July Trip Countdown

I arrived at Tatoosh early this morning ( meaning I left Calgary even EARLIER!).

Task 1 was to get the dinghy ready to deflat and rollup for the 'new owner' [ I had sold this via UsedVictoria and a few emails & phone calls].

In order to do that, I had to get the Pudgy launched[ both dinghy's were on the foredeck and there was no room to work]. doing that single-handled was not easy, but I did it so obvious it is 'doable'.

Buyer arrived on time, cash was exchanged and Tatoosh looks less crowded and I have one less dinghy to worry about!

Tomorrow morning the guy who is buying the outboard arrives and more cash will be exchanged... I hope.

I am too tired ( up before 04:00) to do anything usefull this evening, so whatever I had planned is now on tomorrow's list.

PS: spent a couple of hours helping George ( Surf Scoot circa 1929 wooden boat) fix some electrical issues ( i.e. he had NO electricity). Seems like my engineering 'book  learn'n" comes in handy occasionally. At any rate his boat is now ready to go ( he has to be away by 25th) and his wife is happier now that they have power on board.

I didn't get around to taking the bus into Sidney for groceries, so I ate at the Café.

Countdown:
1) Sunday is 'sell the motor day' and finalize shopping list
2) Monday is ' meet with sailmaker' to install revised foresail and then go out for testing with the sailmaker, go to Thriftys and buy meat so it can be hard frozen in their freezer.
3) Tuesday Richard arrives ( Andy ? or ?)
4) Wednesday Andy arrives , finish shopping , stow food  away or away thursday
5) thursday: adventure begins

Regards,

 Bruce Warren  P. Eng

Finally - sea trials

I finally got away from the dock today to test the new sail ( and to get away from the TODO list for a bit).

There may need to be an adjustment in the sail ( or it may be 'operator error'). I'll talk to the sailmaker when I get back.  It appears that the configuration is such that I am not able to flatten the foot of the sail properly ( the 'car' is at the end of the track and there is no more adjustment possible).  This was in a bout 8 knots of wind, and will only get worse in larger winds. If it can't be fixed, it will mean having to reef the foresail earlier than needed....  but i may be completely out  to lunch, so lets see what UK sails has to say.

The pudgy tows well. I have yet to put up the sail on the pudgy. I think part of me is putting it off to when I have regained some flexibility ( from my back and shoulder that are still giving me a problem).

I had intended to anchor off of Russell Island ( outside of entrance to Fulford harbout on Saltspring, but there already some boats in the small anchorage and i didn't feel comfortable trying to squeeze in. I ended up at Otter bay, but rather than anchoring as I usually do , I went to the marina ( to give my shoulder a break from having to deal with the anchor chain). My solo docking went without a hitch.

I've added a better photo of the newly 'tung oiled' hatch board. Looks pretty now, but will be interested to see what 6 months of winter weather does to it.

Wood work

I had to strip down the hatch boards and the frame around the companion way. Rather than revarnishing I am using pureTung oil.
Tung oil is made from a nut ( similar to walnut oil) and is non/toxic. If you are interested in details of its properties and uses you can google " real milk paint" and go to their web site ( based in Merrit b.c. ).

I have just finished the 5th coat and the wood seems saturated, for now at least. I may try another coat or two after the July trip up north.

I wasn't clever enough to get a 'before ' photo before I removed the old finish. However I will get an after photo tomorrow.

Repaired likage

Here is the ' after' photo. 

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Regards,

 Bruce Warren

Lifting bridle

I finally made up a lifting bridle for the new dinghy. Some of the slices are not ' book perfect' but they will do the job. 

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Regards,

 Bruce Warren

Docking Rodeo and more TODO items

Today's morning task was simple: turn the boat around in the slip.

For the winter, I back Tatoosh into the slip so that the bow faces the winter winds; however this means the cockpit is open to the dock and passerby''s,etc. So in summer, it is normally docked bow-in, this gives more privacy and means a nicer view in the cockpit with morning coffee.

Task this morning was simple: take Tatoosh out into the anchorange, swap the fenders over to starboard and come back to the slip bow-in. This is also a chance to change over from the heavy, winter dock  lines to the 'summer' dock lines. All was ready, engine warmed up and I was ready to go....but the transmission shifter wouldn't move. Turned out to be a bit of rust , cleared that and off we went. 
As I was just about into final approach, I tried to shift to neutral to slow down, but it would not shift into neutral or reverse! I couldn't drift about the anchorage while I went below to troubleshoot, so I decided to take the boat out into open water to deal with the problem. 

Turned out that in freeing the linkage at the dock, the snap ring on the linkage had popped off and the linkage was disconnected. I improvised a connection with ty-wraps; however I only had forward and neutral, no reverse. If this was a problem with the transmission itself, I could not fix it out in open water, so I decided to return and do a 'hot' ( i.e faster than normal ) docking , since I would not be able to stop the boat in the slip using reverse. Adding to the drama was the fact that both the current and wind would be pushing me into the slip, so that even if I had all way off in the water using neutral,  the boat would still be moving into the slip. I had a spring line rigged, but I would have to get off the boat and tie the line quickly to avoid collision with the end of the slip.

The wind pushed me into the dock, which popped out the fenders, I managed to fend the boat off ( with a minor black mark on the hull to clean ( another TODO Item)) and got things under control. However, in fending off the boat, I managed to re-activate an old skiing injury in  my right shoulder.

The problem with the reverse turned out to be a minor orientation issue with the linkage, but in working on it, I decided I may as well remove the rust and repaint, so now on my list is:

1) find replacement retainer clip for the linkage
2) remove old paint and rust
3) treat the metal before painting
4) buy more red spray paint ( my can is almost empty)

And so it goes.
I am on my way to chandlers (new nut/bolts for linkage holder), NAPA ( clip and red paint) and rec. centre for hot tub for my shoulder.

 Over and out from E-dock.

Fwd: why TODO lists don't shrink on a boat

This is explanation of why it seems that a TODO list never gets  much smaller on a boat.

I was putting the coils of rope from the port lazerette out into the sun and noticed some water in the locker. So, this then lead to:

1) empty locker completely

2) wash out locker to get rid of patches of mildew

3) drag out spare anchors ( 2) and

4)scrap and clean anchors

5) re-galvanize (using spray on galvanizing)

6) re-stow locker

None of this was on the original TODO list.

I have to keep telling myself , it is the journey that is important, not the destination.