Back To "Work" In St. Maarten
07 January 2010 | Simpson Bay Marina
kurt flock, perfect
[Note: I took this photo from atop our mast as I was changing our tricolor and anchor lights out to LCD's. It was a hoot!]
[New photo gallery uploaded 1/9/09:New Years on St. Barth]
It's January 7th, and I've been up since 5:45 a.m.. I know the date because it shows up on my computer. I have to open my calendar though to see what the hell day of the week it is. It's not that I've become senile or complacent or forgetful; cruisers just mark time differently. Life centers around some pretty basic stuff rather than the demands of a typical work day in the real world. Maybe I'm talking myself into thinking this is really different, but at times I'm not so sure.
Take the last few days for example. At the moment, dock lines, rather than an anchor, tether us at the Simpson Bay Marina on St. Maarten. We left this place over a week ago to spend time, including New Year's Eve, on St. Barth, one of Kate's favorite places on the planet. We had a spectacular time there visiting some of the most gorgeous places you can imagine. A few days later, we're back on St. Maarten to continue real cruising, which veteran cruisers will tell you is "spending time completing boat repairs in exotic locations".
Aside from all the sails, sheets, and shrouds that make her a sailboat, Myananda has two showers, two toilets, two lavatories, a refrigerator, freezer, propane stove and grill, two reverse cycle heating and air conditioning systems, a water maker, a 5500 watt Fisher Panda electric generator, a 75 horse Yanmar diesel, a 30" Samsung backlit LCD television and Bose surround sound system, and at least 19 electric or manual pumps that push diesel to engines and water to places you want it - and from places you don't. These things make Myananda our home.
A complex electrical system allows us to generate and use both AC and DC current. Most of the systems onboard are 12 volt and run on the DC system which is connected to a large bank of four AGM batteries, each weighing well over 100 pounds. Turn on any pump or switch and out go the amps. It's all about AMPS. As the batteries drain, you gotta replace the amps. No amps and the toilets don't flush, showers don't work, the engine won't start, and you're hosed because wife is now very unhappy and threatening mutiny. Rule #1: A happy boat starts with a happy wife.
Now there are cruisers like Lynn and Larry Pardy who have mastered the art of cruising simply without relying on many of the complex systems that make life aboard more like life ashore, but is this really the point? I graduated from Indiana University with a BA in political science. I supplemented my liberal arts degree with a three day course in diesel mechanics at the Mack Boring Institute some years ago, but it I had it all to do over again, I'd work in a few credit hours of hydraulic and fluid dynamics, electrical engineering, marine systems design, radio wave physics, and perhaps for the hell of it, a course or two in meteorology and domestic dispute resolution.
Now life in paradise would be boring as hell without some overarching purpose driving me to get out of bed each day and do more than slip on the same pair of shorts I wore the last three days, grab another Corona, and swing in the hammock with a trashy novel. Fortunately or not, I'm living on a boat - i.e. Break Out Another Thousand. I'm also a short dinghy ride from Budget Marine, Island Water World, and FKG Rigging, which form a black hole that can suck a boat unit from your pocket before the cute waitress delivers the cheeseburger and el Presidente you ordered for lunch at JoJo's.
So today, I am a man on a mission. I have projects. I have purpose. Life is good, or at least in my semi-delusional state, I think it is, because I have a list of broken $#%! to fix, and parts are on the way. The Fisher Panda people are sending me yet another control panel for our generator which went down a few days ago, and the Outback folks are sending me three new circuit boards to fix the brand new inverter/charger we installed around Thanksgiving. The fact I have no way to charge our batteries other than running the Yanmar is what brought us back to Simpson Bay. It's a great place to get $#%! fixed.
So yesterday I removed the Outback and re-installed the Xantrex inverter/charger which fortunately I still had onboard. It took some doing, but at least now we're able to charge our batteries using shore power. Today, we'll throw some boat units at solar panels and perhaps a wind generator. This should allow us to go 2-3 days without running either our engine or generator to charge batteries. So goes keeping life simple.
Before we shop mono crystalline silicon panels today, we're waiting for some guy named Roger to stop by and estimate a couple of incidental repairs. One of the two lexan panels that close the step-throughs into the cockpit jumped overboard a few weeks back. We had a temporary panel made, but we didn't have time to have it properly trimmed with a teak. Roger will look at this as well as a way to prevent these things from flying off the boat again. As I sip my coffee, I wonder how much this incidental will cost.
We also need to replace one of two small sliders that close the port cockpit coaming compartment. I thought I could do this myself. Seemed pretty simple, so I bought a piece of lexan at Home Depot while we were on St. Thomas. When I got into the project, one thing lead to another, and basically I ended up having to remove the whole slider assembly which was permanently fastened in a way that prevented easy replacement of a busted slider. I had to destroy the anti-friction covering to get the slider track out. The track fabric was deteriorated anyway, so I figured no big deal. Well by the time I got it all apart, it became apparent the whole assembly was poorly designed and needs replacing. Roger will help with this incidental as well if he's not too greedy.
After I get done with Roger, I'm back to Andy the Autohelm guy. For some inexplicable reason, our autopilot continues to malfunction, giving us "DRIVESTOP" messages while underway. This is happening in benign conditions, and I'd like to get it sorted out. We thought we had it fixed last time we were in St. Maarten, but apparently not, so that's on the agenda too. Since we aren't planning any extended or overnight passages soon, it's really no big deal, but we don't have a vane steering system, and I'd really like a third crew to manage the helm when I'm tired and Kate's ... unavailable.
Also on my agenda is buying the parts to re-engineer a fluid transfer system. This is a fancy way of saying I have to replace some old sanitation hose that has the forward head smelling like a honey dipper's coveralls after a day at the office. Think happy wife. Not the replacement hose costs about $15 a foot, and I only need about six feet, but this promises to be one of the least appetizing endeavors I'll have undertaken since we bought the boat. I had one guy explain how he went about the same task in his Passport. His advice was be prepared for a lot of sweating and cussing before it's over, but it'll be worth it in the end. No puns intended. Be assured I'll document that adventure with plenty of How To photos!
Well my buddy John Watson just called. He's been vacationing on the island and leaves tomorrow. He's coming over to the boat, so I have to get busy cleaning up and putting things away so it looks like everything is hunky dory and we're having nothing but a grand time living the dream in paradise. John's not easily fooled, so I'm not sure it's even worth the effort, but since Kate's not here (shopping in Marigot), it's up to me.
There's all sorts of other fun stuff to share, but that's all I have time for this morning. Wish us luck!