Getting Stuff Done By Doing Nothing!!

SHIP'S LOG:



I was primed and ready to do battle with the stubborn aluminum hardware on the ABISHAG. There were the two Genoa Cars on the Genona Track. There were also the six stainless screws that had to wedded themselves in to the aluminum hatch at the rear of the boat. And there were a dozen or so aluminum hatch dogs that needed to be worked and made functional. And lastly, a non-aluminum item, the main halyard winch at the mast.



First up the Genoa Cars. I soaked them in BP BLaster, the supposed champion of penetrating oils. Spray, let it soak, try moving the car, whacking it gently to loosen it up. The result? No movement. So I did it again and got the same result. So I did it again and again, got the same result. More force produced no improvement even though the stainless steel round cotter pin through the end of the locking pin was distorted by the effort applied. Heat didn't help nor did switching sides and trying to work the car on the other side. So after about two hours I gave up again on the Genoa Cars and moved on to the bolts in the aft hatch.



The aft hatch has six(6) dogs as it is designed to be opened either forward or aft. The problem is that the stainless steel screws used to attach the dogs to the aft hatch have corroded into the aluminum hatch frame. This allows the hatch to close but you can't adjust the hatch closure, you can't "dog it down" tight enough. The staining on the rear bunk would seem to indicate that the hatch leaks "a bit." Spray, lit it soak, try adjusting the screw, whacking it gently to loosen it up. The result? Of the six bolts none moved. So I did it again, and again, and again. NADA! Tried the heat. More soaking, more whacking. NADA! And after an hour I had to walk away before I over did it and damage the hatch.



0 for 2 - I decided to move on to the the winch on the mast. At least that it would be a non-aluminum situation. The problem with the winch was that while it moved by hand, it wouldn't function if you used the handle, the central shaft was "locked up" for some reason. I had tried dismantling the winch to clean and lube it, but could not get the central shaft out. I talked with the Lewmar rep at the Newport boat show and he gave me advice. I downloaded winch maintenance directions from their website. I had the tools and the info and attached the winch again....and once again it won! No matter what I tried, I could get it completely dismantled except for the central shaft and that was key because it was a problem in it that was preventing the winch from cranking when it was worked with the handle. It looks as though I will have to removed the winch from the Mast and take it to a shop to get it up and running again. 0 for 3!



Lubed the dogs on the hatches and they all work fine so I did got 1 for 4. I went 2 f0 5 by filling in all the screw holes in the wood work and staining the repairs, but it still seemed as if not much got done.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I am not sure who said it, I think it was Thomas Edison, but today was a excellent learning experience. Even though I was unable to get the Genoa cars, the aft hatch dog bolts and the winch to function as I wanted, I learned a lot. With all the lubing, whacking, pulling, turning, heating that went on, I didn't fail. As Edison noted, I simply learned a number of different things that didn't work and that can be very important information. I am also learning what I don't know, which is a lot. Getting help and advice from friends, fellow boats and yard workers in shrinking that knowledge gap but there is still quite a deficit. I expect this will continue to shrink but it will never quite go away completely. But it is great to feel more and More confident about what I can handle by myself.

I am feeling antsy to go sailing, not so much to start the trip as to just go sailing. It has been a long while since I have been out on the water to just sail and I miss it, though this does serve as an inspirational spur to getting work done.

I have also decided that that I will lay out alternative plans for the trip south. Right now, the basic plan is to leave in mid October and take a right turn at Montauk and head for Norfolk, VA and the "beginning" of the Inter-Coastal Waterway. The further the fall goes, the more the weather plays a part in the trip south. Obviously gets colder but it also tends to get more unstable. Sailing it the cold is bad enough but sailing it cold, stormy weather is too much. So I intend to lay out a alternate course south, one that is made up for day trips down the coast to Norfolk. It is exciting to be planning an alternate route, it makes the departure more real.