It was warm and sunny all week, almost like the end of May rather than the end of April. This past week saw much progress. The mast is in and the rig is tuned. The wind generator is installed and now just needs the wiring completed. The 52 charts have been picked up in Connecticut and we received news that the water maker can be repaired for $270. I installed the hi cut Yankee today and started to do yet another cleanup below. We now have 11.4 hours on the new engine. The goal is to get 20-40 hours on it before we depart just to male sure it is working well. Today I put 1.5 hours in and steamed up the NW Arm and took a spin over to McNab's Island. All seems good so far. The pitch on the prop is perfect and the boat handles like a dream. With 25 knots on the nose we can now make 7.5 knots if we want. This is compared to 3-4 knots with the old engine under similar conditions. We should have changed that engine years ago.
This week I will focus on sailing issues like sails, winches and running and standing rigging. We will be sailing this week if all goes well. :-)
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Comments [0]
04/20/2007
There is something beautiful about floating....... Ailsing I is in the water ! April 20, 2007. Everything went well and no issues.
Sooooo... we are on to phase 2. Mast, sails, wind gen, SAILING etc etc...
Five and a half weeks to go
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04/17/2007, Halifax
A Nor'Easter is blowing through over the next couple of days. The forecast calls for gales for the next 3 days as well as storm surge........ probably just as well to be still on the hard. We have 6 weeks to go and the lows are still tracking south of Nova Scotia. They should start moving North soon. We do not want headwinds for the crossing.
I think I will try and arrange for a launch Thursday. Most of the on the water chores are now completed. This really is turning into a major mid life refit for Aisling I. The bottom is now painted, the pitch of the prop is adjusted, survey is complete, insurance is in the works, the new rigging is complete, the 240V charger is in, the AIS is installed..... plus a myriad of smaller items. Still to be done are the wind generator, the dodger and bimini install, the new AGM batteries, rig the mast, step the mast in the boat, receive the charts, test the engine for 30-40 hours, tale the crew sailing....plus plus plus.....
But we are definitely making progress.
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04/07/2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
March18, 2007
Aisling is sitting on the hard at Dartmouth Yacht Club under her cover. I went over to the boat today. It was cool (+2C) and blowing about 25 knots in the harbour. The fuel tanks are in the process of being cleaned to remove sludge and water in the bottom. While there I prepared the hatch to be repaired, measured for the wind generator strut attachment point and started to hook up the AIS system. Earlier today I ordered the charts for the Rias in NW Spain. Bonnie and I had a fun week trying to decide our arrival spot. We settled on Bayonna in Ria Vigo. It seems like an easy approach and is close to airports for crew to make their way home.
Other jobs in progress are:
* The rigging is on the floor at North Sails with all the wire being changed
* The new dodger and bimini has been ordered
* Bill Leblanc has started the final touches to the new engine install
* Most of the old anti fouling paint has been removed and we hope to paint in the next week or so
* 1 thru-hull has been changed and one more to go
* The Survey has been started
Still lots to do on the list...... as usual it just keeps getting longer.
The crew for the passage is pretty well set. We have Dave Morse, Wilson Fitt, Iain and Lesley Tulloch, Wally Fraser, Al Salsman and Bonnie and Rick. Some are only doing one leg. There is lots of experience in this mix and with these numbers we should all be well rested on the passages. It will be a challenge to prepare the provisions because when you do the math, we will probably be on the water for 20+days and if we add a 10 day buffer that means we will need 540 meals for the crossing, plus water and treats. Bonnie and I tested the new Vacuum Sealer Food Saver tonight..... We are testing tonight's supper leftovers by sealing and freezing to see how it tastes tomorrow. If it works it will be a great help, but our crew may feel like astronauts after a couple of weeks of eating boil and serve meals!
Only 10 weeks to go...
Posted by Rick at 4:03 PM
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