SHIP'S LOG:
ABISHAG is in the Connecticut River in Portland, been there since Sunday, a mere 100 feet from where she will rest during the winter months. As a result, as far as I'm concerned it is winter, even though today's temperature hit 70!
With my "summer residence" no longer available, I am now, technically, without a place to stay but I will have one soon. Currently I am "living" with a fellow from TYC but this is only a short term deal. I have made application for elderly housing and elderly housing for "poor" people. I qualify for both being over 65 and receiving a mere $1,662 a month. The paper work involved in this process makes the trek to get the Merchant Mariner Certificate look ridiculously easy but since the housing requirements are amazingly similar, I had all of the documents and got the application filled out in about an hour. Now I am awaiting their checking out all the info, approving the application and , most importantly, having an apartment available. How long all that will take I haven't the foggiest. One thing I say about the process, it makes me feel "old" and "poor." I never really thought of myself that way but reality has reared its ugly head and I guess I just have to accept the fact that it is true. Ah! Such is life! A new adventure begins!
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
The Story So Far . . . . .
SHIP'S LOG:
The Red Sox have dropped of the edge of the world. A truly rotten years, but until they crown a new World's Champion, they are still Number #1.
Since it became September, summer has gone away. The wind, which usually comes out of the SW but has been NW-N-NE most of the summer, continues that trend, bringing with it cool and down right cold evening temperatures. For the last week or so I have been sleeping under blankets in sweats.
TYC has basically shut down and I am running the launch on a pay-as-you-go basis seeing if there is sufficient interest in extending full-time launch service during the weeks of September. So far, response has been minimal.
I finally sold my condo. what an experience that was, worse than buying it. After paying off the taxes, the lawyer, the realtor, and for all the paper work it required, I netted $5.79! Yup, $5.79! That's not even a grande latte at STARBUCKS.
My knees are awful. The right one has cartilage that needs trimming at least and the left one has bad arthritis and probably a baker's cyst. when I drive the launch, after a couple of hours of swaying back and forth to keep my balance, they both ache something fierce. I will have to have another sit-down with my orthopedist and see where we go from here.
I am about a month away from taking ABISHAG up the Connecticut River to Portland and the Yankee Boatyard for the winter haul-out. It's depressing just thinking about it, but it means it will be another day closer to Spring launching.
The Red Sox have dropped of the edge of the world. A truly rotten years, but until they crown a new World's Champion, they are still Number #1.
Since it became September, summer has gone away. The wind, which usually comes out of the SW but has been NW-N-NE most of the summer, continues that trend, bringing with it cool and down right cold evening temperatures. For the last week or so I have been sleeping under blankets in sweats.
TYC has basically shut down and I am running the launch on a pay-as-you-go basis seeing if there is sufficient interest in extending full-time launch service during the weeks of September. So far, response has been minimal.
I finally sold my condo. what an experience that was, worse than buying it. After paying off the taxes, the lawyer, the realtor, and for all the paper work it required, I netted $5.79! Yup, $5.79! That's not even a grande latte at STARBUCKS.
My knees are awful. The right one has cartilage that needs trimming at least and the left one has bad arthritis and probably a baker's cyst. when I drive the launch, after a couple of hours of swaying back and forth to keep my balance, they both ache something fierce. I will have to have another sit-down with my orthopedist and see where we go from here.
I am about a month away from taking ABISHAG up the Connecticut River to Portland and the Yankee Boatyard for the winter haul-out. It's depressing just thinking about it, but it means it will be another day closer to Spring launching.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Summer Is Over!
SHIP'S LOG:
. . . . . well, not really, but it seems so. The weather is like the middle of September, not August. The kids are done with the sailing classes so they're not down at the club anymore. Besides, they are getting ready for school. Strangely, the parents aren't down either for the most part and launch driving has gone from chaotic to dull and boring. If the weather portends good for the weekend, I expect that it will, be crazy again as people try to squeeze the whole of summer into the last two weeks. I hate the fact that summer is ending.
. . . . . well, not really, but it seems so. The weather is like the middle of September, not August. The kids are done with the sailing classes so they're not down at the club anymore. Besides, they are getting ready for school. Strangely, the parents aren't down either for the most part and launch driving has gone from chaotic to dull and boring. If the weather portends good for the weekend, I expect that it will, be crazy again as people try to squeeze the whole of summer into the last two weeks. I hate the fact that summer is ending.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The Fun Of Being A Launch Driver
SHIP'S LOG:
There ain't much! Most shifts are 6 hours, some are 4 and some are 8. You spend most of your time standing in a rocking little 26 foot launch trying to keep from falling over. You fight to keep your balance and after your shift, your legs are screaming, especially the knees, which in my case are already screaming.When things are hectic, you are trying to keep a list of the pick-ups you have to make, trying to remember whether the boat is in the North Mooring Field or the South Mooring Field. I want to pick them up in the order they call - first call, first to get picked-up - but sometimes it isn't always convenient or even possible. And every now and again, you forget one and they quickly remind you.
Then there is the approach to the boat itself. Depending on the wind and the wave action, it can be a piece of cake or a horror story. Ideally, one wants to"hit" the fattest part of the side of the boat and grab hold and hopefully the boarding ladder will end up right at the gate from the cockpit. But the launch is a pig with little way on and that often makes for a lot of last minute maneuvering. And you never know what you are going to get. This past week, I've had people with two large dogs, a man and his son with two bikes, assorted bags and a spinnaker pole almost as long as the launch. Everyone comes aboard with at least a knapsack and most often also a cooler. One out of every four trips in requires a trip back out to retrieve something they "forgot" - cell phone, wallet, car keys.
It is useless to order lunch or dinner for the simple fact that someone will call after the first bite. And even when things are slow, you drop off some one at the dock, tied up the launch, walk up the dock to the clubhouse and sit down, and then there is a call on the radio for another pick-up and off you got again. Any problems or complaints or requirements that anyone has get dumped in your lap. O, it is so much fun.
There ain't much! Most shifts are 6 hours, some are 4 and some are 8. You spend most of your time standing in a rocking little 26 foot launch trying to keep from falling over. You fight to keep your balance and after your shift, your legs are screaming, especially the knees, which in my case are already screaming.When things are hectic, you are trying to keep a list of the pick-ups you have to make, trying to remember whether the boat is in the North Mooring Field or the South Mooring Field. I want to pick them up in the order they call - first call, first to get picked-up - but sometimes it isn't always convenient or even possible. And every now and again, you forget one and they quickly remind you.
Then there is the approach to the boat itself. Depending on the wind and the wave action, it can be a piece of cake or a horror story. Ideally, one wants to"hit" the fattest part of the side of the boat and grab hold and hopefully the boarding ladder will end up right at the gate from the cockpit. But the launch is a pig with little way on and that often makes for a lot of last minute maneuvering. And you never know what you are going to get. This past week, I've had people with two large dogs, a man and his son with two bikes, assorted bags and a spinnaker pole almost as long as the launch. Everyone comes aboard with at least a knapsack and most often also a cooler. One out of every four trips in requires a trip back out to retrieve something they "forgot" - cell phone, wallet, car keys.
It is useless to order lunch or dinner for the simple fact that someone will call after the first bite. And even when things are slow, you drop off some one at the dock, tied up the launch, walk up the dock to the clubhouse and sit down, and then there is a call on the radio for another pick-up and off you got again. Any problems or complaints or requirements that anyone has get dumped in your lap. O, it is so much fun.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Time Flies When Your Having Fun!
SHIP'S LOG:
The weather has been great for sailing and so I have been sailing. And sailing. And sailing. On my boat and other peoples' boats, just sailing, sailing, sailing.
I went out sailing with the CHARLES W. MORGAN. The MORGAN is the last wooden wailing vessel in existence and since 1941, it has been an exhibit at the Mystic Seaport. Somebody over there decided that it would be a wonderful P.R. stunt to restore it to sailing condition and then send it out on a tour of southern New England. They spent several years and a couple of million dollars and in May towed her over to New London so that she could be ballasted and all the proper gear and supplies could be put aboard. Had they do that at the Seaport, they would never have gotten her away from the dock as the Mystic River at that point is simply to shallow to allow it. After a couple of weeks of learning how to sail the ship, the crew took her on a tour of Newport, The Cape, the Elizabeth Island and Boston. They even took her out to the whale watching areas of the Cape where they launched on of the whaleboats and approached a whale. No harpoons were tossed but it made for some great pictures.
She came back to New London and for several days took VIP's with large checkbooks, out for a sail. And sail it was as the MORGAN has no engines! She was accompanied the whole time with a couple of support craft, including a tug which was with her for her entire journey as some days there wasn't enough wind to make her move. But she did sail most of the time and last Friday, I went out sailing with her, accompanying her in my boat along with several other boats. I out sailed her easily as she never topped 4.5 knots. The most impressive thing was watching them raise and lower the sails, of which there were approximately 15. You would never get me up the masts or on the foot-lines from which they furled and unfurled the sails. But all in all is was very impressive.
And I got my Merchant Mariner Certificate and can now legally operate the launch. It has only been since March.
The weather has been great for sailing and so I have been sailing. And sailing. And sailing. On my boat and other peoples' boats, just sailing, sailing, sailing.
I went out sailing with the CHARLES W. MORGAN. The MORGAN is the last wooden wailing vessel in existence and since 1941, it has been an exhibit at the Mystic Seaport. Somebody over there decided that it would be a wonderful P.R. stunt to restore it to sailing condition and then send it out on a tour of southern New England. They spent several years and a couple of million dollars and in May towed her over to New London so that she could be ballasted and all the proper gear and supplies could be put aboard. Had they do that at the Seaport, they would never have gotten her away from the dock as the Mystic River at that point is simply to shallow to allow it. After a couple of weeks of learning how to sail the ship, the crew took her on a tour of Newport, The Cape, the Elizabeth Island and Boston. They even took her out to the whale watching areas of the Cape where they launched on of the whaleboats and approached a whale. No harpoons were tossed but it made for some great pictures.
She came back to New London and for several days took VIP's with large checkbooks, out for a sail. And sail it was as the MORGAN has no engines! She was accompanied the whole time with a couple of support craft, including a tug which was with her for her entire journey as some days there wasn't enough wind to make her move. But she did sail most of the time and last Friday, I went out sailing with her, accompanying her in my boat along with several other boats. I out sailed her easily as she never topped 4.5 knots. The most impressive thing was watching them raise and lower the sails, of which there were approximately 15. You would never get me up the masts or on the foot-lines from which they furled and unfurled the sails. But all in all is was very impressive.
And I got my Merchant Mariner Certificate and can now legally operate the launch. It has only been since March.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Ah! Summer!
SHIP'S LOG:
Repairs and maintenance on a boat are never ending. I have plugged four holds in the aft bilge area that is covering a void, but water still keeps hydro-statically coming up into the bilge. So today, I will be looking for hole five and sealing that. It must be small for the amount of water it is bring in is small. Possibly I was able to drain most of the water fixing the last holes and perhaps. just perhaps, I will seal it completely this time. Then again, perhaps one of the fixes will pop and it will all start again.
I reposition the bilge pump. The main bilge has a deep section about two feet below the inside deck. There is a shelf near the top on which sat the bilge pump and sensor. this meant that there was always a foot or so of water in the deeper section. At the suggestion of pump-expert Fred, I put the bilge pump/sensor in the deepest part of the bilge. I had to lengthen a wire so that the pump could go that extra foot or so, but when I switched it on, it didn't work. i checked with Bill Turner and he suggested I look first at the wiring. As with all things British and electrical, it was the work of Lucas, Prince of Darkness, which meant that not only was it a poor arrangement, it was all but indecipherable. It was also corroded at the buss bar so it necessitated a trip to Defenders for a new buss bar, new heat-shrink butt connectors and a package of ring connectors. In other words, $40.37! After drawing a diagram on how the old connections to the buss bar were made, I disconnected them and reattached them to the new buss bar. In doing so, I found that one of the connections to the old buss bar had two ring connectors on it but only one with a wire still attached. IT was them a case of look for a disconnected wire. It took a bit of time as the bilge is a dark spot and even with a flashlight, the task wasn't easy, But eventually I found it. It most have broken at the connector when I moved the pump. It was too short to cover the distance and so I had to add a length of wire to make up the difference. Once it was reattached to the buss bar and the switch was thrown, it work just fine . . . sort of.
The pump, sitting two feet below the deck inside, has to pimp the water up about three feet to a point where the hose from the electrical pump joins the hose for the manual pump. when the sensor turns the pump on, it pumps the water into the hose and out of the boat if there is enough water. When the sensor reads dry, the water not far enough along in the hose slides back into the sump, where the sensor read "water" and starts the pump and it runs until the sensor reads "dry" and shuts it off and down comes the water. I am going to have to install some sort of "p" trap - like under a sink, or a "check valve" to keep he water from coming back and causing the sensor starting the pump. Boat repairs and maintenance are never ending.
Repairs and maintenance on a boat are never ending. I have plugged four holds in the aft bilge area that is covering a void, but water still keeps hydro-statically coming up into the bilge. So today, I will be looking for hole five and sealing that. It must be small for the amount of water it is bring in is small. Possibly I was able to drain most of the water fixing the last holes and perhaps. just perhaps, I will seal it completely this time. Then again, perhaps one of the fixes will pop and it will all start again.
I reposition the bilge pump. The main bilge has a deep section about two feet below the inside deck. There is a shelf near the top on which sat the bilge pump and sensor. this meant that there was always a foot or so of water in the deeper section. At the suggestion of pump-expert Fred, I put the bilge pump/sensor in the deepest part of the bilge. I had to lengthen a wire so that the pump could go that extra foot or so, but when I switched it on, it didn't work. i checked with Bill Turner and he suggested I look first at the wiring. As with all things British and electrical, it was the work of Lucas, Prince of Darkness, which meant that not only was it a poor arrangement, it was all but indecipherable. It was also corroded at the buss bar so it necessitated a trip to Defenders for a new buss bar, new heat-shrink butt connectors and a package of ring connectors. In other words, $40.37! After drawing a diagram on how the old connections to the buss bar were made, I disconnected them and reattached them to the new buss bar. In doing so, I found that one of the connections to the old buss bar had two ring connectors on it but only one with a wire still attached. IT was them a case of look for a disconnected wire. It took a bit of time as the bilge is a dark spot and even with a flashlight, the task wasn't easy, But eventually I found it. It most have broken at the connector when I moved the pump. It was too short to cover the distance and so I had to add a length of wire to make up the difference. Once it was reattached to the buss bar and the switch was thrown, it work just fine . . . sort of.
The pump, sitting two feet below the deck inside, has to pimp the water up about three feet to a point where the hose from the electrical pump joins the hose for the manual pump. when the sensor turns the pump on, it pumps the water into the hose and out of the boat if there is enough water. When the sensor reads dry, the water not far enough along in the hose slides back into the sump, where the sensor read "water" and starts the pump and it runs until the sensor reads "dry" and shuts it off and down comes the water. I am going to have to install some sort of "p" trap - like under a sink, or a "check valve" to keep he water from coming back and causing the sensor starting the pump. Boat repairs and maintenance are never ending.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Yes, It Has Been Awhile
SHIP'S LOG:
When you are out sailing every day, it is hard to do other things. The weather, for the most part, has been wonderful for sailing and I have been using it to full advantage.
With the Sail Fest celebration and Fireworks this past weekend, we really lucked out. Last year low clouds and fog obscured the fireworks even from the people in Shaw's Cove outside of which the firework barges were moored. Nobody saw nothin' - except for some glowing colored lights. This year the weather was perfect and the fireworks were grand.
The day before, Friday, I sailed up to the city pier to see VIRGINIA. She is schooner of 110 feet and she came in under sail for the weekend festivities. She plied up and down the river with passengers aboard and all under sail. The crew can really maneuver the ship very well. At one point she got to dodge two regular ferries, the SEAJET ferry, plus a submarine with its gunboat escorts, and all under sail. It was quite remarkable as I would have found the whole situation rather difficult and I know the river. But the crew of the VIRGINIA - no muss, no fuss.
The first three days of this week were awful. No wind, no sun, lots of rain and fog and humidity. The so much no wind that we bobbed around at the starting line for the Wednesday night races until they finally called them off at 6:45. No wind and no prospects of any. That hasn't happened in years.
Every boat has leaks somewhere. It is a consequence of being in the water. I have found and eliminated most but one just defied locating. Fred came down to give me a hand locating and fixing same. This particular leak was sneaky because its source looked like it belong. Behind the aft cabin bulkhead, there is a small bilge area that would collect whatever water might drip from the rudder shaft or wherever else at the stern of the boat. Water collecting there would flow through the bulkhead by means of "limber holes" drilled through the bulkhead, and from there on down into the sump of the main bilge. My main concern was the main bilge which filled slowly over a day or so and then when the water tripped the sensor switch, the bilge pump would pump out a sufficient amount to bring the water level down below the sensor. I was trying to find out where that water came from and started with Fred at the bilge in the stern of the boat. Fred declared this was the source of all the water. He found that pressing on the bilge floor, water would appear. I drilled a 1/2" hole in the bilge floor and it filled with water. I vacuumed it out and it slowly began to fill again. Evidently, as Fred deduced, this area had been a void that the builders filled with foam and glassed over. Over the years, the tube for the prop shaft that ran through, developed some leaks, allowing water to infiltrate the foam. One of the previous owner was unhappy with the limber hole builder put in and drilled two of his own. Unfortunately in doing sow, he cracked the fiberglass seal at the bulkhead and this allowed the water, by means of "hydrostatic pressure" according to Fred, to pump into the bilge. It took an hours of probing to find the first leak and two to find the second. The first leak and the hole I drilled are filled and sealed. The second will be done today and then I see if there are anymore leaks. AH! The Joy Of Boat Ownership!
When you are out sailing every day, it is hard to do other things. The weather, for the most part, has been wonderful for sailing and I have been using it to full advantage.
With the Sail Fest celebration and Fireworks this past weekend, we really lucked out. Last year low clouds and fog obscured the fireworks even from the people in Shaw's Cove outside of which the firework barges were moored. Nobody saw nothin' - except for some glowing colored lights. This year the weather was perfect and the fireworks were grand.
The day before, Friday, I sailed up to the city pier to see VIRGINIA. She is schooner of 110 feet and she came in under sail for the weekend festivities. She plied up and down the river with passengers aboard and all under sail. The crew can really maneuver the ship very well. At one point she got to dodge two regular ferries, the SEAJET ferry, plus a submarine with its gunboat escorts, and all under sail. It was quite remarkable as I would have found the whole situation rather difficult and I know the river. But the crew of the VIRGINIA - no muss, no fuss.
The first three days of this week were awful. No wind, no sun, lots of rain and fog and humidity. The so much no wind that we bobbed around at the starting line for the Wednesday night races until they finally called them off at 6:45. No wind and no prospects of any. That hasn't happened in years.
Every boat has leaks somewhere. It is a consequence of being in the water. I have found and eliminated most but one just defied locating. Fred came down to give me a hand locating and fixing same. This particular leak was sneaky because its source looked like it belong. Behind the aft cabin bulkhead, there is a small bilge area that would collect whatever water might drip from the rudder shaft or wherever else at the stern of the boat. Water collecting there would flow through the bulkhead by means of "limber holes" drilled through the bulkhead, and from there on down into the sump of the main bilge. My main concern was the main bilge which filled slowly over a day or so and then when the water tripped the sensor switch, the bilge pump would pump out a sufficient amount to bring the water level down below the sensor. I was trying to find out where that water came from and started with Fred at the bilge in the stern of the boat. Fred declared this was the source of all the water. He found that pressing on the bilge floor, water would appear. I drilled a 1/2" hole in the bilge floor and it filled with water. I vacuumed it out and it slowly began to fill again. Evidently, as Fred deduced, this area had been a void that the builders filled with foam and glassed over. Over the years, the tube for the prop shaft that ran through, developed some leaks, allowing water to infiltrate the foam. One of the previous owner was unhappy with the limber hole builder put in and drilled two of his own. Unfortunately in doing sow, he cracked the fiberglass seal at the bulkhead and this allowed the water, by means of "hydrostatic pressure" according to Fred, to pump into the bilge. It took an hours of probing to find the first leak and two to find the second. The first leak and the hole I drilled are filled and sealed. The second will be done today and then I see if there are anymore leaks. AH! The Joy Of Boat Ownership!
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