IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

SHIP'S LOG:

There is something wrong about there being snow on teak decks! I was hoping that when I next saw snow it would be on a TV in a bar in the Caribbean somewhere! Needless to say, I am not happy.

Friend Kenny is coming by to install some speakers so that I will have tunes on ABISHAG. Strangely, when the boat was sold, the previous owner took out the speakers but left the radio/CD player. The cold weather makes working on the boat difficult but the heat has been on all weekend and it shouldn't be too, too bad.

The transmission filter with the hole in it is gone and replaced with a newly manufactured piece. This will keep the oil from dripping into the bilge where it ferments and begins to stink. That problem is solved and the water that ends up in the bilge should now be fresh and sweet smelling . . . . Yea, right! Another good point about being "stuck" in Mystic is that I got the opportunity to replace several of the engine hoses which looked problematic.

Getting to the boat today, I found the deck covered with several inches of ice. There would have been more but the gunnel is only so high and the rest got washed overboard. The nasty little storm of Sunday really coated everything and the ice got in everywhere. It plugged all the deck drains and scuppers causing the ice to build up. Even the cockpit, with the Bimini and dodger, was filled with enough ice to cover the teak grating. The electrical cable from the boat to the dock was covered by a layer of ice and snow and when it was laid out, it wasn't supported. As a result, it disconnected from the dockside terminal and there was no electricity going into the boat from whenever it disconnected until I re-connected it today. The weight of the ice, along with the fact that the ice "stuck" it to the deck, along with the movement of the boat in the wind, was just enough to disconnect it from the terminal. Disconnecting shut down the power panel which has the invert switch on it so the "radiator/heater" it was powering shut off and the boat was "just a tad cool' to say the least. Reconnecting the power activated the inverter and the radiator and produced a modicum of heat. I was hoping that the boat would have been "comfortable" enough to work in, and it probably would have been had the heater remained on since Friday. It was another one of those plans that went astray.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I don't want to say that I am slow on the uptake or anything like that, but I am beginning to suspect that maybe, just maybe Mystic will be the farthest south I get before Spring. Considering I had thought that the middle of October would be late to make a start, the present situation really makes that laughable. I was going to start living on the boat this week, but considering that it is not suppose to even make it into the 30's for a high, I have decided that discretion is the better part of valor. Somehow, shoveling snow off the boat and hissing blue breaths were not images that ever crept into my mind when I was sweating up a storm back in August and September. while I was working on the boat today, in the bright sunshine, I was listening to the marine radio and they were talking about a gale off shore for today and tonight, and high winds for the rest of the week. I looked over the route for the hundredth time and wondered what it would be like out there today. "Not pleasant" was about the best I could come up with. Boy, I would hate to make a start and then get stuck somewhere. I can see such an event as putting a real damper on the whole enterprise. It is why I wanted to get away before it got anywhere near this cold. I am not a winter person and I hate the cold. I also miss the sun, being a sufferer of S.A. S. (Seasonal Adjustment Syndrome). When we have so few hours of sunlight, I get the blahs and it is tough to get motivated to do much. Every little job becomes a major project and frustrating in the length of time it takes to get it done.

Still the thought of seeing palms trees, discarding shoes, jackets and long pants for short, sandals and T's has the power to keep me working at it. I guess the 6months of work I was going to do in three is going to take 6 after all. I'll be moving the boat into wet storage....when it gets warmer!

THE WORK GOES ON!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

Well, it's like this ...... The only electrical items that need to be connected are the GPS, (A second)VHF & SSB. Two 12 volt outlets need to be wired, and one of the 110 outlets needs to be replaced and that's it. However....... there is the engine! The engine runs strong and is in good shape but it doesn't heat up. Now this may seem like a non-problem, but it is how the hot water is made hot. Even putting the boat under a load, doesn't really raise the temp all that much. The hoses that circulate the water through the engine and into and out of the hot water tank don't seem to be getting particularly warm. It is probably due to the fact that it is winter, but it makes it difficult to know if the temp gauge is working correctly and accurately or even working. It doesn't help that one of the hoses decided to split and spray coolant and/or raw water everywhere. Fun, fun, fun... I am not sure if I can take anymore fun!

I am finally hooking up the solenoid and hoses for the propane system for the stove. I have gotten a double system so that I can monitor both tanks at the same time and can switch propane sources without going through the process of disconnecting one tank and re-connecting to the second tank. I will be installing the system today and then, after checking the solenoid and the "sniffer," will fill the tanks. I am planning a little cooking experiment if all goes well.

The electrician was very impressed with the refrigeration system. He noted that another boat in the yard has the same system and he refers to it as "golden." Now, I still don't know that it actually works. The electrician winterized the system but didn't try it out, still he was impressed by the system. He noted that it uses a "a lot of electricity, but you have a lot." Actually, at this point it is colder outside the fridge than in. Following the raw water line for the system, there is a fixture in the line at the thru-hull. It looks like the top of a raw water strainer. Unfortunately, the container with the strainer in it is no where to be found. It means another trip to the chandler.

I still have a leak problem, actually two. The main hatch and the companionway hatch still are leaking. I am having trouble tracking down the leak from the companionway hatch as it is very clear that it is traveling from somewhere else. Tracking it down means taking down some of the headliner, not something i want to do right now. The main hatch over the table in the salon still leaks. I have sealed it inside and out side and water is still making its way in, less than before but it is still coming in. I am almost a loss to figure out what else I can do to stop it. I may have to do a new hatch come spring.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I am planning to move on to the boat. Getting used to living on the boat and adjusting to the confines is important. I have already identified two spots where I tend to whack my head and have to get used to ducking automatically when I go through these spots. Arranging stuff on the boat will also be served by this. I am still looking for a couple of bungee cords that I carefully put away a couple of weeks ago and I have been unable to find since. Getting into the routine of checking and doing preventative maintenance is also something I need to work on. There are a whole host of things that need to be learned and discovered and this will be a great opportunity. Plus, if I get a break in the weather, I can start off at a moments notice. Of course it will sort of be like living in a tree house in your backyard, I will have access to everything I need, but I need to develop the lifestyle of living on the boat. It should be rather interesting in the Nor'easter expected this weekend!

AND SO IT GOES!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

I really do hate getting a cold. To avoid this very thing is one of the reasons that I wanted to head south. "Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray"....just ask George.

I made the mistake of going to the boat on Friday. I had made the last "major"purchase (the inflatable dinghy) and wanted to drop it off at the boat rather than leave it in my car. Good idea but bad timing. It was cold and snowy and I had not completely gotten over the cold and I have paid for it over the next few following days. From the quick inspection it appears that everything is done (hopefully) but I won't know for sure until I talk with the electrician. But there really, really can't be that much left undone, can there be?

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Anchoring! How exactly is one person to set an anchor on a 39ft sailboat? And how is one person to retrieve said anchor? In calm air? In a bit of a blow? For some reason, I have been thinking about anchoring a lot the last few days. Surely it is an important topic, but I have worked out how I will be doing it. Having done the vast majority of my sailing solo, I have had to work out such problems several different time on the various boats I have owned. While size and weight are significant factors and have to be a major consideration, the steps to that dance have already been choreographed. The most important thing is planning, knowing what you will do and how you will do it ahead of time. The second most important thing is patience, as are the 3rd, 4th & 5th.

I have been following the weather more closely the last 10 days. The weather is going to be the hang up I fear. Getting to the Chesapeake will be key I feel. Up here in the great Northeast, the weather has become freezing and very unstable and makes getting away rather hard. I would really like 4 days of stable weather. That should get me to the Chesapeake even with the diminishing sunlight. Once there, the only real problem will be Ablemarle which, because it is open and shallow, is susceptible to winds and storms and can be nasty. Still in all, better Ablemarle Sound than Fishers Island Sound.

I will be heading down to the Shipyard tomorrow and I'll find out where the boat and I stand. And after that, well it depends on what i hear.

I WAS AFRAID OF THIS - PART II

SHIP'S LOG:

Well, I was afraid of this! The weather has become freezing cold (what a surprise in December!) and the work is not quite done, so I am still here and will be here at least through the middle of next week! I have had to "winterize" the boat, not a big deal and easily reversible, but it is what it signifies - Winter is here big time!

I have been unable to get down to the boat for the last few days as the "cold & flu Season" has claimed me as a victim. I presume that the work has pretty much been completed but I assume that it is all not done. In one sense, I would rather that it not be completed as it would be a painful thing to be ready to go and yet be unable to go because of the weather. If I am feeling up to speed I will head down tomorrow and check out just where we are.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

The days have become more winter than late Fall and I am beginning to wonder whether or not I will be able to actually get away. The heating on the boat is enough to take the raw edge of the chill off making it not uncomfortable inside, but on deck, in this current weather, will be just a little raw. If I can get a break in the weather for 4 days to a week, I can get to where the weather will not matter as much but it might be a bit much to hope for. This does not make me happy, but it also gets me thinking about the why. What is God trying to get me to think about, to deal with, to grow into this time? I haven't quite got that figured out just yet but now it looks as though I will have the time to figure it out.

I WAS AFRAID OF THIS!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

No change in the boat since the last post. Hopefully today the electrician will be finishing his work and it will all be done by the end of business Wednesday.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I was afraid that this was going to happen, both the weather and my health have gone into the crapper! Since Friday the weather has been in the low 30's and there has been snow and freezing rain on and off. It really hasn't been conducive to hauling stuff down to the boat and finding places to stow it. For those of you who have not walked down a cock in the winter, nothing ices up quite like it. You get that constant coating from the wind-whipped-water, so even if the yard did ice removal, their efforts would be thwarted before they were finished. And as difficult as it can be going down a main dock, the finger docks (those along side the boat) are even more fun, being narrower and often floating ( they move with the movement of the water). Trudging down such a structure with an armful of stuff and expecting to get it all safely on the boat( and yourself as well) is to be foolishly optimistic in the extreme. Adding insult to injury, I have come down with the first cold of the season. Nothing serious, just one of those 24-to-48 hour-fever-&-chills-two-exits-no-waiting type that is guaranteed to just make you feel miserable. What is frustrating is that this was the very thing I was trying to avoid by heading south. I had hoped that I has seen my last snow (fat chance), my last ice (except in a glass full of rum) and had my last cold/flu season. Had everything gone the way I had planned, I would have seen my first "Green Flash" by now, but we all know about "having a plan." Hopefully, both the boat and I will be up to speed by mid-week and, with a break from Mother Nature, heading south this coming weekend.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE POWER!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

With the batteries in, the time has come to check out the systems. The good news is that as far as it can be told, everything powered by electricity works!!!!! The less-than-good news is that getting them to work was a bit of an electrical nightmare. The English have a rather strange concept of "an orderly electrical arrangement." It seems as though those who wired the boat originally were penalized if they made simple connections.There are at least three(3), count 'em THREE different grounds on the boat. You need a ground for electricity to flow but on ABISHAG , you have to decipher which ground is tied to which circuit! And none of them is particularly easy to get to in the first place. And it is not just a matter of following the wire as it dips and darts and snakes its way under, around and through every bulkhead, deck and overhead. Several more terminal blocks ( all corroded) were discovered. More switches that didn't quite work all the time were revealed. More wire that went no where and which was ultimately connected to air was uncovered. ( there is a special place in the hereafter for people who do wiring like this!) Of course this would have been a lot harder and much more difficult if all that excess and unnecessary wiring had not already been removed. To show you how bad it was, in a mass of cables running next to the engine, the electrician found five (5) feet of copper tubing that was connected to nothing at either end! Perhaps it was some kind of fuel return line or whatever, but it had been so wrapped by the wiring, that we didn't even know it existed. It is doubtful that the last owner knew and who knows how far back it goes.

I have a semi-firm date for the completion of the work. The yard should, SHOULD be finished by Wednesday next! That means all the DC electrics will be up and running; that the shore power hookup will be up to code; the bypass for the hole in the transmission will be in place, the temp gauge and tach will be functioning; and the wind speed indicator will indicate wind direction and speed ( the genoa can be bent on again). What all this means is that I ain't leaving this weekend! It is just as well as there are still a few things left to be done ..... like a shake-down sail or two. All things being equal, and with a break from Mother Nature and the Weatherman, a week from Saturday should be the day. That's a definite maybe. We shall see what happens, always remembering George Armstrong Custer.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

It is amazing how many small things have suddenly reared their little heads now that things are seemingly coming to a head. There are an amazing number of last minute things that have shown up at the last minute. Things that I have put off because "there is plenty of time" have suddenly become very insistent about being settled immediately if not sooner. I am certain that I will get them all done and still forget a bunch until after I leave. Heck, it is a rare day that I do not go somewhere and forget half of the things I wanted to do. People who have been sailing with me always found it a bit funny when I did what I called "paranoia check" - juice off, seacocks closed, fuel shut off, etc - just before leaving the boat. And if I got interupted during the process, I would have to start from the beginning. If I didn't follow the routine, I just knew that I would forget somehting important and pay for it the next time I went for a sail. Remember the saying that goes:"Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you!" I have found enough items wrong when I did the check to justify doing the check. So I know that I will forget to do something before I leave and will forget to take something ( perhaps a number of thing) when I depart. Well, they don't call it "jury riggin" for nothing.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER JOB DONE

SHIP'S LOG:

It got upwards of 58 today(Tuesday). Slowly things are getting back into shipshape. Picked up the outboard from the shop. For sitting in the great wide open for over a year on the stern rail on the boat, it was in surprisingly good shape according to the mechanic at the Mystic River Boathouse. It looks as though it was never flushed after its last use and the salt deposits were everywhere. But now it runs fine and will provide good service til I get back up this way.

ABISHAG is 99% legal. The carved official documentation number has been affixed and the only thing that keeps her from being absolutely 100% legal is the home port is missing. It is too cold for the vinyl to stick so it will have to await the warmer climes to get put on.

The aft head has a leak in the seat seal. It will empty the bowl but doesn't have enough suction to refill it. I am not sure if the seals have to be replace or if the seat merely needs to be realigned. Of course, the seat adjusters are metal and corroded in place and located behind the bowl and are a pain to get at, but it is one of those tasks that needs doing. I won't be able to test the forward head until the electrics are up and running as it has an electric pump system. Hopefully that will be today(Wednesday)!

Yes, the batteries are in, as is the batteries switch. when I say in, I mean at WEST Marine and I will be picking them up this morning. Then we shall see what we shall see.

Also spent some time storing items on the boat, tools and repair items specifically. Unfortunately, they seem to take up a lot more space than I thought. It is definitely going to be a sorting out process that will take time and have to be redone several time until I finally get a system that works.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Even if everything goes perfectly with the electrics, I probably won't be getting away this weekend. It is possible but not probable. While I can't ever get the entire list done, there are still a number of small things that still have to be done and I can't, I won't go until the boat is ready. It is less frustsrating now than it was a couple of months ago. I have come to understand that time spent now to get the boat ready and right means there will be less time spent fixing problems later. Again, I am not looking for perfect, but ready.