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.
Wiser heads advised us that the secret of living aboard is to accomplish one thing before noon each day. A shower counts.
There's a lot of activity on a boat. But did we really accomplish anything?
The blurry picture above may be an accomplishment. It's a proper (working) engine block …
There's that "Oh, Crap!" moment when things are clearly not working. This moment of horrigying clarity is balanced by the utter obscurity of the root cause. After all, I only changed a one simple thing. How could it go so horribly wrong?
A solution is something that must be earned …
We installed the Engel MT45 fridge this weekend. That's not the "Oh, Crap!" moment.
This fridge is 1.43 cu ft; 1/10th of the volume of the original, complex built-in fridges with their 12V water pump, 110V compressor and engine-driven compressor. "Chilly Willy", the little Engel, just plugs …
CA works for a company that gives gifts for various anniversaries. For her 10th anniversary, she asked for the Black and Decker drill. For her 15th anniversary she asked for the Coleman 18W solar panel.
It's 1.5 A at best. Assuming 6 solid hours of great sun …
We think we installed the stays'l tracks "by the book". Drill and Fill. Goo and Screw. See Custom Tailoring 2—Adding Stays'l Tracks.
During the light (but steady) rain on Saturday, I checked each screw carefully for drippage.
Sadly, we have a weeper.
The good news? The water is going …
The Whitby interior design is pretty roomy with plenty of storage. There's a bonus: plenty of inaccessible space, too.
This is a photo of the space under the aft berth (port side, if you're keeping score.) You can clearly see three things. One the left (astern) is a lift-up panel …
Drill 24 holes in the deck? Are you crazy?
No. And No. It's not merely 24 holes in the deck. And we're not crazy.
The stitching had failed on Red Ranger's venerable yankee and stays'l. In the process of taking measurements for a custom-tailored sail, Dave Baxter pointed out some …
Whitby's were designed to have almost 300 gallons of water aboard. Since our forward tank leaks, were down to only 200 or so gallons. Without any conservation effort, we think this might last us a month or more. We don't take long, lingering showers. We do our laundry in a …
The Big Day... Installing the cushions in the V-Berth to see if the sizing instructions actually made any sense at all. (They didn't.)
CA carefully bagged each piece so that they wouldn't get dirty in the truck. It took a bit of stuffing to get them down the companionway hatch …
Red Ranger's interior is about to start its overhaul.
The V-berth cushions. ☑th Done.
Almost.
The open issue is sizing. The SailRite cushion video is quite clear on measurements. Their advice is to measure the foam and then sew with a ½" seam allowance.
Does this compress the foam …
Red Ranger's interior was in need of an overhaul. The wood (and plastic) are in great condition. The fabric covering needs help. (Okay, there's a spot there the cabin sole doesn't fit perfectly, but that's not visible.)
CA's got a three-part color scheme in mind: each cabin gets a …
Red Ranger's interior was spotlessly clean, thanks to the wonderful care and maintenance by her previous owners. However. The fabrics were also a bit -- well -- "dated".
CA has the skills and the tools to completely rebuild all the interior cushions. One of the crucial decisions is whether or not …
Red Ranger's yankee and stays'l date from the Reagan administration. As we noted in Stitching Failures, they've reached the end of their useful life.
Mr. Baxter, of Baxter Sailmakers, went to Red Ranger to measure her for a properly-designed set of headsails. Custom-design sails include some consultation on sail …
Red Ranger's Yankee and Stays'l date from 1981—the Reagan administration.
We took them to Baxter Sailmakers for a consult.
The news is not good. Mr. Baxter said that he could patch them; but after putting $$$ into the sails they'd only be worth $$$. We'd be patching them annually until they …
During our circumnavigation (day 10, specifically), we found that our macerator pump didn't work. We were three miles off shore and noticed that the tank-minder light was one, indicating a full holding tank. The pump, however, wouldn't spin. Broken? Packed solid with poo?
This was the start of a series …
It's important to actually get things all the way Done. It's also important to know that "Done" is a very localized concept. The boat—as a whole—is never "Done". However, specific incidents or tasks can be closed off as "Done". Some things get done; and some things linger at …
What everyone wants for Christmas: home handicrafts to play with. Some sailboat hardware is like playing with Legos or a picture puzzle.
Red Ranger's lifelines are (as far as we know) original equipment, dating from 1981. They're vinyl-coated wire rope, a potential corrosion nightmare. See Standing Rigging Basics, for …
A boat with multiple banks of batteries (like Red Ranger) has a margin of safety. One dead battery is not a terribly big problem.
However.
Charging multiple banks of batteries is where the challenge arises. If all the batteries are connected together, and all have the same chemistry and the …
Creature comforts include things like food and light and a comfortable bathroom.
After the Painful Fridge-ectomy, we've decided on something like an Engel MT60 Combi fridge. Preserved food, cold beer and ice are some creature comforts.
Next up: the cooker. The door for the oven on our HilleRange is falling …
Over Thanksgiving we landed a great resource: boxes of Rhodesian teak that CA's grandfather, CA, bought sometime before she was born. Yes. We now have the family heirloom 50-year-old teak from a country formerly known as "Rhodesia". And yes, CAB has the same initials as her grandfather, CAB.
I used …