Anchors aweigh...

masts and clouds, originally uploaded by CidnieC.

We've made do with the standard issue Bruce and Danforth. We haven't been going much out of the muddy bay so there was no real reason to hurry up and spend money until we were a bit closer to actually being able to leave the dock. The same has been true for us remaining dinghy-less. I am very happy to report that Capt. Perfecto has deemed it time to visit these topics and to make some purchases- right in time for Christmas.

After I inadvertantly started an International Incident a while back by asking a simple question about the 2 anchors we were debating on a sailing forum, I got more information than I could have ever wanted on anchors. After my brain exploded, the bits of grey matter left over came to the conclusion that we need a Manson Supreme on our bow. I do believe that there will be one wrapped beneath the tree once we figure out what we have to do to the bow roller to make it happen.

We've decided to add a Fortress to our anchoring arsenal as a secondary/stern anchor. Seems simple enough but Mark has made a friend who we will call "Salty Gene."

Mark views the average Top Sider/Ralph Lauren Polo wearing sailor with suspicion. Sailors whose answer to a given problem is "whip out the Am Ex and get someone else to fix it" are not the kind of folks Capt. Perfecto is likely to listen to. Mark, who is a big fan of doing it yourself, making it work and not wasting anything will take advice with a grain of salt and if the person giving the advice is wearing a West Marine name tag they are viewed with double suspicion. Salty Gene probably does not own a Polo shirt. He does though wear a Greek fisherman's cap and it works because Salty Gene has the requisite grey whiskers as well as more miles under his keel and more years spent cruising than most sailors will get in a lifetime. Salty Gene can make anything (which is tops in Mark's book) Salty Gene said that we need an additional anchor to kedge off and since Mark thinks Salty Gene is the business it will be so.

So that brings our soon to be acquired anchor collection to 3. I made the mistake of asking Mark "Why do we have to have 3 new anchors? Why can't we just use the oversized kedge anchor as our stern anchor?" Because I do not understand physics. Because you don't want an oversized anchor as your secondary. Because Salty Gene said so.

I still don't quite understand why we need a smaller stern anchor AND a larger one as well. I figure if you are deploying an anchor you want it to hold the boat so an oversized secondary anchor could be pressed into service to kedge off when needed and when you haven't screwed up, it can work as a secondary for the stern or the bow and it means one less anchor to take up space. Then again, I do not have grey whiskers or a Fisherman's cap nor do I smell like Old Spice. No matter. I'm just glad that Mark has found a suitably salty pal whose opinion he values, whose stories he enjoys hearing and who is making this stage of the refit a whole lot more fun for Mark.

So 3 anchors it is.

Wiring. Yeah. Still.

You know how people shudder at the thought of redesigning and rewiring the electrical system their boats from start to finish because it is a mind numbing exercise in tedium? Turns out writing about rewiring and redesigning electrical systems is exactly as scintillating as actually doing it. Now you understand why I've been quiet and you will understand why the next few posts might fall more into the "life" category as opposed to "boat life". Never fear, once Mark finishes it I will do a long, lengthy step by step outline of what was done, what was changed and how it was accomplished.

With the boat in huge disarray, we are definitely taking a 'divide and conquer' approach. This means I keep the kids busy on land while Mark works on the boat. With the companionway steps out to provide access to the engine, wires and tools laying about it makes sense to keep the kids away but I'll admit that sometimes its tough to feel so removed from the hands on work. It can be easy to forget that while keeping the kids happy and engaged might not be as immediately satisfying as tackling a project and checking it off the list, it is a very important part of the getting us off the dock process. Don't get me wrong, I adore being with my kids its just that sometimes it feels as if I'm not really helping us to get to the big goal of getting the boat ready to go.

With all the toddler wrangling, big girl school activities and non-stop boat projects sometimes it feel like we don't get a lot of time to just hang out. I treasure our weekend mornings. Before work begins on boat projects, its time for coffee and toast and hanging out with the kids for a few hours. We are all really enjoying Kitty just now- its so much fun to hear her trying out new words (elephant and alligator are her current faves) and watching Maura and Kitty really beginning to play together. Just the best kids ever. Its a good reminder of why we are doing all this work to be able to spend time together.

Rinse. Repeat.

This is a shot of my favorite places to spend an early morning on Galveston Bay. This shot has absolutely nothing to do with what is going on with the boat and refit just now. This is because we have spent the last few days installing our new galvanic isolator and the photo of that would look something like this:

Yeah. I thought a bench on a dock at sunrise was a better choice as well. For those who want to know, its a Guest 30 amp galvanic isolator which along with our zincs should help protect Ceol Mor from stray current.

We haven't been moving forward on the wiring this week because of the isolator install as well as the need to rebed a port light. A port light that has already been rebedded. *sigh* Apparently we did not get quite enough compression on it. So despite being carefully installed with butyl tape our first rainfall in forever gave us the information we needed, namely, that we needed to rebed that portlight once again. So out it came and was once again rebedded. Hopefully, this does the trick this time. The only thing worse than having to repair stuff is having to redo it immediately because you didn't get it quite right.

Now about that wiring....

People in your neighborhood- Kemah Hardware

If you happen to be in the Kemah/Seabrook area of Texas and you just happen to be doing repair work on your boat, we highly recommend you stop by Kemah Hardware and Supply. This is not your shiny, sterile, overpriced West Marine populated by sales folk in matching shirts, name tags and insincere smiles. This is a real, old fashioned, locally owned, mom and pop hardware store- an endangered species.

They carry every solvent, epoxy system, stainless shackles and thimbles that West Marine carries, but at a much lower price point. Plus they carry teak lumber and stainless drawer pulls, knobs, etc. so you can build your own custom piece of cabinetry instead of making do with a mass produced item that might nor might not fit. You can still buy nails and screws by weight, weighed out on an honest to goodness scale, unlike at say Home Depot. If you happen to be in need of a trough for your horse, they have those too. Need crabbing supplies? They have everything you need but the chicken necks. Need a tiki style beach umbrella? Yup, they have it. Don't have a boat? Not to worry, they sell a kit and the wood so you can build your own.

You should get yourself to Kemah Hardware and have Larry ring you up (all good hardware stores need a Larry on staff). There won't be any piped in muzak, no endless stream of uniformed smile-a-trons asking you continually if you are finding everything ok, no overpriced geegaws, no digital readouts, UPC scanners or anything of the like. What you will find is a colorful cast of local characters, the supplies you need, and a staff who will help if you need them but will otherwise leave you the heck alone. Everything we think is fantastic in a retail establishment. Yup, we love this place.

The Rigging Rigamarole

With the completion of chainplate bulkheads ticked off the list, we are moving on to addressing the standing and running rigging. Since we've been so very fortunate to have new Dyneema running rigging coming from New England Ropes we get to use all of our brainpower (skint as that might be) to figuring out what we want to have holding up the rig.

Since this is Capt. Perfecto's boat, we can not just replace what we have without considering every possible type of rigging to ensure that we have "the best" for our purposes. Swaged, swageless, Norseman, Sta-Lok, Hi Mod, metric, imperial- it all begins to sound like a recitation of the Odyssey in the origanl Greek after a bit. Never mind, decisions are being made and parts ordered and I'll regale you with tales of exactly what we went with and why once its all figured out.

Meanwhile, Kitty is just happy to play with the shiny bits. Maura is keeping me on my toes trying tok eep up with the never ending end of school year ramp up of activities- parties, programs, performances, etc. Come to think of it, I think I'd much rather debate the merits of stainless versus chromed bronze fittings.

Spring has Sprung

and its time for walks in the woods. Time to notice the arrival of ladybugs, to drink in the beauty of the world in bloom and to enjoy breakfast with bunnies, but only for a few moments. Around here, Spring means its time to get cracking on yet more boat projects.

Yes, this is the deck handrail being stripped and revarnished. In my kitchen. That's right, there is absolutely no area in our house where there is not a boat project underway. As if having the boat torn apart wasn't enough disruption now we've got projects all over the house.

Maura and I chose the fabric for the girl's room. It has Maura's signature color of teal worked in as well as purple, which Kitty happens to look great in so we'll call it her color.

The pattern is busy enough to hide the fact that there is not one single straight seam anywhere on this berth enclosure. Straight seams are for Marth Stewartites and I think we have previously established that I am not one of her minions. It seems to be sturdy enough and that's what really matters. I should have the entire enclosure done by next month...I'm pacing myself.

Mark continues to work on the final 2 chainplates. I continue to work on the girl's room. Maura lends a hand tidying up the garden because a house requires upkeep as well. Kitty helps by not complaining once that she has to dodge various projects while scooting around on her pony.

Metals, Meticulous Methodology and a Man Crush...

Why is this man smiling? He is similing because he got to have an "I told you so" moment. He loves those moments.

 While undertaking the rebedding of the portlights, Mark was of the opinion that while the stainless steel frames were in good shape, they were something less than pristine. I was of the opinion that so long as they were rust free and water tight they were functioning as intended and we should just get them rebedded because how much of a difference would laborously polishing every nook and cranny of the frames make? In 2 weeks time they would once again have water spots. Mark lives for perfection, so of course he carefully took all the frames apart and carefully polished and inspected every centimeter.

 Here we see him gleefully showing me that polishing by machine does in fact make a difference. Our boat might have plastic covering the holes where the portlights ought to be but man- are those portlights going to be shiny when they are bedded. For 2 days...

While Mark handles the hands on work, I am in charge of research. You'd think that with the hundreds of how to books on the market that every question you could possibly ask would have been answered. You would be wrong. This is where online sailing communities fill in the gaps. I'm in charge of online discussion/research for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Mark is not as quick a reader as I am. Secondly, and most importantly Mark finds the necessary online sorting of opinions to be impossibly tedious.

Here's the thing about online communities- for every one sailor/adventurer who has a clue you have to sort through 100 opinions from people who have no freaking grip on reality. Planning on going cruising with kids on a sailboat? You'll get 50 people who will tell you you will die a horrible, watery death (these people like to make sailing sound like a deathly proposition in order to thrill the guys at their local watering hole on Friday nights), 40 people who will say "Great! Just bring some duct tape", 9 people who will tell you your boat sucks (because they don't have one, nor have they ever) and then the 1 person who will say that yes, your plans while challenging are doable and you probably won't die or scar your children for life. It can be a task to find that one voice of reason.

I like to ask questions. This is how I learn best. When Mark and I are flummoxed by a needed repair, I can go and ask questions and I know which peeps are duffers and which ones have a good handle on what to do and how to do it. Usually, Mark will narrow his eyes suspicously because being such a Left Brain, it is rare that a person will conduct repairs  in a Mark like, laser precisie manner. Which brings me to Mark's Man Crush.

It started with a discussion as to how to properly bed deck hardware. I knew from time online, the one guy in all the world who does things the way Mark likes things to be done- carefully, with precision and do it over and over until it is perfect. His online nickname is MaineSail. Mark was suspicious until I showed him MaineSail's online how to galleries. It was love at first click for Mark. "Now that is how you do a proper job!". I was right. Thanks to me, Mark has found his online, refit soul mate. Since I will never, ever document how we effect repairs in as thorough a manner as MaineSail (being a Right brain and easily distracted by butterflies) I'll just post a link here. If you want to know how to do things 'properly" here is the place find out how. MaineSail's Boat Projects Mark puffy heart loves his galleries.

And now for some portlight polishing pictures...WHEEE!

No rotten bulkhead here!

No rotten bulkhead here!, originally uploaded by CidnieC.

This bulkhead is now free from rot, recored, reglassed, painted and ready to do its job- keep the rig UP!

You are so beautiful, to me...

You are so beautiful, to me..., originally uploaded by CidnieC.

This is a beautiful photo. Ok, maybe the beauty of this shot is not apparent but this is a shot of our punky bulkhead right before the last layer of fiberglass was applied.

Mark tried to explain to me what the last bit of glassing was but what I heard was " Blah, blah, structural integrity, blah blah forces, blah , blah , blah web for strengthblah, blah the soft deck is repaired, blah, blah butyl tape, blah once the chain plate is reinstalled this one is finished!"

See how beautiful this shot is now?

The galley- yet another work site

Galley, originally uploaded by CidnieC.

While I await the arrival of the crucial part for the girls berth, my focus has turned to the galley. As you can see from the photo, we aren't ready to actually begin refitting it as it is currently yet another worksite. We are making a plan of attack and hope to have it finished by early spring.

The stove/oven combo that we have is original to the boat and lacks thermocouples on the top burners and a latch on the oven door. We are also lacking a vented propane locker. These items must be addressed and currently, I am leaning towards just replacing the stove with a non-pressurized alcohol Origo stove.

In an effort to keep costs down, I'm even considering foregoing an oven at all and just getting the stove. This will save around $1,000. The beauty of the alcohol stove is that we do not need to build a propane locker and replumb the gas lines which saves time and a not insignificant amount of money.

I like that refilling the Origo stove only requires decanting fuel into Sterno like containers. You don't have the issues with explosion that you can have with propane, no having to haul around heavy propane tanks and no replumbing of the boat. Its a simple refit as you just drop in the stove and call it done. We would add a solar vent in the cabin roof because alcohol stoves can be smelly but it really is the simplest method.

Of course, Mark wants to make it more complex than necessary because it will be "better" if he builds and plumbs in an alcohol storage tank that will perpetually keep the stove supplied with fuel...ARGH! Engineers! If we do go with alcohol there will be no replumbing of the boat. The whole point of the Origo is simplicity. Are you listening Mark?

The other issue to address is the countertops. Ceol Mor currently has laminate which is original to the boat and is therefore, cracked. Cracked laminate attracts moisture and continues to crack and delaminate. There is also the issue of not being able to set a hot pan down on laminate for fear or scorching

After looking at the lovely tiled countertops on SV Estrellita and SV Mellifera, my first instinct was to use tile. In a fit of girlieness I was attracted to the shiny sparkle of glass tile. "OOH! Pretty!". Then I realized what would happen the first time I dropped something on it and I promise you- I will drop something at some point. Its rather spendy and I would absolutely shatter it within the the first 3 months. Then there is the issue of glass tiles weight- its heavy. I next considered ceramic tile but once again- I will break it and it is heavy.

I picked up a piece of Corian and thought "Hey! This stuff is really light". And impervious to shattering. And scorch resistant. And able to be cut to accomodate the reefer hatchs. And able to have a sink built in with no gaps for water to seep in. A HA! We have our answer.

Not so fast Cowboy. It seems that every place I speak with regarding having Corian countertops made play along until I explain that I want a raised fiddle edge and only a small amount of countertops and oh, I'd like to install it myself. "Can't be done! Impossible! You don't meet the minimum order size! You must be certified by Corian to install it" And on and on... I know that many boats are being outfitted with Corian with fiddles and small orders so my question is- where are people getting their countertops made? Someone somewhere has to be making them. I will almost bet that there are people out there installing Corian in their boats themselves, even without being 'Corain certified'.

Corian certified my left hiney cheek. Its a resin based countertop, not an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.

Eureka! aww poop.

Eureka!, originally uploaded by CidnieC.

After contemplating the girls berth and the much needed baby containment device for more time than one would imagine, I finally came up with a workable design. The good news? It is workable, doable and easily removable once the need for a baby berth has passed. The bad news? The design all hinges on a part that is apparently non existant.

See that handy bit of pvc there? That is essentially the shape I need, except I need all 3 openings to be 1.5 inches. As you can see, this one has 2 openings the correct size but the third is much too small. I have searched for this to no avail. It does not exist at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, Sears Hardware, Tractor Supply or Ewings Plumbing. Surely I can not be the only person who needs something like this?

This feels very much like shoe shopping. For years I would have the perfect shoe in mind before I set out only to not be able to find what I want. I always find "something close" but not close enough. This is probably why I will be selling a metric butt load of barely worn shoes before we move aboard. Sorry for the digression there...

Anyway, a big thanks to the Bumfuzzles for hipping me to where to find fabric for the enclosure and mounting brackets. I'd like to send a big thank you out to someone for finding me the above pictured piece, except with all 3 opening being either 1.5 inches or 2 inches. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Life in Fast Forward

I've been hesitant to start this blog until we had definitely found and purchased a boat. Since we have in fact, purchased a boat - all but the signing of titles- I feel I can safely give you an update on what we have been doing in order to get ready for the big adventure.

You know those video montages where the photos of a persons entire life is set on fast forward? That's a bit how the last 4 months have felt. Here is what we've accomplished this far: learn about sailboat construction and design, begin combing listings (over 1200) for a list of suitable candidates, educate ourselves about pointing ability, weather helm, sea kindliness, learn to asses boat safety and condition by eye, learn all about various sail rigs and the pros and cons of each, identify our list of must haves, plan a route for our travels, investigated sailing conditions for said route, shopped for boats for hours online, shopped for boats for days in person, looked long and hard for a great marine surveyor, put in offers on four other boats, have one boat hauled out and surveyed, sea trialed two different boats,dealt with brokers who were good, brokers who were bad and brokers who were just plain greedy, complete a weekend ASA course, complete additional ASA training, found a boat that works, made an offer, have boat hauled and surveyed, adjusted offer, visit the boat 4 times to inspect the handy work of mechanics who were doing repairs, sea trialed the winning boat, sea trialed the winning boat again, learned all there was to know about boat insurance, purchase insurance, learn more about hull blisters and the various repair techniques than I ever wanted to know, investigate Coast Guard Vessel documentation regs, find a documentation company to handle the Coast Guard regs because they are so meticulous and involved,find a marina, find a slip at the marina that will fit our big gal, look in vain for Mark's ancient RYA certifications in order to lower the insurance rate , give up on this,develop a list of must have safety items, develop a list of equipment, comparasion shop 50 different chandlers for each and every item because DAMN this gets expensive, get quotes on replacing the standing rigging, get quotes on blister repair and bottom painting, consider the merits of different manufacturers paint systems, schedule more sailing lessons... and there's more but I just can't stand to waste the bandwidth.

Suffice it to say, we've been busy. Once Ceol Mor is ours free and clear ( THIS MONDAY!) we get to move on to the far more exciting task of boat repair and finding a competent yard that isn't run by a pirate. I'm hoping that we can at least take off for a week trip down the coast to Corpus Christi before we have to have her hauled out to have her bottom taken care of and her standing rigging replaced.