01/26/2012
Living in a boat yard, suspended in the air and not the water is strange. They are working on moving the draw bridge into Beaufort- to north of Town Creek. It will be a tall bridge over the ICW, changing Beaufort's traffic pattern for the better. But, the exit ramp to Beaufort is going to pass this marina, actually right next to it on the current roadway. We awake each morning at 6 to beep beep beep of backing huge machines and the occasional thump followed by the boat vibrating. The boat stands are on a concrete slab which seems to mirror every earth shaking movement from the construction site. A gentle - but sometimes unsettling- shimmy. I cannot wait to be floating. Up and down the 12 ft ladder all day, and the 100 yard trip to the head is great exercise, and the weather is amazing...but.......
So we have nearly finished every little job inside. It is not quite right weather yet for exterior work-rebedding..painting..so we have started on our plans to keep the ole noggins working.
Step One - Study for our HAM radio licenses. As you can see by the graphic how much fun this can be! You have to take 2 tests to get a general license to operate/broadcast the radio on worldwide ham bands. There are lots of study guides on line and they test in New Bern every month.
Step Two - we have the software to lay out courses with weather overlays. So starting this AM we are going to plan a practice trip to Bermuda- laying out the course using the current Gulfstream and weather info - planning for the weather window to leave, and then tracking our pretend trip in real time, moving the ship icon forward based on real time weather and stream conditions. This will entertain us and also test our knowledge. It will be interesting to compute all the variables. How often do we need to run the engine, how much fuel to carry, what is our original ETA and how do the winds, weather and waves change it..etc...
After we are splashed, if the weather holds out, it has been nice enough for ocean day sails. Cannot wait!
back to the books... hoping UPS brings our part TODAY!
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The new elbow is in, almost- waiting on a special order fitting. The new mixing Elbow - from Yanmar - is supposed to fit THIS engine, but it changes the exhaust down to two inches from 3. It has an adjustable neck to raise the elbow in the engine compartment. We are awaiting a part that turns it back in 3 inches so it fits the hose runs we just completed. Steve ( marina owner) has talked to Yanmar and evidently, as long as there is no back pressure, this will work. Once installed and we are back in the water, the engine will start up and then they will take a pressure reading. If there is back pressure we will have to re-think the mixing elbow and have to do something ( custom?) with the existing fitting. The reason for the new fitting is to raise the exhaust water levels to the proper height above the water lift. The old elbow did not do this. Here is hoping we are on the right track.
Getting to be time for the Royal James, a brew and sandwich. more fotos in gallery
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01/16/2012
We are nearly ready for splashing, maybe mid-week, if the yard can schedule us. Our port name (I like the new font!)and engine are back on board. Steve spent the weekend reassembling Ms Yanmar. What a job - much like tying oneself into a pretzel. ( In our next life we will have an engine room, instead of a engine cabinet)
The new mixing exhaust elbow is pending, the shop has it and are adding insulation to keep the heat from cooking adjacent items. The yard guys and JJ will be back tomorrow (closed Mondays), so we hope to have her 100% by late tomorrow or early weds.
I am really ready to be floating. Climbing up and down a 12 foot ladder a dozen times a day is hard on my ole knees. Living on board up in the air is more like camping. I really miss the motion. The water under the keel acts as our box spring under our mattresses. The bunks all seem softer in the water. The motion keeps my knees happy. The constant motion seems to keep all the muscles warmed up and working as I adjust to the angles and slants without even thinking about it.
The refrigerator/freezer cannot run ( it is water cooled and- we are not in the water.) So we have to load ice blocks up, and then bale out the same water as it defrosts in the refrig box. The box is very well insulated ( we installed vacuum panels) so it takes a week for the ice to melt. But it is really cold water to fuss with, bailing it out of the box. I am now using a "dry Sack" - sort of in reverse to its design - keeping the water in instead of out. I put the block ice inside the sack and it catches all the water so all I have to do is lift the entire bag out and drain it down the galley sink drain. A very cold shower for anyone standing below!
The little electric heater (which was left on the dock with a free sign on it the day we got here) keeps up and more with the daytime chills - which are getting more often here in mid January. We shut it off and climb into the v-berth under our warm sleeping bags at night. The insulation we put in the ceiling and v-berth seems to be working. We are not having the condensation problems we had last winter...but then again it is not really all that cold here. Got down to 30 last night. When it is up around 40 at night we sleep with the hatch cracked to let in fresh air.
We have a Dickensen LP gas heater-fireplace installed that we have never tried to operate. It is vented through a deck plate in the deck and draws its oxygen down thru the chimney and has a sensor to shut it off if the oxygen is depleted. We are waiting for the LP computer alarm system to be re installed. The sensors will tell us if we have a LP leak and/or carbon monoxide in the cabin. Both very bad things in a small boat. We ended up sending the computer and its 2 sensors back to Xintex. They are checking the components to determine why the alarms will not stop screaming when activated. Hoping to hear back from them this week.
We will fill today fussing with little projects and studying for our HAM license. We are installing a pair of bike red led taillights over the refrig area. The Cateye lamps have 5 very bright red leds behind clear focusing lens, run on batteries and will light for 100 hours on a pair of AAA's. The very bright RED led's will provide nightvision in the nav station area (over the freezer box). After checking the prices for red LED marine gooseneck lamps ( upwards of $100) the $18 cost for each taillight seems great. Plus there is no need for additional wiring. We are going to mount them on a plastic pipe ( they come with very clever clamps for a bike frame) mounted over the area. The clamps are adjustable and will therefore be able to slide across to the area selected by the navigator.
Pictures to follow.
PS The number to the right are the number of views..pretty cool to have people actually reading about this adventure!!! Thanks
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She has arrived!!! Now we will spend the next few days reattaching all her stuff..wiring, fuel lines, new exhaust, cables, alternator, water intake, etc etc...
She ran very nicely on the bench so it is expected she will do it again in the boat. By Tuesday we should be back in the water.
Time for a beer and roast beast sandwich at the James. Enough for now. Was a hard day for the cap't, much like watching a father awaiting his newborn's arrival. Pacing, and pacing. All worn out.
Got the new fiddle over the galley stove installed. See photo.
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check the gallery for the final photos for the exhaust. Waiting on the machine shop to give JJ back the head so he can finish the reassembly and run his tests.
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01/07/2012, N 34.720729:W 76.652569
Aslteton VA...hmmmm hassleton....nah new graphics will repair this.
Working on the exhaust. Check the gallery for more photos. This is the new exhaust with flapper. The remaining letters are gone and new graphics are heading towards us.
Marina Steve stopped by to say the engine is ready except for the head, the machine shop will have it done by Monday. He is hoping to have Ms. Yanmar home by the end of next week.
If the weather holds out we may be sailing in January...which we have done before - brrrrrr- but this time will be warmer (we hope!!) It surely well be very nice to be back in the water. That means we get to turn on the refrigerator and start eating better instead of camping.
Back to work, starting to hook up the hoses.
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Where are you.
