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.
Are we there yet?
Are our engine parts here yet?
Are all the parts we need here yet?
Have we broken anything new recently?
Anchored at 27°09.252′N 080°11.748′W in Manatee Pocket, near Stuart, FL
Walkies. Waste. Washup. Wi-Fi.
Walkies was a walk …
This week we're vacationing in Norfolk. Partly to visit friends, but also to fix what we've broken. We're planning to leave Monday, after sobering up from the weekend.
The Commodore Says: "We need to learn a little patience."
The list of things we've broken includes (1) and (2) the way …
It makes sense to keep a detailed equipment inventory.
Sadly, we don't always think of writing down the serial number until after the painful, difficult installation.
This leads us the following foolishness.
Slide a mirror into the space where the serial number is visible.
Take numerous pictures of that mirror …
The Commodore Says: "I don't want to depend on pump-outs, since they're an America-only requirement; and I don't like the head flushing directly into a bay or creek."
Enter the Air Head and the Nature's Head composting toilets. These are very similar products that separate solid from liquid waste. Liquids …
Next up: radio replacement. The old radios both work nicely. However.
The radio that's accessible from the helm is inside the aft cabin. That means that the aft cabin hatch cover must be left open. What do you do when it rains? It also means that anyone off watch who's …
The Standard Horizon product line includes the CP300i chart plotter and the Matrix GX2150 AIS+ radio. We've had the CP300i chart plotter since 2010. The GX2150 radio is in a box in the V-Berth.
The point of these products is the integration. The chart plotter provides GPS data to the …
Most of Red Ranger's refit has been to replace out-of-date systems. Our logs include a lot of "Replace" activity. True, we've done some small adds: a bilge pump, a bilge pump cycle counter, two galley lights, a water filter, two solar panels and the stays'l tracks. But most of …
Sunday (after returning from Reedville), we had a bit of difficulty getting into our slip.
We -- I mean I -- misjudged the turn, the wind and the timing. We banged into the building.
And—most distressing: we -- I mean I -- bent the tang …
The Commodore Says "We need new snap-shackle lanyards".
Red Ranger has a fair number of snap shackles.
Four on various halyards.
Four on the Pelican hooks for the lifelines.
Two on the running backstays.
Four on the various blocks we use for …
The Commodore Asks "How can we monitor our holding tank?"
Red Ranger has a fair amount of tankage.
Two 90 gal. water tanks (and a third water tank that leaks)
One 70 gal. fuel tank (and a second fuel tank that may leak)
One 40 gal. holding tank
Two propane …
The Commodore Said "Those headsails are shot."
We took them to Baxter Sailmakers and had two new headsails made. This is a multi-part operation.
Measure. See Custom Tailoring. This starts Baxter on the route of laying out a pattern, getting pieces cut and sewing.
Rebuild. We had to install new …
The Commodore Says "That's the way it's supposed to look."
The cushions are—officially—done.
We've rebuilt the old cushions to provide suitable access below the various berths and settees.
And we've got new, nice-looking fabric.
And everything is clean.
And.
Rebuilding …
Things we find. Example: the old binnacle ammeter was both poorly installed (i.e. loose wire) and partially disconnected when I installed the new alternator (see "We Got The Power").
We did notice that the ammeter seemed to be stuck on zero.
Then, as I thought about it, the idea …
The Commodore Says "The underberth storage needs to be accessible."
Red Ranger has a boat-load of storage [snerk]. But some of it is difficult to access without having three arms: one to lift the cushion and two to root around in the compartment.
The saloon settee (or "salon settle couch …
The Commodore Says "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." Actually, she never said that. However, it still seems to be true.
This weekend, we did a bunch of small repairs using only tools and parts that were already on the boat. We've turned some kind of corner where we can …
The Commodore Says "We need reduce our dependence on diesel fuel." How do we cut our dependence on petroleum? How creative do we have to be? Are we going to revert to cave-dwelling?
The diesel auxiliary ("Mr. Lehman") for moving the boat is difficult to restrict. We can try to …
Lon said, "Hey! You're in Deltaville every weekend. Our place is right nearby on the Coan river. Come on up to ‘Almost Heaven' some weekend." Lon and Miriam have a Whitby, also, so they're a part of our Whitby family.
Red Ranger came with a winter cover. A great thing …
The essential power system rework is complete. Now we're (finally) in a position to start adding new features. Until we replaced the old, out-of-date equipment, it was difficult to add anything.
There were really only two small things to replace: the diodes and the charger But there were a lot …
We found this guy stowed away under the aft cabin hatch cover. He's been hiding there for perhaps a decade, maybe two. He looks like a retired Stunt Copter pilot. I guess he wants to see the world. He has the Team Red colors; we've taken him into the crew …
On average, boat jobs require (as Lon says) 3.5 trips to West Marine, Hurd's Ace Hardware or the Napa store here in Deltaville. If you get a job done with only three trips, that means that there's a four-tripper in your future.
It's a natural law. Like Parkinson's Law …