Spending another week at the boat

Road trips are pretty good in general but this one was not one of the best I have done. Most week day commuters are pretty good drivers and Florida must be a very safe place to drive because I saw lots of motorcycle riders without their helmets. I left work Friday afternoon and headed to my car which was loaded to the gunnels with stuff I had been collecting to take to the boat. I was a bit concerned leaving my car at the free car parking lots at the train station but I parked opposite the taxi stand and all was well when I picked it up. It took me 2 hours to drive the 50 rush hour miles out of town and it was hot as blazes because I didn't want to use the Air Conditioning, just in case the car overheated. Usually what I do is start driving, and when I feel tired, I pull over at a rest stop and sleep in the car. Well come 10 pm I started yawning a bit so I pulled over and grabbed my pillow for a kip. I fell asleep right away but a short time later I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. The problem was that the car was so full that I had no room to move the seat and that left me trying to sleep, bolt upright. I went on like this for several hours and finally around 3 am I had the bright idea of taking a lot of the stuff out of the back seat and placing it on the roof so that I could recline the seat back. So I did get 2 good hours of sleep. That was followed by a Cracker Barrel big breakfast and Coffee. Mmmmmmm! They pulled the boat out of storage and into the work yard for me and once on board I discovered some good news and some bad news.
Firstly the good news. Despite the warning labels saying that those foggers that I let off back in May, did not kill recluse spiders, I discovered about 20 dead carcasses scattered about the boat like this one.

Next to the bilge where horror of horrors, it was overflowing.

So all that work on trying to get rid of leaks was a total waste. It mightn't look like it but I must have dumped about 30 buckets of water out of that bilge. So back to the drawing board and I have my work cut out for me tracing leaks once more. I needed a simple project to start out and cheer me up so I took the LED lights and replaced out the incandescent ones left.

The red ones looked quite bright and in case you were wondering, they are red so that you can protect your night vision when needed. I have these in 3 places on the boat.
It was then that I need a nap in the V-berth because the humidity and heat had really got to me. I slept for about 5 minutes before waking to a loud noise and water on my face!

When I got up to take this photo it had stopped raining at my boat but was coming down in buckets, not 20 yards away from me. I had to do something about all this water, so I used my tried and true recipe for problem solving......go shopping. I headed off to Wally World and went up to a gum chewing teenager at the checkout and asked her in my very best English, where I could find a tarpaulin. This was followed by silence and a long "are you from outer space" stare. So then I asked her again.....Where can I find a tarp?......you know...T _ A _ R _ P. More silence and then she asked me what a tarp was. Grrrrrrr! So I explained as best I could what one looked like and finally Eureka, she said, "Oh you mean a tarp!" So I picked out a fancy brown one that was "heavy duty" and grabbed a bunch of other essential things that I had left at home, like a pen a paper (don't ask) and just as I was headed back I passed by that yummy Mexican place. Unfortunately being 5.30 pm it was packed, so I will take a rain check.

I actually did pretty well on dinner and afterwards I put the tarp up.

I need to be careful that I don't get too lavish, otherwise I will have to invite Kate and Willy around.

Egg timer for staying awake all night long and not being run over by the Queen Mary

I have a regular kitchen timer but I sleep the sleep of the dead and it's innocuous sound does me no good to turn off and turn over to go back to sleep. So I went on the hunt for a real noise shattering device and found this.

Now this thing doesn't look like much but boy oh boy, does it demand respect! It starts out with some minuscule beeps and ends up with an ear piercing squawk, so if you don't get to it quickly, you will be sorry. So I have been practicing and last Saturday I went through the entire night waking up every hour for a little bit and then going back to sleep. I need to get it down to 20 minute intervals so I have a ways to go but it looks possible. The idea is that ships take around 20 minutes going at 15 knots from below the horizon to get to you. I plan on having AIS too which should alert them to my presence, but I would rather be proactive. Actually, the whole idea of a disturbed sleep really irritates me. I love my sleep almost as much as I like to eat and with the possible combination of seasickness and sleep deprivation, you have to wonder why on earth anyone would choose to go sailing.

Fishing anyone?.................My first aid kit

I needed a first aid kit and looked all over for a ready made one and in the end decided to make my own. I went to the container store and looked at all the different types and ended up with a large plastic tackle box. I like that it is fairly water tight and being transparent, you can see at a glance that it is a first aid kit.

I guess everyone is different, so I tailored the contents to what my medical history has been. Tums, aspirin, throat lozenges, band aids, swimmer's ear, iodine, scissors, needle and thread, sun burn cream, thermometer, safety pins, Lidocaine, athlete's foot, ibuprofen, Tylenol, isopropyl alcohol, and bandages. I need to pick up some prescription medicine from the doctor including seasickness medication, and antibiotics. I will keep it around me and add to it as I see fit.

preparing to visit

Next week I am heading down to the boat to spend another week working on her. Even though I haven't been down there since May, I have not been idle. Besides collecting stuff I have finally got her documented after 4 months with the 7% Florida sales tax paid.

I have also been studying for my Ham exams in preparation for communicating on SSB High frequency radio for voice and email. I have passed my Technicians license and am at present studying for the very tough General class. My call sign is KK4RWL

I ordered an anchor light and tricolor from Bebi Electronics in Fiji and converted my Guest Masthead light over which also has a strobe light.

Also some special spider spray to hopefully kill all the recluse spiders on the boat.

I am hoping to replace my compass on the boat with this new one. The one on the boat doesn't work and you can't see through the glass.

Next is a marine outdoor speaker that has an ear piercing alarm on it that I plan on mounting to the mast near the spreaders.

Next a couple of self tailing winches.

And as well, a head sail, some sheets of lexan, coax cable, some rigging parts and lots more.

I'll have my work cut out for me when I get there, but this time I am not going to bust my gut trying to accomplish everything.

On the road again

Bright and early those marina staff were on the ball.

And now tucked away in her new location until I can get to her again.

Next time I get back it will be hot, hot, hot. So I plan on running the AC all day and working on the Yanmar inside out of the heat in the afternoons. At least that is the theory of it. Who knows when we get down to brass tacks what I will do.

It's a wrap!

Day 13......a vacation you ask? Working your tail off from dawn to past midnight in hot and freezing weather? Yes! Absolutely. Best holiday ever! So my last day started out putting up mosquito netting on the hatch over the V-berth so that I wouldn't have to wake every couple of hours from the zzzzzzzz of those pesky insects.

Measure twice, cut once. Velcro makes this stuff like child's play.

Next install navigation lights on the bow.

I am going to have to run new cable but that is for another day.

I had to cannibalize 2 to make one for the port side and even then it is slightly at an angle.

I worked the rest of the day put anchor rollers on the bow sprit. There was aluminium, stainless steel and brass involved so I had to insulate one against the other. I found some plastic tubing at Ace hardware that fit perfectly over the half inch screw and inside the bow rollers.

All finished and it looks good but what an ordeal. Especially after dry fitting them, then turning around and having to caulk to stop water egress.

In the yard Day 12

I worked until 1am last night cleaning out the old marine air system. Saw lots of recluse spiders and only killed one of them. Started out this morning installing a stanchion post.

Next I finished off the port side of the windlass.

Then I began cutting up pieces of fiberglass mat for the 3 projects I am working on.

To begin with I ground out the outside of the hull where the depth transducer used to be and where I had glassed on the inside yesterday.

I ground back probably half an inch.

Then cleaned it up with acetone.

Then put 5 layers on.

Then on the inside.

Then up front at the bow on the inner bobstay.

At this stage it was too hot to work so I had a siesta and afterwards went down and picked up a package from Bud Taplin at the westsail parts company. It included a set of running rigging and a new tiller all up about $700. Before I use the tiller I have to give it 2 coats of epoxy and 5 coats of varnish. I also need to make a cover for it to keep it out of this harsh sun. If I don't it will end up like my old tiller.

Craig, the previous owner stopped by and dropped of the Aries wind vane that will help me steer the boat.

It weighs a ton!

At this stage it got too hot so I retreated downstairs and fired up the air conditioning unit and ate dinner comprising a can of sardines, beans and sweet potatoes.

Afterwards I installed a hose from the bathroom sink to it's thruhull.

Finally as it was getting dark I finished up installing a hawse pipe. Trouble is I suspect the bolts and nut are brass instead of bronze.

Early to bed tonight as I am beat!