Brrrr

Baby, it's c-c-c-c-cold outside. Last night Brunswick, GA. was under both a hard freeze and high wind warning. Depending on which weather site you believe it was either 24 or 25 degrees farenheit as the low. And I'm pretty sure the winds were in the 15 gusting to 30 knot range. Not a good combination as that puts the wind chill somewhere in the teens for the evening. When I got up this morning, the temperature was reported as 26 with the Weather Underground "feels like" temperature of 18.  It sounds like the next couple days are going to be a bit chilly before things improve.

Weather Underground graph showing
the dip into the 20's this morning.

I know I shouldn't be complaining given that back in Colorado they had sub zero temperatures from this same cold front a few days ago, but homes there are built to handle it. Boats, at least catamarans designed for cruising in the Caribbean, are not. And my wardrobe, that consists of more swim trunks than long sleeve shirts, isn't helping either. Fortunately I am at a dock and plugged into shore power, so I left the reverse cycle AC running in heat mode overnight. Originally I didn't think I wanted air conditioning on a boat, but right now I'm glad they can provide some heat.

Maybe it was a bit overkill, but I also put a small 130 watt radiant heater in the unheated locker on the bridge deck where my water tanks and related plumbing are located. I also ran the engines for a bit to help add a bit of heat to the engine room (where some additional plumbing is located). I figure a little extra precaution is better than climbing into the recesses of the boat to replace plastic fittings that could break if they froze. Not sure I want to see this month's electric bill though.

This puts a hold on some of my boat fixing projects as well.  Neither fiberglass nor sealants like to cure in temperatures this cold (and I can't blame them).  Continuing the work waxing the boat is definitely not in the cards for today.  And in the case of the salon window re-bed, I don't think I really want a big hole in the side of the boat when it is this cold.

So, while I wait for better weather, guess I'll write a blog post, clean up the boat since stuff is scattered everywhere from the projects I have been working on, do a little more project related research, some reading, and some cooking.  Making a big pot of chili sounds good on a cold day and the cooking will add heat to the boat...a a nice bonus.

Now, where'd I put that fireplace....