Norfolk, VA
To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.
Well over sixty years, I wandered around while my dad, grand-dad, and uncle played Cribbage, drank beer, and smoked cigars.
CA and I have taken to playing a game every day. It's a quiet time together before we dive into reading (or writing or knitting or whatever
The folks I used to work with (back when I had a day job) gave me a parting gift. Burgees.
We had a stack of three we'd use for festive occasions:
The Whitby-Brewer pennant.
The SSCA pennant.
The West River Sailing Club pennant.
Now we have …
We had two lovely Wilcox-Crittenden Imperial 51 MSD's on Red Ranger. We took out one to install a composting head back in 2012 (see "Painful Head-ectomy.")
We've kept the other working pretty well considering it's something like 37 years old at this point. It's a heavy …
Here's a temporary hack. I think it will work for a few years. We'll see.
We have a custom-built "Wave Stopper" hard-topped dodger. See, for example, "Annapolis VI: ‘Done'" for some information on this. It was (7 years ago) a wonderful thing. Sturdy. Dry. Clear windows. Hand-holds. Really nice. For …
The ocean is a battery. Salt water conducts. The various metal parts of the boat conduct.
And this means some parts are being galvanized. Other parts are giving up atoms to support the galvanization.
Since it's inevitable, and unstoppable, the solution is sacrificial anodes that can give up metal and …
Let's begin with the assumption that the port-side water tank leaked. There was ample evidence to support that hypothesis. A leak means we have to replace the tank. (It's essentially impossible to make a repair through the tiny inspection ports.) Replacing the tank takes money and time.
And saw blades …
Here's the new main.
Our hull number is 188. But the sail maker felt we needed something. So the "42 W" is for Whitby 42.
I'm tying in the 3rd batten.
Since CA is taking the picture, they're not helping.
Below this batten, I have to …
How do you keep your to-do list?
Paper? iOS Reminders app? A spreadsheet?
What's on it? Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul? Anything else?
I've been using Toodledo for years. Well over 10 years now. It has an iOS app as well as a web app. It has a kajillion features with folders …
A Bladder Cleanser sounds like a special cranberry juice drink. But really, the job isn't over until the hand-washing afterwords.
Yes this is a picture of soapy water in the galley sink.
We put a little dish soap in the tank. Ran in some water. And …
It sounds so medical. It's not. It's technical.
Here's some parts.
This immensely complex T-fitting with appropriate hose barbs all around.
It's wonderfully Byzantine.
The deck filler has a bushing to narrow it from the default 1½″ to 1″. This is actually good because the tiny …
This was what we use to help fill the water bladder in the dinghy. It must weigh well over a pound. Solid bronze (mostly) with a shiny brass part.
There's a pair of bushings at the bottom to reduce a 1¼″ threaded pipe down to ¾ …
That's about it for 2020-2021 and the whole Live Ashore chapter.
It's time for Live-Aboard Part II.
Today involves a bunch of new things.
A new year in the blog. Things are rearranged and reorganized.
No more day jobs for either of us. We're fully retired.
We started bending on sails now that winter has passed us by.
I finished fixing the outboard bracket. This involved a …
Rust never sleeps. Also. Rock and roll will never die. But that's another story.
We had two problems leading to water on the engine (and rust.) One of the deck drain fittings failed, leaking rain water over everything. This was an amazing amount of water. All the snow-melt from the …
All the supports are inside the tank, screwed into the aluminum.
They're more-or-less lined up, and they sit about as level as anything in a boat can sit. Which is to say, not level enough for billiards, but level enough that the olive doesn't get knocked out of my martini …
Here's where the forward tank bladders stand.
We've got hose and fittings.
We've got a lower shelf with some bilge paint.
I've cut the first of three parts of the upper bladder's shelf. (I'll post a picture next week.)
I've measured yet again and discovered that …
It's supposed to work like this:
You can see the white supports. Two coats of bilge paint. Heavy-duty hardened steel self-tapping screws.
The taped-together piece of cardboard is the pattern for the shelf that sits down there. It's much easier to build it with the supports …
Workarounds aren't really a good idea. We worked around a number of mainsail problems for years. We're finally past those not-to-smart compromises.
I don't really have good pictures of the new sails. They went on late last year, and then came down for the winter, unused …
Red Ranger's original mizzen setup had the mizzen sheet attached to a wire bridle that was shackled to the deck. Simple. Reliable.
But.
With shackles, it was difficult to press the bridle into service as a traveler. The mizzen, like the main, needs to he held down when off the …
The remains of the V-Berth tank can hold two bladders. This requires a shelf. Since the bottom of the tank comes to a tiny little point, it requires two shelves: a top shelf that leaves 11″ of space and another shelf, 11″ below that.
I've cut …