Mike
10/25/2009, Oriental, NC

October 21st, 2009 Oriental, NC
Our morning was spent fabricating the new base for the Scanner. It is about twice the diameter of the old one and so the platform that it is bolted to needs to be larger. I had done the planning yesterday and the starboard that we are using for the new base was marked, it was just a matter of sawing, sanding, drilling, and counter-sinking. Then I cut the scanner cable to the proper length and soldered the tiny little wires connecting the plugs on the end of the cable.
With that done and most of the morning gone, we walked over to "Fine Lion" to find someone who would haul me up the mast again. Steve had just finished washing the boat and in a few minutes I was up in the air running the new cable up the mizzen mast. With that done I attached new base to the old and the scanner on top of that. Then, to get at the mother board where the plugs were supposed to go, I had to remove the cover plate that protects the insides of the scanner. I plugged in the cable and replaced the cover. (It was a horrible job...up in the air with boat wakes rocking me, and tiny screws that had to be aligned perfectly.)
Finally, after a couple of hours aloft, Steve lowered me and we tested the system. It worked.
Meanwhile, Ross the Harbormaster, stopped by to splice our chain to the anchor rode. If the line were new, I would have attempted it but with stiff old rode, we needed a professional. Ross worked about an hour with his bag of fids and in time had a perfect splice.
We picked up a little, showered and met Steve and Kim at the Tiki Bar downtown and then had dinner at M & M's.

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Mike
10/22/2009, Oriental, NC

October 20th, 2009 Oriental, NC
After coffee I looked into the projects that we needed to complete while here in Oriental. The water maker needs to be wired and the fresh water line needs to be installed from the pump to the tank. I need two hose clamps and a fuse holder at the store today or tomorrow.
Installing Rick and Linda's radar in place of ours will take a little more effort but should be worth it. When I started the project I was immediately faced with a problem. The cables entering the back of the old head unit were would not turn. They are plugs that have a collar that screws then in tightly. I couldn't budge them. I got out vise grips and dosed them up with solvent, but they were not going to move.
So we would be using the new cable and not the old. Stringing wire up and down the mizzen is not what we call fun, but we've done it before.
Steve came over a little later and hauled me up the mast to remove the old scanner. It took two trips but eventually it was down. We had some lunch and then went for a ride to find a piece of starboard to attach to the existing mount to accept the new dome. After a couple of stops we drove to Deaton's, who cut exactly what we needed.
Back at the boat I worked out the lay out... four bolts to hold the starboard to the mounting bracket and four to hold the new dome to the starboard. Once again I faced a problem. The bolts that hold the dome to the starboard go through the starboard from the bottom and then into the base of the dome. The length of the bolts is critical and with the ¾ inch starboard, the ones that come with the unit were too short. To compound the problem, two of the holes had to go through the starboard and the mounting bracket, which made them another 3/8 of an inch longer.
The mounting bracket had to come down to get some exact measurements. I walked back to Steve and Kim's condo, explained the situation and walked back with Steve who hauled me back up the mizzen. With the bracket in hand it was easy to figure out the length of the necessary bolts so it was back to the hardware before it closed.
Enough work. We hung out at Steve and Kim's ... where Kathy had spent the afternoon doing laundry, and ordered two for one pizzas from the Silos. The pizza was excellent and we fed four for a little under $13

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Mike
10/22/2009, Oriental, NC

October 19th, 2009 Broad Creek to Oriental, NC
It was clear this morning for the first time in days. The wind was still blowing form the NW at about 20 and it was cold, but the sun made things seem a little warmer. We only have about 10 miles to travel today so there was no hurry in leaving this morning. I made breakfast burritos and sometime around 10 am we finally got underway.
It was a nice broad reach down the Neuse River to Oriental and we arrived at about noon and pulled into a slip that Steve had somehow organized for us.
After heating some water, I took a shower and got things shipshape. At about 3 we walked over to Steve and Kim's place to collect our mail. We ended up spending the remainder of the afternoon and most of the evening as well. Making some sautéed soft-shelled crabs in herb sauce and tossing it over some linguini. It was ok... but the crabs were a little chewy. I may just be getting tired of them.

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