Kaimusailing

I slept early and arose at a normal time. I finished the blog post of the last leg of the trip and had to find internet to post it. I called the marina and they didn’t have a policy for transient yachts that are not tied up to their docks. If they did I could use their facilities, they are about 1/4 mile away. I’m sure we can work something out.
.
I tried to get the electric head working, but I’m still a bit worn out from the trip, so the simple things, replace the fuse, hit the button, didn’t work. Also the replacement water pump for the head looks like it’s 100 years old, corroded and falling apart. I can’t imagine what the pump on duty looks like, it’s located in the bilge.
.
The SPOT tracking device is dead. That’s why there were no SPOT reports on the way up the Chesapeake. It looks like a plastic screw socket, or two, had fractured from perhaps the SPOT falling off the helm station. Then water could creep in. Dead SPOT. Sounds like a children’s book.
.
It was sunny and the solar panels charged up the laptops. Now the Getac touchpad works fine. Only in port. I found that the maps loaded in the Getac and the Panasonic CF-C1 are slightly different. In the Getac the Kentmoor Marina is labeled, so if it had worked when I needed it to work, we would have been on our way much sooner. Now I know a good gas spot near Annapolis, but not in Annapolis’ heavy traffic.
.
Well the shower doesn’t work, and the solar shower looks iffy, so I took a sponge bath and got dressed in good boatbuilder clothes and rowed over to the marina with the CF-C1 containing the next blog post. They had wifi in the Cheshire Crab restaurant, which has some horrible reviews, and I posted the latest, except for this one, and had a Sam Adams Oktoberfest and a pulled pork sandwich. It was a good sandwich and the Sam Adams beer was very good. I thought I was leaving too early, the Jets Thursday night football game would be on later, but then I realized it was Wednesday, still hope for tomorrow. I told the bartender that I just came up from Georgia and none of the food places had pulled pork. Georgia.
.
They were complaining that it was hot. I guess I’m impervious to the heat for a while. Very nice day. Nothing accomplished but the blog post, but it’s an R&R day, Rest and Recuperation.
.
The next day I got up just before noon, I had slept till around 10 AM. The marina called and said they do not offer their transient facilities to boats that aren’t tied up to their dock, so no showers, laundry, internet lounge for us. The restaurant has the wifi and Thursday Night Football tonight. I will have to honestly live on the boat, no cheating by using shore facilities.
.
The list of repairs and chores is overwhelming. Getting a late start to the day makes me feel like I’m never going to get it all done, even in the two months I plan to be here. When there is this much work to do, planning really isn’t necessary, just pick one of the many jobs and get busy. I repack the mainsail and hoist the boom with the topping lift. The dinghy has got caught under the dock and the forward space between the bow and middle seat is full of water. I get on board and bail, but care is taken not to swamp the thing.
.
The next day I am feeling more like getting to work. I go to the post office after calling them and finding out I need to fill out a general delivery form to receive my mail there. When I arrive I am told to just use the General Delivery address to the post office and they will hold mail up to 30 days. Then I went to Home Depot to pick up a wheelbarrow handle, replacement for the emergency tiller that got caught behind a piling at the fuel dock, snapped like a toothpick. The lady at the checkout couldn’t believe they were charging $13.97 for a piece of wood, but it is cheap for a tiller handle.
.
I have to make a list of things to get done and as I go about my business I remember more and more things that need attention. The list grows.
.
The loose rig is examined and I try to take out some of the slack by replacing the long D shackles on the non-adjustable shrouds with shorter bow shackles. Then at the headstay I undo the turnbuckle and rethread it so that I get the maximum amount of tightening. I even remove the lock nut, that allows a bit more tightening. The result is an acceptably tight rig, here in port. Just like a Hobie Cat, when the boat is sailing the lee shrouds go slack. After tightening the headstay I tighten the inner forestay, then I tighten the adjustable shrouds.
.
The other heavy lifting occurs when I order some replacement parts to be shipped to General Delivery, Pasadena, MD 2122, a control head for the autopilot and a replacement for the windlass motor. Total come to about 500 bucks, but I really searched for the lowest price and both items are pricey, if available at all. The autopilot control head is a pre-owned (worn out) unit and it is listed as for parts only, not working. The hydraulic steering could also be a problem for the autopilot, as it was behaving like there was a lot of air in the system. The rudders were so loose I could grab the emergency tiller (while it was still there) and steer the boat with quite a bit of play in the hydraulic system. The bad autohelm control head is only sending its motor in one direction, and that has nothing to do with the loose steering. I’m hoping the used unit I ordered in fact works. Hand steering a large Wharram isn’t so bad, a lot of the time it tends for itself.
.
And it is the end of the week, Friday, going into the last part of September. The new owner of the deceased dockmaster’s house and the docks has been in the area to get some of his permits passed so he can replace the old house, which smells like thousands of cats. He accepts the rate of dockage I had been paying to the old dockmaster and I give him a check for 2 months. That would mean leaving just before Thanksgiving. The new owner expects to have his new house built by then. Premanufactured home, a good idea, economical and construction is very quick. The denizens at the dock can continue to lease dock space, but someday the docks will be replaced, not too long away. The pilings are shaky and the decking, which rotted away, is covered over with pressure treated plywood of maybe 5 years ago, now rotting away with patches of green mold?, algae?, and soft spots. I may be moving slowly with old age, but I am also moving slowly and testing for dock collapse.
.
The next day I was not really getting around to anything, but there was a toot-toot from a boat in the inlet, and when I came up on deck to see who it was, well, it was no other than Capn Neal of Abraxas, a very nice Tartan sloop. I rowed out to gab with him. Actually Kaimu was tied up in Abraxas’ old slip. We decided to go to the marina’s restaurant and had lunch and an enjoyable afternoon. We haven’t been in touch for about 3 years and a lot has happened. I said it was a good excuse to not get anything done.
.
I had a reverse angle photo of the Bay Bridge during the storm and cropped it a bit. It shows the huge difference between the before and after, if you refer to the earlier post.