Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Reflections: Buying the boat

I think the first thing to get straight when buying a boat is the expectations side of things.  I know I do not spend sufficient time thinking this area through.  However, with each boat I purchase, I become better at this side of the equation.

For example, the Pearson 303 we just looked at was sort of an experiment to see what a P 303 really was.  In the beginning talks with the broker I received vague answers like "it is in the listing" and "i do not know" or "i will ask the owner".  I expected some snappy and correct answers but perhaps this was unreasonable.  However, I did tell him two things (1) Where we wanted to go with her and it would be used primairly for coastal cruising and a few trips to Bahamas, Cuba and perhaps over to Panama and (2) we did not want to do a lot of work to get her ready for travel.

So to move things along and to show we were serious I made an offer that was accepted.  We traveled many hundreds of miles to get to Florida miles, arranged for surveyor and the broker did the rest.  The two day trip down took a not insignificant toll on our old bodies and the Monday arrived with perfect weather.  The boat was hauled and the bottom looked pretty good except the mechanic, who was in attendance, said the paint was Trinidad but in fact it was ablative since it was "chalky".  Some of the thruhulls looked good and some looked like they should be cleaned with a bottle brush.  An interesting side note is that some of the barnacles were painted over.  SAM & I would never have done this.

Back in the water, the sails were quickly raised and the jib looked ok but the main was blown out and would require replacement before heading out. We had not heard too much from the surveyor but he was busy below most of the time.  The sail ended too quickly but the helm felt like a dream and I like this part very much.

Back at the owners dock the surveyor spent two more hours looking at things.  This is where the expectations started to flood my mind.  Here is a brief summary of what he documented.

Suveyor: solid base with no deal killers except as detailed below.

Us:  Expected a sail-a-way for immediate coastal cruising.

            Mast – needs repair to severe corrosion & restepped with new step
            Water heater – did not function with electricity
            A/P 6002 – No Display but did hold a course
            Bilge pump – not able to engage Auto
            Deck Lights – inop & uncertain about others
            Water Faucets – marginal & need replacement
            Running rigging appears original and 25 years old
            Halyards frayed
            Anchor chain needs replaced
            Exhaust hose cracked and leaking underway
            Major propane leakage @ 7# in 3 minutes

       Issues we found
            High moisture in 3 areas around stanchions, track and anchor
            Leaks near hand rails, possible aft quarter berth
            Lights burnt out
            Many hoses are automotive hoses and inappropriate hoses
            Defective hoses at exhaust need replaced
            Punky bulkhead at table area previous leak
            Everywhere we look there are areas needing attention
            Bimini & sail covers good for a short few years


So there you go - our expectations must not have been conveyed to broker who over represented boat.  Perhaps we will have a bit more in tomorrow's issue.



Tuesday, November 29, 2016

P303: A day on the water

We were up and at the boat about 0800 hrs and the action of the survey got started right away.  As expected everyone was on their best behavior.  So with minimal fanfare we headed out to the marina to have her hauled.  The bottom looked pretty good and percussion testing proved it was.  The boat was put into the water and we went out to sail.  The boat sailed like a dream and was easy to handle but the main sail was sort of blown out and we did not sail on all points, in spite of my request, so the test was a bit jaded.

The day was marvelous and SAM did not get seasick so it was worth the haul fee.  The surveyor had some positive things to say about the boat but there were some down sides too - expensive downsides - so I guess we will have to face the music and say this boat is not for us and perhaps the model too. We were thinking we would leave early and go see our friends in Green Cove Springs then head back to Indiana.  Bummer.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

St Petersburg

After a long a arduous journey south we made it to Martha's.  The travel from north of Ocala to M's house was very slow with two hours of delays on I-75.  So here it was about 1730 hrs instead of 1530 hours.  Anyway we quickly wend down to the local Mediterranean and had a great meal on 49th St up around 52nd Ave.  Then to Publix for some food but we expect to eat out for most of the stay. Cheers from Moore. BTW - the smartphone is Kaput unless Verizon can revive it.  

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Epiphany & Paying Attention

Ok, so here I am this morning reading an email inside the gmail website and, for the first time I see in the lower right, I see this message "Your account is being used by another machine" (or somthing similar).  AND I see, adjacent, a hyperlink saying "Details".  Of course a nerdy guy will click and O did: thereupon, it shows my android mail activity and my computer that I am reading email on.  I thought this is a pretty cool security tool, so, if you see this then check it out to see if anyone else is looking at your mail.  Even if there are not more than one machine getting email it will say "Details" and if you click the link it gives you a kind of activity report that you can look over to see if there is anything suspicious.  Remember, you have to have an open email to see this.  C U later for Moore.



Sunday, November 20, 2016

Cowabunga


We pulled the trigger and made an offer on a Pearson 303 yesterday.  We are now in the process of making arrangement to go down to her and “take-a-look” at what we have done.  This will be a big departure from the “take everything with us” mode of sailing and into minimalist mode on the smallest cruising sv we have ever owned.  What I said above is not exactly true.  We do own and even more, and smaller,  Little Yellow, a 16' foot American Fiberglass sweetheart of fun.


image


Cowabunga is her name and is a bit too frivolous for me and I would have preferred Cowasaki to reflect my old Z1R days. Perhaps, but that is pretty frivolous too.  If we follow our path we should name her Inspiration III but a departure may be in order.  So here is the Yachtworld picture. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Lost PLB

This morning I started organizing the nautical equipment.  I found my two inflatable offshore pfd and checked the strobe and whistle for each so that was a big find.  I thought the personal locator beacon was in the bag but I did not find it.

Later this afternoon, after we cut the tree, split a cord of wood and delivered it, I looked again.  No joy - so where is that thing?  I sort of recollect we had it packed into a bag that we took when we went to Kenosha to look at a Catalina.  If that is the case then it may have taken flight or it could be one of those "I'll put it just where I will find it" kind of deals.  Anyway, I will have a few days to look for it.

I want to organize all the lines and fenders and tools so I can find them quickly when needed.  My tools are scattered about the Technical Room, The Garage and the Barn.  At least most of them are in one of three canvas bags - one bag for Imperial tools, one for metric and one for misc screwdrivers, pliers, snips and punches.  Oh ya, there is a fourth bag with my drill and bits.  So if I grab those 4 bags I have 95% of what I need for most common nautical issues.  Thank heavens Harbor Freight is close to most places where I need them for the other 5%.

My absolute most hand tool kit is the Sears screwdriver set that has most common sizes of torx, Phillips, Flat and square bits for the magnetic screwdriver.  That kit today is about $69.00 but I have had it for 30 years or more and it was $21 when I bought it and I thought it was outrageous then to pay that price. Some of the original bits are still in the kit.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Little Yellow

We picked up Little Yellow today, paid for the new boom tent and brought her home.  Before we left to pick her up we cleared her a spot in the barn.  Everything went ok on the way back home so we drove down the lane to the barn and backed her into her winter resting place.  The next warm day, if there is one we will clean the leaves out and scrub her sole to clean the summer and leaf stains off.  Finally we will drape the new cover over her and she will be ready for the winter nap.  Just for those tha do not know her I include a picture of our daysail trailer boat.  She gets a little sweeter every year but can be a hand full on some blustery days with shifting winds.


Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Boring stuff - non-nautical

SAM & I spent the day from sunrise to sunset splitting the wood from the dead Ash trees we were forced to cut.  To me it is so sad to see a tree that has weathered many a storm standing dead.  I love trees and wood and lumber.  My grandfather was a lumberman and had a lumber yard and mill operation.  I spent my childhood roaming the mill and remember quite vividly laying on the pine boards smelling the pitch.

I also remember getting a box car of lumber packed to the top with all sorts of boards.  I will not bore anyone with the types and dimensions nor with the smells inside the car when we opened it on a hot summer day.  However, I will tell you of the pleasures and terrors of a little kid, maybe eight years old or less who because of his size, had the pleasure of sliding down the lumber with his back to the top of the boxcar and stomach to the wood clear to the front of the car.  I would then push out the boards so "the hands" could get a hold of them.  In a short time there was enough space to turn around and I could breath again.  Of course, there were the hands that wished to terrorize the kid and would push boards back on me to trap me.  I remember them well but they are all gone now.

Tomorrow will be a very full day in the cold weather.  We will cut some new logs that are 16" or less and then split them to fulfil a customer complaint of too long firewood.  We thought we were doing him a favor since were selling by the rank and not the cord.  So basically he was getting a 22" wide stack instead of the 16" stack.  However, he is returning 60 pieces that was over 20" long.

Note:  Mike did show up and with less too long wood than I expected. And we did manage to get two full ranks cut of the 16" length.  So it ended up as a win/win all around.  About this I am happy but about other events of the world I am less happy.  BFN & Moore later.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Pearson 303 Sailboat





I am currently looking for a good Pearson 303 sailboat.  I also liked the P28-2 but with the history of leaks I was a bit reluctant to go that route.  I have never been on a P303 but things look good for a month to month live-a-board and the sleeping arrangement.  I am not too sure this is the boat to try to go to Cuba and Central America on.  I do not know.  Do you?


Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Little Yellow Boom Tent

We drove by the canvas shop and were surprised to see LY new boom tent snapped in place.  It looked pretty good.  I'll take some pictures and post them with this blog point over the next few days.