24 days

    In three weeks we will embark on our first big journey. No, we are not going to Tahiti, unfortunately, 
we are headed south for winter. Where we will stop is not yet known. So we have a list made, that i am sure will be unfinished. The good news is provisioning is complete. Our bilges are full of over $900 worth of food. From simple ramen noodles, to pizza kits. Chicken noodle soup, canned chicken, an orchard of canned fruit.

   Our bedroom is now 90% done, the other 10% can wait until we get south. On top of what you see here, we have a memory foam mattress. Its not a spring mattress, but it sleeps nicely. After our second night sleeping aboard, we both slept very well. The first night we both had sleeping issues.

   Time to go up the mast! I had to get a better look at the rigging, and put the new spinnaker halyard in place. This photo was taken about 5 minutes before i realized that the stitching on the sling i was using was torn. So down i came, job unfinished. From what i can tell the rigging is in great shape. Dana had the joy of sending me up.

   I also got the generator out, it took two people.

   When i made the decision to set sail, and move to the next chapter in my life, i knew a lot of things i have owned, would have to go. Yesterday one of the medium sized items sold!

   Goodbye kawasaki. You were a mistake i will be glad to see go. (should have kept my honda.)

all thats left to sell,
camper, two trucks, the boat, a motorcycle, the Dana's car, and a utility trailer. 

Below Decks

   So with all that went on in the past few weeks, i have worked two days of the past 20. So this has given us a bunch of time to get things in order down below. Some major projects have come up to the top of the list.

   The first on my personal list was the rear bilge pump float switch. When i got the yacht, there was one there, that was already disconnected. i took it out months ago, and have been draining the bilge manually with the switch. It was time to install the Johnson float switch. ($17). It took me 3 weeks to get one as they were on national back order, so the ship store was told. I laid down on the floor, took a good look, and started cleaning a spot on the side of the bilge. Then i realized this was too high, and decided to mount this on the bottom of the hull. As i started to clean off a spot, i noticed the entire bilge was covered in dirt, and debris. This was not going to fly on my ship. So i attacked it with paper towels for about 30 min, and got it 90% cleaner. I decided to mount the switch foot with 5200 quick set. Even with water coming from the shaft seal, it still stuck. Next step, connect up the wires. Before i did that i decided to test them. Stripping the end off the wires i felt they were quite thin, and this was conformed when i nearly burnt my hand while holding them together. SIGH. Again, more rigging, less done right. I got ready to run a new line to the switch. After getting the floor up in that area i started, and followed it 12" before it came to a heavier wire..... I simply removed the short portion, and connected the heavy wire direct to the pump wires with crimps and liquid electrical tape. Bilge pump switch, check!

Next came the batteries. I had not touched them since we got the boat, so i decided to get some distilled water, a new funnel, and top them off. Was i surprised. Between two size 4D batteries it took nearly an entire gallon. When was the last time these were maintained???? I keep cursing the previous owner, do you think he feels it?

   Dana's first major job on the boat was our bedroom. it has been looking run down. All of the wall paper was nasty, and falling off, and the mattresses were junk. Step one, remove the old wallpaper. Here she is on day one, she spend most of the day sanding by hand as we thought this would be quite easy.

   Well, it was not easy.

   By day two she was ready to go jihad.



   Then our work was interrupted i had gone out to work, and only a few hundred miles down the road the main truck decided to drop and injector. Dana came down to save me, and then the second truck broke. I had truck two fixed in a few hours. It was still a long trip, and not profitable after all that. However on the up side we stopped in to visit my uncle for the first time since the wedding.

   Right now we are priming.

This is our first headliner, primed.... This will brighten things up for sure.

   On a side note, we have also started to provision for the trip south. We tried our first freeze dried food,
Spaghetti with meat sauce, from Mountain House. they are $6.50 each, and don't really taste that bad. Dana liked it. We plan to carry a 30 day supply of  freeze dried food in the lazarette. this will be an emergency backup to our canned foods, all told i want to have over 90 days of food, and 6 months of rice on board. I figure this covers the worst case, being adrift with no masts. In 9 months, your bound to hit land somewhere.

Trial by water

   One of the big tests of any boat, or yacht, is being used. A boat can sit at a dock for years, and years, and once it is taken out, it breaks down, or never starts in the first place. We have had the union pacific out twice this week. The first day we went down river, and got Dana some wheel time. About 45min into the sea trial, i threw a fender overboard. I said to Dana, your husband just fell in. Aside from the 2 min she spent thinking about weather or not she should save him, she was put on the spot as to, what to do. So i instructed her on how to return, and how to stop the boat. she came within 15' of the buoy, and with some coaching  She got within 3' of it. Not bad for a first try. She also learned how to keep a course, under motor. She ridiculed it at first, only to find it a challenge to keep completely straight. By the end of her 90 min she spent piloting the yacht, she was very good at keeping the line fairly straight. Next time she will have to catch the buoy herself.

Before the haywire, progress

  So before everything went pear shaped, i did accomplish a bunch of tasks aboard.
First up was the enclosure for the cockpit. It will be chilly as we head south, and this will keep the breeze to a more tolerable level. so i grabbed the uprights from the old camper top of the powerboat, and reused them to see how well they would fit.

i will need to modify the poles a bit, but not too shabby for a first fit.

the second project was increasing floor space in the front bedroom.

before

 during

after

thats it for now.

The loss of a crew member is never easy.

   Tragedy struck our small ship this week with the departure of our son. Midshipman Leonardo has departed our crew to sail with Jesus Christ forever. He will be missed. 

hose beware

   Yesterday was inside day. It has been raining for the past two days, so the deck is far to wet to do anything on. I made a list for today.
1. Replace the drive belt on the engine.
2. Turn the water pump on the engine right way round
3. Repair the bow head, and find and inspect the waste water tank

   I thought the first two would take all day and the last, 5 min.
I could not be more wrong. So here is the issue.

   I am very sure this drive belt has over 1000 hours on it. It is worn, stretched, and slipping.
It is being blocked in by the water pump.

   So when it was slipping on the way home i was unable to change it. I am not sure why, but the water pump was installed sideways. not sure what genius did this, but their problem solving skills were poor at best. In the process of changing out the pump direction the black hose with green stripe fell apart in my hand. How fun. I am actually very glad when this happens. I would rather the boat fall apart in my hand, in port, in NY, then have a single failure while at sea.

   So off to the marine store, that didn't have one, then off to napa, to be presented with two options.
Option 1 was a $6 a foot hose option 2 was a $3 a foot hose. I knew this hose would be under suction, so i squeezed both hoses. the $6 hose, even with all my massive hand strength, i could not close it. also when i bent it, it seemed to not kink. so 6' of $6 hose it was. Back to the boat. When i put it back on i replaced the aged SS clamps with brand new USA made ones. This is the hose that come right from the ocean, to the engine. If this had broke when the boat was left alone, it would have sunk the boat.

   Then off came the belt. Back to napa, $16 for the belt, they did not have two.

   I plan to buy a water pump pulley with two belt slots, at a cost of $160. This will allow for a higher power alternator. I will have one built special by my electronics guy with a twin belt pulley on it. No doubt he can build one that delivers 200 amps, VS 90 amps now installed.


   Here is the engine, back together.

   So, onto the next task. I traced the hoses to the center of the hull, by a tank with an inspection cover. So this should be the Black tank right? No. After opening 4 covers, all i could find was fresh waer. That is sort of a good thing, in that our fresh water tank is mostly clean, and very very large. 8'X20'X 12" deep in the center. I emptied out the tank, and in 18 min of filling at 3GPM it was about 1/4 full. i am betting it may be 200 gallons. Also discovered the gauge does not work. I want to put a sight glass on one of the inspection covers, so i can check at any time.
   It is also a bad thing. I have not located the black tank yet. Still 2 more inspection covers. One is marked water., the other is unmarked.

Meanwhile the front head is not connected to the black tank in any way, and the Y valve on the rear head is stuck. What is going on here.....

   I also spent some time DX'ing electrical issues. I believe the wire from the main panel to the depth finder and speed sensor, is shot. i put power to the gauges, and i still have a depth finder! So i will be running a new wire. In fact i am thinking i may buy a 600' spool of 2 conductor marine wire, seems logical.

   More to come, remember to follow me on blogspot!