Kaimusailing

After the big rain day we had a cold day. It was hard to get anything done out in the cold wind. I found a couple simple tasks with a little epoxy, get the repaired crossbeams and the portlight ready for paint. In the pilothouse I disassembled the SSB radio base unit. It was corroded inside but might be repairable.
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After the cold day it rained again. Time flies by while we fret about the weather. The portlight and beams are painted with arctic white two part urethane. It dries so quickly, even in the cold, the portlight is installed using Goop as the sealant after lunch. The cook's bunk has its little covers installed in the bilge hatches and the bunkboards that allow access to the spaces under the bunk are installed. It needs vacuuming, so the shop vac is tried out, not too much suction. It is taken apart and the filter is cleaned. I can't get any further inside to clean out anything that is blocking the vacuum motor. The cold day is coming to a close. While I'm in the galley I look out and see the boatyard cat on board, up on deck, inspecting. I suspect he finds the grounds down below too damp and cold and he is drawn up onto the dry sunny deck of the catamaran. The cat likes the cat. He runs away when the captain makes a noise.
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It is Super Bowl Sunday and I would have to go into town to see the game. I'd like to see it, but I'm not really interested in the two teams. I make a tuna-mac-and-cheese concoction. While waiting for things to boil or carmelize, I find out the NFL does not allow access to their online streaming video unless you have a TV service somewhere and have subscribed to them on that. Then you can access the big game on your smart phone. I'm able to get scoring and a play by play update that isn't very user friendly.
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I had read a couple books by Greg Bear and now tried a third, transferring it onto the kindle that came in the day before. The book is called Hull Zero Three and I didn't like it. He did get good reviews for it. Maybe I'll try another of his books.
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Another snap and shoot camera came in as well as a second kindle, this one with a nice Timbuk2 case. I put another of Greg Bear's books on the kindle to test it out. I took a couple of pictures with the snap and shoot camera. This camera said it had the same "door broken" problem as the first one, but it turned out the latch mechanism was fine, it was the little plastic loop on the camera body that was broken. I disassembled both cameras and put the good latch on the first camera, making it completely original. The second camera was a proper masculine black and silver. I will try a rubber band to hold the battery door shut. The pictures from it were fine. The LCD display on the camera had a large black spot on it. I will look for solutions to that problem, but it looks like the pretty aqua camera will go to Dottie, the Safety Officer, and I will keep the masculine black camera.
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The test photos were made of the attempt to reattach the bow ramp to beam #1. I was going to put a second coat of arctic white over the first coat, but thought it would be good to reassemble the bow ramp and paint it while it was in place. Just slap the ramp into position and slap the two bolts that hold it, what, a 20 minute job? The problem at first was not having a proper support for the ramp, it has some weight to it, and only getting it up to about 1 foot from its final position. Then I thought of the step ladders that have accumulated nearby, so I tried one to see if I could pry the ramp up higher with a 2X4 stud. I got the ramp up into position only to hear the post I had been using to support it fall to the ground. Timber! Now I was holding the ramp and couldn't let go, it would crash to the ground too. Then Troy, who has a boat nearby was climbing down from his deck. Troy!, Troy!, I yelled. He was apparently just within earshot and heard me. I waved him over and he put the post back into position as I lowered the ramp. Whew. The test photo is of my solution to the problem using a second ladder and a second 2X4.
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A new problem arose due to the bolt holes not lining up perfectly, also the bolts had some epoxy residue on them. They had to be screwed the whole way in and they were about a foot long. It took forever, working overhead. An ordinary ratchet drive handle wasn't long enough to get leverage to turn the bolts, I had to use an extra long torque wrench handle, a survivor of the jetty collision. I was getting close to finishing when a ride was offered to go off campus, off the boat repair gulag, out of the boatyard and off shopping. I went and got a propane tank refilled.
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When I returned it was getting dark. The memory foam mattresses for the cook's bunk were getting a final airing out and they were brought back on board, stuffed into Wal-Mart waterproof mattress covers and put back into the cook's bunk. The bunk had been vacuumed out and swabbed with a damp rag to clean the remaining salt and grime. Its reading lamp and DC distribution box were removed, they looked like they were too corroded for further use, and the zebra print quilts were brought over from the other hull. I was going to sleep here for the first time in over two months.