The Best and Worst of the Project Thus Far

Anyone who has ever installed fiberglass insulation has experienced the itchy nature of said material. Well, it has nothing on fiberglass dust.  And that has been what we've been dealing with the last couple days.

A bit hard to tell, but the edge is glassed.

After finishing the layers of glass on the edges of the top (two layers of 10 oz fabric with chopped strand around the complex curves at the corners and end caps), we were trying to figure out the best (read fastest) way to smooth some of the rough fiberglass edges where layers of the 1708 fabric overlap.  Since we will be applying a texture, the top shouldn't need to be completely smooth, but the ridges at the edges of the fabric do need to be smoothed out a bit.

So, the last couple days we've been grinding off part of that fiberglass we spent so much time applying to the top (and then spending a lot of time in the shower trying to wash the irritating dust off...glad we have access to a shower with unlimited water right now).  We have been feathering the rough edges, mostly where the beams were applied to the bottom side using 40~80 grit sandpaper.  Today we will be putting a single layer of 10oz cloth over them to further smooth out the surface and provide the final layer for the beams.  After that, we will use a small amount of resin to help smooth the pattern in the various fabrics (or as they call it, filling in the weave).

Edges of the fiberglass feathered mostly smooth

Once all of that is complete, it will be time to add the cutout for the sail viewing window and applying the gel coat.  Sounds easy...but I suspect it will take a bit of time.  Time is one thing we are running out of in a hurry.  The weather is getting cooler, so we need to get moving to get this project done.

As I think I mentioned briefly in a previous post, my friends over at The Retirement Project came by for a visit and to see my little project just before the threat of hurricane Joaquin popped up.  While I wish it had been under better circumstances, it was really nice getting to spend a little time with them (despite most of the recent content of my posts, we do occasionally take a break from the top).  But as is the case with cruisers, the wandering heart and lure of warmer waters beckons and they departed this morning.  Safe Travels Deb and TJ.

The Kintala crew preparing to depart.

Heading off into the sunrise.

Their visit has given me a bit if a lift though, and with any luck we will have the new top installed and be following them south soon.

If you haven't checked out The Retirement Project, I highly recommend it.  Deb and TJ are good writers and it is one of my favorite reads.

Memorial Day in Southport

We have decided to hang out in Southport until Memorial Day, mostly waiting for more favorable winds to continue our trek north (the winds blowing from the north are expected to shift east and then south by the end of the holiday weekend).  We are also taking advantage of the marina WiFi to continue researching boatyards where we can have some work done once we get "up north"...wherever that is.

Provisions...

Southport is a picturesque little waterfront town.  It obviously survives on tourism these days as the old downtown area has lots of little antique, gift, and knick-knack shops. Right along the water are a few restaurants that are nice places to hang out in the evening, have a beer, and watch the boats on the water.  One of the best places to grab a bite to eat is the Yacht Basin Provision Company, better known as just "Provisions".  They are a simple bar and restaurant where you can satisfy a seafood or burger craving, and the prices are cruiser friendly (We both had a nice crabcake sandwich for $5.95...sides were extra...and split 1/4 lb. of peel and eat shrimp at around the same price). They even have a dock you can stay at if you can find the space and eat there...but only one of their spaces will fit a catamaran.

The bar and seating at Provisions

Being the frugal sort and yet still wanting to stay at a marina as we get the dogs more used to life on a boat, we decided to re-position the boat from the Southport Marina (where we limped in on one engine) to Deep Point Marina that is just outside of town (about 2 miles).  Instead of paying $1.75/ft/day (or $66.50) we are paying $1.20/ft/day (or $45.60) and getting the 3rd night free.  In addition, Deep Point has a pool and free laundry...a couple of nice amenities.  The down side is, of course, they aren't right in the middle of town.

Deep Point Marina, with Rover on the right.

While we were here, I also got to meet back up with someone I met the last time I was passing through town.  Walt and his wife had sent me a note through the blog and wanted to come down and meet me and see the boat.  At the time they were just taking sailing lessons and wanted to check out my boat and chat about my experiences.  I guess they liked the boat, because now they own a 1999 Leopard 38 too.  This time we got to compare notes on the boats and any tips and tricks we had figured out along the way.  Getting a chance to see another identical hull is always a great way to get ideas for improvements or just better ways of doing things.

Walt and Us on James and Emily's Catamaran

While we were chatting on his boat, a very cool young couple that Walt met the previous night dropped by.  James and Emily are in their late 20's and are just getting back from a cruise from New England down to the BVI.  And get this, they did it on a catamaran they built themselves.  How cool is that!  Looking at the boat, you wouldn't think it was home-built...it looks very nice and professionally finished.  We had a good time talking with them and hearing about their trip, and I only wish I had thought to do something like this when I was younger...bu better late than never, right? They have a blog of their trip, you can check it out here: http://dragonflysail.com/

Chatting with James and Emily

So, in this mad rush to get north, we are still taking a little time to enjoy ourselves.  Now if I can only find a DIY boatyard in the Chesapeake that can accommodate a 21' 3" wide catamaran.

Aaaaaagh.....

Sorry for going radio silent for a little while.  It has been quite hectic around here.  We had the nice going away party last Sunday and it was nice to see my old friends and make some new ones.  Of course, as dizzy as I've been recently, I totally forgot to take any pictures while I was there (doh!).  I do want to thank everyone who stopped by to wish us well.

Some "provisions" we were given during the party.

Since the party we've been running around like the proverbial headless chickens trying to get rid of stuff.  It still amazes me how much cruft we have to deal with.  The only furniture we have left is our mattress lying on the floor in our bedroom, one table, and a couple dilapidated dinette chairs.  It kind of reminds me how we first started living out of college...not a lot of furniture.  The difference is all the small stuff though...man you can accumulate a lot in 18 years.

Many trips to every imaginable donation place (Goodwill, ARC, Habitat for Humanity, etc.). A trip down to the metal recycling center with old computer carcasses (steel cases, motherboards, hard drives...all separated of course), fence stakes, buckets of hardware, and other metallic things we couldn't find a home for or reason to keep (it is amazing what they will recycle..and depending on what you have there is some money in it..between our two trips we made $125).

Boxing up the things we want to store like picture albums, heirlooms, paperwork.  Decided to buy a small fire safe to store some paperwork in lieu of paying for a safe deposit box for some necessary (but not exactly valuable) paperwork.  Then stashing these boxes with nearby relatives.

Spending some quality time on eBay and Craigslist trying to get a few more dollars for some of our better "stuff".  Our mountain bikes are now sold, so we will be looking for some possibly folding ones once we get to Florida.  Running to CarMax and EchoPark to get appraisals on our old Pathfinder (which should disappear later today...after we cart the table my computer is currently sitting on to Goodwill).

The almost gone Pathfinder...and house...I hope.

And yesterday we met with the real estate agent.  The sign is hiding in the garage, and we are prepared to list the house.  That should happen early next week.

The sign waiting in the garage.

The goal was to be cleared out by last Tuesday...but this isn't any different than any other plan made by a cruiser...a wave comes along and wipes away any trace of that plan scribbled in the sand.  Now I guess we will see if we are on the road by Easter.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Making Home Become Transportation

Spent most of the last two days making the boat both livable and ready to become transportation once again.  Ticking off a bunch of little things on the list.

The wild temperature swings in Georgia have taken a toll on the boat interior.  Since two layers of fiberglass and a layer of balsa don't make the best insulation, every time the temperature goes from the 60's to the 40's, condensation starts to develop.  And since my port hull doesn't have anything except fans to keep air moving, keeping it dry is near impossible.  The result of all the condensation, of course, is mold.  Being in project mode for the past three months, stuff gets tracked into the boat too.  So, a fair amount of yesterday was spent with sponges and cleaners (usually vinegar and water), cleaning the walls, floors, and ceilings.

And then there is the Wester-beast.  Since the starting issue only occurs when the engine has been sitting for 12 hours or more, each fix attempt results in a long wait to test it out.  After doing all I could to make sure fuel wasn't an issue, its behavior changed a bit this morning.  Still hard to start, but now there seems to be evidence fuel is making it to the engine.  Once you wake it up for the first time of the day, starting it again a few hours later goes smoothly.  So, I decided to check the glow plugs today (the next item on the troubleshooting list).  Using the procedure outlined in the manual, I disconnected each plug and then tested the resistance.  Each one showed the 1.1~1.2 Ohms of resistance they are supposed to have.  I did note some corrosion on the connections, so I cleaned the terminals up before reassembly...maybe this will help.  Guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Maybe the cause of my motor issues?

While I was down in the engine room, I also replaced the engine zincs.  I think I got to them just in time as they were looking pretty well worn.

Another item on the list was to restitch a portion of the soft bimini top that had come unraveled during the trip down to Brunswick (the flapping piece of Sunbrella material was starting to get on my nerves by the end of the trip).  I didn't want to take the whole bimini down, so I decided to hand-sew this two foot section while it was in place.

Good enough to hold it for now...I hope.

Since my next stop doesn't have free laundry, I also wanted to take advantage of the large capacity machines while I was here.  So, in addition to normal laundry that I'll be doing over the next couple days, I also took some of the larger bedding items over to wash.  While doing the laundry, I was thinking about my recent post on laundry and machines (we are still debating if having one of these small Panda units would be worth the storage space required).

And the reason I didn't get this posted last night like I had hoped was because I was invited to dinner by some friends I made while here at Brunswick Landing.  They made some very yummy Indian food and we had a nice time...to the point that time got away from us and I didn't get back to the boat until well past "cruisers midnight",  They even gave me a plate of leftovers to take along...

Mmm....Homemade Indian.

Thanks for the invite, conversation, and Indian food Chris and Liz! I'll need to get some of those recipes from you.  And if I ever get this boat cleaned up and ready for guests, we'll have to do this again when I can host the gathering.

Now I'd better get back to work cleaning and organizing the boat so I can head south.

Free Beer

Hehehe...wonder how the title of this post will impact blog traffic. Well, read on...the offer is there.

In my last post I mentioned that I met the folks at Diving Into Cruising via my blog.  They sent me a note after recognizing that my "Christmas Card" post was a picture from St. Augustine.  Well, shortly after they sent me the cool video they did of my renaming ceremony included in that post, I met another couple that found me through this blog.

John and Mary from Moondance arrived at Brunswick Landing Marina, where I am currently docked, late last Friday and sent me an email after they arrived.  We got a chance to meet in person Saturday.  They came over to Rover and found me doing what I do a lot of these days...fixing things.  I was working on my windlass that decided that it only wanted to work going down and not it's more important function of pulling the anchor back up and I was cleaning up some more poor wiring practices trying to rectify the condition when they arrived.

We had a couple beers and swapped stories on embarking on this cruising lifestyle from repairs, enhancements, cruising plans, and the journey of going from complete novices to cruisers.  We then met for dinner at the local pizza place after I finished up a few chores on the boat where the stories continued.  We had a nice evening and it was great getting to meet yet another couple that share the dream of cruising.  Of course I forgot to bring my phone or camera along so again I have no pictures...one of these days I might remember to do that.

As it turns out (and if my memory were better I would have put this together before we met) they are the new owners of the nice Fountaine Pajot Tobago that my wife and I looked at in Miami.  It was the cleanest of the boats we had looked at and I'm sure they will be happy with her.  I think they have a very nice boat.

The Tobago 35 when we saw her in Miami

At this point I've either met or have been in touch with people that have bought or looked at several of the boats I ran across while we were shopping for ours.  While the cruising community is very transient in nature it seems to be a fairly tight knit group and I have to admit I feel closer to to many of the cruisers I've met in person or on the internet than I ever did with most of my neighbors back in the 'burbs.

And that gets me to the title of the post.  If you ever find yourself in my area and would like to talk about this crazy thing we are doing, feel free to drop me a line.  I've added a widget on the right hand side of the blog so you can send email from there without having to play the email address riddle game I was using to avoid posting my email address and ending up on a thousand spam lists.  I'll have a cold (if the refrigerator cooperates) beer waiting for you.  And if you are not in the area but want to chat by email instead of on the blog, please feel free to do that as well...but sorry...I can't email a beer to you. ;-)

Renaming Our Leopard

I'm still catching up on the posts...but at least heading in the right direction now.

While my wife and I were both together on the boat, it seemed like the best time to perform the renaming ceremony.  For anyone that isn't familiar with all the superstition surrounding sailing vessels and the high seas, there is a lot of it. And naming, or renaming, a vessel is one of those items steeped in tradition and lore.  Since we had already submitted the paperwork to the Coast Guard to change the name (which I hear might be processed in a few more months), it was about time to make the name change happen.

The basic concept is that you need to appease the gods of the seas and wind (Poseidon/Neptune, Boreas,  Zephyrus, Eurus, Notus) and it seems, just like with many a sailor, drink is the appeasement of choice for the sailing gods.  So the ceremony consists of asking the gods to be good to the boat while pouring copious amounts of champagne or wine into the water or flinging it through the air.  There are some other "options" and variations on the theme, but they all seem to have that in common.  I do wonder why it is not rum...but then I don't really want to waste perfectly good rum do I?

Here is a write-up on the ceremony we used:
http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm

To get the old name off of the boat was easier than I thought it would be.  I ended up using a plastic scraper and my newly acquired heat gun (if you own a boat and intend to do any work on hoses, you'll need one of these) to remove the old lettering.  A little heat loosened the glue and the letters peeled off fairly easily.  A little goo gone took care of what little residual glue remained.

Farewell Breathe

After the letters were removed we could see both the old name (Breathe), and the prior name (Magnificat) in the gel coat. There was some discoloration and the gel coat, of course, does not wear under the vinyl letters so they are raised a bit.  I used some rubbing/polishing compound to try and smooth it out before adding the new letters.

Applying the letters is pretty straight forward.  We got the lettering from Lettering On the Cheap (which may be a bit of a misnomer but weren't bad, had easy to use online design tools, and delivered pretty quickly). The letters come attached to a big clear temporary sticker used for positioning.  Following the online video instructions on their site, we were able to get the new lettering applied to the boat a few hours before the ceremony was supposed to start.  Of course, we had to immediately cover up the new lettering so as not to offend the gods until the ceremony was complete.

Our first attempt at the ceremony was postponed due to the cold and rain (so much for "Sunny Florida" during "the dry season") but several guests showed up anyway so we ended up having an impromptu party...or maybe it was the pre-naming celebration.

The next day the rains held off so we were able to complete the ceremony.  Unfortunately we didn't have quite as many people show up as the previous day, but it was a fun time anyway.  We asked begged the gods to be kind to our fine vessel and poured and flung champagne (keeping the corks from the naming ceremony on board to ensure the boat stays afloat is apparently another tradition), then finally removed the covering from the new lettering.

Hello Rover

So, it is now official, we have a cat named Rover. If you want to know more about how we came upon this name, check out this post.  Now a few random pictures from the ceremony and party (sorry...my wife won't let me post any including her yet).

Opening one of the sacrificial bottles of champagne.

A few friends waiting on the dock while we did the ceremony.

Champagne, wine, beer...something will appease the gods, right?

Hopefully the first of many gatherings of friends on Rover.

A special thanks to Britton and Dieter for providing some of the pictures...and for reaching out when they noticed I was in their area.  The cruising community is very cool because of people like them (and most every cruiser or wannabe cruiser I've had the fortune of meeting thus far has been very cool).

Friends I Haven't Met Yet

This is a term I've seen a couple other cruising blogs use and I think it is very appropriate. Via this blog I've met a number of people online that either are out cruising or share the dream to go cruising. We've traded emails or had discussions via the blog and have been a source of inspiration for chasing this dream. In a few cases I've even been able to meet them "in real life".

This weekend I was able to meet a couple that are working toward the goal of going cruising. They reached out to me after recognizing the location of the holiday picture posting (It was St. Augustine, Florida). As it turns out, they live only a few minutes away from the Hammock Beach marina where I am currently located.  After a few emails we were able to setup a chance to check out each others boats.

The couple, Dieter and Britton, are in the process of restoring a 1968 Newporter 40 Ketch.  And when I say restoring...well...maybe a more appropriate term would be rebuilding.  They are taking on a project that simply has me in awe.  I can tell they truly love the boat and have no doubt it will be gorgeous when finished.  Take a wander over to their blog and have a look:

http://www.divingintocruising.com/

After the boat tours, we went into St. Augustine and had dinner at the Conch House.  Dinner and conversation were great and it was a well needed break from "the list" of repairs.  Definitely improving the fun to work ratio of the recent week.  Like so many I've met so far in this adventure, they are great people. The cruising community definitely seems to attract my kind of people.

And to Dieter and Britton, we will have to do that again...and next time dinner is my treat.

If you have ever wanted to learn to scuba dive and run into them during your travels, they are certified scuba instructors and I'm sure you would have a blast learning from them.

I should have some pictures to go with this post. You would think by now I would remember to take them, but alas my mind seems to fail me.  So, sorry, no pictures again.  I promise I'll try to do better...if I can remember.  Of all the things I've lost, I do miss my mind the most. ;-)

P.S. If you have ever thought of saying hi, I'd love to hear from you.  In addition to posting comments to the blog (which are always appreciated), you can send me e-mail by using "ThisRatSailed" followed by the at symbol, and the server "gmail.com".