SHIP'S LOG:
After two days of furious work, the ceiling panels are back in place and the interior has been cleaned, at least it has had a lick-and-a-promise. The broker says a potential buyer will coming up this weekend from Maryland, hopefully with cash in hand. If he makes a "reasonable" offer, ABISHAG is his.
Doing the work on her the last two days has reminded me of my age. Having to twist and turn and reach and squat and squint and bend, often all at the same time, has revealed places I did know I had, Russ gave me a ride home last night. We went out for pizza at Ocean and getting out of his car and walking across the parking lot and up the stairs was brutal. My knees were screaming and my lower back went beyond screaming to some other place. I'm not sure how I made it up the stairs. When I got up this morning, the song remained the same but with my hands, wrist and shoulders adding in a new melody to the song.When I was finally able to get into the shower, I stood in the hot, hot water for 30 minutes and that loosened everything up but really didn't dispel the pain. This seems to happen every year but it seems worse this year. O the joys of boat ownership!
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Calendar May Say April But It Feels Like November!
SHIP'S LOG:
Being sans wheeled transportation of a personal nature, I have had no way to get to ABISHAG on my own and she has lain in her winter dozing since October. However a call from my broker has made it imperative that I get up to her and rouse her from her slumber. And so it was that I was able to get friend Fred to drive down to New London and get me up to Yankee boatyard. And not only get me there but help begin the process of getting ABISHAG ready for visitors. The visitors are coming from Maryland sometime this weekend and the broker was concerned about her state.
She did /does need work. Most importantly was the re-securing of the ceiling panels. Last year, I attempted to replace the screws that held the panels in place with industrial strength Velcro so that they could be taken down and put back up with ease and without having to unscrew and screw 20 millions fasteners. This would make tracking down any leaks and tracing wires (when there was a problem) much easier. I have learned that you can believe everything you see on the Internet and YOUTUBE. It was a nice concept but it just didn't work out. So Fred and I (mostly Fred, I was the helper) spent most of yesterday screwing the panels back in place. Since I had re-sized the panels to make them easier to handle, it actually took a while before we figured out the process and began replacing the Velcro with screws. The Saloon is done and part of the galley area, leaving only the rest of the galley and the aft cabin, which I should get through today. To get up to Portland, I have had to arrange a ride up and a ride back again today as Fred has to work. I am hoping that today will finish the ceilings and the clean up as getting there and back is a pain and an inconvenience for my friends upon who I must impose. I am hoping that the problems of my lack of transportation will soon be eased. Even after this slap-dash-two-day clean-&-perk-up is done, there is still a lot of maintenance to get down before launching. And even though it is impressive that this couple is coming all the way from Maryland just to make the effort to see ABISHAG, I'm going to assume that there will be no sale and that the spring maintenance will not be done by elves!
Being sans wheeled transportation of a personal nature, I have had no way to get to ABISHAG on my own and she has lain in her winter dozing since October. However a call from my broker has made it imperative that I get up to her and rouse her from her slumber. And so it was that I was able to get friend Fred to drive down to New London and get me up to Yankee boatyard. And not only get me there but help begin the process of getting ABISHAG ready for visitors. The visitors are coming from Maryland sometime this weekend and the broker was concerned about her state.
She did /does need work. Most importantly was the re-securing of the ceiling panels. Last year, I attempted to replace the screws that held the panels in place with industrial strength Velcro so that they could be taken down and put back up with ease and without having to unscrew and screw 20 millions fasteners. This would make tracking down any leaks and tracing wires (when there was a problem) much easier. I have learned that you can believe everything you see on the Internet and YOUTUBE. It was a nice concept but it just didn't work out. So Fred and I (mostly Fred, I was the helper) spent most of yesterday screwing the panels back in place. Since I had re-sized the panels to make them easier to handle, it actually took a while before we figured out the process and began replacing the Velcro with screws. The Saloon is done and part of the galley area, leaving only the rest of the galley and the aft cabin, which I should get through today. To get up to Portland, I have had to arrange a ride up and a ride back again today as Fred has to work. I am hoping that today will finish the ceilings and the clean up as getting there and back is a pain and an inconvenience for my friends upon who I must impose. I am hoping that the problems of my lack of transportation will soon be eased. Even after this slap-dash-two-day clean-&-perk-up is done, there is still a lot of maintenance to get down before launching. And even though it is impressive that this couple is coming all the way from Maryland just to make the effort to see ABISHAG, I'm going to assume that there will be no sale and that the spring maintenance will not be done by elves!
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
CRASH! BOOM! BANG!
SHIP'S LOG:
OUCH! ! ! ! ! The good news is that I am alive and well(relatively speaking). The same can not be said for my 19189 Ford Tempo P.O.S. A small fender-bender with a recent vintage Mercedes-Benz SVU led to a totaling of both vehicles. The P.O.S. sustained the most damage - mashed front-end, sprung frame, cracked block - while the cost to repair the damage to the Benz - just replacing the 7 airbags that went off would be in the neighborhood of - get this $15,000! - would render repair just not financially worth it. I should have such problems.
Well, actually I do as the P.O.S. is/was 24 years old and had no collision insurance and anything more beyond a deep scratch would cost more to fix than I could afford. So now I am sans wheeled-vehicular-transportation. It is a good thing that I now "live in the city" making getting to places I need to go not too terribly difficult. However, If I don't find another set of wheels soon, the launching of ABISHAG will be seriously set back as she rest in snow and ice some 42 miles away. More than I can walk in a day one way let alone both ways.
I put my friend Tom on it, he who came up with the P.O.S. in the first place and I have great faith that he will work some magic. Until then, if I really, REALLY need to get some place that is too, too far to walk, I have friends who will drive me. Still in all, it is amazing how dependent you get on your car. But having lived so long on a boat, it is a little easier. It is a bit of a pain, but what can one do?
OUCH! ! ! ! ! The good news is that I am alive and well(relatively speaking). The same can not be said for my 19189 Ford Tempo P.O.S. A small fender-bender with a recent vintage Mercedes-Benz SVU led to a totaling of both vehicles. The P.O.S. sustained the most damage - mashed front-end, sprung frame, cracked block - while the cost to repair the damage to the Benz - just replacing the 7 airbags that went off would be in the neighborhood of - get this $15,000! - would render repair just not financially worth it. I should have such problems.
Well, actually I do as the P.O.S. is/was 24 years old and had no collision insurance and anything more beyond a deep scratch would cost more to fix than I could afford. So now I am sans wheeled-vehicular-transportation. It is a good thing that I now "live in the city" making getting to places I need to go not too terribly difficult. However, If I don't find another set of wheels soon, the launching of ABISHAG will be seriously set back as she rest in snow and ice some 42 miles away. More than I can walk in a day one way let alone both ways.
I put my friend Tom on it, he who came up with the P.O.S. in the first place and I have great faith that he will work some magic. Until then, if I really, REALLY need to get some place that is too, too far to walk, I have friends who will drive me. Still in all, it is amazing how dependent you get on your car. But having lived so long on a boat, it is a little easier. It is a bit of a pain, but what can one do?
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
From Nome to Seattle
SHIP'S LOG:
It is not that I was in Nome or that I am now in Seattle, but rather the weather has gone from lots of snow and cold to lots of rain an warm (relatively that is). we have had rain and let for the whole week and that is a good thing as it is making the snow go away fast. My only concern is flooding in the Connecticut River. It is already staring but so far it has been mild with little rise but the river is also bringing down more and more "flotsam" from the north. There really isn't much if anything I can do about the flooding except endure it and hope that it doesn't get really, really bad. i hope to get up to Portland today and get the lay of the land so to speak.
It is not that I was in Nome or that I am now in Seattle, but rather the weather has gone from lots of snow and cold to lots of rain an warm (relatively that is). we have had rain and let for the whole week and that is a good thing as it is making the snow go away fast. My only concern is flooding in the Connecticut River. It is already staring but so far it has been mild with little rise but the river is also bringing down more and more "flotsam" from the north. There really isn't much if anything I can do about the flooding except endure it and hope that it doesn't get really, really bad. i hope to get up to Portland today and get the lay of the land so to speak.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
So Much For Febrauary
SHIP'S LOG:
Yes, I kinda missed the month of February but what could I say about the month except that it snowed! A LOT! And it really put a damper on doing much of anything. Heck, I couldn't even get to ABISHAG as she was surrounded by HUGE piles of snow from the plowing down at the boatyard.
But this week there has been a lot of melting as the temp went up into the 40's and we have been getting rain and will get more this weekend. It should go a long way in eliminating the snow but it also means that the Connecticut River is going to rise and probably fairly dramatically. ABISHAG is in the lower lot and I would expect that there may be some flooding issues soon. It is not a question that the flooding will float ABISHAG somewhere but that it might wash out the ground under the jackstands that hold her up and cause her or perhaps a neighboring boat to tip over and so take-out ABISHAG or even start a cascading domino effect in the yard. I hope to get up there this coming week once the rain stops and survey the effects of winter upon her. Ah the joys of boat ownership.
I am off this morning to TYC. It is the first workday Saturday, aimed at getting the club ready for the coming the season. There is a St. Paddy's Day Party next Saturday and they also want to get the clubhouse ready for that. Of course, right now it is raining which might eliminate the need to do any shoveling but there is still the cleaning inside the clubhouse to get done. SIGH! But it is a day closer to sailing!
Yes, I kinda missed the month of February but what could I say about the month except that it snowed! A LOT! And it really put a damper on doing much of anything. Heck, I couldn't even get to ABISHAG as she was surrounded by HUGE piles of snow from the plowing down at the boatyard.
But this week there has been a lot of melting as the temp went up into the 40's and we have been getting rain and will get more this weekend. It should go a long way in eliminating the snow but it also means that the Connecticut River is going to rise and probably fairly dramatically. ABISHAG is in the lower lot and I would expect that there may be some flooding issues soon. It is not a question that the flooding will float ABISHAG somewhere but that it might wash out the ground under the jackstands that hold her up and cause her or perhaps a neighboring boat to tip over and so take-out ABISHAG or even start a cascading domino effect in the yard. I hope to get up there this coming week once the rain stops and survey the effects of winter upon her. Ah the joys of boat ownership.
I am off this morning to TYC. It is the first workday Saturday, aimed at getting the club ready for the coming the season. There is a St. Paddy's Day Party next Saturday and they also want to get the clubhouse ready for that. Of course, right now it is raining which might eliminate the need to do any shoveling but there is still the cleaning inside the clubhouse to get done. SIGH! But it is a day closer to sailing!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
I Survived The Blizzard of 2015
SHIP'S LOG:
I can't say just how happy I am that I am not living aboard, at least here in Connecticut. In Key Largo or Key West would be different, but not here. Ensconced here in what a friend calls "the Bridal Suite," I am warm and dry and even have a warm toilet seat. AH! It something close to "paradise."
My car is parked in a lot behind the Crocker House. The lot must have once housed a building that has been torn down and so it is surrounded by three walls. With the 40-50mph winds and 26 inches+ of snow, all the cars really got buried. Before the lot was plowed, I could barely make out the roof of my car. The lot is small and when it was plowed out, they merely cut two pathways, further burying the cars therein. So I made an attempt to at least get to the car, get inside and see if it would start. I didn't have a shovel and had to make do with a broom. Lets just say it was the equivalent of bring a knife to a gun fight. I was able to get in and start the P.O.S. but that was about it. Of course, the weather will continue to be frustrating as today was supposed to be clear though cold, but tomorrow there will be more snow. Then clear and old on Friday and more snow on the weekend. O, I hate winter.
I can't say just how happy I am that I am not living aboard, at least here in Connecticut. In Key Largo or Key West would be different, but not here. Ensconced here in what a friend calls "the Bridal Suite," I am warm and dry and even have a warm toilet seat. AH! It something close to "paradise."
My car is parked in a lot behind the Crocker House. The lot must have once housed a building that has been torn down and so it is surrounded by three walls. With the 40-50mph winds and 26 inches+ of snow, all the cars really got buried. Before the lot was plowed, I could barely make out the roof of my car. The lot is small and when it was plowed out, they merely cut two pathways, further burying the cars therein. So I made an attempt to at least get to the car, get inside and see if it would start. I didn't have a shovel and had to make do with a broom. Lets just say it was the equivalent of bring a knife to a gun fight. I was able to get in and start the P.O.S. but that was about it. Of course, the weather will continue to be frustrating as today was supposed to be clear though cold, but tomorrow there will be more snow. Then clear and old on Friday and more snow on the weekend. O, I hate winter.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Stuff & More Stuff
SHIP'S LOG:
One of the things that happens now that I have "swallowed the anchor," I have the opportunity to consolidate all of my remaining stuff. When I first got set to head south down the ICW, I made it a point of unloading as much of my personal stuff as I could. I got rid of a lot of clothes, all of my books and other odds and ends. I simplified my life by getting rid of lots of possessions. . . .or at least I thought I had. Turns out that I still had an awful lot! And it had become necessary to do a further unloading.
The places that I had stored my things have become unusable for storage and the simple truth was that I rally had little in the way of storage in my new digs. Indeed, I would be hard pressed to much more than a few items in the apartment. It became necessary to rent a storage unit. That was easy, but the tougher part was to get my stuff stashed!
Part of my stuff was on the 3rd floor of a rectory and it required that I not just pack it up, but that I get it down the stairs and into my car. It took two days. The first day was spent going through all the stuff and deciding what to take and what to trash. I found out during the first time I did this, that one has to be ruthless in throwing stuff away. I filled bags and bags with papers, files and nicknacks that I had collected over the years. It is a tough thing to do as I first saved all the stuff for it was "important" to me at the time I set it aside but as a friend once said, if you haven't worn it, used it or were aware you had it for over two years, then it was like you didn't have it. That made it easier but still not easy, which is why the "sorting" process took a whole day. Truth be told, I know that even the stuff I sorted to be saved and eventually packed up and stored in my rented "cube," I am going to have to go through again and trash lots of it. It is sort of refining process and there is more "refining " to do.
After I finished the sorting, I packed it the next day and hauled it down the triple set of stairs and got it into my car. The storage in in Gales Ferry and it was actually easier to get it into storage than to get it to the place of storage. And that was just the stuff from one place. All of the boat stuff that goes on the boat in the spring and off the boat in the fall has to go there as well. That will be done this week once the weather begins to cooperate again. I'll have to do the same save /trash process though it should be a lot more simple as the boat stuff is already "refined" and is all immediately usable, even necessary. But there will still be packing and hauling, up stairs this time, that needs doing, but I have a place for it all to go.
Once those two places are taken care of, I will still have an item or two that I will need to gather up for storage. It is really a pain in the but but it will be good at last to gather it all together. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!!!!!
One of the things that happens now that I have "swallowed the anchor," I have the opportunity to consolidate all of my remaining stuff. When I first got set to head south down the ICW, I made it a point of unloading as much of my personal stuff as I could. I got rid of a lot of clothes, all of my books and other odds and ends. I simplified my life by getting rid of lots of possessions. . . .or at least I thought I had. Turns out that I still had an awful lot! And it had become necessary to do a further unloading.
The places that I had stored my things have become unusable for storage and the simple truth was that I rally had little in the way of storage in my new digs. Indeed, I would be hard pressed to much more than a few items in the apartment. It became necessary to rent a storage unit. That was easy, but the tougher part was to get my stuff stashed!
Part of my stuff was on the 3rd floor of a rectory and it required that I not just pack it up, but that I get it down the stairs and into my car. It took two days. The first day was spent going through all the stuff and deciding what to take and what to trash. I found out during the first time I did this, that one has to be ruthless in throwing stuff away. I filled bags and bags with papers, files and nicknacks that I had collected over the years. It is a tough thing to do as I first saved all the stuff for it was "important" to me at the time I set it aside but as a friend once said, if you haven't worn it, used it or were aware you had it for over two years, then it was like you didn't have it. That made it easier but still not easy, which is why the "sorting" process took a whole day. Truth be told, I know that even the stuff I sorted to be saved and eventually packed up and stored in my rented "cube," I am going to have to go through again and trash lots of it. It is sort of refining process and there is more "refining " to do.
After I finished the sorting, I packed it the next day and hauled it down the triple set of stairs and got it into my car. The storage in in Gales Ferry and it was actually easier to get it into storage than to get it to the place of storage. And that was just the stuff from one place. All of the boat stuff that goes on the boat in the spring and off the boat in the fall has to go there as well. That will be done this week once the weather begins to cooperate again. I'll have to do the same save /trash process though it should be a lot more simple as the boat stuff is already "refined" and is all immediately usable, even necessary. But there will still be packing and hauling, up stairs this time, that needs doing, but I have a place for it all to go.
Once those two places are taken care of, I will still have an item or two that I will need to gather up for storage. It is really a pain in the but but it will be good at last to gather it all together. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!!!!!
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