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.
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 …
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 …
Ahh. Vacation. Seems a little odd when we live on a boat. But time off the boat makes the time on the boat all the sweeter. You can play, too. We're thinking more seriously about the "Guests in the Bahamas" alternatives.
We visited our kids for the pan-holiday celebration: Thanksgiving …
The problem is stuff that's loose in the head when we're under way. In the ICW, a few things rolling around the counter tops don't count for much. But on an offshore passage, loose bits wind up getting scattered around the head, making life unpleasant.
The commodore saw a …
Three Whitbys left the Ortega River this morning, heading for slack tide at the railroad bridge.
We're so jealous.
We had a kind of a smell the other day on Red Ranger. A new and unpleasant smell.
Found the cause.
Not happy about that.
It was a Samlex/Cotek ST1500-112 Pure Sine wave inverter with a 30A transfer switch and a 30A circuit breaker.
Emphasis on the was …
The BIG rendezvous has traditionally been in October in the Chesapeake.
However, since CA is now the president of the rendezvous for this year, she'd like to see more rendezvous in more places.
What are the key ingredients? Whitby/Brewer …
Here are the symptoms: full pressure and no flow.
Pressure gauge reads 80 psi just like normal.
Propane solenoid clicks just like normal.
And.
No gas. Zero. Nothing flowing.
Here's the secret: turn the gas off at the cylinder. Disconnect it. Wait for the gas to hiss out. Reconnect it …
New Years Eve: Red Ranger, Creola, Joie de Vivre and Voyager II. Pizza, a little champagne. Whitby 42 talk. I waved the camera around, but didn't even get half the group. Rick got some better pictures, I'll try to post them.
CA has washed just about the entire deck …
The Commodore has two safety items for Red Ranger.
Class B AIS Transponder.
Radar.
We've got a good AIS receiver in our Standard Horizon GX2150 radio connected to our Standard Horizon CP300 chart plotter.
But that's not a transponder. We're only visible to big ships as a radar blip, not …
Not related to safety or sailing, but still a priority for Red Ranger. Also, it's something we'd like to do while we've got a few weeks with West Marine and Radio Shack less than ½ mile away.
We have a doddering old marine cassette player. Cassette. It has an auxiliary …