Saturday, August 21, 2010
The rest of the archives
I was trying to painstakingly move the content over from the Xanga site to the blogspot site post by post. I'm done with it just now. Not that the task is completed, I just can't find the time just now to not only keep the blog current, but move everything and edit as well. Sorry. http://ceolmor.xanga.com/
Monday, July 20, 2009
A Pod of Dolphins, A Torn Main and Rain
We were able to go sailing on Sunday, July 19. We had a boat full of wonderful friends and family- my good friend the beautiful ( and very pregnant) Alma and her cool husband Alan, my gorgeous nieces Victoria and Madeleine ( who turned 17 on the 19th! Happy Birthday!) and Ben, who turned out to be a crack crew member. We were a bit concerned about whether or not there would be enough room in the cockpit for 7 adults but we managed just fine. Mark spent a good bit of time on the safety and sailing briefing so everyone knew what to do and when to do it. I highly recommend spending an hour making certain the guests know what to expect and how to crew effectively- its more fun when everyone participates.
From left- Madeleine, Victoria, Alma (and Sophia) and Mark
We left the marina with a forecast of 15-20 knot winds and a possibility of thunderstorms. Since we have been suffering in drought like conditions as of late, we were undetered by the possiblity of rain. We knew if the weather turned sour we would drop sail and motor back in so we stayed within a few miles on the marina just in case.
On right- Alan tidies the cockpit lines
Early on, the weather was breezy and there was just enough wave action to make it fun. We bounced along while everyone got to know the winches, lines and sheets and how to operate them correctly. While were out getting toknow Ceol Mor, we were treated to a pod of about 6 dolphins playing just 20 yards off of our starboard side. I need to get better about keeping the camera and video handy as I was so busy trying to crew, I missed the opportunity to photograph them. This will not happen again.
Mark and I readying the main
Victoria did a long stint on the helm and did an admirable job. She never panicked and took instruction exceedingly well. Alan and Ben did a great job manning the winches and their extra upper body strength was appreciated when the winds picked up to 20 knots. Madeleine hung out and Alma gestated quietly.
Victoria at helm
I looked off to the West and saw really ugly, dark, lightening filled clouds approaching. Mark was his usual cool self, I was my usual chicken baby self and requested an early reefing of the main and furling in the genoa. Mark likes to wait to see what the wind will do, I like to assume it will get nasty and proactively preapre for the worst. Mark ignored my pleas and carried on. The main sail ripped at the reef point when the wind picked up. Would we have a rip had Mark thrown in the extra reef when I asked him to? Hard to say, but I like to think that I was right and since I am writing the blog, we will all assume this was an "I told you so" moment.
We seriously need to do something about the jib sheets
We dropped sail and motored back in just as the rains began to come down. The ladies retreated to the cabin below while the manly men battled the current coming into the channel and got soaked. The rain stopped and the sun came out just as we were approaching our slip at the marina. With so many deck hands, we were able to get Ceol Mor into her slip with very little worry or bother except for the old dude who felt he should be captaining the boat, not Mark. It was a bit annoying for Mark to be telling me one thing only to have Old Barnacle Bill on the dock telling me to do the opposite. I ignored Barnacle Bill's instructions but did say " Thank you so much for your help" as he turned his back and wandered off down the dock. Ah well, one of the best parts of sailing are the people you meet- even crusty characters, maybe especially the crusty ones. These are the type people that cartoons aer made of and personally, I LOVE cartoons.
Its been so long since we've seen rain, I wanted to take a photo just to remember it by
From left- Madeleine, Victoria, Alma (and Sophia) and Mark
We left the marina with a forecast of 15-20 knot winds and a possibility of thunderstorms. Since we have been suffering in drought like conditions as of late, we were undetered by the possiblity of rain. We knew if the weather turned sour we would drop sail and motor back in so we stayed within a few miles on the marina just in case.
On right- Alan tidies the cockpit lines
Early on, the weather was breezy and there was just enough wave action to make it fun. We bounced along while everyone got to know the winches, lines and sheets and how to operate them correctly. While were out getting toknow Ceol Mor, we were treated to a pod of about 6 dolphins playing just 20 yards off of our starboard side. I need to get better about keeping the camera and video handy as I was so busy trying to crew, I missed the opportunity to photograph them. This will not happen again.
Mark and I readying the main
Victoria did a long stint on the helm and did an admirable job. She never panicked and took instruction exceedingly well. Alan and Ben did a great job manning the winches and their extra upper body strength was appreciated when the winds picked up to 20 knots. Madeleine hung out and Alma gestated quietly.
Victoria at helm
I looked off to the West and saw really ugly, dark, lightening filled clouds approaching. Mark was his usual cool self, I was my usual chicken baby self and requested an early reefing of the main and furling in the genoa. Mark likes to wait to see what the wind will do, I like to assume it will get nasty and proactively preapre for the worst. Mark ignored my pleas and carried on. The main sail ripped at the reef point when the wind picked up. Would we have a rip had Mark thrown in the extra reef when I asked him to? Hard to say, but I like to think that I was right and since I am writing the blog, we will all assume this was an "I told you so" moment.
We seriously need to do something about the jib sheets
We dropped sail and motored back in just as the rains began to come down. The ladies retreated to the cabin below while the manly men battled the current coming into the channel and got soaked. The rain stopped and the sun came out just as we were approaching our slip at the marina. With so many deck hands, we were able to get Ceol Mor into her slip with very little worry or bother except for the old dude who felt he should be captaining the boat, not Mark. It was a bit annoying for Mark to be telling me one thing only to have Old Barnacle Bill on the dock telling me to do the opposite. I ignored Barnacle Bill's instructions but did say " Thank you so much for your help" as he turned his back and wandered off down the dock. Ah well, one of the best parts of sailing are the people you meet- even crusty characters, maybe especially the crusty ones. These are the type people that cartoons aer made of and personally, I LOVE cartoons.
Its been so long since we've seen rain, I wanted to take a photo just to remember it by
Sunday, July 5, 2009
New and Improved Perkins- Now With 100% Less Smoke
When last you visited with your intrepid would be-sailors we were dealing with fall out from a blown exhaust elbow. Yes, the survey had picked up that the elbow had corroded and would need replacement. We just thought perhaps we could replace it during the haul out, the elbow had other plans and wanted to be put at the top of the punch list.
Our engine is a Perkins 4-108 and for the most part, it is in very good condition. This is a good thing because it is just about impossible to find a replacement parts. We looked everywhere for a stock ehaust elbow- at chandleries, marine diesel engine shops, Perkins dealers, etc. We did not limit our search to those in our local area, we cast the net for the part far and wide to no avail. You simply could not buy a replacement part from stock.
An internet comrade ( thanks Cam!) suggested we try Trans-Atlantic diesels. http://www.tadiesels.com/ While they did not have the replacement part, they did offer to fabricate us a nwe one if we would send them our old one. We loved their Can-Do attitude, their professionalism in answering questions very quickly what we didn't love was the price. They were not over charging by any means, just charging a fair price for their efforts. Unfortunately or fortunately ( depending on how you look at these things) our number one goal while refitting Ceol Mor is to do so and still slow the hemorrage the bank account has been suffering of late.
Hey..wait a minute. Mark can fix or build anything. Seriously. Mark spent a couple of nights in the garage with his grinder, the old exhaust elbow and stainless pipe and elbow purcahsed from Grainger. A trip to Hobby Lobby (seriously) produced a fine sheet of copper which would be cut into gasket for the exhaust elbow. A bottle of whisky and a trip to Mark's friend Christian's home work shop (with TIG weld) produced the end result of a beautiful stainless steel, well gasketed and perfectly welded exhaust elbow at a savings of 75% of retail.
Thank you Christian and well done to you and Mark! The new part was tested at length on July 4 and it performed beautifully.
Our engine is a Perkins 4-108 and for the most part, it is in very good condition. This is a good thing because it is just about impossible to find a replacement parts. We looked everywhere for a stock ehaust elbow- at chandleries, marine diesel engine shops, Perkins dealers, etc. We did not limit our search to those in our local area, we cast the net for the part far and wide to no avail. You simply could not buy a replacement part from stock.
An internet comrade ( thanks Cam!) suggested we try Trans-Atlantic diesels. http://www.tadiesels.com/ While they did not have the replacement part, they did offer to fabricate us a nwe one if we would send them our old one. We loved their Can-Do attitude, their professionalism in answering questions very quickly what we didn't love was the price. They were not over charging by any means, just charging a fair price for their efforts. Unfortunately or fortunately ( depending on how you look at these things) our number one goal while refitting Ceol Mor is to do so and still slow the hemorrage the bank account has been suffering of late.
Hey..wait a minute. Mark can fix or build anything. Seriously. Mark spent a couple of nights in the garage with his grinder, the old exhaust elbow and stainless pipe and elbow purcahsed from Grainger. A trip to Hobby Lobby (seriously) produced a fine sheet of copper which would be cut into gasket for the exhaust elbow. A bottle of whisky and a trip to Mark's friend Christian's home work shop (with TIG weld) produced the end result of a beautiful stainless steel, well gasketed and perfectly welded exhaust elbow at a savings of 75% of retail.
Thank you Christian and well done to you and Mark! The new part was tested at length on July 4 and it performed beautifully.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I Love Mr. Clean
- We are not going to be angry at the person who put the camera where it does not belong. We are just going to be grateful that we still have the camera and the photographic evidence of the wonders of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
Bad scratch sadly upon our hull...
But wait! Mr. Clean says he can clean it!
A little bit of effort, and...
No one knows about my infamous docking tragedy! Yay for Mr. Clean who is now my boyfriend because I puffy heart love him forever.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
All That and a Side of Sweet Potato Fries
You may recall that I previously mentioned an "inglorious docking manuever" on our eventful outing on Ceol Mor. Well, I wasn't the only one to have a bit of a tussle with a dock. Apparently, the previous owners decided to take the boat out for one last sail before we transferred the title. It seems that they found 42 feet of boat a bit much to handle as well as evidenced by the deep scratch along the port side hull. My screw up was on the starboard side and I would like to add, was quite a bit smaller in scope.
Here is the damage report- Starboard side 2 feet of intermittent scratches, fender rub Port side, 5 foot long deep scratch. Normally I would post photos of the damage but somebody (who shall remain nameless) left the camera out where it could be easily pilfered. Next week, digital camera shopping!
Since our hull has been painted with Awlgrip which is notoriously finicky about which products to use, my first thought to clean up the hull was using the recommended polish Awlcare. Well, no one had any Awlcare in stock and the stuff is ridiculously expensive. So I put on my thinking cap and had a light bulb moment- Magic Eraser!
The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser has worked on everything in my home- flat finish painted walls, shower glass, ceramic tile, perfectly. I thought that I had nothing to lose so I thought I'd give it a shot. Mark was dubious as to whther or not it would work and whether or not it would damage the finish.
The Magic Eraser not only worked, it worked easily and efficiently leaving no evidence behind. No one but Mark and you dear readers would ever know about my bone headed docking manuever. Hurray! I should point out that our hull is white. I do not know how the Magic Eraser will work on a dark painted hull so if you are trying to hide evidence of a bash up, do a test area in an inconspicuous area before taking the Magic Eraser down the hull.
Now we are ready to clean the hull, the properly polish her up with Awlcare after her haul out.
Here is the damage report- Starboard side 2 feet of intermittent scratches, fender rub Port side, 5 foot long deep scratch. Normally I would post photos of the damage but somebody (who shall remain nameless) left the camera out where it could be easily pilfered. Next week, digital camera shopping!
Since our hull has been painted with Awlgrip which is notoriously finicky about which products to use, my first thought to clean up the hull was using the recommended polish Awlcare. Well, no one had any Awlcare in stock and the stuff is ridiculously expensive. So I put on my thinking cap and had a light bulb moment- Magic Eraser!
The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser has worked on everything in my home- flat finish painted walls, shower glass, ceramic tile, perfectly. I thought that I had nothing to lose so I thought I'd give it a shot. Mark was dubious as to whther or not it would work and whether or not it would damage the finish.
The Magic Eraser not only worked, it worked easily and efficiently leaving no evidence behind. No one but Mark and you dear readers would ever know about my bone headed docking manuever. Hurray! I should point out that our hull is white. I do not know how the Magic Eraser will work on a dark painted hull so if you are trying to hide evidence of a bash up, do a test area in an inconspicuous area before taking the Magic Eraser down the hull.
Now we are ready to clean the hull, the properly polish her up with Awlcare after her haul out.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Owning a sailboat doesn't mean you will actually SAIL
While I was busy escorting Maura off to the piney woods for a fun filled week of horses, S'mores and swimming, Mark was busy working on the boat. His good friend Bill Blizzard keeps his lovely boat Moondance at the same marina. (The photo of Maura and Mark on Maura's first sail was taken on Moondance). Bill happened to be at the marina on Sunday and was able to take the time to lend a hand so that Mark could take Ceol Mor out for a spin. Bill is an accomplished sailor and it was good for Mark to have a mentor to further his sailing skills. Other than a near grounding in what proved to be a bit of non-worrisome sludge, they had an uneventful little sail out in Galveston Bay and by all accounts, thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
On Tuesday, seeing as how we were sans children Mark and I decided to take Ceol Mor out for a bit to practice manuevering under power and sailing a bit to get used to Ceol Mor's size, which is quite a bit larger than what we are used to and yes- size does matter. We removed all of the covers, checked the fuel and oil and prepared to take off. Here is Mark preparing to leave our slip, on our boat, for the first time alone.
On Tuesday, seeing as how we were sans children Mark and I decided to take Ceol Mor out for a bit to practice manuevering under power and sailing a bit to get used to Ceol Mor's size, which is quite a bit larger than what we are used to and yes- size does matter. We removed all of the covers, checked the fuel and oil and prepared to take off. Here is Mark preparing to leave our slip, on our boat, for the first time alone.
- .
We managed to nudge Ceol Mor out of her slip with only a momentary bit of panic from me. I was acutely aware at how much larger Ceol Mor is than anything I had sailed previously as we approached the boats moored up behind us. 42 feet is a lot of boat. Everyone assures me it will get easier but I am a big chicken. The sailing doesn't scare me, but the parking does!
Mark handled Ceol Mor beautifully, got her pointed down the channel and off we motored towards the bay. As we turned into to the primary channel, I noticed the engine sounded a bit...off. I questioned Mark about this. I should have known by the way he said " we're fine" that something was off. Mark has a way of becoming rather terse when under stress and I noticed he was very short in his response. All the same, he kept Ceol Mor pointed towards the bay and since I have infinite trust in his superior mechanical skills, I figured he would mention if there was a problem so I continued to watch for oncoming boat traffic, debris in the channel, etc.
- I waved as the new owners of the very little Island Packet I had so wanted to purchase motored smoothly past us on its way to its new berth, just 4 slips down from ours on the next pier over from ours. I was feeling a bit wistful for the little IP. I think Ceol Mor sensed my longing for the little tug because it was at this moment that Mark said " We're going back" and began to turn the boat around. I turned my head to ask him why when I saw this:
Let us speak briefly about things you do not wish to see pouring out of your companion way.
1. Water
2. Smoke
That about sums it up. Smoke coming out of your companion way is bad. Water pouring out of your companion way is worse so we should all be grateful and thankful that it was the lesser of two evils.
I immediately stuck my head in as far as I possibly could to offer what assesment I could to Mark without pulling a Sylvia Plath in all of the diesel fumes. "The good news is there don't appear to be any flames. The bad news is, we now seem to be gathering a bit of water in the cabin" I told Mark. Mark was cool as a cucumber as he carefully eyed the temperature gauge and motored as slowly and carefully as he could back to the marina. I was offering up prayers to any and all dieties, spirits or powers that be that we manage to get Ceol Mor back to her slip in one piece so that we could assess the situation from the safe position of her berth, rather than in the middle of the channel. I am not certain which one picked up the hot line, but I was feeling grateful as we neared our marina.
The smoke from the exhaust seemed to gather in its intensity as we made our way back. This was the longest 20 minutes you can imagine as we glided by in our smoking hot boat (HA!) past the other sailors going out for an evening sail.
- We once again, passed the little, non smoking IP with its new owners snug in its new berth. *sigh* After an inglorious docking manuever ( Mark did fine, I am the reason Ceol Mor now has a skid mark on her starboard side. Again 42 feet is a LOT of boat), we managed to get her tied up and assess the situation. We are down one exhaust pipe. Apparently, the exhaust pipe decided it was time to retire and blew out in spectacular fashion.
- While were underway with an open exhaust line, the water intake for the engine cooling continued to do its job, intake water. Unfortunately, at this time the bilge pump which we had already decided needed some companions decided it wasn't going to work solo and retired as well. That explains the water in the cabin. Here's a photo of me perfecting the fine art of manual bilge pumping. Fortunately, the manual bilge pump works GREAT!
After such a stressful outing, Mark and I did what any prudent Old Salt would do in our situation. We ran to the pool to cool off and get the smell of diesel out of our nose and off of our skin. Then we had a dinner at a dockside restaurant with scallops, fish and copious amounts of adult beverages. Nothing soothes the bruised pride that sailing provides quite like a good rum, except maybe two rums.
Coming up next week- diesel engine exhaust repair and bilge pump installation 101! WHEEEEE! Owning a boat is F-U-N! I almost wrote some different letters after the FU...
Monday, June 1, 2009
Lyle Lovett - If I Had a Boat
Ceol Mor is officially, really and truly ours today. All that is left to do is to sign the paperwork, which we are doing in three hours time. YAY! Oh...wait...its the beginning of hurricane season. EEK! Hopefully, having had Ike hit last year we should be statistically safe from a direct hit for another 5-10 years.
I've been singing this song all weekend. It perfectly sums up my mood just now- enjoy.
I've been singing this song all weekend. It perfectly sums up my mood just now- enjoy.
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