Hurricane? Psh......

So I am home from work at the airport early because we had very little freight to move, so I thought I would take the bonus time to give the weekend update, and maybe more topically, my thoughts on FRANKENSTORM!!!!! 

Lets start with the boat.  I spent Sunday with a respirator on, rubber gloves, and scrubbing like mad with a fun chemical concoction to make the mold that covers the ENTIRE interior of the boat go away. Unfortunately, its going to take several more solid days to get the boat's interior clean.  All I got done was the V-berth (so named because of its shape).  Below, you'll see why it took so long....

It was thick and gross, and also really stuck on there!!!!

Starting the cleaning process on the starboard (right) side

As you can see, the paint peeled off the hull in big sheets.

There is still A LOT of cleaning to do, but at least I am making a start on it.  I just have to get it all done before we get freezing weather.  I also need to take a paint scraper with me next time and scrape it before I start cleaning, so that I can easily sweep up the paint chips.  

I also got the boat recovered and the A-frame system reinforced for FRANKENSTORM!!!   The  boat now has a cover that covers her completely, rather than leaving a 2-3 inch gap along the toe-rail.  

As you might notice, my car is absolutely STUFFED with sails and cushions from the boat.  The idea was to get them off the boat to get them dried out, but also so that I could have some space to work in the cabin with out competing with the cushions and sails.  I also had the opportunity to hang them up in my parents barn to let them air out.  While I was hanging them, I got to check them over, and they are in great shape.  One jib (the front sail, also referred to as a head sail) has a small hole in it, but other than that, they look great!  Plus, this will give me an opportunity to learn how to patch the sails, which is an important skill to have.  Here's the new sail loft!

3 jibs, a main sail, and a spinnaker (#213)

I also got the opportunity to take the broken spinnaker pole to my parents house and epoxy it back together.  It is not going to be a great fix, but it is a quick, dirty, short term fix that will at least allow me to use it when I get to that point.  As you can see though, it is still missing a big chunk out of it, which will make that the new weak point.  We will see how long it lasts....

Wrapped with surveyor's string and epoxied into place

Now, on to FRANKENSTORM!!!!!  First off, really??!? Frankenstorm?  But second, I think that there is more hype than there needs to be about this storm.  I understand it is supposed to be a record low pressure system for the eastern seaboard, but so what?  I understand giving people information so they can make informed decisions about preparations for the storm, but it seems like the media, as is par for them, has blown it into a storm of The Day After Tomorrow proportions.  Granted, it is not over by any means, but I just wanted to voice that I think it is ridiculous. 

Sometimes the sea giveth....

So I scored a free fender for my boat today.  One of the perks of working on the water front, and it being the slow season, is that I get to hang out on the wharf checking out the action of the day.  Today a fender (a bumper to keep the boat from getting damaged from the dock, pier, another boat, etc) lazily floated down next to the wharf and was deposited by the sea wall when the tide went out.  Luckily no one else had the same idea to climb down to grab it.  On the other hand, it is all covered in sea slime, scales, etc., so I guess I should not be surprised.  While I know it was just luck, I expect there to, at some point, be a post entitled "...and sometimes the sea taketh away".  Hopefully it will be equally as minor. 

I raise my glass to you Neptune.  Thanks for the fender!

Weekend Update...

Hello followers!  This is what I got accomplished this weekend (aka-today). 

 

It may not look like I accomplished much, but this was one of the most important steps to getting the boat on the way to being liveable.  Currently the topsides are not totally watertight, so everything inside gets soaked.  That makes it hard to get things cleaned (un-moldy, un-smelly, etc) and then start on the repairs.  Unfortunately the tarp I bought was too small.  I will be going to find another one this week, and hopefully next weekend I can start cleaning and preparing for the real work to begin. 

I have to apologize for the poor quality photos, I only had my cell phone to take pictures.  Better pictures next weekend, as I will hopefully remember to take my camera. 

HOLY MOVING EARTH BATMAN!!!!

I would like to note that I have had my boat for one day, and after getting it set in place yesterday, we had a 4.something  earthquake tonight.  That was NOT a problem I was expecting to have. Like any adventure, there are always unforeseen events that change how your adventure goes.  I will feel much better when the boat is in the water, and I am living on her. 

The Boat Formerly Known As....

Meet the boat formerly known as Bird Shaman! 



This is her being backed down the road to her winter home.  She's a Columbia 26 built in 1964.  Shes a rescue from Northeast Sailboat Rescue.  Think animal shelter, but instead of animals, its for sailboats.  Michael, the owner of the Sailboat Rescue, deliver the boat on his trailer.  It was quite the process of getting it off the trailer and on its stands.

This reminds me of when I helped a friend (Kyle) move his boat and get her ready to launch, and how I was not nervous about any of it.  Now that I have gone through a similar process, I understand what he was feeling. When you see your own boat being held up by 2 stands as the trailer is being pulled out from underneath it, it is a really tense moment.  The boat is not exactly in it's most stable position at that moment, and I have been around boats enough to know that. It would not take much in that situation to knock the boat over, and then the dream would be all over. 

Now that the boat is in her winter home, the process for repair, renovation, and restoration can begin.  The first thing to do is get a cover on her so, regardless of weather, work can progress.  Then the priorities are (in this order) building new hatches, removing the damaged part of a bulkhead and repairing it, replacing the through-hulls (places where water can drain out of the boat) and seacocks (valves that open and close the through-hulls), and then rebuilding the other interior parts that are damaged. 

A little more about why I refer to the boat as "The Boat Formerly Known As..."  I think that it is a real way for someone to really connect with their boat.  My dad named his boat after his daughters (my sisters).  I subscribe to the idea that boats are female, and that might offend some people.  I think it speaks to the fact that traditional seafaring men realized that the women in their lives were the foundations they could come home to, and more importantly, the ones that would weather the storms that rolled through.  When you're on the water, you're a member of a team, with the boat being one part of the team, and you (and possibly crew) being the other.  If you treat her well, and with respect, she will usually do her part to keep you safe through the storm.  There is something really quite amazing about tradition and the seafaring culture in general, but that is more for another time.  Here are a few more pictures of The Boat Formerly Known As in the Rescue boatyard.

What did I just say about free boats.....

I know, I just wrote a whole post on how free boats are really expensive, and what did I go do?  I found myself a free boat!  It's just a dingy, it's sea worthy, and came with oars.  That being said, it weighs a solid 300 lbs so will not be really manageable for me on my own, but it at least gets me started on my way to having all the equipment that I need for the $800 Live-Aboard. 

Here is the cool thing about this dingy.  It is one of 3 prototypes that my aunt's second cousin made.  I have a thing for old and unique, and this fits the bill on both counts. I am still waiting on a call back from the seller so I can go look at the 26 again before I put my money down.  I hope he calls this week so it can get moved this weekend, and the real work can begin!