Tick tock

[Hilde’s log]

I got a text from a friend the other day saying, “You haven’t posted in awhile. Where are you?”

So...time to fess up. We’re still in Kemah. Still working on the boat. Wondering when we will get away. In equal parts frantic and lethargic in the August heat.

Since my last post, David has 

1.  Made and installed an exhaust vent for the galley, a 3-day project constructed of black Starboard and computer fans that is just awesome!! It pulls the heat and smoke out from the stove – see photo.

2. Installed a solar panel arch for the panels that have just come; he is on the couch reading the installation instructions as I write this.

3. Reinstalled the cockpit table, a two-day project because he had to cut, readjust, and realign things.

4.  Repaired a tear in an awning, which entailed finding the sewing machine in storage, setting it up, doing the work, finding a place for the sewing machine on the boat, and cleaning up – two days.

5. Installed the remaining doors we had taken out to varnish

6. Installed a helm seat and a foot rest to take the place of the small plastic stool we have used all this time. That took about 5 days – see photo.

7. Reinstalled the single side band radio, a three-day effort to pull and reinsert electrics, using KISS (tuned radials - and now you know what I know) for the ground plane instead of the ineffective 2" copper strips that corrode in about 6 months. All you HAMs out there probably appreciate this more than I do.

My favorite upgrade. Sucks the heat and smoke and steam from cooking right out of the cabin.

New helm chair and folding step. Far superior to the plastic stool...

 “All” I’ve done is sand and clean the decks and paint new non-skid on the port and starboard decks. I still have to do the coach roof and the cockpit. Non-skid is paint with sand-like crystals mixed in. It gives a nubby texture to the deck to keep feet from slipping. It’s a blue-gray color that we like very much (see photo). It’s not hard to do, but very time consuming. You have to put it on when the decks are less than 90 degrees, which on the coast in August is between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. I have to tape off the areas not to be painted, and there are lots of those. The taping takes the majority of the time. Then I paint two coats, separated by 24 hours. Not hard, if the weather cooperates, which it does, intermittently. 

The old non-skid was cracked and slick. After 24 years, it just couldn't be put off any longer.

 

Rolling away on the port deck. The non-skid area is taped off to keep the gray from bleeding into the white.

We have managed to go out twice in the bay to test our instruments and confirm that Raven still floats. One day the wind was just honking, 25 knots (about 30 mph), and it was a lot of work for two rusty old sailors. We had to sit around and rest the next day! The second time, the wind was moderate (20 knots) and we had a fine time and remembered this can be fun.

We had a good head of steam up on the refit, and then came the trip to Oregon (see photo) to meet our three-month-old grandson (ridiculously cute, naturally - see photo) and a side trip to Montana to see old friends who have relocated up there. In the middle of that visit, we learned of a death in the immediate family and spent two days traveling in order to get to the funeral. After 10 days, we’re just now back, exhausted from visiting and travel and sorrow. We took the day off yesterday, and today planned to get back in the saddle. So it rained.

Am working to roll with it and to ignore the clock I have ticking in the background.

In Portland with the Most Remarkable Grandson.

Everyone in Portland went to the beach because it was "so hot." Yeah. Not. So beautiful there.

Ten Years Ago and Right Now

[Hilde's log]

A happy birthday, 10 years ago today.

Ten years ago, on my 55^th birthday, I was baking a loaf of bread as we bobbed around in Great Sale Cay in the Abacos, Bahamas. See above photo for proof. This year, I'm not.

This year, I am seven weeks shy of my last day of work (well, of paid work), and am spending a lot of time sorting and tossing my belongings, an activity that seems to be a never-ending pursuit. We are trying to shrink our inventory yet again so David can get all his tools to fit in the smaller of our two storage spaces. The larger one is sort of a “garage” where he does work on the cars and where we have been varnishing the large doors. (see photo) It's a workshop, more than a storage space, but it needs to be shut down before we leave. So...more sorting and tossing. Thankfully, things that were vital to me eight years ago are much less so now, so I have been able to let go of more.

The "workshop" minus cars...varnishing in progress. All that stuff either has to be put on the boat, in our other tiny storage space, or tossed.

I must admit, I had no idea last June that we would still be working on the boat in March, and still working on storage, and still winding up, and still, well, everything. I have some acquaintances at church who were to set sail in February. They were at services last Sunday. I know exactly why, too. Same as us - “one more thing.”

Since the last post, we've had the mast pulled for repairs and upgrades (new radar, a radar “cage” to keep the sails from snagging on the radar, steps for climbing the mast, new spreaders, and a new mast step) and had the boat hauled for a rudder inspection, sea cock replacement, instrument fit, sole repair, and a bottom job. In between those large projects the cabin was full of folded sails and David was beavering away at the instruments and wiring and battery voltmeter. And, of course, the varnish work, which is getting very old.

Raven at Seabrook Shipyard, getting her mast pulled (that huge crane is pulling it up out of the deck).

But as of next Wednesday, Raven will be splashed again, the cabin will be clear of sails, one door and our table will be rehung and the rest of the varnish work will be almost finished. We actually do see the end of this year-long refit approaching. I am admiring the fact that the leaks from the sea cocks are a thing of the past, that the splintered floor is replaced, and that the cabin looks, well, finished. I might start looking for new couch pillows or something. Big shout out of thanks to Stix N Rigging and to Mockingbird Marine, who have done a fabulous job, and to the folks at Seabrook Shipyard, also an excellent group.

Raven "on the hard" at Seabrook Shipyard. Like an iceberg, most of the body of a sailboat is under the water! She looks naked with no mast, no boom, and no sails.

This is an interesting shot. See David's left hand? It's on our very tiny rudder. Note the flat finish of the new bottom paint. Every five years you get to do it again.

So, we're done, right? But, oh, wait, there's the non-skid to be re-done. And the instruments installed. And the solar panels. So it goes.

Still, starting next weekend, I will be hauling everything out of every crevice on board for a deep cleaning (no more construction dust) and yet another sort and throw party. Then we will begin moving back aboard. After we are back aboard, yet another deep cleaning and sort and throw party in the 5^th wheel prior to putting it on the market.

At some point in this process we will both be officially retired (!!!) and will move forward more quickly.

Except: the whole process is happening amid the arrival of our first grandchild and requisite trip(s) to Portland, Oregon, and in between all the other financial bits and pieces and medical bits and pieces that must be seen to in conjunction with leaving our pre-retirement lives...but that's okay. It will be on our time, for things that matter to us.

When you want to change your life in a major way, it's always a lot more complicated than you thought, even when you have done it before. But, one step at a time, you get closer and closer and then… then you find yourself baking bread while bobbing at Great Sale Cay.

THIS. Raven underway.

Behind, but movin' forward - New Digs

Raven in her new slip. David admiring the fine job he did stripping the toerail. We're getting there...

Mid-November and we're still in the 5^th wheel. Plans deferred are plans gone awry.

We somehow got sidetracked in October. Mostly we were just tired and wanted to do Something Else with our limited free time. So, we enjoyed the month and did do quite a bit on the boat, but not enough to get us back on board.

I have spent hours in the head, taping, painting, getting paint in my hair, wiping bits of paint off every conceivable surface, some of which weren't even in the head, removing paint from under the tape that was supposed to block the paint...Did I mention I really don't like to paint?? To add insult to injury, I think I did it wrong and I am anticipating the whole of the painted surface peeling off in my hand at the first scratch. Demoralizing, yes. But it does look nice, temporarily or not. Clean! The paint got rid of old stains, old yellowing, bits of mildew I couldn't reach, etc. If it stays put, I'm a happy woman. If not, gee, I just don't want to think about it. If you could stand in there with me, which you can't because there isn't enough floor space, we'd fill it up. But that tiny room took me about two weeks to finish.

So much for October. Now, with the time change, our time after work to do anything aboard is really, really limited.

On the positive side, we moved to a new marina. We'd been at Watergate Marina for eight years and had a really nice slip. We'd have stayed, had they allowed us to move back aboard. But they have instituted a new rule which decrees that your boat must be 40 feet long if you want to live aboard. So...36 feet is not long enough, and the fact that we have been there for 8 years and have been exemplary tenants makes not a whit of difference. Fine. I feel completely dissed.

They'll miss us now we're gone! Probably not. Bye bye.

In the long run, though, it was a blessing, as these things usually are. We have moved to PortoFino, right off the south side of the Kemah channel, and it has a completely different atmosphere. For one thing, the marina has mostly sailboats. For another, there is a lot of activity. We sat in the cockpit yesterday doing various tasks and watched a number of boats go in and out. We have a great view of the channel from the berm right in front of the boat. We met two very friendly couples who walked over to introduce themselves and welcome us to the neighborhood.

The new neighborhood. Kemah channel in the background. Raven's slip is off to the right and back about 30 feet.

Sitting out on the swing watching the Sunday night traffic, I felt my heart light within me. This is a good move. It sort of feels like the first step in setting off, in getting my life back again, in loving what I do. This is a good move.

View from the edge of the channel. Across the way there is Seabrook Marina. You can just see our slip, where we left on our first cruising adventure in April 2006. My fingernail tracks are still in the pier. :)

Eight months and counting - still at it.

[Hilde's Log]

I cannot understand how the days can pass so slowly and the weeks blink out of existence in a snap. It's already been a month since my last post. I'd hoped we'd be farther along by now, but we've been working on small things or intricate things, and they don't finish up very quickly.

I've been sanding and varnishing some trim in the galley (the engine cover, for example), sanding and varnishing the plate rack, spice holders, and paper towel holder in the galley, and sanding and varnishing locker doors. Each door and each holder takes 2-3 coats of varnish on each side, and you have to sand and varnish one side and let it dry before you can turn it over to do the other side. In addition, the spice racks have pretty little rounded vertical wooden decorations that were a real pain to do!

I did manage to finish one bulkhead wall in the v-berth, but it's the only thing I can do in that area until we clear out the cushions, etc. currently stowed in there to keep the mess out of the main cabin.

First let me show you the galley. It's 90% done and I'm so happy with it. Bright, shiny, and clean!

This is a closeup of the spice racks, the plate rack, and the paper towel holder. They look great against the new white paint!

View of the whole galley. So much brighter!

Next, a couple of shots of some of the doors, in process.

Here are a set of 6 doors laid out for sanding on our port settee workspace. The three on the right are done. David had the clever idea of using a length of rolled cardboard to protect the surface of the settee. Great idea - wish we'd come up with it a couple of months ago.

First coat of varnish on the back of each door. The gleam is irresistable.

The most wonderful thing David has done for me this month is make shelves for various lockers. I had some shelves in two of the lockers that he made years before, but they were plywood. The new ones are made out of starboard and look great! I didn't have shelves in my "bedroom closet". It was supposed to be a hanging locker, but the back wall curves with the hull, which means everything hanging in the closet was bunched up and wrinkled. So David's new shelves have transformed that locker from a fairly useless design into a great dressar.

 Nav station shelves for my kitchen gadgets.

My new bedroom "dressar" - with painting/work clothes tossed carelessly on the middle shelf.

Had to show off the bulkhead wall by the new dressar. As you can see, I haven't done the dressar itself. Looks horrible next to that glossy shine. It's strange - I'm not a big fan of glossy furniture in a house, but I love the gloss on the boat.











 





Here are my new shelves in the main cabin. Last trip, the canned goods went there. I'm not sure what will be in there this trip.









David has been dodging weather for his outside varnish work. The cockpit has 5 coats (one more to go) and the durade boxes (the boxes the cowls sit on top of - see first photo below) have 2 (at least 4 more to go, because they are always in the sun. We've had storm after storm, so it's been hard to get anything done.

The durade box/vent/cowl. Looks like an alien life form, doesn't it? This is a vent that lets fresh air into the boat. Yes, the cowl is definitely going to be painted.

The starboard side of the cockpit. Doesn't the varnish shine? You can see the difference between 2 coats (above, on the durade) and 5 coats here on the coaming.

Here is a winch block, all spiffed up. I've done this devil a couple of times (and there are two of them). My efforts never looked this good.



















David has also been working with our single side band radio. He has his ham radio license, so he's tuning in and figuring out frequencies. The radio intimidates me completely, being a push-button monster with its own logic. I need to get over myself and learn to use it. Eventually.

Cap'n Dave on the SSB

We got the portside rubrail repaired, a repair we've been needing to do for years. We hired that out! Good move.

This is the mend on the toerail. You can't really tell anything because it's such a good job! Before, the wood was cracked and the rubrail (the metal strip) was sticking out. Now we can varnish this bit, too. Oh, joy.

David has installed supports in the quarter-berth for the new shelves he will lay in there in a week or so. The quarterberth is our "garage" so the space needs to be easy access and and be able to hold a lot of stuff. 

This is the quarterberth, minus all the stuff usually stowed here. It runs along the starboard side of the hull, from behind the nav station to the stern of the boat. David's project is to make sturdy shelves for all the flotsam we carry here. You can see the two lengths of support rail (the pale wood strips) that will hold the top shelf. The electrics are also going to have to be moved.

 All of which is a long-winded way of saying - we're still at it.

She's starting to look good!

[Hilde's log]

Fewer than 9 months to go, and we are making good progress. For those of us who like to finish things, it can be pretty frustrating to have everything out all over the place all the time. We are forever hunting this or that thing that has disappeared into the mess. Yesterday I was far enough along to wash and replace items that go in the galley, and that lessened the chaos a bit. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Portside work station

Starboard settee holding area...also known as the Bermuda triangle

Passageway

The galley is being redone and is serving as a work station at the same time. In the first picture below, you can see the new white walls. They have really lightened the interior. I haven't yet sanded and varnished the dish/spice/paper towel holders yet. As a point of reference, the second photo below is one of the galley "before". The third picture below shows it in use, covered with various half-finished doors.

The NAV station is almost done. There are so many parts to it! On the left is the NAV station locker "before" - icky, that is. On the right is the locker after varnishing the outside and painting the interior bright blue. You can see the contrast in the unfinished area. David is going to re-install my shelves here. It's where I store my galley appliances, like my small crockpot. On the bottom go our work / sailing gloves. Strange bedfellows on a boat abound.

 

 

Below is part of the NAV station as it was being stripped. Now look below to see it all shiny with new varnish. Still have to clear out the shelves above and below that hold the radio, binoculars, boat horn, etc.

 

Above is a glimpse of the worst/best job - fixing up the head. That's the floor. The part that slants up has been painteed. The bottom with the grate has not. You can see what a difference the paint makes! I need to sand and refinish the grate, clean out under it, and then paint the rest of the floor. David did most of the head lockers (my arms aren't long enough to reach the back) as well as the main cabin locker and the v-berth locker. As you can imagine, the whole boat reeks of paint.

And we're also getting around to the trim on the outside! I use the royal "we" here - this is all David's doing. It took days of sanding to get the coaming clear of dirt, old varnish, stains, etc. This is two coats of Cetol clear (no color). Only 8 more to go. It's quite the challenge in this heat. He got it all ready and then had to wait a week for the random rain showers to disappear. Then it got so hot he could only put on the varnish in the morning after the dew had dried. Short time window. You can see the contrast with the toerail below.

I sincerely hope the next post will show everything DONE and us moved in. David says September 1. I'm more inclined to say October 1. I hope he is right.

More scrubbing and some shine at last

[Hilde's log]

Let no one tell you that refurbing a boat is not glamorous work. I post this photo of me in varnish/paint thinner protection mask to prove my point.

I've almost finished the port side of the salon, and have moved into the galley. Here is the galley before I tore into it:

You can see why it is time to do all this work, after 20 years of hard labor for the original varnish. Here is a closeup of the wood before I started:

Why it takes forever...I am scrubbing off the quick touch-up coat Raven's previous owner applied without (I think) sanding the original layer. That touch-up coat turned leprous and took a lot of scrubbing to remove. I do it by hand, being a dead loss at electric sanders.

The galley, mid-refurb. The wood on the right is done, except for the trim and the framing. The junk on the counter is going home with me to be sanded while the current varnish dries. I am also in the middle of a stack of drawers that are being re-varnished and having their insides painted.

And here is a glimpse of the future! See how the new varnish shines and brings in the light? It's worth it, just so very slow.

Meanwhile, Cap'n Dave labors on. His work isn't as easy to appreciate as new varnish, but it much more important in terms of actually being out and sailing.

He installed a galvanic isolator, which required several hours of work in a hot boat (all the electric had to be turned off), and then a long shower and a nap to recover. That was it for that Saturday. The galvanic isolator should make our zincs last longer and keep us safe(r) from weird wiring at questionable docks.

This stern light cost David several days of work. "All" he did was move it from the stanchion (where it blinded us at night and was blocked by the wind vane) to the back of the wind vane. This involved creating a new bracket (multiple trips to store, storage, etc.), wresting the rusted screws out of the old bracket, disconnecting and reconnecting the various wires, repairing those that were UV-cracked, and resisting the urge to whack it with a large hammer. In other words, a week of evening effort.

Cutting a Hole in the Cockpit Floor

[Hilde's log]

 

I have to admit, cutting a hole in the cockpit makes me really nervous. But if you must, this is what David did:

First, he measured it with painter's tape, which is not horribly sticky on the back and easily removed. Then he made sure (yet again) that he wasn't going to cut through things like bits of engine, electrical wires, etc. He used a heavy-duty jigsaw with a diamond-edged blade and cut all around the tape. Of course he was being good and wearing goggles and a filter mask.

Next, he eased out the cut, about 1" thick, fiberglass and composite, and gazed down into a big, black hole. Then he vacuumed like crazy to get up the dust and particles.

Finally, he plopped the hatch into the hole. The frame still needs to be bedded, but that shouldn't be too difficult. David told me the hatch would be flush, but it's got a bit of a rounded top. The handle does not stick up. When he wants to get in, he raises and turns the handle and that releases the dogs holding it down from below. 

David says the boat hull slopes quite a bit, so it will still be tricky to work on the engine. At least he will be able to see what he is doing. This hatch has been on his bucket list forever. Not so much mine. But then, I don't work on the engine!

The rest of the week is vanity work - teak. That's more and more a morning exericise as summer has arrived and below decks without A/C in 100 degrees is no fun. We don't run the A/C around the wet varnish because of the fluff and dust that tends to fly around when it's on. So it's sand in the evenings and varnish on weekend mornings.