SHIP'S LOG:
Yesterday was cold, brutally so, and when the wind blew, it was even colder. That made it a perfect day to go window shopping indoors. But not just any store mind you, but rather a special store, "WEST MARINE." Yes, I stepped over the edge and drove to the nearest West Marine Store, but with the purest of intentions. I was going, I told myself, merely check out some necessary items that will absolutely be need in order to launch ABISHAG come MAY? There were bottom paint can labels to read to make sure that I got the proper ablative paint. There was packing flax to examine. The was cordage and line to price, along with a host of bolts, screws, washers, nuts, pins and clips to find.
Then there were fenders to examine, after all, who couldn't use more fenders? There were pre-spliced, double-braided , color-coded dock line to investigate as mine are beginning to show their age. There were brand new, self-contained, plug and play refrigerators that could easily replace the now departed refrigeration system of yore. And there were tools, or at least some that I don't have but "surely need" - a polishing/sander; wire -stripping & cutting ratcheting pliers; the list is endless. There were cleats for the fenders, steps for the cockpit, boarding ladders, cabinets and doors, solar vents and hatches, degreasers and engine paint, bilge cleaners and paint, faucets and pumps, electrical panels and LED lights, as well as a whole host thingamabobs that are just wonderful and need to be had. . . . . lust is a terrible thing.
Of course, the only thing that kept my from going impulse-buying crazy is the fact that I don't have any money, at least not any more than the cost of a new gallon of bottom paint($130 by the way) and I have a lot of the other stuff already. True, it is old and used, but for the most part, I have what I need. It is just a question of sorting it out and using it. Yes, there are items that I will have to buy, but not right now. The first thing is to do a survey of ABISHAG and make an honest assessment of what ABSOLUTELY AND POSITIVE NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE LAUNCHING and what would be nice but is really not necessary. There is a real difference between what make her look pretty and what makes her safe and sail-able. The survey will have to wait until at least next week as it is too bleeding cold to do it today or even this week. Till then, I will sit with the catalogs and dream and will religiously stay away from West Marine, Defenders and Harbor Freight!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Boat Ownership In Winter
SHIP'S LOG:
I should never go up to visit ABISHAG during the winter! First of all, Baby, it's cold inside! Surprisingly, though there is no insulation, it retains "cold" very well and even seems to generate its own. I went up with Russ to haul out the sails and it as significantly colder inside the boat than it was outside. and when I say "significantly" I ain't whistling "Dixie!"
Secondly, visiting the boat during the winter when it is NOT in a shed or under some type of covering is guaranteed to induce major frustration. Looking over ABISHAG a whole host of projects spring to mind - items that need fixing, correcting, updating as well as numerous ideas for projects that I had never thought of before. But sadly, and frustratingly, there is nothing that I can do about them now. Snow covers the deck and the inside of a freezer would seem warm in comparison to being inside ABISHAG. Paints won't adhere, glues and adhesives won't set, cleaners and degreasers don't! About the only thing you can do in such weather conditions in "destruction," that is taking things apart, dismantling those things that need to be removed or repaired. Yet, the cold will make you fingers non-functioning so in reality you can't really do that either hence the frustration.
Inspired I looked up all the photos of Camper Nicholson 39 Center-cockpit ketches I could find to see what they looked like and there were some wonderful examples of boats that had really been "tricked out." And I kept think, "I could do this" or "I could do that," but I am held back by one small criteria, the lack of funds. There will be some things that i can don at little or no cost, but they all require weather above 50F which means waiting until the temperatures get there and again that is frustrating. And sitting here with a "DEFENDER INDUSTRIES" catalog or one from "WEST MARINE" doesn't help as running out the prices gives me indigestion. I will have to wait until the last weekend of March when Defender runs its annual "Marine Madness Sale" to buy bottom paint which, even with the sale, will run about $150. The good point about that is that I use ablative paint, bottom paint that is "soft," that wears away over the season. Wherever the paint remains on the hull, the bottom protection is still going on. The paint coverage from last year is still on 80-90% of the hull so all it will require is touch up on the spots where it is completely worn away and then a single coat overall. With a "hard" bottom paint, one must sand and scrape and prep and paint every year. It is the most odious task of getting a boat ready if you go in that direction. And every few years, you have to remove all of the bottom paint as it builds up layer upon layer and, if you don't do it, it will fall of in chucks. Ah, part of the fun of boat ownership.
I have hauled out the "Projects List" and have begun adding to it, making additions to the items and projects that must be done before the boat goes into the water. The additions include items that 1.) have been put off but need to be done - a lot of this is electrical stuff such as a.) completely tracing all of the electrical wiring; b.) removing the wires that go nowhere or which are connected to nothing (that seems a never ending battle); b.) install new wire and new connections to those electronic and electrical devices which haven't failed but are "iffy"; c.) removing those devices that no longer work or which were removed last year and repairing their "footprints," those holes and frames and other things that marked their former prescience.
2.) Finally repositioning the watermaker and wiring it up. Removing the old auto-pilot left a perfect spot for it in a locker in the stern but it was something I never got around to doing. In addition, there is the need to get the pressurized water system back online. For some reason, thought the pump works fine, it doesn't pump water. friend Fred, an expert in pumps and the like, assures me that it is simply a leak somewhere in the system. If it is just in a hose or possibly in a connection that will be fine as it will be a minor expense. If however, and why do I feel this will be the case, it is in the hot water tank, which is fairly well rust - at least externally - then we are talking a major expense. Of course, I have been without it for as long as I have owned ABISHAG but it is silly to have a system on the boat that doesn't work.
3.) And of course, there are all those little things that need doing and re-organizing and that list is beyond counting. Hopefully, I will win the publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes and get $5,000 a week for life. Failing that, I will just do what I am able to do.
I should never go up to visit ABISHAG during the winter! First of all, Baby, it's cold inside! Surprisingly, though there is no insulation, it retains "cold" very well and even seems to generate its own. I went up with Russ to haul out the sails and it as significantly colder inside the boat than it was outside. and when I say "significantly" I ain't whistling "Dixie!"
Secondly, visiting the boat during the winter when it is NOT in a shed or under some type of covering is guaranteed to induce major frustration. Looking over ABISHAG a whole host of projects spring to mind - items that need fixing, correcting, updating as well as numerous ideas for projects that I had never thought of before. But sadly, and frustratingly, there is nothing that I can do about them now. Snow covers the deck and the inside of a freezer would seem warm in comparison to being inside ABISHAG. Paints won't adhere, glues and adhesives won't set, cleaners and degreasers don't! About the only thing you can do in such weather conditions in "destruction," that is taking things apart, dismantling those things that need to be removed or repaired. Yet, the cold will make you fingers non-functioning so in reality you can't really do that either hence the frustration.
Inspired I looked up all the photos of Camper Nicholson 39 Center-cockpit ketches I could find to see what they looked like and there were some wonderful examples of boats that had really been "tricked out." And I kept think, "I could do this" or "I could do that," but I am held back by one small criteria, the lack of funds. There will be some things that i can don at little or no cost, but they all require weather above 50F which means waiting until the temperatures get there and again that is frustrating. And sitting here with a "DEFENDER INDUSTRIES" catalog or one from "WEST MARINE" doesn't help as running out the prices gives me indigestion. I will have to wait until the last weekend of March when Defender runs its annual "Marine Madness Sale" to buy bottom paint which, even with the sale, will run about $150. The good point about that is that I use ablative paint, bottom paint that is "soft," that wears away over the season. Wherever the paint remains on the hull, the bottom protection is still going on. The paint coverage from last year is still on 80-90% of the hull so all it will require is touch up on the spots where it is completely worn away and then a single coat overall. With a "hard" bottom paint, one must sand and scrape and prep and paint every year. It is the most odious task of getting a boat ready if you go in that direction. And every few years, you have to remove all of the bottom paint as it builds up layer upon layer and, if you don't do it, it will fall of in chucks. Ah, part of the fun of boat ownership.
I have hauled out the "Projects List" and have begun adding to it, making additions to the items and projects that must be done before the boat goes into the water. The additions include items that 1.) have been put off but need to be done - a lot of this is electrical stuff such as a.) completely tracing all of the electrical wiring; b.) removing the wires that go nowhere or which are connected to nothing (that seems a never ending battle); b.) install new wire and new connections to those electronic and electrical devices which haven't failed but are "iffy"; c.) removing those devices that no longer work or which were removed last year and repairing their "footprints," those holes and frames and other things that marked their former prescience.
2.) Finally repositioning the watermaker and wiring it up. Removing the old auto-pilot left a perfect spot for it in a locker in the stern but it was something I never got around to doing. In addition, there is the need to get the pressurized water system back online. For some reason, thought the pump works fine, it doesn't pump water. friend Fred, an expert in pumps and the like, assures me that it is simply a leak somewhere in the system. If it is just in a hose or possibly in a connection that will be fine as it will be a minor expense. If however, and why do I feel this will be the case, it is in the hot water tank, which is fairly well rust - at least externally - then we are talking a major expense. Of course, I have been without it for as long as I have owned ABISHAG but it is silly to have a system on the boat that doesn't work.
3.) And of course, there are all those little things that need doing and re-organizing and that list is beyond counting. Hopefully, I will win the publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes and get $5,000 a week for life. Failing that, I will just do what I am able to do.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
ALIVE!
SHIP'S LOG:
I am finally over my "24 hour tumor" or "flu" or "plague" or whatever it is that knocked me down for a few days. I certainly feel lucky that I was nowhere nearly as badly touched by it as some people evidently have been. My brush with it was bad enough and I am glad that it is "in my rear-view mirror."
An indication of just how well I feel can be seen in the fact that Russ and I are going to go up to ABISHAG and get the sails off and into storage. It will work best as Russ has a van and I do not. In point of fact, what we will be able to do in one trip with his van would have taken me three (3) trips in my little P.O.S. There are five (5) sails on the boat and while not particularly heavy, they are rather bulky as I was unable to lay them out and fold them properly. The genoa particularly is in need of a seriously better folding. Getting them out of the boat is necessary as they run the risk of becoming stained with mold-&-mildew if they spend the winter. in addition, they take up considerable space on the inside which will make work in the spring a lot more difficult. After all, spring is only weeks away and there will be lots of stuff to do and I will need the room to do it. I can't wait to start.
I am finally over my "24 hour tumor" or "flu" or "plague" or whatever it is that knocked me down for a few days. I certainly feel lucky that I was nowhere nearly as badly touched by it as some people evidently have been. My brush with it was bad enough and I am glad that it is "in my rear-view mirror."
An indication of just how well I feel can be seen in the fact that Russ and I are going to go up to ABISHAG and get the sails off and into storage. It will work best as Russ has a van and I do not. In point of fact, what we will be able to do in one trip with his van would have taken me three (3) trips in my little P.O.S. There are five (5) sails on the boat and while not particularly heavy, they are rather bulky as I was unable to lay them out and fold them properly. The genoa particularly is in need of a seriously better folding. Getting them out of the boat is necessary as they run the risk of becoming stained with mold-&-mildew if they spend the winter. in addition, they take up considerable space on the inside which will make work in the spring a lot more difficult. After all, spring is only weeks away and there will be lots of stuff to do and I will need the room to do it. I can't wait to start.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Being Sick Is No Fun
SHIP'S LOG:
I guess it is not supposed to be fun but somehow it should be less a drag than it is. I actually thought that I was on the downward slope of this latest cold/flu/plague but it seems not to be the case. The fever, which I thought had left, is making a return visit this morning. It is one of those "fun" visits where it feels like everything above my eyebrows has disappeared. It is a very interesting sensation, yet a little unnerving at the same time. And as tired as I feel and probably am, the thought of going back to bed is both appealing and unappealing at the same time. I spent the last few days crashed in bed and there is just no restful position I can assume there. I would just toss and turn and not get any rest at all, let alone any sleep. But being vertical is not better as I long to lay down and all I want to do is sleep. Ah, the problems of a case of the plague/flu/common cold and I didn't even get a real bad one.I wonder if I can fall asleep standing up?
I guess it is not supposed to be fun but somehow it should be less a drag than it is. I actually thought that I was on the downward slope of this latest cold/flu/plague but it seems not to be the case. The fever, which I thought had left, is making a return visit this morning. It is one of those "fun" visits where it feels like everything above my eyebrows has disappeared. It is a very interesting sensation, yet a little unnerving at the same time. And as tired as I feel and probably am, the thought of going back to bed is both appealing and unappealing at the same time. I spent the last few days crashed in bed and there is just no restful position I can assume there. I would just toss and turn and not get any rest at all, let alone any sleep. But being vertical is not better as I long to lay down and all I want to do is sleep. Ah, the problems of a case of the plague/flu/common cold and I didn't even get a real bad one.I wonder if I can fall asleep standing up?
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Typhoid Mary vs. Flu Sue
SHIP'S LOG:
As Russ and I traipsed around the country-side, every local newscast began with the most current details of the flu out break in that particular area. In some areas it was quite severe, with some deaths recorded, though few thank goodness. Still it was everywhere and it was probably due to the wide-spread nature of the outbreak that there were so few people out and about at the various tourist attractions we stopped to see.
But all good things come to an end, among them the trip and good health. For me, good health ended sometime Friday afternoon, worsened Friday night, and completely departed by Saturday mooring. I am not sure what I got: a 24 hour tumor, your basic cold, the flu or THE FLU, but in any case, I got it. It's the whole 9 yards: headache, fever, sweats, chills, upset stomach, runny nose, stuffed sinuses, and all the assorted aches and pains and debilitating effects of whatever it is that I got. SO it is lots of aspirin - for the aches and pains; Coke - for fluid upkeep and to deal with nausea and upset stomach; Pepto - for what was formally in must come out, but one wants it under control so to speak; and lots of sleep. sleep, sleep which can be hard when you are alternating between sweats and chills.
I was always thankful that I never came down with a cold/flu which on the ICW trip. It would actually have been a little bit frightening. When I get something like I am experiencing now, my body just shuts down. I crawl into bed with all of my "stuff" an arms length away and just crash until I am better. That would have been a little scary doing so anchored in a "crick" off the ICW somewhere and I am sure that any marina owner would have loved me renting a slip for a few days until I "got better' and would he mind stopping by once a day to make sure that I am "still alive."
My period of lucidity and "up-&-at-'em" is coming to an end. Time to crash again. Stay healthy!
As Russ and I traipsed around the country-side, every local newscast began with the most current details of the flu out break in that particular area. In some areas it was quite severe, with some deaths recorded, though few thank goodness. Still it was everywhere and it was probably due to the wide-spread nature of the outbreak that there were so few people out and about at the various tourist attractions we stopped to see.
But all good things come to an end, among them the trip and good health. For me, good health ended sometime Friday afternoon, worsened Friday night, and completely departed by Saturday mooring. I am not sure what I got: a 24 hour tumor, your basic cold, the flu or THE FLU, but in any case, I got it. It's the whole 9 yards: headache, fever, sweats, chills, upset stomach, runny nose, stuffed sinuses, and all the assorted aches and pains and debilitating effects of whatever it is that I got. SO it is lots of aspirin - for the aches and pains; Coke - for fluid upkeep and to deal with nausea and upset stomach; Pepto - for what was formally in must come out, but one wants it under control so to speak; and lots of sleep. sleep, sleep which can be hard when you are alternating between sweats and chills.
I was always thankful that I never came down with a cold/flu which on the ICW trip. It would actually have been a little bit frightening. When I get something like I am experiencing now, my body just shuts down. I crawl into bed with all of my "stuff" an arms length away and just crash until I am better. That would have been a little scary doing so anchored in a "crick" off the ICW somewhere and I am sure that any marina owner would have loved me renting a slip for a few days until I "got better' and would he mind stopping by once a day to make sure that I am "still alive."
My period of lucidity and "up-&-at-'em" is coming to an end. Time to crash again. Stay healthy!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
From Here To There And Back Again! ! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, that was fun! Russ and I took a little jaunt which lasted several days, from last Friday until last night, during which we actually traveled 1,200+. Sadly though, it was in a car and not by boat. The again, it would have been a little chilly considering where we went. We journeyed from New London to Cooperstown, NY, to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame which Russ had never seen. From there we traveled to the Gettysburg National Civil War Battlefield which Russ had never seen. From there to the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Bailey Seton in Emmettsburg, MD, which Russ had never seen. From there to the Manassas Battlefield in Manassas, VA, which Russ had never seen. From there into Washington, DC, which Russ had seen once a long, long time ago. From there we journeyed to Philadelphia, which again Russ had visited by years and years ago but not recently, and from thence back to New London. Like I said, a tough trip by boat and cold as well.
One of the many things we discovered on the trip is that if you are traveling to tourist attractions at least north of Washington, DC, this is the time of year to go. No lines anywhere and the motels stumble over each other to give you deals. Off season really means off season. In Washington, we spent most of the day going through the Air & Space Museum and didn't see all of it. Doing all those museums on the Mall would probably take a month. Sunday night, all of Washington was in frenzy as the Washington Redskins played in their first play-off game. We were out having pizza and watching the game , well, most of the first half, and the Redskins built a 14-0 lead. We went back to our motel (cheap) to watch the rest of the game only to discover that the cable system there did NOT include the channel on which the game was being shown! But we figured that, with a 14 point lead, and the Redskins looking so good on defense, there was little chance of the Seahawks coming back to make a game of it. Getting breakfast the next morning, we were greet with depressed, and I mean seriously depressed Redskins' fans trying to deal with a monumental collapse the night before. Being from New England, we know all about monumental collapses so we offered what consolation we could.
More later.
Well, that was fun! Russ and I took a little jaunt which lasted several days, from last Friday until last night, during which we actually traveled 1,200+. Sadly though, it was in a car and not by boat. The again, it would have been a little chilly considering where we went. We journeyed from New London to Cooperstown, NY, to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame which Russ had never seen. From there we traveled to the Gettysburg National Civil War Battlefield which Russ had never seen. From there to the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Bailey Seton in Emmettsburg, MD, which Russ had never seen. From there to the Manassas Battlefield in Manassas, VA, which Russ had never seen. From there into Washington, DC, which Russ had seen once a long, long time ago. From there we journeyed to Philadelphia, which again Russ had visited by years and years ago but not recently, and from thence back to New London. Like I said, a tough trip by boat and cold as well.
One of the many things we discovered on the trip is that if you are traveling to tourist attractions at least north of Washington, DC, this is the time of year to go. No lines anywhere and the motels stumble over each other to give you deals. Off season really means off season. In Washington, we spent most of the day going through the Air & Space Museum and didn't see all of it. Doing all those museums on the Mall would probably take a month. Sunday night, all of Washington was in frenzy as the Washington Redskins played in their first play-off game. We were out having pizza and watching the game , well, most of the first half, and the Redskins built a 14-0 lead. We went back to our motel (cheap) to watch the rest of the game only to discover that the cable system there did NOT include the channel on which the game was being shown! But we figured that, with a 14 point lead, and the Redskins looking so good on defense, there was little chance of the Seahawks coming back to make a game of it. Getting breakfast the next morning, we were greet with depressed, and I mean seriously depressed Redskins' fans trying to deal with a monumental collapse the night before. Being from New England, we know all about monumental collapses so we offered what consolation we could.
More later.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
traveling Again@!
SHIP'S LOG:
Well, that didn't take long. It is January 3rd and already I have screwed the New Year's Resolution that I had made . . . and it wasn't the one about the asparagus either.
Well, I'll chalk it up to the fact that Russ and I are off on a trip or will be tomorrow. we are head to Cooperstown, to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Russ has never been there. Consider it a black mark in his education to soon be corrected, though his idea of traveling through Upper Central New York State in the dead of winter doesn't strike me as a particularly wise idea.
Of course, after touring the wilds of Cooperstown, we shall head south . . .but only so far as Gettysburg where another black hole in Russ' cultural/educational/historical/travel experiencing shall be filled. Where we shall go after that, I have no idea even though I have been designated as navigator. In any event, i shall not be lugging my computer with me and so shall once again be out of touch. Full details are promised upon my return.
Well, that didn't take long. It is January 3rd and already I have screwed the New Year's Resolution that I had made . . . and it wasn't the one about the asparagus either.
Well, I'll chalk it up to the fact that Russ and I are off on a trip or will be tomorrow. we are head to Cooperstown, to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Russ has never been there. Consider it a black mark in his education to soon be corrected, though his idea of traveling through Upper Central New York State in the dead of winter doesn't strike me as a particularly wise idea.
Of course, after touring the wilds of Cooperstown, we shall head south . . .but only so far as Gettysburg where another black hole in Russ' cultural/educational/historical/travel experiencing shall be filled. Where we shall go after that, I have no idea even though I have been designated as navigator. In any event, i shall not be lugging my computer with me and so shall once again be out of touch. Full details are promised upon my return.
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