Its been a while

Sorry I haven't updated this in a while, here is what has gone on...

Foss Foam finished my keel, it should be delivered any day now. I don't think that we will have any time to have the boat hauled out till after the end of September, but that's ok, the days are still pretty hot here in FL.

The insurance co. came through with my check for the loss of the motor, so I went out and got another.  Same kind - a Tohatsu 6hp SailDrive Pro.  This time I put a lock on it.

We also moved the boat from the mooring in Crystal Beach to a slip at Harbor Island Marina.  This has helped a lot working on it. More further down.

The starboard portlight...  On of the reasons there hasn't been any updates, is because its been raining.  Well actually it only rained twice, once for 10 days, and once for 14 days.  Because of all the rain, the wood wasn't getting dried out, so I knew that I wouldn't be able to put the portlight back in, especially since just putting plastic over the open portlight wasn't cutting it, so I came up with a brilliant idea.  I picked up some smoked Plexiglas. I used the portlight as a template, and cut out a window.  I figured that I would just use some 5200 to seal it as a temporary solution till the rainy season is over.  It came out really good.  Couple mistakes here and there, but over all nice and water tight.  Then I found while reading how "permanent" 5200 is.  So my temporary window, might become permanent.  Oh well, at least it looks good.  I think it looks better than the original.  If I do the port side window, there are a couple things that I might change, but that's for another day.  So now the balsa core around the window is drying out nicely.  I am still getting water in, but I think that it is coming from the forward port hole or around the chain plate.  I will be replacing the port holes anyway, and when the boat is pulled out I will be dropping the mast for inspection anyway, so this will give me a chance to re-seal the chain plates.

I spent a couple hours yesterday running new electrical from the motor to the battery, and hung up a fire extinguisher just inside the companion way on the port side.

So we moved to a slip.  Boy you should have see us bring it in.  Let me see if I can explain this.  First the  slips are for small boats 22' to 25' max.  They aren't pull in straight, they are angled, so the stern of your boat sits out about 8' or so with your bow pointing toward the dock.  Here is the hard part though, at this point of the marina it couldn't be much more than 35' wide, and the angle is pointing in the opposite direction you approach from.  So when your coming in, you would have to turn almost 360 dg around to get in your slip.  No problem except there isn't enough room.  So you have to back up down this part of marina to your slip, then motor forward into it. (and I witnessed several people yesterday do this so i know its possible). I just couldn't do it.  It doesn't help that Ozona Blue, a very popular bar is sitting on the other side of the channel, and had tons of people watching.  I was all over the place, 1) turning the boat around to back in, then 2) trying to backup.  A real comedy of errors.  No damage, other than my pride.  I will definitely want to practice this... maybe under the cover of night to avoid the embarrassment. :)

Here is the problem

First, here is a pic of the keel

Second, I talked to Foss Foam this morning.  They still have the mold for the keel, and will make me a new one.  So down time is 2-3 weeks.  But I dont have a motor yet (still waiting on insurance company), so it is what it is.  

Anyway I spent a nice day just sitting on the boat yesterday, cool breeze blowing me back and forth.  Well this is Florida, so it really wasnt that cool, but cool enough that I sat on the boat for an hour.

But as ownership would have it, i broke something else.  I thought the deck drains looked funny.  It didnt look like they were draining, so I poked my finger into the whole to see if i could clear it, and wouldnt you know, i broke them.  Well the one on the starboard side first, and then me being me, went promptly over to the port side, and did the same thing there.  So I had to make a run to West Marine.  They only had one thru-hull for a replacement.  I installed it.  It seems like it may have been replaced once before, as it looked like it was just sealed with silicone, not with something like 5200.  Well thats what I used when I installed the new one.  I duck taped over the open one, and will pick up a new thru-hull at the West Marine between work and home.

Brooke and Flan, went out this morning an pulled the plastic off the window opening, so it could air and dry out in the sunlight.  They sat on the boat with Starbucks. So they are enjoying it too.

More tragedy

Broke and I went out to "Gulf Breeze" today to do some more work. We hope to take her out sailing tomorrow. I asked around and even though the po said the keel pin should be replaced it shouldn't hinder taking her out for a small spin. So we brought out a cleaned bimini. Thank you shade. I had Brooke start scraping off the vinyl letters. It's now "Gulf Bre". While she was doing that I started working on removing the starboard side portlight. the fixed one. I am sure that all the sealant wasn't original. I was also surprised that between the outside and inside fiberglass the balsa(?) core wasn't epoxied over. So snit this port light had Ben leaking the wood core was pretty wet and rotted. I left the window out so we will see how much it dries out. I will probably cut some of the wood out, and inject epoxy between the two layers. I thought I read somewhere that is the way to do it.

When it was getting to be high tide, I thought that I would let the keel down, and see how much play there was in it. So i brought my mask and snorkel, got in the water and had Brooke let it down. WOW there seemed to be a lot of play. It was kind of hard to see in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico, but something didn't seem right, so i went down again. And again. Then it became clear what wasn't right... It didn't seem to be attached. Sure enough, it was really only hanging on by a thread. I pulled it out from under the boat an had a good look at it. The foam core was pretty water logged, and the fiberglass shell had big sections and cracks all over. This one was done. Also evident, and probably where the problem started, was running it up onto sand to scrub the bottom. This is pretty common practice in Florida, but people fail to remember that a sandy bottom is like sandpaper. Since the nose (if the keel was up) was worn away, I would guess this is where it started. So the whole keel cracked off below the keel trunk. I will try and get some pics tomorrow. On Monday i will call Foss Foam in Gainseville. They use to be in Clearwater, and were the original manufacturers of the keel. Hopefully they will still have the plans, and can fabricate one. Gainsville is only a 2 hour drive away.

Tradgedy Strikes...

Aug 8, 2010

Tradgedy Strikes...

Got out to the boat, and installed the winches.  Boy they sound nice now.
Checked out the cabin, cause we have had three days of heavy rain, just some
drops here and there, doesnt seem to leak as bad as the PO said. Locked up the
cabin, getting ready to get off the boat and OMG!!! The engine is gone.
STOLEN!!! The bastards cut the fuel and electrical line, and off they went with
it. I know what you thinking "wasnt it locked?"... Rookie mistake - no.  The
part that makes me feel really bad is, when i was installing it, and just about
everytime we were at the boat, I thought "I wonder if I should lock this" or
"how should I lock this". But by the time I got home the thought had faded.
After filing a police report, and contacting the insurance company, I googled
for o/b locks. $30 for a lock. And they are so simple. What a dumba$$ I am.  Of
the dozen or so other sailboats and 4 motor boats, about half of them leave
their o/b on.  I bet they are locked!  Dont know what to do now... We will replace the
motor... that is what insurance is for. But i dont know if i will leave the motor on the
boat even with a lock. At least until we move to slip. Maybe this will prompt moving a bit sooner.

Aug 4, 2010

More maintenance...  Flan and I went out this evening, to do more cleaning. I
pulled the Lewmar #6 winches off to service them. Hoping that they only need
servicing, and not replacing. The starboard winch works. The port winch spins
freely in both directions.  The haylard winch is sporadic. I love Lewmar winches
for how easy they are to field strip. Take the top ring off, and they just come
apart.  While I was doing this, Flan was scrubbing the green stuff off the hull.
Then we grabed the bimini frame and all and headed home, as there was a storm
coming. Later this evening I started cleaning the winches.  The PO must have
used axle grease for these or something. The grease was so old that it was
actually sticky, almost like paste. First I tried to clean them with engine
degreaser, but that really didnt help, so I brought out the big guns.  I only
recommend this as a VERY last resort, but I soaked the winches and parts in
gasoline (except the plastic parts). This litteraly melted the old grease off
all parts and nooks and cranies.  Then gave them a washing with soap and water.
Most excellent now. A light oiling on the prawls and lewmar grease on the
gearing.  I will get back on Saturday to install them.  Like all the rest of the
canvas, Brooke washed the bimini with detergent and vinegar, to kill anything
including the smell.

July 30,2010

After more shopping at West Marine, we headed over to Bill's house.  We loaded
up some stuff and motored away.  I think Bill and his wife Debbie(?) were sad. I
could hear them teasing with other... Each was saying to the other that we were
taking away their boat.  We motored it over to Crystal Beach, where there is a
mooring area... found a nice spot an dropped anchor. I put in a 48" helix with
25' of rode.  I will go back again tomorrow and put on 5' of chain. The shackle
I bought is too big.  I might move the helix too, it will depend on how low the
tide gets. Being in the water also gave me a good look at what growth there is.
Not really too much. Till we decide to have it hauled out for the bottom job, or
warier if needed for the keel pin (which I ordered from the hunter22.net web
site today), it can easily be just hand scraped.

July 29, 2010

Flannery and I went over to put the motor on.  Man is it friggen hot out! Of
course we went over to Bill's house and had to make a run back home for more
tools. It's a good thing though, as Flan and I were dying of thirst. Kool Aid
good! Hooked up the gas to the motor, and fired it up.  We let it idle for about
15 min (the prescribed break in peroid) while we sipped kool aid, then came
home. It's poring rain now, so we are playing Wii now.