Monthly Archives: January 2013

As a misty rain begins to pitter-patter on the cockpit windows it just confirms that another squall line is passing through Stuart which will mean less solar energy for us. We had to run the diesel generator this morning due to low solar charging yesterday and making water while we had a little sun. The good news is that our soon to be replaced battery charger started up after only a short session with the electric space heater blowing on it. In Annapolis, while we were buttoned up because of Sandy and just plain cold temperature, we found that blowing warm air on our charger gave us a 50/50 chance of it starting up. So now if it doesn’t work after flipping the breaker, which it rarely does, we blow hot air on it in the hope that it’ll start up.

This reminds me of a cat that we used to have, we’ll call her Margaret. We found something called wacky wall walkers. One throws them, the walkers that is, up against a wall, they stick to it and slowly “walk” down. She found this fascinating. Years later she could be found staring up at the spot where she used to see the “walkers” slowly making their way down the wall. Sometimes it works.

Tenacity, or is it just back to my “Sweet Spot of Life Theory” which states that we spend a large part of our lives in the pursuit of the feeling of that sweet spot zone. In younger days it was hitting that round ball with a cylindrical bat, not the 99% usual contact but that sweet spot contact without vibration and the ball leaps off the bat. Later it’s when she looks up at you and says…yes. Whatever, we tend to repeat the behavior. I may have overthought the charger thing but it can’t go soon enough for me.

There are big changes in store for Escape Velocity which should make for a sweeter life aboard her. We seem to have gotten a definitive answer on why anchoring EV has been such a difficult and dangerous proposition. Wrong chain wheel! We found a dangerous hole hacked into the main support beam which is fixable, and we’re adding AIS to our electronics suite and an amp hour meter for the batteries. Work continues apace with the cockpit cushions. I’m sure I’ve missed something so stay tuned.

The sun has burned through the clouds so I’m out of here.

Chasing boat workers and parts is a fulltime job, as any boater will tell you. Despite impressing on everyone that we are anxious to get moving and that we’re not here for the season we still spend every morning calling and nudging people to give us prices or scheduling info.

Our latest struggle is with Maxwell, the manufacturer of our anchor windlass. It has never worked right since we’ve been aboard. As soon as we knew there was a problem Jack called the US rep and after a long phone conversation we were assured that our chain and gypsy match and they don’t know what the problem is. Since then we’ve struggled — well, Jack has — to get the chain down and back up again every time we anchor, which is most of the time.

We finally got someone to take us seriously and they asked us to send a length of chain for them to test with their equipment. On Friday Jack got a call from Maxwell; we have the wrong gypsy. Now mind you, the previous owners told Maxwell what chain they had when they ordered the windlass, Jack was told in May or June that we had the correct gypsy, and now they decide it’s the wrong one but they want us to pay for a new one. Really? This is a seriously dangerous situation because in order to get the chain up Jack has to reach under the windlass to undo the logjam that happens every few feet or so as the chain is pulled up. He could lose half his hand with a moment’s inattention and it scares us to death. It’s amazing to me that the company won’t make this right, given the potential liability issues. We’ll see. Right now we’re waiting for a callback that was supposed to be in five minutes. It’s been hours.

Meanwhile we’re also trying to get estimates on the fiberglass repair of the damaged support beam under the saloon settee. We finally have a few guys lined up to come look at it. This is definitely something we have the skill to do, but without our usual previous supply of resin and the various tools needed, we figured for not much more than sourcing all the supplies we could get it done and done in a hurry. We’ll see about that, too.

Mack Sails picked up our mainsail this morning and at the same time brought a repaired camber spar and jib to True Colors. We need to change our jib to the new one so we tagged along and watched the Mack men as they reinstalled the sail on Marty and Lisa’s boat.

I also measured their canvas jib cover. Ours seems very baggy while other Mantas have a much tidier package. Sure enough, our cover is wider and shorter than the one on True Colors so I’ll use that one to pattern ours when our new canvas comes. Oh, how I wish my sister were here to do a day of sewing with me! Boat canvas is not her métier but I sure would like the confidence boost her presence would give me. I also need to tackle the continuous-loop cover on the boom; it’s in tatters. (Shidoobee)

We had a sad memorial at the marina dumpster for Nancy’s original Cuisinart, which she gave me many, many years ago when she got a newer, more powerful one. It made a lot of hummus, cheese straws and chocolate cheesecakes through the years even as bits broke and fell off. It finally could do no more and we sent it to appliance heaven.

After months of hemming and hawing about where best to install them, we hung our brass bell and gimbeled vase. These and our various oil lamps, among other things, are souvenirs of the 22 Annapolis Boat Shows in a row that we attended, many of them when we didn’t even own a boat. We always bought something “for later.” Sometimes it was a big thing, like a sextant or a good pair of binoculars; often, if we were low on cash it was something smaller, like the bell. But each one made us feel like we were moving closer to our dream of living aboard even if they ended up packed away in the basement for years. Now whenever I look at this beautiful Weems and Plath vase on the bulkhead of our own boat, I remember the time we spent working for this moment, struggling sometimes to keep the dream alive, and I feel pretty good about life.

We had our third boat guests this weekend. My cousins Carla and Jeff arrived Friday evening and stayed overnight in the starboard aft cabin, dubbed the Presidential Suite by my sister. We had a late dinner Friday with celebratory champagne for Carla’s birthday, and Saturday they kindly drove us to Walmart so we could pick up a few bulky items. The rest of the time we just hung out on Escape Velocity, which is our favorite thing to do. We love having time with family to just be together and catch up, and what better place than in the cockpit of our boat while we swing at anchor or a mooring. Unfortunately Jeff had to work in the morning so they left after sunset Saturday. I think Izzy misses them already.

Sunday was supposed to be rainy and breezy but by 9:00 am it was calm and just a little spritzy so we seized the moment and took the mainsail off once again. We had a much better method this time and without the breeze that wreaked havoc when we did it in Oriental, NC, we had it off in no time and bagged up ready for Mack Sails to pick up and fix. You live, you learn.

Jack replaced the fuel tank vents in hopes that we can fuel up without diesel burbling overboard so often, and I spent a few hours on general business, list making and mail ordering canvas for new sail covers. By early afternoon the sun was out and the day was glorious, so we opened up the hatches and dinghied over to True Colors to help Marty troubleshoot his watermaker. This is the one bit of equipment I know a little something about, but like most boat work it requires a fair bit of flexibility.

We traced the problem to air in the system, and unfortunately it looks like the air is coming in at a broken thru-hull. Not a difficult fix, but it can’t be done in the water. Bummer. On the other hand, they’ve got a very quiet and fully automatic watermaker, unlike our noisy and mostly manual one. But ours makes darn tasty water, so I’m not complaining.

We’re having leftovers for dinner. Maybe that doesn’t sound exciting, but some of it is homemade apple pie that Carla brought. Eat your heart out.

We took a long bike ride yesterday to talk to a number of fiberglass repair shops. Our initial plan was just to gather together the materials we need to reinforce the support beam, but as we talked to people we started to think maybe it would be better to just get someone else to do it. Faster, less mess, definitely less shouting. There’s a local boat show coming up so scheduling may be an issue and we might end up doing it ourselves anyway, but we’re exploring the possibilities.

One of our stops was to Mack Sails. We explained our crooked batten problem to Colin Mack and he said bring in the sail and he’ll fix it. We should have done that today, but we took care of some other errands and business instead. Getting the sail off is a royal pain, but we’ll try to get it done so his guys can pick it up here Monday morning.

We told him about the bracket on the boom that connects to the boom vang and how the welds need to be reinforced. He said there’s an official Leisurefurl cast piece — no welds — and it would be stronger. He even had one and we bought it because it’s definitely heavier duty than the thing we have now. But when Jack took it up on the arch to make sure it fit, we could see that the boom has been so boogered up by previous “modifications” that we can’t see how it will work. We’ll consult with Joe Hanko on that, and return the fitting to Mack Sails if we can’t use it.

We ended up riding about 12 miles all told, all of it on city streets and sidewalks with endless traffic lights and crosswalk signals. It takes a lot longer than trail riding where you just go non-stop. Our ride was punctuated by visits to Starbucks, Importico’s Bakery for lunch and a post ride ice cream reward. It felt great to be back on the bikes and get some much needed exercise.

We ferried the bikes ashore the other day for the first time in a while. They were a little worse for wear, what with hanging off the back of Escape Velocity in the salt environment for so long. Jack spent the morning yesterday changing a tube and generally getting the rust to back off and after a couple of hours of loving ministrations they are now good to go again, ready for our many upcoming forays to gather the materials and supplies we need to start our repair list.

While Jack worked on the bikes, I tackled our pile of laundry in the marina laundry room. Yes, we have a washer on board, but it’s small and I needed to wash our blankets and fleecy clothing. I’m hoping we won’t need most of it again any time soon.

When we got back to EV I emptied out another cupboard. I’ve been working my way through the boat, giving the huge storage spaces some much needed cleaning, airing out and sorting. We were closed up in cold weather for a long time and that means condensation and that means mildew. We’re considering adding vents in many of the closed spaces and that would definitely help the air circulation. On the other hand, our experience this fall was unplanned and unlikely to be repeated. In more southern climates, the hatches are open and the boat stays fresh and dry.

The cupboard I emptied yesterday is the lowest in our bedroom, and we keep our shoes there. Good thing I did. My cowboy boots had mildew all over them, inside and out. Yuck! I tossed out a pair of black leather shoes that I wore pretty frequently on land but that are totally inappropriate with the shorts and sundresses I plan to be living in now. I found a cute pair of espadrilles I’d forgotten about.

I scrubbed the space and rinsed it well with fresh water. While it’s drying the shoes will benefit from a good airing.

And yes, I know cowboy boots are not exactly proper boat attire, but who among you would give up a good pair of broken in boots like that? I could use some ideas on getting the mildew out of the toes, though. It’s a tight squeeze in there.

We ended the day at Duffy’s with our new Manta friends Lisa and Marty of True Colors, the folks who lent us their car last week. They’re new owners like us, so we’re at about the same point on the Manta learning curve and it’s reassuring to compare notes and know that eventually we’ll figure it all out.

We’re loving the warm weather, and today we plan to climb on our bikes and give these lazy legs a good workout.

The other day we went ashore with our toiletry kits and our towels for hot showers in the marina bathrooms. I chose a stall, organized my belongings on the hooks, turned on the water so it would be nice and hot, and took off my clothes. It was then that I discovered I’d forgotten to bring my soap and shampoo. Feh. It was a long dinghy ride back to the boat. I really needed a shower. What to do?

I dug around in my kit. No secret stash of motel soap bars. No forgotten travel-size shower gel. Nothing. But wait! What’s this? A packet of Tide laundry detergent for washing your undies in the sink! It will have to do. I squeezed the minuscule amount on my washcloth, and as advertised, it was low-sudsing, which doesn’t really give you that fresh-scrubbed feeling, but I think I came out of the shower stain- and wrinkle-free.

And I’m restocking my kit.

We had a long-awaited visit from Joe Hanko, who worked in the Manta factory and knows these boats inside and out. We’d asked him to go through Escape Velocity and make sure we’re ready to point our bow toward the setting sun. It was a day packed with new information and tips, along with some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that our rig is fine. There are a few small projects to do to beef up some fittings and replace various parts. He also pointed out areas to watch so we’ll know in advance before something fails and can address it.

The bad news is that our engines need some love and attention and a couple of expensive OEM parts. Other parts can be aftermarket, but all in all, they will require a chunk of the cruising budget just to keep them working as reliably as they have been.

The very bad news is that a previous owner cut a big jagged hole in the main support beam that spans the whole boat from side to side, apparently to vent the new refrigeration system they installed. Any breach of this kind of structural member is a strict no-no.

The beam has started to bow forward and we discussed how best to fix it to restore structural integrity and prevent further bowing or damage. Luckily there’s very little evidence of displacement of built-ins, so if we fix it soon, before we stress the hulls anymore out in the ocean, we should be able to nip this in the bud. And it’s doubly lucky that Jack and I are not one bit daunted by this kind of repair. We’re comfortable working with fiberglass and epoxy, and we used the technique many times on our previous boat when we filled in a bunch of through-hulls we no longer needed. The challenge will be collecting the materials we need on bicycles, and containing the inevitable mess when you grind fiberglass in a living space. Plus, we have to reroute the fresh air intake and venting for the fridge.

The rest of the list consists of smaller but important changes and repairs, most involving correcting previously substandard wiring or “improvements.”

We had a quiet New Year’s Eve, as we always do, with the exception that our friends Gordon, Marylyn and Jeff weren’t with us. We had a nice dinner in the cockpit, FaceTimed with some family and Skyped others. At midnight we stood out on deck and watched dozens of fireworks displays, large and small, all around Sunset Bay. There were boat horns and noisemakers from shore, and the sounds of various parties and music wafting across the water to our quiet island of Escape Velocity.

And so begins 2013. We start the year with a long work list, eager to continue our adventure. We wish you all a year of health, wealth, wisdom and peace.