This is Where Boating Gets Expensive

I had the mast surveyed and there were several serious issues. What do you want? It’s a 35 year-old boat with mostly original parts!

I’m always amazed when I see someone go up a mast with such nonchalance. Kevin of Stix ‘n Riggin’ buckled into his harness and zipped up there so easily I was envious. I’ll have to learn to do that soon. He looked things over and called down what was needed to Brian, who stood on the deck making notes and keeping track of the halyard holding Kevin up.

All of the plastic parts were shot. The swage fittings were cracked. The lights that were still good couldn’t be seen through the sun-damaged lenses. The list grew. There was much to be done.

After Kevin finished his high wire act, he zoomed off to some other task and left Brian to describe the job to me. The original bid listed 26 line items. When completed, I’ll have a nicely refurbished mast that will last another 35 years.

The Pros Doing Their Bit

One of the line items was painting the mast. The price was high enough that I decided to consult “the committee” to see what they thought. The committee consists of neighbors that have been involved with boats either by cruising, repairing or being around them for many years. The consensus was to skip painting the mast. The reasoning goes like this: the mast is aluminum and naturally oxidizes thereby protecting itself from surface damage. Painting the mast would require acid etching to remove the oxidation so the paint would adhere. If the paint were damaged moisture would wick under the paint and create bubbles in the paint. Then the cycle of sand-and-paint would begin. Better to leave it unpainted and let the aluminum protect itself.

So I passed on the painting and added lazy jacks and an LED spreader light to the bid.

The original masthead had a wind point and anemometer that was wired to gauges in the cockpit. I don’t need no stinkin’ wind pointer to tell me where the wind is coming from! I’ll just use my face. It’s easy; just look into the wind until you feel it evenly on your face. Job done! That’s one more gauge and the wires and electricity needed to operate it out of the system.  I even passed on the Windex. I have the sails to tell me if I’m not pointing correctly and tell tales on the jib and main to indicate airflow. Low tech – that’s the object here.

The anemometer is fun for referencing wind strength but I’ll do without the electric draw for that too.

Now there are folks that told me that I could do this stuff myself. Sure. That’s true. It would take me a dozen trips up the mast…in the 95 degree heat…and maybe three months of my time. This way it’s done in TWO WEEKS and done correctly. I have a friend rebuilding his mast himself and it’s been a year. Nope. Right now I’ve got the resources (a paying job) so I’ll have a pro do it.

Without the mast the boat looks wrong. I’ll be happy when the mast is back up where it belongs.

Looks a Little Sad, Don't It?

Twenty Months and Counting

I may just beat the May ’14 deadline for having the boat ready. Actually, I believe I’ll have the boat ready by December of 2013. That will give me an even 12 months to practice boat skills and prepare the rest of my business to leave in December ’14.

That’s the plan now – leave on December 1, 2014. The Gulf hurricane season closes the last day of November and doesn’t reopen until June 1. That gives me six months of sailing and fooling around without worrying about big storms. By then I’ll have decided if I like the lifestyle. Then it’s a matter of running south to get below the hurricane belt or north back home.

I have the good fortune of a mentor arriving at just the right time. There's the usual "committee" that I consult on various projects - paint the mast or not, what stove works best, anchor sizes for my particular boat - that sort of thing. This fellow is a captain with many years of experience operating crew boats and delivering private yachts in the Gulf and the Bahamas. He's willing to teach me the nuts and bolts of navigating, charting, trip planning and other necessities of getting around safely. He's also volunteered to go sailing with me and show me how this sailing thing is actually done. That will be a real time saver.

After class is over, we'll celebrate with Mexican food!

Two Birds, One Stone

While I was helping a fellow liveaboard install his wind vane steering assembly, I mentioned I was selling my Miata. I figured I could take the cash from the sale and get, what else, boat stuff. We fiddled with the assembly for a while longer and went our separate ways.

Later in the week he proposed that I trade him the car and maybe a little cash for the vane steering gear. He needs a car and I have one; I need a vane steering system and he has one. Since I’ll be ready to leave before him, he can replace the steering gear later.

So now I have a Cape Horn windvane steering system in my garage where the little red car was. We celebrated over Mexican food.

Be Ready To Pay The Crew

After tightening this and topping off that, I finally took the boat away from the dock yesterday. Two of my neighbors agreed to go along for the ride. There was much conversation about how cheap I was (hey! I never said we’d go TO the restaurant, just by it).

I offered lunch from the refrigerator but when they found it was full of veggies and humus, they turned up their noses and demanded I take them somewhere with proper food next time. Lesson learned: either plan lunch ahead or don’t invite the neighbors.

Hmm. Maybe a burger stop isn’t such a bad idea after all.

That’s okay. Leaving the dock wasn’t so bad. It was the getting back that was tough. The wind blows from the east. I have a boat on my downwind side. That makes returning kinda tough. Having the extra deck hands helped.

So the boat ran well and the company kept the trip from getting too quiet. Maybe I’ll do it again today when I get home from work.
Yep. Just might do that.

Counting the Hours, Then the Minutes

I sit here at my desk in a good position with the industry’s largest company and think of where I’d really like to be. I have to remind myself that it’s easy to criticize when your tummy is full and you have a warm, dry place to sleep. Do I really want to quit this and give up the insurance and steady paycheck that is funding all of the work on the boat?

You bet I do.

I can tell because most of my time at my desk is spent thinking of what I’d rather be doing. Clearly, this isn’t it. You know the question, “what would you do if money weren’t an issue?” My answer has always been to play music, take pictures and now, sail to different places and experience what those places have to offer. I’ve been playing music for forty-one years and taking pictures thirty-seven years. Sitting here at a desk is a relative newcomer at twenty-one years!

I’m reminded over and over what it’s like to be over sixty, unemployed and broke. Many of my neighbors are in that position and I’m able to get some insight from talking to them. I want to make this jump carefully.

I also see how a person’s health goes downhill about that time too. Prior injuries from a misspent youth or traffic accidents come back to haunt.

So here I sit reflecting on how the years are short and the good years are even shorter. I can figure on ten years before things start to quit working or begin to break off all together. If I keep the day job I sincerely believe the process will be accelerated. All this smog, dirty water and tension from traffic will take their toll. I also believe, just as strongly, that getting out there in the salt air and sunshine will extend my days on the planet.

UPDATE!

The new engine is in!

After a year of farting around trying to fix the stalling problem on the old Volvo MD7A the decision was made to replace the engine with a new (to me) Yanmar 2GM20.

There's enough room to work on this one!

The Yanmar 2GM20 is 100 pounds lighter and has 5 horsepower more than the Volvo it replaces.That means I can carry 100 lbs of stuff I couldn’t before. 

In looking through some photos I realized that I’ve been trapped at the dock for one year. No wonder I've been so hard to live with.

UPDATE UPDATE!

The new jib is on!
The new 120% jib is on and ready to go. The new main will follow later in the summer. The finish line is that much closer.

Ahh. So Shiny. So new.

It's Only Money. Right?

Well the perfect storm has happened to me. Sorta. The Volvo Penta MD7A has a shiny new feed pump and injector pump to go along with the new fuel tank and lines. What it doesn't have is compression. One of the cylinders (of two) has been diagnosed as severely deficient in this regard and the way to correct this is an engine rebuild.

YIKES!

I had a clue when the air intake was filled with oil. Holding my hand over the intake, I could feel as much air puffing out as was being pulled in. Well it IS 35 YEARS OLD! I’m concerned about the water jacket too.

The engine went out of production in 1985 or so. So I turned to the mechanic I’ve been using and said, “what do I do now?” In his best “don’t panic and come down off of that ledge” voice he said he’d take a look around. I held no hope. I saw only a huge bill and a new diesel engine.

He called a couple of days later and told me he’d found a source for the parts and they were sending him a price list shortly. So the gloom went away but I still see a huge bill. Volvo is really proud of their stuff and apparently they don’t like to let go of it so they hang a HUGE price tag on it. The trap is set. Yes, it will be sprung. If it comes in under the price of a newly rebuilt engine they’ll get their money. The little buggar will be pulled out of the boat so they can work in air conditioned comfort and I’ll take that opportunity to clean and repaint the engine compartment.

The new jib will be delivered soon too. The original is a thirty-five year old 140% that is now soft as a bed sheet. Engines I've worked on. Sails are new to me. After doing some research online about these things I decided to go to the sail maker down the street and get their input. They were gentle with me. We agreed that the 140% was too big and settled on a 120% instead. It will roll on the furling better, hold a better shape when furled and be more effective when fully deployed. One of the concerns was that the 140% would overpower the boat and create too much steering effort. I asked about colors and was told I could have any color “as long as it’s white.” Echoes of Henry Ford. I had visions of paisley, maybe plaid, or even tie dye. Oh well. The price of conformity.

I’ll order the new main sail and cover later in the season.

So here I sit at the dock just waiting on contractors to descend and make things good again. My checkbook is at the ready.  Because once I get this baby away from the dock I’m gonna be gone sailing. The fun starts with playing in the bay, anchoring out and getting sunburned messing with the dinghy, learning to live away from 120 volts and not being able to walk to the parking lot for just any little thing.

Yep. My evil scheme is coming together nicely. I shall conquer the bay, then the Gulf of Mexico and then….THE WORLD!!! Muhahahah!

Getting Closer to the Finish Line

On the drive in to work this morning I was thinking about getting this project completed by the end of this year. Rush hour traffic tends to get me thinking along those lines. I’ve said it before; there is nothing I will miss about the commute to work. When start thinking about balmy breezes, clear water and sand my mind seems to wander a bit.

I’ve got a dinghy now. I’d been watching it in the local used boat stuff store and finally decided to go ahead and get it. For the price I believe I did okay. I’ll need to buy the oars and oar locks and get a cover made. I have the rig I need to haul it aboard the sailboat. At just over 100 pounds, I’ll be able to handle it by myself.

I’ve decided against an outboard for it. I don’t want to carry gasoline onboard and the darn things are pretty fussy. I’ll stick to rowing for now. There is a hole in the forward seat for a mast. I have visions of a beach umbrella casting shade over the boat in place of the mast. I’ll get back to you on that.

I’m at my wit’s end waiting for the mechanic to re-install the diesel rebuilt injector pump and injectors. It’s been 60 days and I’m getting mixed signals from him. I’ll just have to keep calling, I guess. I may have to find another supplier.

The jib was torn up a bit when we had winds gusting to 50 mph in the marina. My neighbors did a hell of a job getting it under control but the damage is done. I’m in the market for new sails. They’re available online, made to the original specifications. I’m gonna save up and get them in a couple of months. I’ll need a new/used whisker pole too.

There’s much to be done: Fiberglass work, stepping the mast and rewiring it; a couple of plumbing changes finishing the engine work with filters and such; cushions and curtains; standing rigging. Odds and ends like that.

I believe I can have it done by December and get in plenty of sailing time too before my deadline of my birthday 2014.

Here’s hoping I don’t go completely nuts before then. I know that once the boat is done I’ll have a tough time waiting for the right time to leave.