The Shallow End

2011-12-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

wow. time flies when you're dodging bullets. well. hmm. yup. ok, still have a boat, but it's high and dry (kind of). I'm on the job hunt which will land us in different climes and who knows what sort of water. i've been in facebook land of late instead of this here noise channel, but withdrawing in a big way. maybe i'll post some uselessly useless stuff here over time. maybe not. we'll see what happens. cheers and happy holidays to all two of you who have forgotten that you subscribed to the rss feed... (rss? that's so mid-2ks).

a light breeze

2010-12-01T04:51:00.000-08:00

Seriously...

2010-06-15T03:18:00.001-07:00

Ruh roh. Now we've gone and done it. Chica and I are heading for St. Augustine to take a combined ASA 101/103 sailing course. We'll be backing the boat into the slip under sail in no time...

Jeers, chica matey!

2010-05-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

yup.

My Semi-Annual Post

2010-05-18T03:50:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd toss a note up here. I'm quietly embroiled in a battle to the death with the boat's electrical system. I've ripped out nearly all of the old electrics and am coming back at it from scratch. I've had to learn a lot about marine DC electrical systems, which is one of the general points of this whole boat exercise for me (to learn mildly useful stuff). It's been slow, I've been distracted, and I'm starting to get a little grumpy myself for not having the boat up and running back in the winter and spring - Florida's sailing season.

That's it for now. I'll probably post a big ole "how i did it" note with pix after I win the battle.

A New Year

2010-01-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

Misty morning and the marina has climbed to cloud base altitude. We've since rolled into a rainy, cooling day and are all snuggled into the boat with the heater going. Chica's doing lesson planning for her science classes, and I'm snooping around with DC electrics planning. A fine planning day...

New Year's eve festivities were aboard Down Time with Connie, Roger, Mary Beth, Bill, Pat, Joe, Michelle, and Richard. A cozy crowd of dock neighbors...

Pixie the Boat is surprisingly dry and comfortable inside. Of course, it helps that I covered the foredeck with plastic and held it down with gorilla tape yesterday before the rain started. The teak hatch rails appear not to have been bedded adequately or at all, so water drips merrily down the screws and directly onto Chica's side of the v-berth. Before we leave on Sunday morning, I'm going to remove the teak hatch rails, clean the glass on the deck, and gorilla tape everything down. I'll take home the rails and any other wooden pieces involved with the hatch and refinish them. I'm going to try out Bristol Finish - a two part urethane product. Hopefully, this stuff will align nicely with my lazy bone and keep me from messing about often with the little bit of teak that's outside the boat. I'm tired of Cetol and it's drab orange glow.

For the electrics, I'm going simple. I'll rip out all of the scary late 70s AC gear, and only allow AC directly to the battery charger for now. Past the battery charger, it's all DC. I'm investigating AGM batteries primarily because the boat's battery mounting locations are in the cabin. I quite dislike the idea of breathing charging gasses from flooded batteries and the potentials for sulfuric acid to spill when heeling or spray all over us and the living space when exploding. Beyond the batteries, I'm going with new oversized stranded, tinned wiring and Blue Sea Systems components. Simpler the better, since this stuff ain't cheap.

I've been having a little trubble with this post as both of you who subscribe might have noticed. I've retrained the notebook to live with Ubuntu 9.10 and am still getting used to the new environment's vagaries. OK, enough finger talking. Time to move along with my little rainy day projects.

Scrap Teak

2009-12-02T18:46:00.001-08:00

so, someone at work was ditching this arrangement of scrap teak for
$15. bungs, galley panel, rub rail repair, pilothouse trim, and
more... if chica-san doesn't want it in the house.

sewing lessons

2009-10-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

canvas & sails... here i come! don't quiver, you have plenty of time
before i get there.

and...

2009-10-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

the quarter berth do over is still underway. new panels partially
fitting. more wrassling before i'm done.

boo!

2009-10-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

haven't been blogging lately. been feeling quiet and still. here's a
shot of $10 spent well on non-skid stickies.

(fair) maiden voyage

2009-05-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

Cap'n Chica takes the helm, learns to holler "ready about" and "hard a-
lee," and prioritizes some of the next ...how we say... "improvements."

Shirley D sez...

2009-05-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

ditch the "adult content" button so she can use RSS. Ok, done! i just figured i was an adult and was tossing content at this thing, so it seemed obvious and logical. what exactly is "adult content?" is it just nekkidity and curse words? i'll never understand these things. no promise here that nekkidity and curse words won't show up...

Rise

2009-03-31T04:02:00.000-07:00

Monday morning has a distinctly industrious sound. Looking east-
northeast from the foreward hatch after slowly awaking, giggling
together, and arising. Good morning, world.

When the spirit moves me

2009-03-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

it's amazing what i can do when chica says she's selling the boat. threw it right in, it floated, sailed, and the engine ran with a little coaxing. of course, i wouldn't be home free without Kevin & Tom's help. Kevin and I sailed her over to the Boathouse under the power lines and around Devil's Elbow. She bit Kevin's finger, and we nearly buried the rail a couple of times in gusts up to 20 knots. ok, maybe we weren't that close. chica and i are heading up tomorrow to see if Pixie the Boat still floats and start with the rest of the projects. on the list are moving the engine more toward starting on the first bump, addressing the vberth comfort situation, and measuring for a cockpit bimini. minor poking around will include a good interior washdown, lazy jacks, some temporary cabin lighting, and some wiring along with various odds and ends. maybe even install the grill and cook something on it. having the boat in the water is far nicer than having it in the yard. way cleaner, too!

Ha!

2009-03-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Soon now

2009-03-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today's the day. Float.. upright... and all that.

...and nostalgia

2009-02-15T12:47:00.001-08:00

back in '92 (before the turn of the century) john and del were snooping around a chart of the st. johns (http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11487.shtml) and found rat island. nearby, of course, was polly island which served as a useful euphemism for the gold sailing jewelry motif and white captain outfit approach to boats. john and del let me in on their little club when I handed over beer and agreed to be admiral, commodore, gofer, and bilge boy... and agreed that there could never be any other members. well, you see, john was trying to sell his sailboat to me, so he had to make some concessions. there _was_ the initiation ceremony which required new members to drink a pitcher of beer poured down the ass crack of the current admiral(s) and/or commodore(s). unfortunately, both non-members of the RIYC were admiral(s) or commodore(s) depending on their mood and state of cleanliness. oh, man. must be why i've moved from beer to the wine that's been lurking in the fridge for a month or two. as i recall, herschel was the 4th confirmed non-member. i sense in the making a re-convergence... a re-alignment... a cooler full of beer. at least some sailing and some lying.

as all good yacht clubs do, we had races. mostly beating cheaks down the dock to get more beer, but races nonetheless. cheating in any observable manner was highly encouraged. points were awarded for ramming other boats, insulting the skippers, stealing their beer, and stealing their women. note that this was before women were allowed into the club (or would accept an invitation or offer a beer). holing other boats raised the points algorithmically. sinking other boats and drowning their skippers (much to their chagrin) was the stuff for which songs were written in the RIYC verbal history. tussling with non-non-members seemed to happen fairly often, and was a source of great anticipation, joy, and entertainment. tussling with non-members was not out of the question, either. we had to change the points accumulation rules on a daily basis, and immediately lost track of who was ahead. good thing beer was available. the first and only behavioural rule, to which we all were required to sign affidavits (or maybe not) was, "there shall be no rules." time passed, and folks got wind of the RIYC. i remember having to deny the existence of the RIYC and my involvement in it when the Palatka Yacht clubbers started inquiring as to how to join. why do people like to join groups? is it the cool factor? is it an acquisition - a collection - a be here now thang? maybe it's just the chance to drink a beer together. that's alright.

that was back in the day.

this is now. i have paid membership dues and received a license tag, a momentus event in the history of the RIYC, surely! things have changed. my vehicle has intermittent wipers, windows that roll all the way up, and a/c. it claims "no trouble codes found" on a regular basis. absolute luxuries. the state of florida has heard of the RIYC. i seem to recall that RIYC was told to cease and desist with the "RIYC" thing - a proper throwback to the good old days. i heard the letter threatened something about tarnishing a motif of boat jewelry and white captains' outfits. so now there's a modicum of respectability about the whole venture, if not a website (http://ratisland.com). and rules. oh, the rules. and the insurance! if insurance is not of satan, it is satan itself (you know that satan is "shaitan" which simply means "against, adversary, opponent, etc. " don't you?). so now i have to buy insurance to park my boat. this i will do because it's a rule. the cost of entry to the boat game these days.

well, you see the state of the wine glass and the recently enshrined RIYC license tag, don't you? you will surmise what you may surmise. until later, chica says, "don't gleek the cat!"

ps - if you haven't done it already, go see Slumdog Millionaire at the movies.

There is beauty

2009-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

Goodbye

2009-02-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

Lesson #1472: Never sell your longleaf pine on white oak double-ended, canoe-sterned, 32 foot Danish sailboat to a woodworker with a pole barn who promises to take care of her.

1.75 Coats of Anti-Foulant

2009-01-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

Ugh. 1.25 to go, but a few days before we throw in. Lots of activity this weekend. Tom and Jerry were shoving boats all over the yard. More later.

1st Coat Bottom Paint

2009-01-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

One more tomorrow, then another before launch. I've got 60 days to get it into the water or I have to sand before I paint. Ack. Beat. Going for shower.

Last Barrier Coat

2009-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Now for the black Trinidad before the 2000E goes tack free.

Bootstripe!

2008-12-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

Das Boot Stripe

2008-12-21T05:05:00.000-08:00

Yahr, matey! Let the wild rumpus continue. A racing bottom it's not, but a-float it will. I'm jittering with excitement... or is it the coffee and allergy meds? Gotta scoot.

Sanding Again

2008-12-20T05:35:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning after eight and a dense fog advisory until nine. I'm warm and comfy in the boat and thinking about my impending state. Yes, that's right, I'm about to moonsuit up and sand the bottom, the boot stripe, and the cabintop stripe. Yippee. Plan is for Chica and me to come back up over new year's weekend ostensibly to roll on four coats of barrier coat, one coat of bottom paint, and as many coats of boot stripe as we can. Of course, it is widely known that our timing coincides with the rat island oyster roast, so you can find us there, too. Chica doesn't know it yet, but we'll probably get to painting the name on the transom. Progress...

As Kevin famously notes, "I'd rather suck an egg out of a chicken's ass than moonsuit up and sand the bottom of a boat." I'll second that and note that I would rather have #14 tooth ground to a stump and have a crown put on than manage an IT project using SAP Project System and comply with CMMI requirements. This should go a long way toward an explanation of why I'll find myself enjoying bottom sanding.

It's still foggy and wet out there. I've run out of things I can stand to type on this here touchscreen. Sorry about the auto-de-formatting that gets applied to the text (fixed, no longer sorry). Off to gear up.

The Clarity and Light of Hindsight

2008-12-03T04:01:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm not too good at this, but let's look backward at the whole window / pilot house panel thing for a moment. So far, the Starboard HDPE 1/4" panel idea is great. I really like what it does to the inside of the boat, to my concern about rot, and to my need to keep a clean ship. This is nice stuff.

First, words are somewhat less pleasant than pictures because they cause your mind to work harder to translate the symbols to concepts.

>> Here's the pix, if you want to relax for a moment.

Initially, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to stick the HDPE to the FRP cabin sides. My primary options tended to be really expensive, hard to get, bulk order only glues like 3M DP8010NS ($18.84 / ounce) and Reltek B45TH (which may just be rebranded 3M stuff). Secondary options were mechanical fastenings like unsightly, carefully measured screws and kayak footbrace mounting studs.

The parts I ended up with were:

(2) CPG Seaboard 1/4" x 54" x 96" Polar White UV from World Panel Products ($345). The Fabrication Guide goes into detail for your project.
(1) West System G/flex 655 2 QT kit from West Marine ($70) - Note: WM says "tube" but what you get are 2 quart paint cans. I had to scrounge up some syringes to extract and mix properly. I probably used 1-1/2 cups of mixed glue, total. Now I have a bunch for other projects. Also, I don't buy from WM unless necessary... which it was because of delivery times. G/flex instructions are here, and here, and here, and here.
Other bits and pieces.

The new windows that I got from Mark Plastics (951.735.7705) use clamp rings on the inside. These hold the Seaboard panels nicely for fitting and afterward during the curing period for the glue. Also, the old teak trim can be used to hold the panels to the FRP if I select and drill for screws of proper length. Finally, the brass Gulf insignia in port and starboard outsides of the pilot house are held on with screws that burrow into the HDPE a little, so they help hold it on.

Useful hint: denatured alcohol will remove "permanent" magic marker from HDPE

So, the whole installation went very well. It takes two people to do it comfortably and quickly. I performed the install in my head, writing down work instructions which I took along to the boat and immediately disregarded. However, having gone through the process in my head a few times to get it right, I was then able to improvise off of an established script. Chica-san and I were able to complete easily in 3 working days while being generally friendly with neighbors and going out to eat and such. For you in Alaska (you know who you are) who are launching into a similar project, I submit the gorey details:

remove brass "Gulf" insignia, port and starboard
Remove ply window hole covers
Clean residue from gelcoat
Dry fit new windows and adjust holes as necessary. Tape off with masking tape for silicone squeeze-out while new window is in hole.
Remove remaining ply from FRP inside & remove amine blush

Dry Fit Panels & Windows:

Starboard Side:
hold up & align
fit trim pieces to hold (pay attention to corner location to account for both panels - e.g. Stbd side to Port forward)
round all sharp edges on HDPE - sander / planer
drill / screw in Gulf Insignia with screws
J to hold aft window area
T to mark for trimming
Repeat for forward window area
Remove trim, Gulf Insignia, trim window holes out, reserve holes to use as hinged (?) window covers
Remount panel with trim pieces, using clamps in window holes
Drymount windows as workspace becomes available
Confirm that new screws are enough for new windows - purchase more if needed
**>> consider using old windows as panel clamps? would need to assure they are not glued to hole by squeeze-out. do initial squeeze-out with clamps, mask old windows? work this out.
Port Side: Repeat as above, applying lessons learned
Forward Port & Starboard: Repeat as above, applying lessons learned
Aft Port & Starboard: Complete.

Glue Panels

Dismantle and stage dry installations. In order, install Stbd side, Port side, Forward Stbd & Port, Aft Stbd & Port
Wipe glue areas on FRP with denatured alcohol & mask gelcoat and other appropriate squeeze-out areas
Mark glue areas on HDPE with permanent marker
Mask glue areas as appropriate to account for squeeze-out
Wipe glue areas with denatured alcohol & flame treat (flame touching, moving at about 1 foot per second - practice with known distance to get speed right). Have 30 minutes to get glue on before having to flame treat again. mark time, keep flame gear around.
Mix & apply glue
Mount panel to pilothouse cabin side, affix with clamps and trim pieces, Gulf Insignia (sides) and hinge screws (aft)
10 hours before cure (at 70F, longer for colder which will be the case)

Install and bed windows

Window frames are PVC Vinyl - no lacquer thinner or MEK
clean window frame material with denatured alcohol or acetone
mask outside of flange to prevent squeeze-out sticking later
lightly sand gelcoat where silicone will adhere
clean gelcoat with acetone
starting at bottom middle, apply continuous ~1/4" caulk bead to flange only
place window in opening
screw gun on low speed, and screwing slowly to prevent melting plastic...
screw middle top and bottom screws
install rest of screws, alternating diagonally opposed from middle to outer sides (adjusts for any cabin side curve present)
use rounding edge on stir stick to clean up squeeze-out on each window
allow silicone to cure
remove masking tape

more fun with boats.

PH Panels

2008-12-01T03:58:00.001-08:00

A quick shot of the panels. Still need to replace the cabin top liner
material and refinish the teak trim - light deks olje, probably.
Getting there.

Figured it out

2008-11-30T03:30:00.000-08:00

Well, as usual, we perfected our window installation technique on the eighth of eight windows. However, all windows went in smoothly without any oops. Nice. Mark at Mark Plastics provided the windows from OEM patterns for the 1980 Gulf 29. He would not make forward opening windows, to his credit. They're great for getting a breeze while lying at anchor, but not so much for seeing out of or keeping water out reliably. Mark gave excellent installation advice and made himself available for questions if we had any. Being a couple of ornery, independent little cusses, we didn't.

Dry Fit

2008-11-30T03:17:00.000-08:00

The new windows fit properly. Now what?

Miami

2008-11-23T09:24:00.000-08:00

So, Cirque du Soliel presented Corteo under their big top in Bicentennial Park on Biscayne Blvd. Chica-san and I were enticed to attend. Favorites were hula-girl, the flying rings gymnasts, and the all-at-once parallel bars troupe. Muy cool, kimo.

Grrr

2008-11-15T17:32:00.001-08:00

So this frickin genius phone fails to include my tediously hunted and pecked notes if I type them after the photo... and it breaks my lines arbitrarily.

Now the windows are so shiny I'm going to have to buy a new boat to go with them. Think chica will go for it?

Puddin'

2008-11-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

New windows

2008-11-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

Didn't believe me...

2008-08-20T18:09:00.001-07:00

did you? So, Mara (sp?) at Blue Hill Inn says it's a ramblin' rose and that those berry things are rose hips like what get ground up in your vitamins.

Wooden Boat Launch

2008-08-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

We found this bush at the top of the boat launch at Wooden Boat HQ in Brooklin, ME. Now we just have to figure out what it is.

Cadillac Summit

2008-08-19T17:36:00.001-07:00

Jenny after conquering Cadillac Mountain south face, Cannon Creek, some 1.7 mile trail, and the Cadillac Mountain Summit trails. Tired chica.

Cadillac Mtn South Face

2008-08-19T17:24:00.001-07:00

Tim with cairn in Acadia NP. The start of an excellent walk in the park.

Hammerhead

2008-08-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

Oh man. A Jupiter Hammerhead nearly nailed my chica with a baseball. Those are red impressions from one regulation sized foul ball. She looked way less happy in the first picture I took.

Action

2008-07-26T10:17:00.001-07:00

Luaun patterns for seaboard panels.. This stuff stinks.

Get Back to Work, Slackboy!

2008-07-25T03:26:00.000-07:00

OK, what's the plan with the windows and pilothouse cabin walls? Here's the general outline:

Windows:
Mark Plastics in Corona CA made the originals. They still have the patterns, can make identical replacements, and get them to me for about $2600. The window and screen frames are plastic and cannot be opened for repair when needed later. The panes are 1/4" tempered glass instead of acrylic. Gone are the days of the forward opening windows. I'll have to put a hatch in the cabin top for airflow at anchor. Dang. My other option is Bomon, who can do it for about $3100 with aluminum window and screen frames that disassemble for repair. Bomon's windows meet ABYC standards. Not sure if Mark Plastics windows do. All other marine window manufacturing companies I discovered appeared to not have 2 inch radius corner making capability. The originals are 1-7/8" radius corners. If I go with a significantly different radius, I get into a bunch of glass fabrication and gel-coat matching to build the corners of the cutouts back up (thanks to Aeolus Gulf 32 blog for posts). Also some potential scale and aesthetic differences. Big list of boat window fabricators in case you're in this game, too:

American Marine Products, Inc.
http://americanmarine.com
1790 SW 13th Court
Pompano Beach, FL 33069-4715
TEL: 954-782-1400
FAX: 954-782-1404
Email: info@americanmarine.com

U.S.A. Marine Windows Mfg Inc.
http://www.marinewindowsmfg.com
http://www.usamarinewindows.com
5937 RavensWood Road Bay-H6
Dania Beach Florida, 33312
Tel-(954)-987-7707
Fax-(954)-987-7708
Email: marinewindows@usamarinewindows.com

Ocean Dynamics USA
http://www.oceandynamics.com
18377 N.E. 4th Court
Miami, Florida 33179
Tel: 305-770-1800
Fax: 305-770-0605
E-Mail: ocean@oceandynamics.com

Bomon Marine
http://www.bomon.com
1855 boul.industriel
Laval,Qc
H7S-1P5 Canada
Phone 450-668-3113
Watts 800-300-3113
Fax 450-668-3456
info@bomon.com
sales@bomon.com

Diamond Sea-Glaze Mfg. Ltd.
http://www.diamondseaglaze.com
26995 Gloucester Way
Langley, B.C.
Canada V4W 3Y3
Phone: (604) 607-0091
Or: 1-800-770-0455
Fax: (604) 607-0092
e-mail: info@diamondseaglaze.com

Peninsula Glass, Motion Windows
http://www.motionwindows.com
6005 NE 121st Ave
Vancouver, WA 98682
360-892-2029
800-468-4323
360-892-8152 fax
Email: http://www.motionwindows.com/contact.php

Freeman Marine
http://www.freemanmarine.com
28336 Hunter Creek Road, Gold Beach OR
1-888-373-3626
1-541-247-7078
1-541-247-2114 (fax)
email: info@freemanmarine.com

Waterway Systems LLC
http://www.waterwaysystems.com
Chuck MacTavish
7010 28th St Ct E, Unit 5
Sarasota, FL 34243
(941) 752-3554 1-800-952-3886
email: windows@waterwaysystems.com

B & J Aluminum Windows
http://www.boatwindows.biz
Robert Broussard
PO Box 385
Loreauville, LA 70552
TEL: 337.229.4737
FAX: 800.621.1381
Email: http://www.boatwindows.biz/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=11

Cabin sides:
So, most pictures of boats I see with interior paneling show some areas of water intrusion and rot. The manufacturers generally slap the ply on the glass hull and run on to other tasks without taking the time (that they perceive as money) to prepare it for the marine environment. This guy goes into great detail on the subject. Anyway, I'm getting away from maintenance items wherever possible. I'm going to replace the teak ply with Seaboard, which is HDPE plastic, recycleable #2. It's food safe, inert in its product form, guaranteed not to delaminate, ever, as it's an extrusion, and I'll get white to brighten up the interior. Here's an example of interior white in the new Gulf 32 demo boat. I like. I'll order 2 sheets of 56" x 96" Seaboard at World Panel Products for about $345 and tote them home on top of my truck. My concerns with the Seaboard are:

Dimensional stability: Following the estimation formula in the fabrication guide, the side panels could be expected to contract and expand in length by about 0.432 inches. Not a lot, and I can make room for it, but what happens when I fasten the Seaboard to the FRP with the recommended epoxy glue and a few retaining screws? Does it crack when the outer surface tries to expand and the inner surface is stuck firmly to the FRP? Does the FRP expand with it? It probably does not matter, but it'll bug me as long as we have the boat
Transport: Can I get it to stay on the truck all the way home without damaging it? Probably. I'll put it on the roof rack, use the canoe gunwale (say "gun'l") stays to hold it in place, use wood clamps to hold it together, and use various bits of line to strap it to the roof rack. But I bet it's slippery stuff.

OK back to work

2008-07-19T14:56:00.001-07:00

gotta keep on chiselin' old teak ply off of the FRP. fun fun. Bob stopped by to offer me a fan. He didn't realize I was toiling in air conditioned luxury. While we were chatting, he said that I am
"tough." been thinking about that. I always thought I was a bit of a weenie. Perceptions...

Vision

2008-07-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

So, this is not what I see as I'm puttering about. I'll post the photo of what I DO see when I get there... May be awhile...

Buddy

2008-07-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

My little buddies have moved back in. I've been slinging mud dobber nests full of their grubs and stunned spider dins.

Zow!

2008-07-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Big a-badduh storm! Boat's a-shakin, lightning's a-zappin, i'm a-
drinking a beer.

It's Been Awhile

2008-06-23T14:11:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd pop in here and type quickly. I kind of don't have much to say. I'm flopping and lolling in the summer doldrums with the boat work. Ripped out the windows and the delaminated quarter inch teak plywood from the cabin top in late May and early June. Turns out the windows are all plastic and 5200. I'm obsessing about whether or not to use 1/4 inch HDPE sheet (King Starboard or Seaboard) as the replacement for the teak. My sticking point is dimensional stability under thermal ranges to be expected on the boat. Kevin is close, if not finished, on the engine and rudder / steering install.

Mostly I've been doing other stuff (and avoiding doing other stuff). Chica-san and I went to the Lowe Museum in Miami yesterday, then poked around Coconut Grove for awhile. Had French food in a Frenchie restaurant. Interesting thin man in 30s or 40s at the next table with a bar code tatoo on his inner forearm, an older wife, and a7 year-old daughter eating huge amounts of food. Goofed off in Delray on Saturday. A guy and his boyfriend in line behind us at Ben & Jerry's got a chocolate covered banana. Not much to do in SoFla if you don't have your boat here, aren't a shopper, don't swing with golf, ain't ultra-rich, and don't go to church.

Gotta scoot. Chica sez creamy gorgonzola pasta's ready!

Sunday Morning

2008-04-20T04:29:00.000-07:00

Woodpecker hammering, finches singing, hawk on patrol, second cup of coffee brewing with the hiss of propane, a refreshing breeze, sunbeams slipping through the eastern canopy. Oh, and a squadron of bassrockets shredding the serenity to mark the new day. Off to projects.

Trying again

2008-04-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

Grrrr. So, this is the rest of my magical mystery post. Not sure why it was ignored... It's interesting to me that I can putter around in the boatyard all day and share some of my conciousness with any one who cares to know. How long before I can just grant you access to my conciousness in real time?

Gibson's report: Luke's boat has been hauled out. Mark dropped by to say howdy. Kevin stopped zipping around long enough to do some fishing at high tide in the canal. Buck is flying the Argonauts' rainbow flag that Del dug up. The toilet seat has been replaced (this is a big deal). Somebody bought Spica and started a really bad paint job on her - looks like they got in a fight with mops that happened to be soaked in Interlux Perfection Oyster white. And finally, it is said that Frenchie on Dolfijn is married to a Bush speech writer. egad.

If you can afford it...

2008-04-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Have someone else paint your boat. This was the resounding thought in my head as I was about 3/4 around the boat wet-sanding with 320 grit, a grunchy left shoulder, and not enough sleep in the past two weeks. I decided to bag any attempt at getting the final coat on this weekend. My head's not right for doing a good job. Instead, I gave the boat a good cleaning today after sanding, and will noodle around tomorrow with navigation lights or something equally exciting.

Measures

2008-04-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Like everything on the boat that I haven't touched yet, and some things that I have, the windows are quite crusty and in need of replacement. It's a little difficult for me to call these things "ports." Same genus, different species. Chica-san and I met friends from Michigan in St. Augustine before getting over to the boat to show it off and take window measurements. They travelled with us to check it out before heading on to Orlando for a little family mousery. Ruth pointed out that the boat needs a lot of work. This is true.

Saw Kevin and caught up with him on some items. The Packless Sealing System (PSS) was off the prop shaft, and the old bronze packing nut and gland were back on. I like the idea of this arrangement better as the PSS instructions indicated that it was pretty feeble and fey when accosted by things like a little bit of time, air that isn't 100% oxygen, and liquids that aren't 100% water. With the neoprene boot that could have been torn easily, it looked just too fragile to be installed on any self-respecting rat islander's boat. I liked its high-tech idea at first, but practicality usually wins out one way or another.

A few pix of the engine installation, some items need to be moved, fixed, resolved before completion - such as the raw water strainer. Not quite sure what the plan is for the rudder post yet, but curious to watch and see it get sorted out.

On the way out of town, we stopped at Niko's for lunch. Sat one booth over from two couples with one man holding court, spewing half-baked opinions like the steaming, oily rush of air from a rusty old casino boat's engine room. Somewhere between admiring a passing Honda Trail Ridge (sic) pickup truck while claiming that it wasn't any good and explaining that someone had set (sic) Beull Clinton down (the crook) and told him to shut up cuz he h'ain't seen him awn TV lately, Mr. Knowledge claimed that, in his book (which I'm sure is dark and near his heart), Jimmy Carter was un-American. Chica-san let out a sharp laugh and the fun began...

Getting Started

2008-04-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

So, this is a Capital Yachts Gulf 29 pilothouse sailboat. I've got some background info on an old HTML website. Further activities and links to pix will show up here. My most recent session involved crossing paths with my buddy Keith from time-back-way-back for a little sanding and painting.

We thought we would get to play with kayaks, but didn't. Tom dropped by early on and tried to drag us over to St. Augustine to serve as railmeat in a little drifting contest. I was feeling the gravity, but Keith wisely pointed out, "Paint the boat." dang. Tom reported back that the engine quit as they were escaping the slip. These are rat islanders, so they pressed on under sail power alone. Then the rudder fell off. Yup, I'm hangin' with the right crowd. I'm right at home. Life is good. Keith took off on Saturday to get into some well-deserved paddling and fishing at Isle of Palms, SC.

activities - sanded patch/acne off, final coat of primer, sanded, first topcoat, sanded, second topcoat. starting to look like a boat.

[newport] Twicksey Wabbit!

2008-04-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

Test 3

First Auto Info Tosser Test

2008-04-11T17:12:00.001-07:00

Thar she blows. 2nd coat of interlux perfection, one to go.