Mike
10/25/2009, Oriental, NC

October 23th, 2009 Oriental, NC
I started putting things away in the cockpit while sipping on my coffee. Then I transferred the fuel from our Jerry cans to the main tank. Kathy put together a load of laundry and around 10 a.m. we walked over to Kim and Steve's condo. They were running errands and voting in Bayboro and the plan was for me to tag along to fill our cans with diesel while Kathy stayed to do some clothes.
Before we left, Steve and I went into town to pick up some fresh shrimp and scallops. The place wasn't open yet so wandered down to the Free Dock to and found Nils attempting to spin "Fairwinds" around on the dock with lines. It was much easier with the two of us helping. By the time we were finished the seafood place was open and I made my purchases.
Back at the condo we used the food saver to package shrimp and scallops and then popped them into the freezer.
We stopped at NAPA for oil filters, the CVS, Food Lion, City Hall, the gas station, and a bank before returning the 10 miles or so to Oriental.
I rolled the diesel out to "Sapphire" in a dock cart and transferred it to our main tank which filled it. Then I took the empty cans in the cart to the marina downtown to get another load to carry on deck. After returning and properly stowing the now full fuel cans, I got the hose and filter out to fill our water tank. With the water running I emptied the Lazaret and separated out things that we didn't need or hadn't used in a year...and came up with a nice sized bag of junk.
Kathy returned about that time with the clean clothes and began putting things away below. With the tank full and the hose out I rinsed off the deck, scrubbed a layer of grime, and rinsed again.
I heard someone yelling at me.... and turned to find "Second Wind", Ken and Donna's Bayfield 40, anchored in the harbor with Ken on deck waving. We met them in Annapolis two years ago but didn't see them last year. Hopefully we'll see them before they take off.
Just as I finished, I heard someone yelling at me again and turned to find Jerry on the opposite dock. Jerry is a Coast Guard Auxiliary Safety Inspector and he had offered to inspect us earlier in the week when the boat was torn up. Now was a much better time, so we invited him over.
The inspection took about 30 minutes and we passed without any shortcomings. The decal which is attached amidships on the port side, might save us a Coast Guard boarding when less convenient.
We walked back to the condo with a empty Lemmon cello bottle to fill with olive oil that Steve had ordered and ask us to split. Kathy already had one bottle full but they insisted that we take another. There was a bon-voyage party for them at their "Club" tonight which we were invited to, but we begged off. It would have been fun but we were both tired and it would have been a hassle getting cleaned up and finding good clothes.
We ended up sitting in the cockpit until dark and then watching a movie.

October 22st, 2009 Oriental, NC
After coffee I finished the final installation of our new/old Radar. It took a while because I had to make a splice in the power cable but eventually everything was in order. Then I wired the Water Maker. Knowing that we wouldn't be using the water maker until we got to the ocean, I had put off connecting it to power.
I installed a bus bar and ran the refrigerator power there. Then came off the bus back to the frig and to a switch in the water maker line. It took more time than I expected. By the time I finished, the morning was about shot and we had plans to ride to New Bern with Steve and Kim for a trip to Walmart.
After way too much shopping we returned Oriental and with two completely full dock carts, headed back to "Sapphire" to unload. With things at least on the boat if not in their place, we walked back over to the Condo for a Conch Salad Dinner which was delightful.

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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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