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.
Winds out of the north east (040) at 10 kn. We beat to weather as well as we could making 5-6 kn under single-reefed main, yankee and staysail. A course of 100 magnetic took us 12nm across the bay to where we could see the Eastern Shore. Okay, from this …
Minor: Replaced the old Merriman blocks on the mizzen with nice, new Garhauer blocks. They have so little friction that I think I need to add some friction via a ratchet block or cam cleats.
Major: A bunch of Whitby folks had a clinic in diesel engine maintenance. Akula III …
The tribe was scattered. Fawkes is in Chisman Creek. Fortuna is still working; not launched yet. Amazing Grace is in the process of being sold. Liquid Therapy posted status from the Solomons; they'll be away for two weeks. Monday Morning is on the hard, being fixed. Joie de Vivre was …
This is me looking heroic and feeling bitter-sweet. Summer means goodbye hugs all around.
The sweet part was the fuel system. After our various engine travails (Fuel System FAQ), the Cantankerous Mr. Lehman ran flawlessly. It's a real confidence-builder to have him start and run and all the gauges—save …
Q: What the heck is that?
A: That's the gunk from the previously inaccessible center fuel tank. It's not fuel. It's water with a little fuel floating on top.
Q: How much was in there?
A: I'd guess that it was about 30-35 gallons of fluid. The picture looks like …
Our first Mother's Day treat was a big breakfast in the picnic porch with the crew of Fawkes and Sea Turtle. Pancakes. Waffles. Syrup. Strawberries. Coffee. And some post-breakfast yarning about boats, sailing and life afloat. Important lesson: it's okay to motor-tack your big old ketch in light airs. Also …
Our field tanks have reached a level of crud that's untenable. However, talk to three old salts and you'll get four good solutions.
As noted in Easter and Rebirth, our fuel tanks aren't feeding properly. On Easter Sunday, we didn't know what was wrong. Thanks to American Diesel Corporation, we …
We went to the sunrise joint worship service at Stingray point. After the devastation of last weekend's tornado, it was a service of joy and hope. Minister Pearl Gresham Blake of Calvary Baptist Church spoke of Easter and hope: including comfort, counsel and choice. Three key elements for rebuilding Deltaville …
The big red tube-like thing is the heat exchanger. Cars have radiators, boats have heat exchangers. A car radiator uses a fan to blow air past the radiator, cooling the engine water that circulates through it. A heat exchanger on a boat pumps sea-water past the engine water to cool …
Okay, it doesn't look like much, bit it's epic. It's a Parker|Racor 75/500 max fuel filter system. It replaces the old pair of Racor 200's and their leaky bronze tubing and their fiddly little stopcocks that had to be carefully opened and closed.
The old filter system had …
Sell the house. Buy a boat. See the world. Is that just hubris? We have all the elements: an ambitious November sail which lead to an emergency tow back to the marina. Was it a vain hope that lead to a poor plan and a humiliating smackdown from Poseidon? How …
Wow, what a party.
We've been going to the sailboat show on and off for over 10 years.
Before going to the US Sailboat Show, we went to Annapolis just to hang around. Once, we went to the smaller Bay Bridge Boat show, which was probably our first time actually …
We tried to make it to the Coan River on Saturday, October 2nd. We made sensible plans. We avoided dawdling. We didn't stay up late the night before.
We had our meals read. We had our departure steps detailed so we wouldn't waste time in the morning wondering if we …
It felt like a graduation day. Everything really worked the way it was supposed to.
The most important thing was a certain lack; a missing gall or burr; an absence of nagging worries.
On Sunday hosted the Previous Owners, Bob and Patty. Their life together -- marriage and three kids -- is …
We took Hannah out on Red Ranger in 15-20 kt of wind, with waves of 3-4 feet. This was our first trip in conditions that were more than "light breeze" or "gentle breeze" on the Beaufort Scale. We bounced around a bit; had quite a bit of trouble tacking; and …
There's nothing that induces despair so completely as a job that cannot be done.
Case in point. The "Air Keel" in the Achilles Dinghy, Scout. This was a cause for despair.
To keep a boat tracking reasonably well, it needs a keel. Power boats have a keel that is degenerated …
Red Ranger's "ground tackle" (anchor and rode) weighs over a hundred pounds. Our primary anchor is a 44 pound Plow. We have a few hundred feet of BBB chain, at about 1 3/4 pounds per foot. Our secondary anchor is a thirty-pound Danforth. We also have a little 10 …
Finally got some jobs checked off as "done". As in "completely 100% done."
Engine Room Light; shown above. Done.
Polarity Indicator; shown to the right. Done.
Replace domestic wirenut on bilge pump circuit; lower right. Done.
Some jobs are mostly done.
Sink Drain Hose; lower middle. Mostly.
Seacocks. Port side …
« Page 3 / 3