examine the pictures to see how various owners have dealt with issues such as I have on ABISHAG. In some cases, I have found some rather interesting approaches that just may be worth trying this Spring. And examining the other ketches of a similar size, other approaches, from the very simple and inexpensive to the insanely complex and expensive present themselves. I take my time to sort through these projects and incorporate those that seem feasible and worthwhile.
The only downside of this type of web surfing is that so many of the boat you see look " so much better" than what you have at the present time. Actually, in most cases, they are not, for every boat is a compromise and every boat comes with its own unique set of problems, ghosts and gremlins. And if it is a used "lightly pre-owned" boat, odds are that the previous owner(s) have installed(usually poorly) equipment that no longer works or have performed repairs that are ham-handed and badly done. It is why there are SURVEYORS but you can't really survey solely by photographs on a website. Actually this type of boating fantasy usually happens in the winter and continues to the Spring when it becomes the inspiration and driving force behind your own poor installations an badly done repairs.
MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:
I hate winter, this one especially, since I didn't plan to be here where there comes snow and ice. It is only 110 days until I "have to be," by contractual obligation, in the water and hopefully will be before that date, but 110 is good enough for counting down.
No indication that any repair work has yet been done . . .and that's a good thing because once it is done, the insurance company will seen a check for the amount - less the $1,600 deductible - to the Yard Repair Shop and they will want that $1,600 ASAP. Right now, I don't have the $1,600 and it will take some time to raise it. So it is that the longer they delay the work, the better I'll be - in a financial sense.
And speaking of sense, making none is electricity. I am going to have to sit down with an electrician and see if he might be able to impart the wisdom of his craft. It is important for marine electrical/electronic items seam to be hyper-sensitive and one small poke or prod in the wrong spot at the right time can induce an expensive catastrophe - read lots of Marine Units wasted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
