The Week In Review

*My access to the Internet was disrupted for a week but now I have it back!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

Well, she floats! ABISHAG went into the water this past Tuesday and is floating at last in her element! I get the impression that a thru-hull, with no hose connected, was left open during the launching. This impression came from the rather large amount of water in the bilge I found on Wednesday! Normally this wouldn't be a cause for concern except for the fact that there is no electricity in the boat to run the automatic bilge pump. This is actually a good thing in that the hose connecting the automatic bilge pump to its thru- hull is not attached so pumping would have just circulated the water through the boat. Then again, the float for the automatic bilge pump (the automatic part) is disconnected. We did this to jury rig the pump for the trip up and it hasn't been reconnected. Then again, there is the manual bilge pump which I just installed (new) but since it feeds into the the same hose and thru-hull as the automatic bilge pump, pumping it was not going to do anything. In the end, I used a small hand pump to fill a bunch of buckets and empty them into the sink and so overboard. There is still a tiny bit of water coming in from somewhere (I am betting on the stuffing box) but that will be handled this week.

The Wind-steering System is now in place and functioning. Sitting at the dock, it will maneuver the boat in its slip. It really looks like a great piece of modern art affixed to the stern and it just screams "BLUEWATER CRUISING BOAT!!"

Hurricane-tropical storm NOEL clearly indicated which of the ports still leak. Actually just one in the forward cabin and in its case, it is the gasket around the lexan. A little silicon should seal it up just fine.

What remains to be done:

1.) Finish installing the new wiring;

2.) Wiring a new battery switch, battery bank and a new dockside power switch;

3.) Installing a Galvanic Isolator (very technical);

4.) Installing the watermaker (next Monday for sure!)

Basically, when these things are done, ABISHAG will be ready to go. The refrigeration is problematic as I can't check it until we can crank the engine. If it works great. If not, well it is a big ice box and I can use it as such until I can afford to replace the refrigeration system. As I have written before, the list of repairs and maintenance items is really never ending. If I waited until everything was perfect, I would never leave. So it is a matter of getting the boat ready enough to begin the trip. Hopefully that will be within the next 10 days or so and then comes the stocking up and then departing.

MASTER"S PERSONAL LOG:

The day isn't here yet but it sure seems that it is very close. The time of year and the weather will probably mean that I will have to do the day-hop trip down the Connecticut Coast and New Jersey Coast to Cape May. Day-hopping is not fast but I don't really have to be anywhere at any particular time, besides as someone once noted, the most inefficient way to get anywhere is by boat and the most inefficient boat is a sailboat. I start when I can and get there when I get there. Weather will probably slow down the trip some as if the weather is not conducive to sailing, I won't go anywhere. The farther south I get, the less the weather should be the problem, but north of Norfolk, VA. and the start of the ICW, it can mess up my timing.

I had expected to spend about $15,000 more to get the boat ready for departure. I had planned on money from the sale of the condo to cover that amount. Well, I have exceeded expectations and the condo remains unsold. Needless to say, the Bank of America has a hitman looking for me, though I keep getting mail from them offering loans at great rates. Who knows, perhaps I will win the lottery though buying a ticket would be necessary for that to happen.

I have to start sorting through my remaining stuff to determine what I need to take, what I want to take, and what what has to go away. My books are all gone and most of the close are headed to Project Northeast. I'll be taking both laptops with me and one print, but the desk top and the other printer remain, though where I am not sure. I sold a couple of things on E-BAY but didn't realize all that much but it may be the way to go.

It is an interesting experience unloading stuff like this. It is amazing how much stuff I have accumulated over the last 30 years, all of which I thought was important at one time and which i have been loathed to get rid of ... until now. I have had to be very careful not to replace old stuff with new stuff though my financial situation has helped a great deal in that regard, as has the fact that everything has to have a place on ABISHAG and even at 39 feet, there is not all that much space, at least not for file cabinets and rocking chairs and the like. I am certain, from all that I have read, that I will also be disposing of even more stuff along the way as I find it is completely useless to me, nice to have but useless. It is already a rather extensive life-style change and dealing with it can, at time, be difficult. I am not quite use to it yet, but i am getting there. I keep thinking of that biblical image of God as the potter fashioning the clay. I wonder what kind of "pot" I will turn out to be?

Monday, Maybe Tuesday!!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

The last few days have been rather busy as I am more putting the boat back together than anything else. In fact, a good part of today was a "Clean up" day. Not soap-and-water type clean up but a get-rid-of-all-the-stuff- you-no-longer-need-for-the-boat. Back to the car went drills, saws, grinders, dremmel tools and the like. Into the trash went all the cardboard boxes holding stuff to be installed and suddenly there was actually room to move around without tripping over stuff. Places for the tools that will be traveling with me have been found and things are falling into place.

I installed a new manual bilge pump and re-built the old one as a back-up, though if I ever need two bilge pumps, in addition to the automatic one, I am not sure that one the boat is the place I want to be. It would mean one heck of a lot of water trying to get on board which probably means that I would be leaving.

Today in the mail saw the arrival of the vinyl lettering for the name as well as the official documentation papers. We are all official now but it also means that I have to get out of state 30 days after the boat is ion the water or I will owe the state of Connecticut $3,400 in sales taxes and a couple hundred more to register the boat in the state. It is something I will have to work out over the winter south of here. I will have to register the boat when I come back in the summer as I'll be at the Thames Yacht Club but if I register it in a state that doesn't charge for registering documented boats, I can get away with not having to pay the sales taxes in Connecticut.

The weather has been moderately crappy for the projects I want to do, namely finishing off the bottom painting, attaching the last zinc, compounding and waxing the hull. I thin k summer is definitely gone and fall is here big time. The cold rain has made it easier to track down the leaks whose sources have so far eluded me. Water tends to travel in a boat, coming in over here and showing up inside over there. Tracking down leaks is even more fun that tracing pipping and wires. Leaks are almost magical, or intelligent. It is as though they are playing a game of hide and seek with you ..... and they cheat. It is as though they love to send you on a wild goose chase and after having you pull out this piece of hard ware and re-bed it, it wait an appropriately decent time before leaking again or from some new spot. Ah, the joys of boating.

The last of the thru-hulls are in and the hull is sound and so the boat is going in the water on Monday or Tuesday. Not my decision but rather the yard manager as he is running out of room and at 39 feet long and 12 feet wide, ABISHAG takes up a pretty nice chunk of boatyard. She will go into a slip until the electrical work is done and I get to check out the systems that need a working electrical system to function. Once everything checks out, it is pay the bill (UGH!) and hit the road, metaphorically speaking.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

The departure day is almost here and I still have a million things to do. The trip south will be dictated by the weather. If it is crappy, I'll day trip down either the Connecticut or Long Island Coast, down the New Jersey Coast, up the Delaware Bay and down the Chesapeake. If the weather is good, it will be a straight shot from Montauk to Cape May and then up the Delaware and down the Chesapeake. I don't have to full stock up before I go as there are grocery stores(I still have my WINN DIXIE Card) and West Marines up and down the eastern seaboard. The boat has no heat so I would not want to hang around too, too long but will see what happens. The hammy is better and so is the car, though the mechanic fixing it did a less than admirable job re-connecting to cooling hose to the radiator. Had to get another tow. Thank God for AAA.

Actually, I am a bit amazed how calm and relaxed and non-stressed I am right now. I guess God's plan has worked. While I plan ahead, I tend more now to practice mindfullness and live in the moment. Everything necessary will be done and when all is ready, the actual sailing part of the journey starts. It is exciting to think about it.

I Could Just Scream!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

It is somehow appropriate that Captain Binghamton of the TV SHow "MCHALE'S NAVY" comes to mind , especially since his signature line is "I could just Scream," as he gets frustrated in his plans just when he thinks he has everything under control. That is certainly me this week.

Actually the projects on the boat are going very well. The LPG Locker is set and needs only paint. The Hydrovane Wind Steering System was dry fitted and awaits only a couple of pads to be cut and fitted for it to be assembled and ready to go. All the thru-hulls have been polished and, while still awaiting the two missing thru-hulls, they are on their way and can be popped in when they get here. The Watermaker needs only installation and the wiring needs finishing. Aside from that, only the numerous and never-ending projects on the boat list remain to be done, items that can be done "underway."

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

So it is understandable that I would feel a little like Capt. Binghamton when on Wednesday the timing belt went in the engine in my car and took out at least three valves. Evening if that is all the damage done, it will be $1,500 and odds are that it will be more than that. That's $1,500 that I really can't spare at this time but which I will have to spend. However, one had to do what one has to do and eventually I became at peace with that. Then again, there was Thursday and i evidently ripped the scar tissue on the hammy. Suddenly that horse bit me again and for two day's now I have really be unable to go up and down a ladder. I could just scream!--this time in pain. Thank goodness the weather has been crappy but it is still another frustration upon another frustration.

Zen And The Art Of Bottom Painting!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

I nearly had a heart attack today. I pulled into the West Mystic Shipyard , made a left turn to where ABISHAG has been sitting for weeks and she was gone! Talk about panic! Who the hell steals 12 ton boat sitting on the hard? And how would they do it? It seemed like an eternity before my brain kicked into gear and I realized that the boat had simply been moved. In that I am not wintering in Mystic (please God), I was on the hard in a spot where another boat in normally stored. This was fine until that boat came out of the water which it evidently did this morning and so I go moved to a new spot. It was a small first step closer to the water...literally!

Today was the third shot at glassing in the LPG Locker and I didn't waste it. West Marine Epoxy Resin & Hardener. Expensive but boy does it work! The locker has a new layer of glass inside and out encapsulating the Formula 27 Filler. I will check it out tomorrow and quite possibly lay down another layer. In all likelihood it does not need it, it is pretty much bulletproof now, but as Oscar Wilde observed, "Nothing succeeds like excess!"

Touched base with my good friend Skip Beebe and Wednesday we will install the Windvane steering system. When that goes into place, at least the outside of the boat will really look like it is ready for the ocean. I am eager to try it out.

Bottom painting is a real art. True most of it seems to be just slapping on bottom paint but to do it right requires a real ZEN like approach....well at least doing the waterline does. ABISHAG has a red, white & blue waterline of marine enamel and the current bottom paint is a hard type, red in color. Today I had to cut-out, that is with a brush go around all the thru-hulls (don't paint your thru-hulls) and get into all the place you can't reach with a roller, like the area between the edge of the rudder and the deadrise. But the part that needs the real Zen approach is the intersection of the bottom paint and the waterline. And that poses a question, how do you paint a straight line on a curved hull? What makes it a little more challenging is that this is the first boat I can't quite paint standing on the ground.

The first few times I paint bottoms, like everyone else I used masking tape and razor blades to be sure the paint line was perfectly straight. It made the job rather tedious and it never quite turned out perfect. But working for a couple of winters in the Farrar Sail Loft in New London, I learned the art of making a curve with a straight line. All the panels of a sail have straight edges and all of the edges of a sail (luff, leach & foot) are also straight and yet all sails have a curve in them. Bed sheets, towels, curtains are all straight and sails are curved. Once you know the art, it is easy and it transfers, as Kevin and John taught me, to painting the straight line of bottom paint on the curved side of a boat. The best part is that if you do it right, you use only one continuous piece of tape all the way around the boat this makes it a great deal easier, not only in painting, but in taking the tape off the boat. You grab one end and walk around the boat and off it comes. I would explain how it is done but as some Zen master said, nothing can be taught, it can only be learned. The easiest way to understand it is to answer the question, How does one get to Carnegie Hall? And tomorrow that bottom will be fully painted.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I can't believe how panicked I was when I didn't see ABISHAG where I was accustomed to seeing her. But it was a good thing that she got moved. I was getting far to comfortable where I was and it was a good reminder that I still have a journey to complete. With the weather getting chilled I have pretty much completed the alternate course south. Even though it would only be a 24 hour dash from Montauk to Cape May, it seems easier in warm weather than in cold. Actually it seems a little scary in the cold as opposed to the warm. Not that I expect any problems for ABISHAG will be as ready as I can make her. Rather it is just that I think ( I don't really know yet) that weather will be less settled. I am not concerned once I get to the Chesapeake, it is the trip from here to Cape May. That is why I want to get the boat in the water as soon as I can, so that I can shake her and me down. I have more confidence in the boat right now than I do in myself, but I also know that I can do this. God is sure making this an interesting learning situation. In any event, even if I have to day sail and motor the whole way, I have no intention of spending the winter here. I really hate the cold.

Remembering What I Forgot!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

Doing all this work on ABISHAG is wonderful for remembering all sorts of things I used to know well but have forgotten over the years. It took a long time over the years when to know and really believe that that nut/bot/screw is actually tight enough. Of course, it took many a fastener going TWANG and needing to be replaced after my giving it "just one more turn" for the lesson to finally sink in. After all, if use shows it is not tight enough, you can always tighten it some more later.

You tend to fasten a lot of things on a boat, so the lesson gets a lot of re-enforcement. The same can not be said for fiberglass work. Glassing over the LPG Locker extension proved that all too well. I really thought I had that one bagged. In one of the storage containers I have for boat stuff, I had two quarts of polyester resin and hardener. Three different types of fiberglass and all the mixing tubs, sticks, rollers, brushes and gloves needed to build a boat let alone simply glass over the LPG Locker extension. These items were left over from re-decking the O'Day 27 I used to own two boats ago and since it had been a good ten years since that time, I decided to proceed very carefully and do just the exterior of the locker inside the boat.

I mocked up the glass pieces; sanded the area; put down a plastic tarp; laid out the tub, mixing sticks, the resin and hardener; even checked the temperature. I gloved up and mixed the first batch of resin, wetted out the glass and laid it in place. There is nothing like fiber glassing. To paraphrase Robert Duval in "APOCALYPSE NOW," "I love the smell of styrene in the morning. It smells like victory." I waited 15 minutes and found that the resin was still wet. It didn't seem to be kicking at all so I gave it another 25 minutes. But nope, it was still wet. I figured that perhaps the temperature was a little to low for the mixing ratio and I decided to wait overnight.

The next day the cabin was still filled with that "victory" smell but alas, the resin was still wet. My hope against hope, that it would kick and cure overnight was all for naught. I had to rip out the still wet fiberglass and toss it in the trash, clean off the old resin and prepare the sight again. Then it was cut more fiberglass, mock it up, mix the resin -doubling the hardener to resin ratio, wet out the glass, lay it in place and wait 20 minutes. Still wet and so another 20 minutes and it was still wet. Now I found this puzzling and so I called Jerry Schmitt who was my instructor at the Chapman School.

Me: Jerry I can't get my fiberglass resin to kick.

Jerry: Mix the right ratio?

Me: Yes.

Jerry: Did you try doubling it?

Me: Yes, still nothing.

Jerry: The temperature wasn't too cold was it?

Me: Nope. Check it with a thermometer.

Jerry: (Long thoughtful pause) What type of resin...polyester, vinylester or epoxy?

Me: Poly.

Jerry: How old is it?

Me: Ten years, give or take.

Jerry: Polyester resin is good for 6-7months, a year tops. Toss it and the hardener too. It's gone bad.

Me: But I never opened it.

Jerry: It goes bad in the can!

Jerry was very good as he didn't mention that somewhere in voluminous amount of material we covered at Chapman's, he had mentioned that point at least once. Modern chemistry and the sailor's habit of pack-ratting collided. Thee carefully saved resin, two cans no less,plus the tubes of hardener went into the trash and now I must make another purchase and do the whole glassing project all over again. "I hate the smell of styrene in the morning..in the afternoon..in the evening...anytime"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the "good"side of things, Tony and I worked out the arrangements for the installation of the watermaker. Actually, the set up is rather simple but it is plumbing and electricity and I still need help with it. The most difficult part will be fabricating a platform for the pump to sit on. The rest is really connecting the dots..."T"-ing to a water source, "T"-ing to the sink drain to get rid of the brine and into the water tank for the "good product" as the fresh water is called. Fresh water tends to be one of the those "necessary luxuries" for cruising. While you can get it "free" at most marina stops it is often heavily chlorinated in the States and you usually "pay" for it as part of the price for fuel. Outside of the States it is often more expensive than fuel and I get the impression from all the articles and books that the taste between the two isn't all that much of a spread. So being able to make one's own means at the very least self-indulgent showers!

I was able to get several more of those pesky projects done and it only cost me a chipped tooth. Doing projects on a boat, not only do you have to decide what to do and how to do it but also whether you do it from the outside in or from up above or from below. Sometimes, you have no choice but other times you do and problems come from laziness, not want to haul all the accouterments for the project from where you are to some other position. So it was that I lay in the aft cabin fighting with a couple of bolts corroded into the hatch above my head. Of course, to try and break the corrosion I was using penetrating oil. Oil is slippery and gravity works and I learned one should never try to catch a wrench with you mouth when it slips of the nut above your head. Actually, I am luck for it does not seem that the tooth is severely damage. It will probably only need to be "fared" a bit to look esthetically pleasing. What are the odds of that?

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Time is getting short. Not for the departure to take place but til the departure takes place. I was checking things out yesterday and really the watermaker, the wind vane steering, bottom painting and the last of the wiring are all that holds back putting the boat into the water. It sends a shiver of excitement through me to think that it is that close. There is still a ton of stuff that I "need" but nothing that I really need. And in any event, until the Bank of America demands their card back, I can always buy stuff on the way. And it is cheaper down South! Getting started, pulling away from the dock, all fueled and necessary provisions, how great is that?

Sometimes It Can Be A Real Grind!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

The job should have been simple: Check the fit of the extension of the LPG locker by putting the new cylinders inside, note any high spots, remove the cylinders and grind down the high spots, check the fit again and if correct, glass in the extension. A five minute job. OK, maybe a half-hour job, or perhaps, if I really screwed things up putting in the Formula 27, an hour, but that would be it. TOPS! Right?

Would you believe 4 hours? The reason? Evidently, despite being very,very careful in aligning the bottom with the top of the locker, locking it in place with supports, it ended up being just slightly out of square and it was grind, grind, grind. Check the fit. Grind, grind, grind some more. Check the Fit and grind some more. What made it more fun was that the bottom of the lockers was exactly square, it also wasn't exactly level either. It was twisted so that when I put the cylinders into the locker, the aft cylinder leaned just a bit outboard and the forward cylinder leaned just a bit inward. So more fit, grind, grind, grind.

Finally, after 4 plus hours, the cylinders fit nice and snugly inside the locker and the hatch closes. Perhaps the one good thing about the snug fit is that the tie down system will be required only to keep the cylinders from going vertical. There is no way that they will move horizontally. One always has to find good in bad.

The next part of the process will be the glassing process. It should be a pretty straight forward (HA!) project. A couple layers of fiberglass tape glassed on the exterior and a couple of layers on the interior. Of course, of course there is already a challenge. How do I glass in the part of the locker that faces the inside of the hull. Problems: 1.) There might be four (4) inches of space between the locker and the hull; 2.) One cannot see behind the locker so how does one know where to place the fiberglass; 3.) The locker in which the LPC Locker sits also contains the fill hose for the water tank and the fill hose for the fuel tank. They flank the LPG locker so how does one maneuver a resin soaked piece of fiberglass around them to the back of the LPG Locker? And those are only the problems...er...challenges of which I am currently aware. I fully expect that as soon as I start on this glassing process others will make themselves known. what really concerns me is the glassing the interior of the locker seems so straight forward and easy. What is in store for me there?

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Despite all that yet needs to be done, I am really beginning to feel that I will be underway before the end of the month.Most of the little things are done and the major things are either done or scheduled to be.While there are feelings of eager anticipation at the prospect, there is a part of me that refuses to believe it. It is that part of me that says it can't be done, at least by me, or that, at the very least, there is still too much to be done before I would be ready. In truth, everything won't be done but everything that needs to be done is fast approaching completion. Setting off from here and heading first toward the Chesapeake and then down the ICW means that there will be plenty of places along the way were I can stop if something major needs fixing. Like the trip up from Annapolis, it will be a long shake-down cruise, as much for me as for the boat. There is an interesting struggle going on inside between the part of me that knows I can do this and the part of me that keeps bringing up all sorts of reasons why I can't. It is tough to say which side has the louder vice and the upper hand at the present moment, but actually, I am ignoring both and just plugging ahead with getting the boat ready. When the keel kisses that water, then it will begin to get really interesting.

BUSY,BUSY, BUSY, WORK,WORK,WORK!!!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

It has been a busy time of late. Lots of little stuff got done and part of one big job. The Big job was the LPG Locker extension. It got cut, it got extended to the proper amount (4 inches) using paint stirrers screwed into both halves to hold them in place, and the space was filled with Formula 27( a Marine version of Bondo). All that remains to be don e is to 1.) Sand the inside and outside of the fill; 2.) Score the fill and the gelcoat: 3.) Fiberglass it in place and voila! c'est fini! I expect any number of things to go wrong just because they can.The whole three step process will take longer than expect for each step will take longer than expected, but, and this is a big but, it will get done!

Found, filled and stain a bunch more screw holes in the wood work. It is getting done and is serviceable but it is nowhere near what you would call "Bristol."There is not a great deal of interior wood work in the boat and most of what there is is in pretty decent shape, finish wise. However, under the leaky ports ( two of them) and fronting the fridge the woods needs sanding, staining and varnishing. This will probably have to await the upcoming trip. It will give me something to put on the ongoing maintenance list. Right now I am concentrating on what is necessary to get the boat back in the water.

Like those leaky ports. Two of them leak, well more weep than leak. The leaks come from the screw holes made by the screws that hold the interior and exterior port trim in place. One of the previous owners, in a fit of maintenance, removed the trim, rebedded the lexan ports, and refasten the trim using screws that were just a tad too long. The screws went through the topsides and made contact with the opposing trim piece. as a result, you couldn't screw them down tight enough to make a water tight seal and naturally, after awhile, with the shrinking of the bedding, water worked its way in and did its damage. It was a long boring process of taking out the screws, removing the lexan, cleaning off the caulking, rebedding the lexan, recaulking the trim and the screw holes and screwing in the proper length screws. It literally took hours but was a simple job and, best of all, it worked and the ports are sealed again.

I also did a total lube job on all the hatches, hinges and dogs. I still haven't quite figured a way to loosen up the genoa cars or the dogs on the aft hatch but I do have some people working on it. But so far they still remain frozen in place.

The arrival of the watermaker has placed its installation on the front burner. It has to as it takes up far too much room sitting on the deck in the salon. I was actually hoping that it would be in by today but the fellow who was to help me do it was unable to make it Saturday but hopefully it will get tackled this week. It is not a terribly complex job, just a couple of simple connections once everything is in position, but it is a case of know what to do when and in what order so that the thing works in the end that makes it a bit nerve racking.

The thru-hull for the exhaust is in place, leaving only the two for the heads to be done...when they get here. Those along with the wind vane steering should just about do it. Then it is bottom paint, a coat of wax, the new name and a way we go. True, I still haven't gotten the outboard for the dingy done, but then I don't have a dingy yet either. There is a kind of symmetry in that. Then too, the wiring isn't quite done yet either and I am foolishly hoping that the refrigeration is perfect though I haven't even looked at it yet. The SAT phone, radios, GPS also have to be installed and then there is a major clean-up that has to be done after all the work in complete, but I love a challenge!

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I was thinking the other day that I actually might make the end of the month for departure. It would be great but if I don't, I'll go when I am ready. when I realize that I am trying to squeeze a summer of work into such a short time, I am a little less hard on myself. When ABISHAG and I are ready, we will go. It may not be the way I had hoped and envisioned, but then it is not a question of going or not but simply how the journey is to happen.