Chasing down a leak...

You know you are really and truly a boat owner when you get the privilege of spending 2 or 3 days chasing down a mysterious leak. After a very hard bit of rain, there appeared a leak on the aft cabin berth. Perhaps it was the winch seating? Nope. Both winches above the cabin look to be okay but we did find a bit of old deck rot which must be attended to. No answer to the leak but yet another project on our non-project boat. Maybe its the traveler? That needs to be reset anyway, lets have a look. Nope...not there. Portlight? But we just reseated those and while Mark is not the fastest worker in the world the man is thorough. After 2 days of dismantling everything and putting it back together we have come up with the answer- maybe it is the winch after all. Or maybe not. We will have to wait and see.

The good news is that Kitty was around to assist for a lot of the leak chasing. She found this very exciting as it involved hammers AND screwdrivers. She offered her opinion on our work while Mark and I loosened bolts, then retightened them. Again. And again. The she was off screwdriver in hand to check every bolt and screw on deck. Kid has a bright future in a boat yard somehwere, She didn't miss a single one.

Why yes, that is a different pirate costume. This one was purchased after her previous one literally fell apart from wear. She was a little upset that this one did not have what constitutes a proper hat but was placated when she figured out her head scarf included earrings. I am just hoping this one lasts until Halloween...

Sundowners with the Sundowners

Sausage bread and Arancini- not burned and therefore worthy of documentation

I write this blog really just to document this time in our lives so I A: don't forget how hard we worked to get here and B: remind myself why I have vowed never to refit another boat ever again. A side benefit of writing this is that our little blog has given us the opportunity to meet some really incredible people and to develop some great friendships. Without this blog, I would never have met my now good friends Cindy and Laureen. Friends that I know have my back should I ever decide that this was all a really stupid idea and will listen for hours if I have a mental breakdown and weep uncontrollably over our exploding holding tank. This alone makes keeping the blog worthwhile.

We had the good fortune to get to have a meet and greet with Tate and Danielle from Sundowner Sails Again. They were in Kemah for a Westsail owners Rendezous. We were on the boat working on the never ending refit once again. We invited Tate and Dani over for snacks and cocktails, followed by a tour of our boat and a rare dinner out.

We just loved meeting Tate and Dani. I think perhaps Tate was born about 100 years too late. He just has the heart of a Victorian era explorer with the can do attitude and aptitude for picking up and excelling at whatever he puts his hand to. Like a modern Dr. David Livingstone. He just exudes capability as well as having a really wicked sense of humor. He could wear a pith helmet and a monocle and you would not raise an eyebrow because he could totally make it work.

Mark is smiling because he finally met someone who understands his Captain Perfecto tendencies

Dani is just grace itself. Impossibly lovely, gracious and with a keen intellect and that same inherent capability that Tate has. We all loved hanging with Dani but Maura was absolutely starstruck. If we all think Dani is the bees knees, Maura thinks she is a rockstar- smart, beautiful, fearless AND capable? I think Maura will be heading up her fan club. The only one of us disappointed was Kitty and that is only because we told her all week were going to meet Tate and Dani but she thought we were going to see Dani who would bring her CAKE. When she figured out Tate was a person and not a confectionary she just sighed.

Bonding over a shared dismay of the state of our galleys...

We ate too much, drank enough, laughed a lot and stayed up waayy too late. We had a blast. The next morning, it was up with the sun and back to chasing down a leak on the boat. Such is life during a refit but man oh man was it fun to put down the tools for a bit and have a good time with peeps who are simpatico.

Arrrrgggh!

This year, Kitty has been obsessed with Halloween for about 2 months. I blame the Halloween episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. I can't get too upset because Halloween is just about my most favorite holiday of all. It serves no purpose here in the States other than for kids to have fun and I am 100% in favor of fun.

Kitty began going crazy as soon as she saw the first pumpkin decoration a month ago and has been yammering about her costume nonstop. She has been steadfast in her desire to be a pirate "A pirate say ARGH!" I the captain!!!". Since I lack the crafty gene and am on round number 2 of my attempts to make skirts for some wee girlies, I just bought the darned costume already. Actually, my first cheap skate thought was to just dress her in her old t-shirt and flip flops and make her a little cardboard AK-47 and cardboard bag of ghat but even I have a hard time being THAT politically incorrect. So Disney captain Hook pirate it is.

Kitty loves her pirate dress. She loves it so much she has insisted on wearing it every single day since we got it. Its not the most well made costume so its already starting to fray at the edges, the elastic is pulling, its dotted with various stains and we've already had an emergency repair on her eye patch. It matters not. Kitty loves it and insists on wearing it anywhere and everywhere she goes. I can not wait for Halloween. Once she figures out that by knocking on a door and saying 'Trick or Treat' you get chocolate, her tiny mind will be absolutely blown.

Even dressed as a pirate, Kitty is still the duck whisperer. She called the ducks over, showed them how to dance, fed them and calmly told them they couldn't come home with us but she would see them later.

Gross Understatements, Tacking Lessons and Glue

Shiny valve, pictured here cause its the closest thing to jewelry I'll be getting for a looong time

And so we move on to the plumbing refit. Since Mark has pretty much decided that anything involving hoses falls under the plumbing heading, we aren't just redoing lines to the holding tanks. Captain Perfecto has declared the entire system to be 'crap' due to the previous installation of hoses running every which way with no thought to judicious use of space, ease of access and conscientious routing. So while we will be eventually redoing the head intake, the lines to the holding tank, the entire fresh water system, the shower plumbing, the fresh and salt water lines from the sinks, the cooling water for the engine we are currently dealing with the fuel system.

Step one with Mark is always to look at the defects of a system. He can't help it, its the engineer in him. After carefully considering the current fuel system, he came up with a list of defects that I like to call 'Why This System is Crap'. Actually, he used the word 'mess' not crap but since after all these years together I still hear his Scottish accent and think "If its not Scottish its crap!" I, who am writing this will title his lists whatever I like. Here is his litany of complaints with our current fuel system-

• Existing system is a mess
• 8 separate hoses connected to the diesel fuel tanks- 4 hoses for the forward tank, 4 hoses for the aft tank/ engine supply and return and generator supply and return
• 4 poorly marked selector valves at the fuel tanks- engine supply forward and aft, engine return forward and aft, generator supply forward and aft, generator return forward and aft
• Separate diesel fuel filters for the engine and generator of different types requiring different fuel filters
• Each filter has a priming bulb that due to their geriatric state are no longer squeezable
• Fuel lines are poorly routed through the engine compartment

Mark sat down and after a few hours of creative thinking he came up with a plan. The new not crap system would be comprised of the following-

• A single 6 port fuel tank selector valve
• An electric fuel pump for priming and fuel polishing
• Parallel redundant fuel filters using Racor 500 FG (which will allow us to change the filter while the engine is running
• Selector valves for fuel filter selection and fuel polishing combinations
• Fuel supply and return manifolds to serve both engine and generators and simplify hose requirements

The plus side? We will soon have a fuel system that will not only do its intended job better but will be much easier to service. So much easier that even I, a simple minded soul should be able to manage basic routine maintenance. The down side? As Mark poured over parts catalogs obtain the necessary components of his far superior system, he let out an audible gasp as the parts list climbed upwards of $500 and we hadn't even finished. "I think I might be over thinking this' he said. No. Really? Greatest bit of understatement ever.

While Mark is probably over thinking this, I know that if I don't just cheerfully go along with his Rube Goldberg fuel system it will bug him every time we have to change a filter or polish fuel. (in actuality, his system DOES make perfect sense but I can't admit that without giving him some guff first) Given that, we will indeed have the most spectacularly engineered fuel system possible on our boat. There are other niceties on the refit list that can wait if need be. So long as Mark takes to heart my constant mantra "This boat is leaving in November 2013" if it means I have to deal with an ugly galley in order to enjoy a spectacular fuel system, so be it. Fuel system is just a wee bit more important than a pretty galley anyway.

As we sat at breakfast with our sleep heavy eyes, we took a break to get in some sailing lessons. With empty juice glasses filling in for winches and bits of discarded paper from Kitty's artistic endeavors serving as a Genoa, Mark and Maura worked on tacking techniques. Maura had pointed out that this was her first year as real crew and she needed a bit more explanation as to what was expected of her in order to lend a hand with sailing the boat. Starboard tack, port tack, which side is windward, etc. etc. By jove I think she's got it.

 While Maura and Mark worked on their tacking simulations, Kitty hummed as she played with her most favorite toys in all the world- colored paper, scissors and a glue stick. She entertained herself for a full hour and half with only an occasional assist from me. I know some people swear by an iPad to keep little ones entertained but I can't imagine Kitty ever being as thrilled with anything from Apple as she was by having her very own glue stick and the freedom to use it.

                                                                                                                                                 

      

Its barely October...

...but when the Universe drops such an awesome post in your lap that you don't even have to write you pony up and post it, no matter what you said about updating on the refit. Sorry, no pretty photos on this one but sometimes you don't need one.

If you need the background, read it here: Word of the Day...

Mr. Michaud feels strongly enough to comment on our little blog. Here is what he has to say without any editing what so ever.

"Gents, you clearly do not understand the point of my letter. My rather extensive, not armchair cruising experience has led me to arrive at a factual not emotional response to how some of you approach cruising. 

I too took time off in my early 40s (41-43 to be precise) taking two trips down to the Caribbean via Bermuda as well as four trips to Down East Maine. This was done on a really fine 52 foot sailboat which I upgraded to the nine’s creating a lot of good jobs for people right here in Rhode Island. I subsequently sold this vessel to a very fine Canadian Family that undertook two trans Atlantic passages. In over 40,000 miles of sailing I am happy to report that the boat is still in tip top shape, no one every had a injury or illness remotely approached the incident that was discussed in Sail Magazine. This is due to proper preparation of the boat, with a well-trained crew. This is the primary responsibility of any Captain of any vessel that chooses to venture offshore.

While a cruising vagabond, does indeed have the right to venture offshore in vessels that are undermanned, not properly maintained, or underequipped you do not have the right to except gratis assistance from search or rescue staff from the US, Bermuda, Canadian, or other Coast Guards to expend human and financial resources to save you when you run into serious trouble due to inadequate preparation arising from an inadequate resources.

About 20 years ago a good friend of mine, went offshore from what was seemingly a modest passage from the Bahamas to the West Palm Beach. He did this in a sailing vessel that was not up to the task (with respect to design, equipment, or crew) despite being advised against the trip by his part time Captain (who refused to go) and the dock master at the Marina in the Bahamas. The result was the loss of the vessel and crew (including a visiting Mid West couple) and a massive sea and air rescue search by the US Coast Guard that covered thousands of miles up the Florida Coast and Gulf Stream.

I was also tactician during a Nautor Swan Regatta in the 90s when I saw major sailing hardware fail with a near near serious/fatal injury to a crew member (a young woman along for the ride). This accident occurred because the owner (a friend of mine) chose to jury rig a mainsheet traveler and drill out tab on an undersized hydraulic backstay adjuster to receive an oversize pin for the rod rigging. The net cost savings was a few hundred dollars (which I am sure many of those Sail Magazine readers who have responded negatively to my letter who applaud). However, I think the young woman who could have been fatally injured disagree with these Sail readers.

I also did a delivery on a 70 foot S&S designed yawl Petrol in the late 1970s from Bermuda to New York City. During an unexpected full gale, the seems opened up with the crew having to pump like mad. Moreover, the boat was undermanned (part of the crew were two rather attractive female greenhorns that were useless) resulting in only 4 capable crew to deal with a 70 foot 40 year old boat in 60 knots. 

The result of may past experiences that I have witnessed is that I NEVER go out on anyone else’s boat unless I know the history of the boat, the capabilities of the Captain and crew, and how well the yacht is maintained.

At my point of life 61, I am only interested in logic and facts not emotion. That is how I approach decision-making and life strategies. It has worked rather well for me. I am not sure what next boat that I am going to purchase or have built as I have, by choice, little time outside of my company due to my responsibilities to my customers, my partners, and my employees. I do find that my decisions now are driven by what do I really need rather than what can I afford."

Sorry Den, we did not miss the point of your letter. Perhaps it was not your intent but what your letter conveyed perfectly is that you are kind of a name dropping douche. Your follow up here not only further illustrates this fact, but also lets us know you are a sexist douche to boot. You do realize that not only is this blog written by a woman, there are a whole bunch of women who while being rather attractive, can sail the pants off of any boat, anywhere and many without the benefit of a degree from Brown? Cheers.

On a September Hiatus

Kitty's favorite closet treasure hunt score- Dad's shoe bag. She likes to wear it as a hat. Constantly.

I have made an executive decision to not feel forced to post anything for the month of September. September is turning out to be absolutely nuts with a whole lot of NOTHING happening on the boat but lots of other mundane stuff that isn't worthy of a blog post. And yet...here is a blog post about all the mundane stuff that is keeping me from thrilling you with tales of our replumbing the boat. I know some of you want to keep up with the refit and preparations for our cruise and could give a rat's patootie about the other aspects of our life. For you folks, stop reading here. Come back in October. For the other readers who are just looking for a way to waste time at work, feel free to read on.

September means we are getting back into the swing of school. Maura is acutely aware that this is her last year in a US public school for quite some time and so she is throwing herself wholeheartedly into any and all activities as well as scheduling time with her best friends because "I am going awaaaay on a boat forevvver". Preteens love hyperbole You'll notice there aren't any photos of her on this post. Testament to the fact that girlfriend has been super busy with whatever time wasting activities junior high US girls get up to. This also means I have lost my trusty toddler tender so I've not had an extra set of hands to wrangle Kitty while I shoot photos or repair sails or mangle boat sewing projects. If you are going to have a toddler, I highly recommend having an adolescent who is always looking for babysitting money before you have that toddler.

Mark is not getting bubkis done on the boat because he is jet setting around the globe for work. This is boat related because they actually pay him for that work which means he has pennies to throw into the cruising kitty and refit fund. Yay for work. His latest trip has him in Singapore. It only took him 3 days to get on a flight but he made it and now between meetings he is sipping Singapore Slings in the Raffles hotel bar and enjoying fish pedicures. Rough gig he has there.

Meanwhile, its just Kitty and I hanging during the day. This month has been crap for me. I never get sick. When everyone else comes down with a cold, I'm the one who stays healthy and takes care of everyone. Only 11 days into September and I have been healthy a total of 3 days. First it was some horrible dysentery like vomit fest. I was laid out on the couch for 3 days. Kitty learned to open the closet doors at this time. I gave up caring what she was dragging out and destroying about the third time I tried to chase her down and had to stop to puke. I look at it as her opportunity to learn a bit about self direction. Now while Mark is off in Malaysia and Maura is off at school, I am a flu ridden slug trying to keep Kitty entertained without my usual tricks of hanging outside in the garden or doing art or cooking projects together. She is happy enough to have tea parties and play dress up inside while I count down the minutes until nap time when I can finally close my Nyquil heavy eyes.

So there ya have it. Good solid reasons why I am taking a short hiatus until October. In the mean time, I leave you with Pomplamoose. Firstly, I love Pomplamoose and you should too. Secondly, singing this song to myself is what is getting me through this month. Now you will be able to sing along until we are back on the boat in October. See you soon.

Surprise surprise! What sucked, what rocked and what will be most welcome

I am a little late in getting this up due to Hurricane Isaac. First, it was worrying about whether or not Isaac would make his way towards Ceol Mor and would we have time to properly secure her and the house (I would have picked the boat over the house if time was short). Then it was anxiously awaiting news from our blog pals Tate and Dani over at Sundowner Sails Again  to update as to how they and their boat fared. They seem to have weathered the storm okay so now I can write since I am no longer biting my finger nails and once again have use of both hands.

When we took our Suck! Down mini cruise, it was with the purpose of not only getting the kids used to the boat and trying to improve our sailing abilities ( a never ending task) but to really take a good look at what works and doesn't work so far as making Ceol Mor a comfy home. I can rough it with the best of them but if given a choice, I will take the cushy pampered princess route.

With that in mind, this post will not go into detail about our plans to redo the deck layout, change the blocks, clutches, winches, rerig, etc to improve the ease of sailing the boat. That will get SEVERAL posts all on its own because who ever set up Ceol Mor was obviously a masochist. Turning Ceol Mor into an easy to sail boat will take a lot of time and it will be done but for now, lets concentrate on the little things that make life aboard a little more comfy.

What rocked:
1. New lighting- The CCF linear lights sometimes take a few seconds to illuminate (nothing is perfect) but when they do the light is good quality, they don't draw much, the dimmer switch in the salon is lovely for softening the light and as a bonus- they look great. Their low profile means that the boat seems roomier with more headroom. Illusion, but nice anyway! Their chrome case and sleek design really help update the boat. We were really trying to find a way to bring the aesthetics of a 1980s design into the 21st century and these lights really help with that. The LED bi color task lighting LED bi color lights we have as task lighting in the galley, head and chart table work fantastically and the placement of them is unobtrusive yet absolutely fit for purpose.

2.Fabric Microfiber Suede Fawn P213 By Yard,1/2 Yard,Swatch - so glad we had the cushions redone! The inevitable kid spills cleaned up easily, they resisted water well and what moisture did get in them dried quickly ( we had lots of rain soaked butts to test it). Even an errant bit of pen ink came out with just spot cleaning and its a heck of a lot easier on the wallet than Sunbrella plus its soft and cozy.

3.Caframo Sirocco Fans - I might tease Mark about the fact that our boat is now absolutely festooned by these things but they are kind of awesome. They stow away flat when not in use and put out plenty of air for what they suck out of the battery bank. I am like a Golden Retriever in that I am happiest when my face is in a wind tunnel. Mark spent a lot of time ensuring that each fan location was carefully thought out and it shows. Pretty much anywhere on the boat you would want to hang out is within a gale created by these fans. With the fans, it was a bit warm but tolerable. Without them, it would have been stupid hot.

4. Onan Generator- I love my generator. Someday, I will love my quiet wind and solar set up but for now, the generator which allows me to sleep in the afore mentioned wind tunnel is aces in my book. Its not overly noisy and powers the fans, lights and any other little cushy princess requirements very efficiently. We were even able to run the ac at anchor for an hour to tone down the late afternoon wall o' heat in the salon. I puffy heart love you generator.

5. Zombie Dice 2 Double Feature - Still the best cockpit game ever. Just for the record, I got the most brains.

6: Electric toilet- I love this thing, power hog or not. I have kids aboard who (at least the potty trained one) are not currently able to be judicious in their use of toilet paper. The electric head makes this less of an issue. Hooray for non clogged heads!

7. Polar Fleece sheets- When my blog pal Behan over on SV Totem told me that Polar Fleece sheets were very comfortable to sleep on in the heat of the tropics/sub-tropics I thought she was out of her tree . I then thought hey, this trip is all about experimentation so lets give it a go. She was right. She tends to be the voice of cruising reason so it is to my great shame that I doubted. Never doubt Behan. Not hot at all and very comfortable. An added bonus is that Polar Fleece is very Craft Challenged friendly. You don't even have to hem it!! Wicks away moisture, regulates temperatures well- a definite and surprising win. Once I get a more elegant example completed, I'll share the details. Marvelous stuff.

What Sucked:

1. The galley. Ok, I am lumping it all together but let me just tell you what I absolutely hate and what will be changed before we leave whether Mark says is it will or not.
1a: The countertops- with our new spiffy lighting we are able to see just how crap the old laminate is. Cracked and EVERYTHING stains it. These will absolutely be changed before we leave. I hope we can find someone good who is willing to install such a small amount of Corian but it must be done. Even if it means an extra week or two for Mark to do it because we can;t find anyone. Laminate. Must. Die.

1b: The lack of refrigeration- Sucks. Big time. I wanted to use a plug in free standing Engel freezer but with the space considerations on board I know we are going to have to go with 

Drop-In AC/DC Fridge / Freezer  but so long as its an Engel, I'm good. Sure, not having to crawl down into a hole to find what I need would be ideal but you have to deal with the space you have. Everyone I know who has had an Engel for over 2 years loves it so an Engel it shall be. They work. Well. This is what I require of my refrigeration.

1c: The galley sink- That thing is manky, too small and I hate it. It must be changed out for a deep, single bowl sink and a taller faucet. What will I do when I need 2 basins of water? Its called a plastic tub and you can get it just about anywhere for around $4. Farewell manky sink, you shall not be missed.

2. The master cabin- When we first bought the boat, I kept telling Mark I wanted to rip out the fore head and expand the forward vee berth cabin, which we use as our master cabin. Mark said it was too much work and we would just have to live it. Now that we have taken a couple of overnights, Mark has come around to my way of thinking. I'm not totally being a princess about it because the owners of a sistership which is for sale have done precisely what we would like to do. Yeah, its bargain priced to boot. Where was this boat when we were shopping? Oh well. Hopefully someone knows a really talented carpenter with boat experience in the Kemah area. We are willing to pay a more than fair fee for this, but I will be upfront and say that our level of expectation of the quality of the finish work is high. Recommendations are most welcome.

What will be nice additions:

1.Oceanair Skyscreen - Now that we have beautiful, streamlined lighting is just makes sense to go with an elegant, durable solution for the screening and shading of our hatches. We will be installing Oceanair skyscreens on our 5 overhead hatches. They are beautiful, they work well and they mean I no longer have to struggle with trying to sew mosquito netting. They will go a long way to making the interior of the boat bee-yoo-ti-ful.

2. Schaefer In Boom Furling- HA! You thought I wasn't going to talk about sailing hardware. Actually, I'm not. The Schaefer In Boom Furler is the one piece of gear that is absolutely, positively not in the budget (they start at 15 k. Ouch)- no way, no how. This fact does not prevent me from looking at it with lust in my heart. I do like to mention it from time to time just to watch Mark twitch funny.

3. Porta-Bote- Mark's reasons for waiting to purchase our dinghy until the last possible minute makes sense but boy it would be great to be able to do this short little trips without having to make 2 trips to shore each time in STINKY.

I feel pretty darned good about the level of finish in the interior boat. There are some little unnecessary but nice little cosmetic tweaks we will be making but really, she's looking quite good and she functions well as a family boat. I think that even though we are facing a major plumbing rebuild and then there is the whole deck layout/rigging stuff to deal with, we are in a pretty darned good spot 14 months out. And moving forward...



* I've been an Amazon affiliate for over a year, but I haven't ever found anything I liked enough to link to it. I can't recommend something that I don't like because it makes me feel slightly dirty. *shiver* Now that we are getting a bit of experience with stuff, I feel like we can make some recommendations that are not based on marketers hype but on being 100% Ceol Mor approved. ;) If you decide to follow a link and purchase an item through our blog, we get a few pennies for it.  Pennies that will be used to tell Mark- "Hey, I have to have internet access I am a PROFESSIONAL writer!" because even if its the princely sum of $5 a year, income is income. Funds will be completely wasted on a yearly latte at Starbucks. You can rest assured I will never post anything that I don't absolutely love because I am nothing if not honest. Cheers.