I’ve done no boat work since my last entry. We’ve been out of town – drove to Florida for a family reunion, with a stops in North Carolina to see my daughter and granddaughters – one brand-new (see below).
But there is a lot of work to be done on the boat. Must-do projects include:
Engine mount lag screw – When I repowered 6 years ago, the tech didn’t evaluate the engine bed. Consequently, he fastened one mounting bolt into a portion of the engine bed that had rot, and wouldn’t hold the threads. I did a make-do fix at the time with a gap filler and a larger lag bolt, but the time has come to do the job correctly. That means over boring the hole, filling with epoxy, and tapping the cured epoxy filler for a machine screw. Lots of work on my hands and knees in the bilge.
Finish sanding the hull and repainting with antifouling – Just plain work.
Recommission engine – Routine, but takes about half a day to get all the systems ready to test run the engine.
Flush and rinse water system – not hard to do, but must be done thoroughly. Didn’t do such a thorough job last year and grew a water tank full of scum. That took several hours to remediate, so I’ll be sure to do a better job this year. It was quite smelly and unpleasant.
Finish sanitation system installation – Last fall I replaced the entire system (except for holding tank). Replaced all hoses, marine toilet, and diverter valve. I re-plumbed the system so I can empty the holding tank at sea. Trying to save a dollar, I bought a used hand-operated waste pump for emptying the holding tank. All the hard work is done, but the pump needs a rebuild kit, and then installation to complete. It is usable without the pump (keep the diverter valve towards the closed system), but it’s an unfinished job at this point.
Routine varnish and Cetol – I varnish a few parts and Cetol the rest. Cetol is much easier to keep looking reasonably good.
Dismount anchor platform and pot mounting holes – When I installed the platform last fall, I epoxy sealed the bolt holes. However, I don’t like idea that there is a small chance the holes aren’t completely sealed from moisture. So I will dismount the platform, overbore the holes, fill with thickened epoxy, and redrill the correct size. All this for peace of mind.
- Sorry for the poor quality phone pic
Install new alcohol stove – I’m officially done with camping bottled propane gas. Again, all for safety and peace of mind, I don’t want gas on the boat. My wonderful wife gave me an Origo two-burner stove for Christmas. So I’ve identified the best place for mounting, and need to do that this spring.
Fabricate a seahood – This isn’t a must-do project. It’s really a “one of these days” project. I don’t want to go off-shore without one, and it makes washing the boat down much cleaner inside, as the water on deck will no longer make its way below through the gap between deck and companionway hatch.
And now for something completely different: Moon set over the creek.
- View from my sunroom
This photo is looking right across the creek from my house. As you can see, the water was glass, with the objects above reflected, and the moon curiously more orange than what you see in the sky. I left the photo fairly large so that when you click on it you can see that the black dot by the moon is actually a bird.
And I have to show you a photo of my granddaughter, born on Saturday.
- Miniature Human – incredible!
middlebaysailing 