Jeff's Log ~ Sunday, March 9,2008

Still on the t-head of A dock.

Pipe Dream reminded me that she is still a boat. Things were progressing very nicely, and it was looking like a Monday departure, when the main salon air conditioner decided to send smoke signals. It turned out to be a previous wiring repair that went up in smoke, but the whole port side of the interior had to come apart to get the unit out so that repairs can be done. The a.c. company did not return on Saturday, so I figured that as long as the boat was torn up again, I would really tear it up good. I sent all of the salon floor boards out to get varnished. I thought I would be able to do them, but survey items and the air conditioning will take the remainder of time available.

Mark arrived from Miami last night, and his luggage arrived a few hours later. That was actually all right as it turned out, as we had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant not fart from the airport. I don’t know what a couple of the dishes were called. I just pointed at pictures, because the menu had no English. The food was really good, and the main course was prawns served on some kale with a sweet sauce. The prawns were the size of my fist and perfectly cooked. I had avoided prawns until now, because they are fresh water creatures. These were farm raised though, and just as white as snow, and delicious.

After returning to the airport, we went to the boat and had to clear a bunk for Mark. We decided that the big front cabin would be easier to clear, so that’s what we did. If anyone saw this boat now, they would never believe that we are sailing in a week. It will be done though, I live for this kind of stress. Tearing a boat up and getting it fixed and back together on a time crunched schedule is exciting, and when done, there is a good feeling of accomplishment. Every now and then, though, things do not happen correctly, and then it bites me in the ass, but that is boating.

Today is my little sister Linda’s birthday. Happy birthday Lil Sister, and many many more!
`The stabilizing clamp that I designed for the backstay radar mount is completed, and made of stainless steel. Nop’s men did a good job on it and polished it so that it looks like chrome. I broke two of the clamping bolts in the trial fit because I did not lube the stainless threads, and they galled when I went to disassemble. Tomorrow I will get some new ones and acorn nuts to make it look nice.

Scott also authorized new LED running lights for the bow. I bought the best I could find. They are called Lopo Lights. They are made in Denmark and waterproof to 50 meters. The bow is under water a lot, but we will have to sink in order to exceed that. Tip the girl from the Coconut bar is returning today to help clean up some more, and polish the stainless once more before we go. She is a very hard worker, and takes extreme pride in her job. If she sees me cleaning anything, she stops me and says “my job”. That certainly makes my job a lot easier.

The cockpit cushions arrived just as I was leaving to meet Mark, and I have not unwrapped them. I specified two inch dense foam, placed in a flexible, sealed pvc envelope with the necessary venting, and grey sunbrella fabric covers. The old cushions were only 1 inch, and not water resistant at all. Whenever it rained, the cushions stayed wet for a day or two. I will unwrap them today to check the fit and make sure that they snap in place. Then I will wrap them back up again until the rest of the work is completed.

Rick is scheduled to be here this afternoon to complete the dodger and change the snaps to push dot snaps which hold more securely than the conventional snaps. Right now, I am trying to stay quiet so Mark can get his much needed sleep. I think I’ll go have a nice Sunday morning breakfast at the bakery.