Note: These are back entries posted Saturday, February 16, 2008
Wednesday, February 6
Welcome to the next installment of the ship’s log. Many thanks for your replies and input from recent entries via email. Great ideas abound from out there and we thank you for them!
I’m
behind in my entries from the current date but will try to catch up at bit with this posting, so thanks for your patience. Internet access has been intermittent lately, as has my time to update the log. There are also a few logistical hiccups that I’m still working out, particularly for keeping my laptop charged. Since our boat power is from DC batteries, I only have AC power when we’re at a dock (which is not at all once we left St. Vincent as you’ll see later). And although we have one of those cigarette light adaptors at our navigation table, I don’t have that attachment for my laptop, and I’m not sure if it would work well if I did (and the chances of finding one here are not good).
Sooooo, whenever I go ashore, I put my laptop in a dry bag (some protection if it should accidentally wind up in the water during the transition from boat to dinghy, during the dinghy ride ashore, or unloading our supplies at the dinghy dock when we reach shore) – and I charge my laptop whenever and wherever I can while on shore – but only after purchasing an adaptor for the Caribbean outlets. Fortunately our computers already adapt to the 210 current without a transformer. The logistics of living on a boat in a foreign country can require some adapting, but that comes with the territory and figuring it all out is part of the challenge. Here’s the latest installment for as many recent days as I could fit in at this sitting.
Cheers and our best to all, T&C
***************************
Ship's Log for Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Welcome to another entry from our ship’s log. We are still at SJ’s home base in Blue Lagoon Harbor on the south shore of St. Vincent, and our “to do” list of boat maintenance and repair projects continues. The entry for today focuses mostly on boat operations since of course that’s what we’re doing just now, so if you’re interested in that kind of thing please read on.
Today’s “to do” list is still topped by the SeaFrost repair – after yesterday’s replacement of hoses and tubing, today we hooked the system up to this special “vacuum” device which ran for an hour or so to remove any residual moisture so we can test again for leaks. Our initial test indicates it seems to be holding, so next we add Freon gas and see if she stays cold after running the engine to charge the fridge.
If you haven’t been on a charter sailboat before, most vessels are setup with refrigeration systems that are recharged by running the engine, but this cannot be done while underway because that puts too much load on the engine and it can overheat. So part of your daily ritual is to run the engine each morning and evening for about an hour, which recharges both the fridge and the house batteries (for inside lights, anchor light, fans, etc.). Tim sold those high end yachts that come equipped with TVs, washer/dryer, dishwasher, and microwave for TMM for a while so he’s familiar with their setup, and he tells me they don’t have to do the “running the engine” thing on those because they have a genset generator that handles that automatically. I gather the genset creates an AC power source, which of course those kinds of devices require – we have only DC power unless we’re at shore power. So for us more bargain basement cruisers, running the engine does the same job, albeit perhaps with more noise. As for washing and drying, Tim and I are the dishwashers (we take turns), and while at TMM’s dock today I washed some of our laundry with a bucket and a hose and lots of squishing with my hands, and the lifelines make a great clothesline. And for reheating we have a 2-burner propane stove and oven in our galley that we light with matches which allows us to cook pretty much anything we’d make at home. We don’t have a television (funny how I never miss that down here), but we do have a radio/CD player and VHF radio which operate from our DC house batteries.
Speaking of shore power, another of our projects today since we’re still at the dock was to hook up to shore power and run a test of our electrical outlets just to see if they still work (we’d use them only while at shore power, as we are now). The outlet in the forward cabin is corroded and does not work, so that will require some attention; but the outlet in the galley worked fine so we alternated charging our laptops from there. Our boat is equipped with 50-foot shore power cable about ½ in diameter with a very thick casing that we run from a plug in the cockpit to a special outlet at the dock – with careful attention to placement to avoid it winding up in the water. Flip the switch on the dock and we have power!
As for other projects, we keep looking at those discolored floorboards in the main saloon (I think I included a picture earlier in this log), but since that is simply cosmetic, for now we’re waiting on that until some of the other “must do” items for proper boat operation are complete.
We’re also rounding up some of our boat inventory that is not currently on the boat but that we’ll need before we leave the base. For instance, for the dinghy we need a pump, bailer and backup oars. We are also missing a first aid kit, our grill that fits on the stern railing, a couple of fenders and docking lines, a few life jackets, and we need to replace one of our fire extinguishers (law requires 2-3).
Sacajwea's shakedown cruise
Tim and I left the dock around 4pm today and took SJ out into the channel for an initial shakedown cruise to see how everything worked. We had planned to test the sails, but in the end decided to wait on that because the winds were very strong and since we had not yet tested outhaul and inhaul (systems which replace the halyards job to raise and lower the sails), we didn’t want to take a chance on difficulty getting sails back in after almost a year unused, especially with the winds and seas we had out there today.
We haven’t been here this time of year before, but I gather from the base manager that January and February are their windiest months here, and so far that’s proven true since most days we’ve seen wind speeds 20-35 knots quite regularly. So many things must be postponed until the winds back off a bit, including any work on the mast (where some one is hoisted up to the top). It’s just too dangerous to risk sending someone up 50-60 feet in these kinds of blows.
One of the crew at TMM was willing to go up on our boat since our wind speed indicators are out, but their dock manager didn’t recommend it and I’m just not okay asking someone else to take that risk just so we can repair our wind devices, so we’re waiting on that until the winds back off to 15 knots or so. Repairs from the mast is something that Tim ultimately wants to learn to do as well once he learns all the boat systems, and since he’s a climber now he has the gear and even his own harness at home. But for now with the winds what they are, no one is going up the mast.
The results of our shakedown cruise were that, as suspected, the windex appears to be inoperable (device at the top of our mast which indicates wind speed and direction), so we have no indication of either from the mast. The RayMarine electronics mounted in the cockpit at the companionway steps which shows our point of sail and also indicates wind direction seem to be registering the reverse of where the wind is actually coming from, so that’s a bit confusing. We forgot to test the autohelm while out there so we’re still unsure if that works. The top transom lifeline on our stern is missing, but Tim creatively made one with some line and that works fine for now (we'll need to order the replacement). We need to replace our boat hook because the one we have is some sort of plastic thing which bends like a noodle when you put any pressure on it, so that’s not going to work very well and we’ll need a replacement boat hook too. Otherwise, she’s in pretty good shape and she sails as smooth and gracefully as always, so we have no complaints.
Cheers! cy
Wednesday, February 6
Welcome to the next installment of the ship’s log. Many thanks for your replies and input from recent entries via email. Great ideas abound from out there and we thank you for them!
I’m
behind in my entries from the current date but will try to catch up at bit with this posting, so thanks for your patience. Internet access has been intermittent lately, as has my time to update the log. There are also a few logistical hiccups that I’m still working out, particularly for keeping my laptop charged. Since our boat power is from DC batteries, I only have AC power when we’re at a dock (which is not at all once we left St. Vincent as you’ll see later). And although we have one of those cigarette light adaptors at our navigation table, I don’t have that attachment for my laptop, and I’m not sure if it would work well if I did (and the chances of finding one here are not good).Sooooo, whenever I go ashore, I put my laptop in a dry bag (some protection if it should accidentally wind up in the water during the transition from boat to dinghy, during the dinghy ride ashore, or unloading our supplies at the dinghy dock when we reach shore) – and I charge my laptop whenever and wherever I can while on shore – but only after purchasing an adaptor for the Caribbean outlets. Fortunately our computers already adapt to the 210 current without a transformer. The logistics of living on a boat in a foreign country can require some adapting, but that comes with the territory and figuring it all out is part of the challenge. Here’s the latest installment for as many recent days as I could fit in at this sitting.
Cheers and our best to all, T&C
***************************
Ship's Log for Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Welcome to another entry from our ship’s log. We are still at SJ’s home base in Blue Lagoon Harbor on the south shore of St. Vincent, and our “to do” list of boat maintenance and repair projects continues. The entry for today focuses mostly on boat operations since of course that’s what we’re doing just now, so if you’re interested in that kind of thing please read on.
Today’s “to do” list is still topped by the SeaFrost repair – after yesterday’s replacement of hoses and tubing, today we hooked the system up to this special “vacuum” device which ran for an hour or so to remove any residual moisture so we can test again for leaks. Our initial test indicates it seems to be holding, so next we add Freon gas and see if she stays cold after running the engine to charge the fridge.
If you haven’t been on a charter sailboat before, most vessels are setup with refrigeration systems that are recharged by running the engine, but this cannot be done while underway because that puts too much load on the engine and it can overheat. So part of your daily ritual is to run the engine each morning and evening for about an hour, which recharges both the fridge and the house batteries (for inside lights, anchor light, fans, etc.). Tim sold those high end yachts that come equipped with TVs, washer/dryer, dishwasher, and microwave for TMM for a while so he’s familiar with their setup, and he tells me they don’t have to do the “running the engine” thing on those because they have a genset generator that handles that automatically. I gather the genset creates an AC power source, which of course those kinds of devices require – we have only DC power unless we’re at shore power. So for us more bargain basement cruisers, running the engine does the same job, albeit perhaps with more noise. As for washing and drying, Tim and I are the dishwashers (we take turns), and while at TMM’s dock today I washed some of our laundry with a bucket and a hose and lots of squishing with my hands, and the lifelines make a great clothesline. And for reheating we have a 2-burner propane stove and oven in our galley that we light with matches which allows us to cook pretty much anything we’d make at home. We don’t have a television (funny how I never miss that down here), but we do have a radio/CD player and VHF radio which operate from our DC house batteries.
Speaking of shore power, another of our projects today since we’re still at the dock was to hook up to shore power and run a test of our electrical outlets just to see if they still work (we’d use them only while at shore power, as we are now). The outlet in the forward cabin is corroded and does not work, so that will require some attention; but the outlet in the galley worked fine so we alternated charging our laptops from there. Our boat is equipped with 50-foot shore power cable about ½ in diameter with a very thick casing that we run from a plug in the cockpit to a special outlet at the dock – with careful attention to placement to avoid it winding up in the water. Flip the switch on the dock and we have power!
As for other projects, we keep looking at those discolored floorboards in the main saloon (I think I included a picture earlier in this log), but since that is simply cosmetic, for now we’re waiting on that until some of the other “must do” items for proper boat operation are complete.
We’re also rounding up some of our boat inventory that is not currently on the boat but that we’ll need before we leave the base. For instance, for the dinghy we need a pump, bailer and backup oars. We are also missing a first aid kit, our grill that fits on the stern railing, a couple of fenders and docking lines, a few life jackets, and we need to replace one of our fire extinguishers (law requires 2-3).
Sacajwea's shakedown cruise
Tim and I left the dock around 4pm today and took SJ out into the channel for an initial shakedown cruise to see how everything worked. We had planned to test the sails, but in the end decided to wait on that because the winds were very strong and since we had not yet tested outhaul and inhaul (systems which replace the halyards job to raise and lower the sails), we didn’t want to take a chance on difficulty getting sails back in after almost a year unused, especially with the winds and seas we had out there today.
We haven’t been here this time of year before, but I gather from the base manager that January and February are their windiest months here, and so far that’s proven true since most days we’ve seen wind speeds 20-35 knots quite regularly. So many things must be postponed until the winds back off a bit, including any work on the mast (where some one is hoisted up to the top). It’s just too dangerous to risk sending someone up 50-60 feet in these kinds of blows.
One of the crew at TMM was willing to go up on our boat since our wind speed indicators are out, but their dock manager didn’t recommend it and I’m just not okay asking someone else to take that risk just so we can repair our wind devices, so we’re waiting on that until the winds back off to 15 knots or so. Repairs from the mast is something that Tim ultimately wants to learn to do as well once he learns all the boat systems, and since he’s a climber now he has the gear and even his own harness at home. But for now with the winds what they are, no one is going up the mast.
The results of our shakedown cruise were that, as suspected, the windex appears to be inoperable (device at the top of our mast which indicates wind speed and direction), so we have no indication of either from the mast. The RayMarine electronics mounted in the cockpit at the companionway steps which shows our point of sail and also indicates wind direction seem to be registering the reverse of where the wind is actually coming from, so that’s a bit confusing. We forgot to test the autohelm while out there so we’re still unsure if that works. The top transom lifeline on our stern is missing, but Tim creatively made one with some line and that works fine for now (we'll need to order the replacement). We need to replace our boat hook because the one we have is some sort of plastic thing which bends like a noodle when you put any pressure on it, so that’s not going to work very well and we’ll need a replacement boat hook too. Otherwise, she’s in pretty good shape and she sails as smooth and gracefully as always, so we have no complaints.
Cheers! cy
No comments:
Post a Comment