Teak & Cap Rails

This afternoon SAM worked on the stbd cap rails and I tried to whittle a scarf joint for a piece of teak that I wanted to fill with a near perfect plug.  Unfortunately, My little project was not too successful on the scarf but the eyebrow teak plug was successful and so the eyebrow will be ready to install soon.

SAM's old seal removal was successful and with the projected good weather we want to finish the replacement seal and that should do it for the next 5± years or so.

Slowly but surely time marches on and our season  will be drawing to a close.  We have 2 trips to Texas for weddings in April and May.  A visit to our daughter in CT is in the cards too. A busy off season.

One sunny day after another

We have been blessed with a couple weeks of great sunny weather with cool to warm days with cool nights.  Looks like the next 4 days are more of the same. We are getting lots of outside work completed and starting even more.  SAM is working on the cap rails and I am preping the eyebrows for re-assembly.  It is a perfect temperature when in the sun and a little cool in the shade.  When SAM, on the east stbd side gets in the shade it will start to get a bit cool.  At least the wind is low so all is good.  I'll snap a pic and edit this blog a little later this evening.  We are fixing dinner (lunch) and then back to work.

Sunny, cool, very low humidity and rising barometer

SAM was a great help on the boat today as we applied 11' of rub rail where the spring lines have been rubbing the teak cap rail. While doing this we decided to get 2x10' section plus 2x6' section so that the

fenders do not rub the edge of the cap rail. Man, I wish they would have put a mid-ship hawser hole in the original design of the ship.

The rub rail process involved cutting the stainless steel, drilling a few holes in the hard stuff, counter sinking the holes.  We made 2x 24 1/2" strips and 2x 35 1/2" and used a cheap Harbor Freight angle grinder  with a thin cuttoff blade.  We used it to take the burs off and square the ends.  It took longer than we expected.

SAM now is using the free time to go and buy clothes for a Texas wedding in early April..  Again I am left to my own devices to make a reasonable dinner. Bummer.  Woe is me and all that stuff :)

A new look

I just took the time to re-arrange our look.  You will notice the difference right away if you are a regular viewer and if not I hope you like it.

GCS Today: Windy Sunny, Cool

Today was windy, sunny and about 60°F as the high. The enclosed cockpit is a little too warm so I opened the port side flap to let some wind blow through. Lew of Pink Flamingo stopped by to see how I was because my facebook post of the other day alarmed him. Also received some other calls from friends. I guess from what they say I overstated the case of the stress test. We also received our new documentation for the USCG Documented Ship Registry. We are now free to roam the waterways as we see fit.

Warm, Muggy and El Faro

The morning of rain and moderate temperatures has evolved into a warm to hot afternoon with humidity.  Today was pretty much a wash as far as working on the boat.  I did buy some used stainless steel rub, hollow back rub rail to use on the cap rail to keep chafe down  with the mid-ship cleat spring lines.  I also bought a piece 11' long for $22 at Monkey Fist.  Then went to the hardware and purchased 100 each of #8x3/4" pan heads and oval heads for various projects.

Now I am back at the boat writing blogs, emails and opening hatches to keep the temperature down.  At lunch today on the boat we had leftover chicken sandwiches and watched the inquirery questions on the El Faro sinking.  From the questions asked it seems to me that, while knowledgeable, the boat discipline was pretty relaxed and the lack of checklists  and emergency procedures bordered on incompetence.  The previous Mate answered the question well, I thought.  Being a sea going type I had an interest in the proceedings.

Rain this morning

It started raining last night late.  I awoke, sleepy, knowing I had to do something besides hitting the head.  The drops on the floor of the head informed me that I must close the hatch.  With the hatch closed and other duties performed, I laid back down and was fast asleep in seconds.

When I awoke at 0700 there were rain drops falling off the boom and striking the cabin top.  I dreamed around for a while and tided up from the nights sleep.  Now it is time to go to the "breakfast club", a title by which the morning coffee bunch are known, and make up today's plans.

One thing on the list is to go to Monkey Fist and get some smaller rub rail sections to protect the teak cap rail from the wear that the spring lines are giving her.  I know I have some of these on the boat but I have not found them so far.  Maybe SAM can find them?  Younger eyes see better than these old cataract prone, myopic ones do that is for sure.

Overcast, rainy, barometer is 1014 mb, light winds steady from the ENE.   Gotta go to the club - see you later.