SHIP'S LOG:
Yes, it has but what the heck, summer is for relaxin' and enjoyin' the beautiful weather and the heck with everything else.
Over the course of time since last I filled this spot, I have done some sailing . . . at least when the weather permitted such. Sunshine doesn't always bring with it good winds and favorable tides. There were several days when the air just hung heavy and in place. No movement at lass, not a breathe. Even people with out and out racing boats found themselves without enough wind to buck the tide. When Bobby Cullen can't make a boat go where he wants it to go, you just know that it ain't a good day for sailin'!
Then of course there is the opposite of such weather, too much wind and no rain, but a hell-of-a lot of rain!Last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday qualified as days of real "street cleaning" storms. Dinghies on the dinghy dock filled with water. It was a good thing that all of them had positive floatation as it was certainly true that all would have gone deep by Wednesday. AND THAT IS A LOT OF RAIN!
And then the fever struck TYC. And unfortunately, I succumbed. well, not me actually, ABISHAG. Firts it struck Ron Reinhart;'s boat, then it struck Rich Webber's boat, and then it struck ABISHAG! The dreaded "ALTERNATOR CONTAGION!" For whatever reason, in the course of a couple of days, the alternators on all of our boat packed it up and went south. I even heard mine go! I was charging the batteries Thursday night. The engine was idling happily when the pitch changed. I took notice of it right away but couldn't figure out exactly what it was until I noticed that the little meter which recorded the charging efficiency of the engine, while indicating a charge, didn't indicate much of one. Usually, it will be in the high 13 volt range, even up and over 14 if the battery banks are low, but then it settles down in the low to mid 13's and tops off, regulated by the regulator( an appropriate name don't you think?) But after the pitch change, the charging was only 12.4 volts and that's really not enough of a charge to actually charge the battery. I knew that something was wrong but not what. I hoped for a loose belt but feared more.
Late Friday afternoon brought Fred, Fred of puke-in-the bucket-off-New-Jersey Fame, who is a wiz at all things mechanical and electrical, well at least he knows more than me. It took us(read him) only a few minutes to discover that the alternator was putting out only 12.4 - .3 - .2 volts at its terminals which indicated that further investigation was rather unwarranted. If there was such low voltage being generated at the source, anything else along the line was sort of meaningless, until we corrected that problem.
Fred directed me on how to remove the alternator from the engine mount as he consumed a large run- & -tonic, and then he proceeded to dismantle it, expecting quite naturally, to find the "brushes worn" or some other common malady. Once disassembled, we(he) discovered that the brushes appeared fine, though there was a slight wobble in the shaft bearing.( Remember the raw water pump and its demise) and it became clear that repair was beyond his and/or my capabilities, at least with what we had at hand, which wasn't much, if anything at all.
We(he) decide that the best bet was Auto Zone for a new (rebuilt) alternator though he speculated that since it was an "AMPTECH" a name he had never heard of, there was a possibility that I (I) might have a small problem getting a replacement. When the Launch driver, Tom #2 pulled up along side, to take us back to the beach and pizza, I asked if he knew a place where my alternator problem could be dealt with. Without hesitation he said, "Captain Harley's!" Captain Harley's, supposedly, was a small shop in the basement of a house where in magic could be worked on all things electrical with a tie to the sea. No matter that it was cheek -by-jowl with a disreputable looking "garage", it was also next to the "Half Keg Bar," a saloon (calling that is an insult to saloons everywhere), which was created from one section of a Quonset Hut and has a "head" no one would set foot in unless they were looking for exotic microbes for an experiment of some kind. But from all indications, "Captain Harley" is the man and so Rich Webber and I drove up there( Ron Rienhart had a back up alternator. I had one too, but Ray sold it at a good price and for what he had done for me, who could fault him!). Unfortunately for us, but probably for the good mental health of him, Captain Harley is closed until Monday. Well, that's life in the big city. Thank Goodness, ABISHAG is "A SAILBOAT!"
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
How's Your Bottom?
SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday was a marvelous day for sailing. There was a nice breeze out of the west, the sun was warm and it was not humid, and the water was warm. But I didn't got sailing as there was a maintenance task that needed to be performed. It was once again time to clean the bottom.
Cleaning the bottom is often vest done on real hot and humid and windless days as you get to stay nice and cool and the boat doesn't move all that much. So Wednesday was a good day to do it, even the good breeze out of the west kept the boat in place.
The bottom paint on ABISHAG, what remains of it that is, was put on back in April of 2010. It is an "ablative paint" which means that to do its job, it wears off a little at a time. I prefer this as it eliminates one of the real pains-in-the-butt of the Spring Commissioning, sanding the bottom paint to remove the old pain and make the surface smooth to receive the new paint. This means you have to sand and paint every year to make sure that you have paint that "works." with ablative paint, if there is paint on the hull, it is working. And the protection doesn't degrade if the boat is out of the water. Come the spring, or even the fall if you wish, you first touch up those places where the paint has worn away and then put on two coats over the entire bottom. The boat moving through the water slowly wears away the paint, keeping the surface clean, working and smooth. Going aground in the ICW does the same though wear-away factor is considerably greater. In fact, at the bottom of the keel, there is no paint left at all to discourage the nasty nautical creatures from attaching themselves to the bottom and making it home.
There were a couple of places near the bow where the paint was worn away because of regular contact with the mooring ball. There were some places along the side where the dinghy rested that also caused the paint to go away. In these spots, whole colonies of barnacles had affixed themselves and didn't want to leave. They had to be physically removed with a paint scraper. Where the paint was still present on the hull, "slime" a moldy underwater scum had coated the surface. To the "slime" barnacles also attached themselves but a simple brushing with a stiff brush removed the slime and the barnacles with it. The front edge of the keel and the bottom and up the sides of the keel from the bottom for a couple of inches, where all the paint had been worn away and the barrier coat exposed by my "discoveries of new land" along the ICW were seriously coated with barnacles and sea plant growth. It took a lot of diving and some hard work to get all that stuff off the boat, but it got done.
Some of the little nasties didn't take too kindly to their eviction, the brine shrimp especially. If you were ever a kid and wondered what those "Sea Monkeys" were that you would find advertised in the back of comic books, well they are brine shrimp. When you disturb them from their "homes" the immediate seek new accommodations and grab hold of anything solid near by. Now there must have been some sort of "regional convention" because they sure were lots of them and the solid object near by that many of them grasped onto was me. They latch on pretty securely and do so everywhere. After cleaning the bottom and getting back on the boat, I had to "de-shrimp" myself. The biggest of the shrimps might be an inch long and thin as thread, but they hang on tenaciously. Then again, they are see creatures and leaving the water deprives them of their ability to breathe. I went ashore and took a long, hot shower and all the little Sea Monkeys" went to Sea Monkey heaven. Of course, there are billions and billions to replace them, and along with the billions and billions of other sea creatures that love to attach to the bottoms of boat, without a doubt ABISHAG's bottom will need another scrapping and cleaning before the end of the month. O, Joy!
Yesterday was a marvelous day for sailing. There was a nice breeze out of the west, the sun was warm and it was not humid, and the water was warm. But I didn't got sailing as there was a maintenance task that needed to be performed. It was once again time to clean the bottom.
Cleaning the bottom is often vest done on real hot and humid and windless days as you get to stay nice and cool and the boat doesn't move all that much. So Wednesday was a good day to do it, even the good breeze out of the west kept the boat in place.
The bottom paint on ABISHAG, what remains of it that is, was put on back in April of 2010. It is an "ablative paint" which means that to do its job, it wears off a little at a time. I prefer this as it eliminates one of the real pains-in-the-butt of the Spring Commissioning, sanding the bottom paint to remove the old pain and make the surface smooth to receive the new paint. This means you have to sand and paint every year to make sure that you have paint that "works." with ablative paint, if there is paint on the hull, it is working. And the protection doesn't degrade if the boat is out of the water. Come the spring, or even the fall if you wish, you first touch up those places where the paint has worn away and then put on two coats over the entire bottom. The boat moving through the water slowly wears away the paint, keeping the surface clean, working and smooth. Going aground in the ICW does the same though wear-away factor is considerably greater. In fact, at the bottom of the keel, there is no paint left at all to discourage the nasty nautical creatures from attaching themselves to the bottom and making it home.
There were a couple of places near the bow where the paint was worn away because of regular contact with the mooring ball. There were some places along the side where the dinghy rested that also caused the paint to go away. In these spots, whole colonies of barnacles had affixed themselves and didn't want to leave. They had to be physically removed with a paint scraper. Where the paint was still present on the hull, "slime" a moldy underwater scum had coated the surface. To the "slime" barnacles also attached themselves but a simple brushing with a stiff brush removed the slime and the barnacles with it. The front edge of the keel and the bottom and up the sides of the keel from the bottom for a couple of inches, where all the paint had been worn away and the barrier coat exposed by my "discoveries of new land" along the ICW were seriously coated with barnacles and sea plant growth. It took a lot of diving and some hard work to get all that stuff off the boat, but it got done.
Some of the little nasties didn't take too kindly to their eviction, the brine shrimp especially. If you were ever a kid and wondered what those "Sea Monkeys" were that you would find advertised in the back of comic books, well they are brine shrimp. When you disturb them from their "homes" the immediate seek new accommodations and grab hold of anything solid near by. Now there must have been some sort of "regional convention" because they sure were lots of them and the solid object near by that many of them grasped onto was me. They latch on pretty securely and do so everywhere. After cleaning the bottom and getting back on the boat, I had to "de-shrimp" myself. The biggest of the shrimps might be an inch long and thin as thread, but they hang on tenaciously. Then again, they are see creatures and leaving the water deprives them of their ability to breathe. I went ashore and took a long, hot shower and all the little Sea Monkeys" went to Sea Monkey heaven. Of course, there are billions and billions to replace them, and along with the billions and billions of other sea creatures that love to attach to the bottoms of boat, without a doubt ABISHAG's bottom will need another scrapping and cleaning before the end of the month. O, Joy!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Summer In New England
SHIP'S LOG:
Monday was interrupted by another one of those doctor's appointments that have been too long put off. The fact that it took place at noon kind of made a mess of the day, sailing-wise. Then again, there wasn't much in the way of wind anyhow. Aside form a few very shot rain showers that pass through very quickly, the day disintegrated into a typical hot, humid, semi-sunny August day. Russ and I and a couple of friends went and took in a Connecticut Tigers Game. It featured Al Kaline throwing out the first pitch to his grandson and a win by the hometown Tigers. The game ran longer than I thought and I ended up sleeping upstairs in the Clubhouse.
Tuesday started off as a pretty decent day for sailing. Russ and Tim Duffy came down and we went out for a sail for a couple of hours. we had decent wind, partly sunny skies and it wasn't to, too humid. But there was just something about the weather that didn't bode well. After we got back, I went out for a late lunch/early dinner. By the time I got back to TYC it was just beginning to sprinkle. By the time I got out to ABISHAG, it was a steady rain. An hour later, it was a steady downpour with 20-25 mph winds. The forecast that NOAA gave early during the day(when am I ever going to learn?) indicated the "slight" possibility of scattered showers and possibly thunderstorms. By 6pm, the weather radar had a nasty band scudding down from the NW which beat us on the head, passed through and then the winds turned SE and beat us on the head again. All this time it rained and rained and rained and rained. I hope that everyone who said we need the rain is satisfied!
I really felt for all those who we participating in the Cruising Club of New England's Cruise this week. The left Saturday, got creamed on Sunday. Had a decent day Monday and were now getting creamed again Tuesday night. I called Gunny, who was on the cruise, and he said they had dragged in New Bedford Harbor on Sunday night. Great! I had actually been thinking about joining the cruise but I still have yet to get back "my travelin' jones!" Good call not to go!
Monday was interrupted by another one of those doctor's appointments that have been too long put off. The fact that it took place at noon kind of made a mess of the day, sailing-wise. Then again, there wasn't much in the way of wind anyhow. Aside form a few very shot rain showers that pass through very quickly, the day disintegrated into a typical hot, humid, semi-sunny August day. Russ and I and a couple of friends went and took in a Connecticut Tigers Game. It featured Al Kaline throwing out the first pitch to his grandson and a win by the hometown Tigers. The game ran longer than I thought and I ended up sleeping upstairs in the Clubhouse.
Tuesday started off as a pretty decent day for sailing. Russ and Tim Duffy came down and we went out for a sail for a couple of hours. we had decent wind, partly sunny skies and it wasn't to, too humid. But there was just something about the weather that didn't bode well. After we got back, I went out for a late lunch/early dinner. By the time I got back to TYC it was just beginning to sprinkle. By the time I got out to ABISHAG, it was a steady rain. An hour later, it was a steady downpour with 20-25 mph winds. The forecast that NOAA gave early during the day(when am I ever going to learn?) indicated the "slight" possibility of scattered showers and possibly thunderstorms. By 6pm, the weather radar had a nasty band scudding down from the NW which beat us on the head, passed through and then the winds turned SE and beat us on the head again. All this time it rained and rained and rained and rained. I hope that everyone who said we need the rain is satisfied!
I really felt for all those who we participating in the Cruising Club of New England's Cruise this week. The left Saturday, got creamed on Sunday. Had a decent day Monday and were now getting creamed again Tuesday night. I called Gunny, who was on the cruise, and he said they had dragged in New Bedford Harbor on Sunday night. Great! I had actually been thinking about joining the cruise but I still have yet to get back "my travelin' jones!" Good call not to go!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The Curse of Somebody Or Other
SHIP'S LOG:
There are all sorts of stories about haunted ships and cursed ships in nautical folklore. I am beginning to think that the TYC launch is one of them, at least the "cursed" kind. Already this year, she has had the transmission go, making her inoperable for almost two weeks at the start of her summer operating schedule. It wasn't anything supernatural but simply a worn out part that finally "gave up the ghost" as it were. Of course, it is also true that the reason for the two week delay is that nobody could find a replacement part for the tranny. Every vendor claimed to have one but when they looked, they could not be found. Eventually it was found and installed and the launch was again operable.
Then there is the vibration. Any boat vibrates when the engine is running, especially at idle, and diesel powered boat more than most. The launch does to but get the engine up over a certain rpm and it literally hums! The shaft is straight, the alignment correct but still it vibrates. After several weeks of head scratching and wonderment, it was discovered that the prop was slightly out of skew. Evidently, somewhere at some time, it had made sufficient contact with something hard enough to warp the edge of one of the blades. " Re-true-ing" the prop will take awhile and so we have to live with it.
And then there was the steering cable that let loose a week or so ago. Again it took several days to find the "right cable" and even then it wasn't installed right the first time, nor the second, not even the third. But finally it was and the launch would actually go where it was pointed.
The "latest" installment of "the curse" was the transmission cable. Chuck-the-launch-driver had just dropped off some passengers and was proceeding to the floating dock where the launch is kept. The throttle and the transmission on the launch are both controlled by the same lever but are two different cables. As he approached the dock, Chuck put the transmission into neutral to take way off the launch and then put it into reverse to stop it. The throttle cable engaged the throttle supplying power to the transmission but for some reason, rather than shifting the transmission into reverse for the braking maneuver, it went into FORWARD and snapped. The launch jumped forward, rode up on the catwalk of the pier holding the floating dock and took a three foot long bite out of 4x12 bracing board. It hung up on the remains by its towing shackle and it took several members and their combined efforts to get it released and tied to its floating dock.
The launch actually suffered no real damage, except for the parted transmission cable, which is a little weird considering the damage it did to the wooden pier! OK, OK perhaps it ain't the Twilight Zone, but it does make a lot of the members who think about it now go "Hmmmmm!" whenever they step aboard "The TYC Launch!"
There are all sorts of stories about haunted ships and cursed ships in nautical folklore. I am beginning to think that the TYC launch is one of them, at least the "cursed" kind. Already this year, she has had the transmission go, making her inoperable for almost two weeks at the start of her summer operating schedule. It wasn't anything supernatural but simply a worn out part that finally "gave up the ghost" as it were. Of course, it is also true that the reason for the two week delay is that nobody could find a replacement part for the tranny. Every vendor claimed to have one but when they looked, they could not be found. Eventually it was found and installed and the launch was again operable.
Then there is the vibration. Any boat vibrates when the engine is running, especially at idle, and diesel powered boat more than most. The launch does to but get the engine up over a certain rpm and it literally hums! The shaft is straight, the alignment correct but still it vibrates. After several weeks of head scratching and wonderment, it was discovered that the prop was slightly out of skew. Evidently, somewhere at some time, it had made sufficient contact with something hard enough to warp the edge of one of the blades. " Re-true-ing" the prop will take awhile and so we have to live with it.
And then there was the steering cable that let loose a week or so ago. Again it took several days to find the "right cable" and even then it wasn't installed right the first time, nor the second, not even the third. But finally it was and the launch would actually go where it was pointed.
The "latest" installment of "the curse" was the transmission cable. Chuck-the-launch-driver had just dropped off some passengers and was proceeding to the floating dock where the launch is kept. The throttle and the transmission on the launch are both controlled by the same lever but are two different cables. As he approached the dock, Chuck put the transmission into neutral to take way off the launch and then put it into reverse to stop it. The throttle cable engaged the throttle supplying power to the transmission but for some reason, rather than shifting the transmission into reverse for the braking maneuver, it went into FORWARD and snapped. The launch jumped forward, rode up on the catwalk of the pier holding the floating dock and took a three foot long bite out of 4x12 bracing board. It hung up on the remains by its towing shackle and it took several members and their combined efforts to get it released and tied to its floating dock.
The launch actually suffered no real damage, except for the parted transmission cable, which is a little weird considering the damage it did to the wooden pier! OK, OK perhaps it ain't the Twilight Zone, but it does make a lot of the members who think about it now go "Hmmmmm!" whenever they step aboard "The TYC Launch!"
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Almost Like A Day In Hell . . At The DMV!
SHIP'S LOG:
When I got back from my journey South & back, I had about 8 months worth of mail awaiting me. Lots was garbage, some was bills that needed paying and there was all four letters from the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), actually renewal notices for the registration of 1.) Abishag; 2.) The Dinghy; 3.) My P.O.S. Car; and 4.) My Driver's License. Well, I knew that since the renewal dates had passed ( all were twigged to one's birth month which meant May for me), it also meant a trip to the nearest office of the DMV. I had a choice, Norwich or Old Saybrook, and since I have been through both and Old Saybrook was definitely the less busy of the two, I went to Old Saybrook.
Now it is not to say that the Old Saybrook DMV was not busy, but rather less busy. So I brought along with me, not just the letters of renewal and my checkbook, but water, lunch and a Stephen King novel(How appropriate). When I arrived, the parking lot was almost full. I got a spot and a went in doors, air conditioned thank goodness, and got in line.There were two lines, one for licenses and one for everything else. In times past, the "everything else line" was patrolled by a little old man who, if you had business other than simply getting information and the proper forms, give you a numbered ticket. The clerks worked through the numbers like the attendants at a deli counter and when your number was called you went up and helped make the state safe and richer. Evidently, the economic turmoil in which the state finds itself has led to economy cutting and it cost the little old guy his job. SO I got in "the everything else line" and wended my way along. I is truly amazing just how slow the line moved, about as fast as a line that wasn't moving at all.
I got through at least 6 chapters of Stephen King when my turn came to face a clerk. She was not a happy person and my attempts to engage her in "happy banter" was a total failure. After six chapters of Stephen King, and a couple of hours of real time, this "sour apple looking" clerk heard my tale and simply hand me a sheet of paper and said, "We don't renew registrations in the office any more. You have to do it by mail. NEXT!"
Well, the first step of the process was done, or would be once I mailed in the registration and the check, so it was on to the license renewal. This would require the taking of my picture. Now it is possible that you can renew your driver's license by mail, they simply stick your old photo on the new license. (You can do this once.) You can also renew your license at AAA, but not if you are over the expiration date. Thus it was that i had to come to the DMV.
I put Stephen King aside and had lunch in line ( A grilled chicken sandwich and a Coke). While "the everything else line" was basically quiet and inactive, the license line was a flurry of activity. Bunches of teenagers were in it, all there for their driver's license test ( written and driving). They were studying their texts, they were querying their parents(mostly mothers), they were talking inanely with those they knew in line. It didn't seem possible but this line moved even more slowly than "the everything else line." I got through lunch and 10! chapters of Stephen King( OK, he doesn't have particular large chapters) when one of the clerks came around the counter and said, "Anyone here just looking to renew their driver's license?" We were taken off to another window where one by one, we turned in our old license, signed the new one, paid for it and then went to sit and wait to be called for our pictures. That took another hour or so and then another wait as the license was processed( or whatever it is they do with it) before it was handed over. I can say without fear of contradiction that my license has the absolutely worst photo I have ever seen of anyone not just me. It is truly awful and, of course, it can not be redone.
I got back to TYC about 4:30pm after a truly full day, topped off by the Red Sox losing to the Yankees. It seemed an appropriate ending to the day, some horrible fantasy that only Stephen King would concoct!
When I got back from my journey South & back, I had about 8 months worth of mail awaiting me. Lots was garbage, some was bills that needed paying and there was all four letters from the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), actually renewal notices for the registration of 1.) Abishag; 2.) The Dinghy; 3.) My P.O.S. Car; and 4.) My Driver's License. Well, I knew that since the renewal dates had passed ( all were twigged to one's birth month which meant May for me), it also meant a trip to the nearest office of the DMV. I had a choice, Norwich or Old Saybrook, and since I have been through both and Old Saybrook was definitely the less busy of the two, I went to Old Saybrook.
Now it is not to say that the Old Saybrook DMV was not busy, but rather less busy. So I brought along with me, not just the letters of renewal and my checkbook, but water, lunch and a Stephen King novel(How appropriate). When I arrived, the parking lot was almost full. I got a spot and a went in doors, air conditioned thank goodness, and got in line.There were two lines, one for licenses and one for everything else. In times past, the "everything else line" was patrolled by a little old man who, if you had business other than simply getting information and the proper forms, give you a numbered ticket. The clerks worked through the numbers like the attendants at a deli counter and when your number was called you went up and helped make the state safe and richer. Evidently, the economic turmoil in which the state finds itself has led to economy cutting and it cost the little old guy his job. SO I got in "the everything else line" and wended my way along. I is truly amazing just how slow the line moved, about as fast as a line that wasn't moving at all.
I got through at least 6 chapters of Stephen King when my turn came to face a clerk. She was not a happy person and my attempts to engage her in "happy banter" was a total failure. After six chapters of Stephen King, and a couple of hours of real time, this "sour apple looking" clerk heard my tale and simply hand me a sheet of paper and said, "We don't renew registrations in the office any more. You have to do it by mail. NEXT!"
Well, the first step of the process was done, or would be once I mailed in the registration and the check, so it was on to the license renewal. This would require the taking of my picture. Now it is possible that you can renew your driver's license by mail, they simply stick your old photo on the new license. (You can do this once.) You can also renew your license at AAA, but not if you are over the expiration date. Thus it was that i had to come to the DMV.
I put Stephen King aside and had lunch in line ( A grilled chicken sandwich and a Coke). While "the everything else line" was basically quiet and inactive, the license line was a flurry of activity. Bunches of teenagers were in it, all there for their driver's license test ( written and driving). They were studying their texts, they were querying their parents(mostly mothers), they were talking inanely with those they knew in line. It didn't seem possible but this line moved even more slowly than "the everything else line." I got through lunch and 10! chapters of Stephen King( OK, he doesn't have particular large chapters) when one of the clerks came around the counter and said, "Anyone here just looking to renew their driver's license?" We were taken off to another window where one by one, we turned in our old license, signed the new one, paid for it and then went to sit and wait to be called for our pictures. That took another hour or so and then another wait as the license was processed( or whatever it is they do with it) before it was handed over. I can say without fear of contradiction that my license has the absolutely worst photo I have ever seen of anyone not just me. It is truly awful and, of course, it can not be redone.
I got back to TYC about 4:30pm after a truly full day, topped off by the Red Sox losing to the Yankees. It seemed an appropriate ending to the day, some horrible fantasy that only Stephen King would concoct!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
No Worries, Mate!
SHIP'S LOG:
No sailing yesterday. Actually I spent the day trying to get my financial house in order. It is not an easy thing to accomplish either. If you doubt it, try this mathematical equation: $1,100 of salary divided by $2,500 worth of bills is how much? I am not a wiz at math but even I know that the answer is NOT GOOD! However, God, through some friends, made everything alright, pretty much as He has been doing forever, but certainly in a rather spectacular way during my sojourn. It never seems to fail that when I have exhausted every conceivable means of righting my financial ship, and I am going down like the Titanic, God comes through, always. And simply out, it happened once again.
Aside from that wondrous and humbling experience, the day was spent hustling around to take care of a few other "slightly pressing matters."Few things can be worse than waking up in the morning, staggering to the kitchen(galley) and finding you have neither coffee nor cream for the coffee aboard. An early morning row solved the immediate problem and the longer term solution lay in a trip to the market. I have to admit that I have gotten lax in the securing of and the maintaining of provender aboard ship. Heck, even the "iron rations" ( the last supplies you use) of peanut butter, Spam and Dinty Moore Beef Stew have long since disappeared. Trust me, you have to be both lazy and desperate to make a meal or just peanut butter(no bread) or Spam (with or without bread or crackers) or Dinty Moore Beef Stew( there are not enough spices and/or condiments in the world to make it palatable)! I guess that the fact that I can be "launched" ashore or row myself and so have access to markets and restaurants, even Fred's Shanty (which is right up there with Dinty Moore Beef Stew when they are having a particularly good day) has just led to a laxness which has led in turn to a nothing in the way of provisions. My lockers are as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's Cupboard! And there is no worse shopper than me. For me a well balance shopping list would include a bag of Granny Smith's, two packages of Chips Ahoy Cookies, a jar of Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, some beef-stick summer sausage, Mission wraps, humus, a pound of roast beef, a pound of honey cure ham, a pound of Swiss cheese, to gallons of cranberry juice, to cases of water in bottles, Coffee Mate, Instant coffee, a package of Splenda, a bottle of rum, Romain Noodles, several cans of Progresso Soups,and the odd condiment like horseradish sauce! You can easily see what a well balanced meal can be developed from all that.
I am too much an impulse buyer which is why I avoid West Marine like the pox. If I have to buy something there, I call ahead of time and they get it and I pick it up and pay for it at the counter and leave. It is the only way I can be safe. It explains how I got in debt up to my chin restoring ABISHAG after I bought her. West Marine, Harbor Freight, Home depot, Sears . . . . they are all places I NEED to stay away from.They are financially dangerous!
I must have really been tired last night. I went to bed before 9pm and slept through a rain storm, which is a pretty good trick especially when you are sleeping under an OPEN HATCH!!!! didn't even realize that it had rain until I sat in a puddle on a cockpit cushion as I was having my coffee this morning. It woke me up better than the coffee! Today , NOAA is not calling for rain, so I will batten the hatches and expect the worse. Of course, they will probably fake me out and we will have a nice day though right now it doesn't look so hot. In any even, I have to pay bills online and get everything squared away. . . . financially. I may even be able to register my boat, my dinghy, my motorcycle and get my license renewed . . .if there are the funds available after the bills are paid. So much for all of you who continue to think that living on a boat is one big vacation!
No sailing yesterday. Actually I spent the day trying to get my financial house in order. It is not an easy thing to accomplish either. If you doubt it, try this mathematical equation: $1,100 of salary divided by $2,500 worth of bills is how much? I am not a wiz at math but even I know that the answer is NOT GOOD! However, God, through some friends, made everything alright, pretty much as He has been doing forever, but certainly in a rather spectacular way during my sojourn. It never seems to fail that when I have exhausted every conceivable means of righting my financial ship, and I am going down like the Titanic, God comes through, always. And simply out, it happened once again.
Aside from that wondrous and humbling experience, the day was spent hustling around to take care of a few other "slightly pressing matters."Few things can be worse than waking up in the morning, staggering to the kitchen(galley) and finding you have neither coffee nor cream for the coffee aboard. An early morning row solved the immediate problem and the longer term solution lay in a trip to the market. I have to admit that I have gotten lax in the securing of and the maintaining of provender aboard ship. Heck, even the "iron rations" ( the last supplies you use) of peanut butter, Spam and Dinty Moore Beef Stew have long since disappeared. Trust me, you have to be both lazy and desperate to make a meal or just peanut butter(no bread) or Spam (with or without bread or crackers) or Dinty Moore Beef Stew( there are not enough spices and/or condiments in the world to make it palatable)! I guess that the fact that I can be "launched" ashore or row myself and so have access to markets and restaurants, even Fred's Shanty (which is right up there with Dinty Moore Beef Stew when they are having a particularly good day) has just led to a laxness which has led in turn to a nothing in the way of provisions. My lockers are as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's Cupboard! And there is no worse shopper than me. For me a well balance shopping list would include a bag of Granny Smith's, two packages of Chips Ahoy Cookies, a jar of Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, some beef-stick summer sausage, Mission wraps, humus, a pound of roast beef, a pound of honey cure ham, a pound of Swiss cheese, to gallons of cranberry juice, to cases of water in bottles, Coffee Mate, Instant coffee, a package of Splenda, a bottle of rum, Romain Noodles, several cans of Progresso Soups,and the odd condiment like horseradish sauce! You can easily see what a well balanced meal can be developed from all that.
I am too much an impulse buyer which is why I avoid West Marine like the pox. If I have to buy something there, I call ahead of time and they get it and I pick it up and pay for it at the counter and leave. It is the only way I can be safe. It explains how I got in debt up to my chin restoring ABISHAG after I bought her. West Marine, Harbor Freight, Home depot, Sears . . . . they are all places I NEED to stay away from.They are financially dangerous!
I must have really been tired last night. I went to bed before 9pm and slept through a rain storm, which is a pretty good trick especially when you are sleeping under an OPEN HATCH!!!! didn't even realize that it had rain until I sat in a puddle on a cockpit cushion as I was having my coffee this morning. It woke me up better than the coffee! Today , NOAA is not calling for rain, so I will batten the hatches and expect the worse. Of course, they will probably fake me out and we will have a nice day though right now it doesn't look so hot. In any even, I have to pay bills online and get everything squared away. . . . financially. I may even be able to register my boat, my dinghy, my motorcycle and get my license renewed . . .if there are the funds available after the bills are paid. So much for all of you who continue to think that living on a boat is one big vacation!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Just Another One of Those Summer Days!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, what can I say? There weather has been marvelous and the sailing has been great and so who has the time to spend in front of a computer and blog? A dear friend named Jim, who works harder than any 10 people I know, came down Tuesday and I took him out for his first sail. He had been on some of "those other boats" before but had never been out sailing. He took to it as naturally as can be and I had to wrest control of the wheel finally as we got ready to moor at the end of the day. The way the mooring was sitting in the wind and the way the boats around it were swinging, even I wouldn't have been all that comfortable coming in under sail. It was a great day sail and I think that he will come again soon with some of his kiddos in tow.
Even though we have begun the month of August, the summer seems to be stretching on nicely and at a slow measured pace. After two months of being in "home waters," I still have no real interest in repeating last fall's trek south, well at least not in my own boat. ABISHAG got more beat up than I first suspected and lots of little things need fixing and replacing and I would probably not have the time, and surely don't have the coins, to do everything that really should be done to make such a trip again.While I had gotten her as ready as I thought she needed to be last yearas, the experience of making the trip down and back gave me a whole new appreciation of the wear and tear such a trip inflicts on a boat. I did deal with a few serious storms, but it was the daily grind that seemed to do the most damage, that and the stress and strain and salt water environment in which it took place. Yesterday I reached for a zippered shaving kit bag that contained all my "Bug-Begone" preparations and the zipper was corroded shut. It took a liberal application vinegar, Coke, Marvel Mystery Oil, PB Blaster and careful working with a pair of pliers to get it open. All metal corrodes, some just more slowly than others, and looking after it all, trying indeed to get ahead, is soooooo time consuming.
Most of the sheets on the boat should be replaced. I definitely need new docklines. The furling lines for the Genoa and the Main are looking iffy. The sails need to go to the sail loft for a check out and any needed repairs. I still haven't gotten all of the ports completely sealed. The refrigeration and water systems are still non-functioning. I've got to haul the boat, clean and repair and paint the bottom, replace the zincs. More than likely replace the engine hoses. Build a better strut for the raw water pump. Load up on spares and replacement parts . . . . and the list goes on and on. Lots of stuff got used up and worn out. Sometimes, I forget, as I supose that we all do, even when you are not using something it ages and is less than what it formally was. And even when we use stuff, we tend to forget that we are using it up, something like brakes on the car that get ignored until they start to squeal.
So it would seem, right now, that the idea going South down the ICW again is a non-started . . . . at least on ABISHAG. If I have the time, I would be willing to help someone else out, on their boat, make the trip South. Ill just have to wait and see how that all pans out. That is at least a month or more away and today is turning out really nice and I think it is time to go for a sail.
Well, what can I say? There weather has been marvelous and the sailing has been great and so who has the time to spend in front of a computer and blog? A dear friend named Jim, who works harder than any 10 people I know, came down Tuesday and I took him out for his first sail. He had been on some of "those other boats" before but had never been out sailing. He took to it as naturally as can be and I had to wrest control of the wheel finally as we got ready to moor at the end of the day. The way the mooring was sitting in the wind and the way the boats around it were swinging, even I wouldn't have been all that comfortable coming in under sail. It was a great day sail and I think that he will come again soon with some of his kiddos in tow.
Even though we have begun the month of August, the summer seems to be stretching on nicely and at a slow measured pace. After two months of being in "home waters," I still have no real interest in repeating last fall's trek south, well at least not in my own boat. ABISHAG got more beat up than I first suspected and lots of little things need fixing and replacing and I would probably not have the time, and surely don't have the coins, to do everything that really should be done to make such a trip again.While I had gotten her as ready as I thought she needed to be last yearas, the experience of making the trip down and back gave me a whole new appreciation of the wear and tear such a trip inflicts on a boat. I did deal with a few serious storms, but it was the daily grind that seemed to do the most damage, that and the stress and strain and salt water environment in which it took place. Yesterday I reached for a zippered shaving kit bag that contained all my "Bug-Begone" preparations and the zipper was corroded shut. It took a liberal application vinegar, Coke, Marvel Mystery Oil, PB Blaster and careful working with a pair of pliers to get it open. All metal corrodes, some just more slowly than others, and looking after it all, trying indeed to get ahead, is soooooo time consuming.
Most of the sheets on the boat should be replaced. I definitely need new docklines. The furling lines for the Genoa and the Main are looking iffy. The sails need to go to the sail loft for a check out and any needed repairs. I still haven't gotten all of the ports completely sealed. The refrigeration and water systems are still non-functioning. I've got to haul the boat, clean and repair and paint the bottom, replace the zincs. More than likely replace the engine hoses. Build a better strut for the raw water pump. Load up on spares and replacement parts . . . . and the list goes on and on. Lots of stuff got used up and worn out. Sometimes, I forget, as I supose that we all do, even when you are not using something it ages and is less than what it formally was. And even when we use stuff, we tend to forget that we are using it up, something like brakes on the car that get ignored until they start to squeal.
So it would seem, right now, that the idea going South down the ICW again is a non-started . . . . at least on ABISHAG. If I have the time, I would be willing to help someone else out, on their boat, make the trip South. Ill just have to wait and see how that all pans out. That is at least a month or more away and today is turning out really nice and I think it is time to go for a sail.
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