Sailing with Nine of Cups

Vessel Name: Nine of Cups
Vessel Make/Model: Liberty 458
Hailing Port: Denver, Colorado, USA
Crew: Marcie & David
About: We've lived aboard Nine of Cups since 2000 and have managed to accumulate 86,000+ nm under the keel since that time. We completed a circumnavigation in April 2015 and managed to sail around the five great southern capes. Come along with us for the ride!
Extra:
Visit our website at www.nineofcups.com for more photos and info about Nine of Cups and her crew. We also have a more extensive blogsite at www.justalittlefurther.com. Are some of our links broken? Links break from time to time. Please let us know which ones are broken and we'll fix them. You [...]
05 January 2017 | Chesapeake, VA
07 July 2016 | Us: East Walpole, MA / Cups: Chesapeake, VA
06 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA
04 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA
02 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA
01 July 2016 | Virginia Beach, Virginia
30 June 2016 | Chesapeake, VA
29 June 2016 | Chesapeake, VA
28 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
27 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
26 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
25 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
24 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
23 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
22 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
21 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
20 June 2016 | Charleston, South Carolina, USA
19 June 2016 | Charleston, South Carolina, USA
18 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
17 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
Recent Blog Posts
05 January 2017 | Chesapeake, VA

Happy 2017!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

07 July 2016 | Us: East Walpole, MA / Cups: Chesapeake, VA

Taking a breather ...

Since we'll be off the boat during July and August, we plan to post only three times per week. The Captain will continue writing a practical Blue View post each week, we'll keep you up to date on what's happening with us and then throw in some cruising nuggets as well.

06 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA

Keeping fit

We’ve written before about keeping fit on the boat. David is so much better at a regimented exercise program than I am. I have all the best intentions, but I can always think of something better to do than sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts and running in place. It doesn’t take much to distract me. Walking, [...]

04 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA

Happy 240th Birthday, America

Growing up in New England, I took for granted just how lovely a summer’s morning can be in Massachusetts. It’s comfortably cool and everything smells clean and fresh. Spider webs glisten with morning dew and it’s just great to be alive and breathe in the new day. Being back at Lin’s house conjures up wonderful childhood memories of summer mornings past. And this is not just any morning … it’s the 4th of July, the best holiday of the summertime in the USA.

02 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA

Leaving Cups and a Road Trip

Leaving Nine of Cups is never easy. We know she’ll pout while we’re gone and so we do our best to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible before we leave. We were whirling dervishes trying to get everything ready.

01 July 2016 | Virginia Beach, Virginia

Hunting & Gathering - Virginia Beach

We had lots to do before leaving Cups. David was intent on getting as many chores done in advance of our departure as possible so that once we return in September, we can spend time sailing in the Chesapeake rather than doing repairs and maintenance. Much of what we needed in the way of parts and supplies, [...]

Rotten eggs and other boat smells

19 May 2016 | Culebra, Puerto Rico
Marcie
One of the things about boats is they smell. Sometimes it's the garlic and onion you're sauteing, but more likely it's something else or a combination of �"something elses�". My sister, Lin, always hugs me rather tenuously when we first arrive home after a long stay on the boat and wrinkles her nose. �"Boat smell�", she pronounces. We don't smell it until we've been away from the boat for a few days and then it's very evident. It's a mix of diesel and mildew, the last meal you cooked, head (toilet) smells and the bilge among other things. It's certainly not Chanel #5.

Yesterday, there was a strong smell on the boat, emanating from the galley, not the head. We've been taking dips and rinsing off daily, so it wasn't us. Except when it rains, we've had all the hatches and ports wide open, airing Cups out. I finally tracked it down. Two adjoining eggs in our stash had hairline cracks on their bottoms (maybe one cracked the other...misery loves company?) and when I lifted them out of the carton, they exploded most dramatically and aromatically in the sink. Whew! Rotten eggs! It took awhile for that sulfur smell to dissipate, believe me!

Rotten eggs are pretty infrequent unless an unnoticed crack sneaks by as it did recently. Other smells on the boat, however, can be a challenge. The head can definitely be a culprit. It gets cleaned frequently and I use one of those stick-on, gel-type deodorizers in the bowl, but it's just not enough. Every month or so, we pump a bucket of bleach water through the system and let it set for awhile and then pump it out. After awhile, even bleach water isn't enough. Calcification builds up in the hoses and that becomes a whole other issue to be taken care of. Once a year, David pumps a hydrochloric acid/water solution through the system which dissolves the lime and, in combination with our other maintenance, it seems to keep head odors at bay.

The bilge collects everything that finds its way to the bottom of the boat. The smells contain fermenting salt water, mold, mildew, diesel �... a lovely bouquet that assaults your senses especially when the boat's been closed up for awhile. We usually dump a bucketful of soapy water down there and let it slosh around for awhile before turning on the bilge pump once we're a ways out to sea.

Diesel smells were strong during our recent passage from Trini to Culebra. With particularly rolly seas, David discovered that the starboard fuel tank was leaking around the inspection plate gasket. Not much diesel escaped, but what did was quite pungent. Typically, boats smell of diesel in the same way cars sometime smell of gasoline and certainly your garage smells of auto fuel. The problem is, you don't usually park your car engine in the middle of your kitchen or living room, so it's not a problem. Our engine is smack dab in the middle of the boat �... next to the galley and salon. Stopping the leak was a #1 on the fix list and adequate ventilation is taking care of the rest of the problem.

Mold and mildew can be kept to a minimum, but if you're in the tropics, it's hard to remove them entirely. We have such a mix of clothing for the different climates we encounter, some clothes are always stowed away in lockers. When we haul them out, they smell like �"boat�", mostly due to mold and mildew. We try to hang them out on sunny days with a light breeze and wash down the lockers with vinegar and water while the clothes are airing. We left a dehumidifier on 24x7 when we left Cups alone in Trinidad and it was well worth the expense. Thankfully, there was no noticeable mildew or mold when we returned. The closed up boat, however, still smelled rather unpleasant until we opened all the ports and hatches and got some air circulating.

Here's where I'm really sorry there are no sensory �"smell chips�" so that I can share the delightful smells that can emanate from a boat with you. Believe me, it's something you're probably glad to have missed.
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