Jeff's Log ~ Wednesday, January 23, 2008 5:30PM Same old place, Naiharn Beach, Thailand

Today I went to Chalong, and my package from home had arrived. I could not wait until I got back to the boat to open it, so I went to Coconut Bar and opened it there. I drew a crowd I’ll tell you. There was a lot of Thai chatter going on as I took everything out piece by piece. The cards I waited until home for, but sure got a thrill out of everything. After it was all un wrapped and stowed in my backpack, the people in Coconuts all told me in their very crude English that I am blessed to have people that love me at home and that I should thank Buddha.

The Sperry sandals were a big hit. They all loved the camel toe sole on them. Thanks to Linda, Sara, Amy, Becky and Beaver for the cards, and Janey thanks for the fish cookbook and card. Vicki and Sandy thanks for the portable clock weather station that should come in handy. Slim Jim thanks for the calendar, until now I’ve been using my wrist watch and the tide chart. Liz, David, Marsha and Gary, thanks for the assortment of movies. I’ve been watching the same six or seven since I got here, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy these a lot more than once. I’d like to thank Fuzzy and Neva who sent some books, boy I’ve been reading the same things over and over it’s so nice to have something new. And last but certainly not least, thanks to Adolph and Patty for the M&Ms. they will add just a touch of sweetness to the rest of my treasures.
It’s so nice to have such a great group of friends who cared and took the time to think of me..
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!

Clara, my wonderful girlfriend, sent me the first season’s complete set of two and a half men, my favorite sitcom, some new smaller shorts which fit perfectly, music cd’s and cd’s of the blue collar comedy tour, , a M&M coffee cup with my name on it and a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. She’s absolutely wonderful, and I feel like I hit the jackpot, and I don’t mean just with package from home.

Thanks Nancy for the blog addition. You’re going to be a Great Great Grandma! Lori thanks to you too. I guess that you will be a Great Great Aunt???? I think that I’ve got that right. Pat and Paul, I’m glad that your cruise was so nice. And Clara truly enjoyed your visit as did our friends from the Fire Plug she loved taking you guys around and maybe next time I’ll be there too.

Things here are about the same. I had the companion way varnished and it looked so much better, but I decided to sand it down one more time and do some detailing. The teak has been coated with varnish so many times that the corners weren’t corners anymore. They were all rounded and dark colored because the varnish has never been stripped. Well, I’m not going to strip it because of the mess involved with that, but I did take an x-acto knife and sculpted the corners sharp again. Most of the real dark varnish is now gone, and I’m looking forward to the finish coats now. Let’s see, I think that this is the sixth day working on that? I really hope that it turns out as well as it looks in my mind’s eye right now.

Sunset tonight was one of the prettier ones since I’ve been here. I took a couple of photos and if they look nice, I’ll send them. The screen in my camera blew up, so I don’t know what I’ve got yet. Wow! They turned out really nice, the color is just unbelievable, and notice how boats are all pointing in different directions? That drives me crazy!! The American flag was struck right after the camera was stowed. That is part of the day’s routine. The first thing in the morning is putting the flag out while the coffee brews, and everyday at sunset, the flag is struck and stowed. I try to be a good American and a professional captain.

Please keep those comments on the blog coming, they really brighten my day Love you all.

Jeff's Log ~ Saturday, January 19th 2008

Another day of varnish school is completed and the student earned a B+ for the day. Now I have to really go on the hunt for a tack cloth because in the finish coats, I don’t want the little grit particles that stay there even though I wipe everything down with a clean thinner dampened rag. When I got the varnish and stuff, I asked and looked around a bit, but nobody seemed to know what I was talking about.

My calendar says that it’s January nineteenth and a little flag that says it’s Becky’s Birthday. Happy Happy Birthday Becky, and let me buy you a double on the rocks from Naiharn Beach, Thailand. Next year, I should be home for your birthday. A BIG HUG for you too!

Tonight, my friend Keith is coming to the boat for dinner and stories. He is the fellow whose boat is in the yard being painted. He called me and told me that he had a bit of bad luck. He decided to paint the lower ten feet of his mast. He secured the top of the ladder to the mast, but did not secure the bottom. As he was coming down the ladder, the bottom shifted and he flipped the can of white paint up in the air, all over the freshly painted grey deck. He’s all right, just hurt his pride and caused himself a couple hours of cleanup. My varnish problems all of a sudden didn’t seem so bad.

Today, I went swimming and was quite surprised at how the port side waterline had mossed up already. It’s been less than a week. I spent the afternoon with mask, fins and snorkel cleaning again. I’m getting in better shape than I was. I can now snorkel and clean the rudder and keel. That makes me feel pretty good.

I also was working on the jib roller furling system. The manual that Harken sent me was not very much help. The only service info said to spray with a dry silicone compound. Absolutely no information about replacing the bearings. I figured out what had to come apart and began disassembly. When I started getting down to the bearings, it became obvious that the headstay has to be taken down to replace the bearings. I’ll think about that for a little while. That might be a boat yard job, I may be able to do it with a knowledgeable helper. I did lubricate them, and things rotate much nicer. Maybe I’ll put the jib back up and see how it works. I did get to see the actual bearings, and I didn’t think they were too beat up.

I also gave the dingy leak another try. It was storming yesterday, so we didn’t go to Chalong as planned. Instead of using a patch, I decided to use good old marine-tex. Instead of working where the dingy usually hangs, I rigged a couple of the halyards that come from the top of the mast and raised the dingy above the lifelines and with a couple of lines pressed it against the halyards so it could not swing around when the boat rolls. This let me see what I was patching, instead of guessing. After the marine-tex cured, I splashed the dink, and so far so good. When Keith gets here, I’ll take it for a high speed run and see if it holds.

GO GREENBAY PACKERS!!!!!!