We're Afloat!

Yesterday, we were dropped into the water just before noon, with little trouble and little fanfare.

This weblog is mostly a technical report of our little trials in getting our systems running.

Our first chore when getting on the boat in the yard was to top up the batteries:  Six Trojan 100 amp-hour 12 V batteries; and to set up the solar panels and controllers to equalize them.  However, we have noticed that, as the batteries get older, the batteries bubble at lower and lower voltages.  This year, they seem to be bubbling at 13 V, and do not seem to get much higher in voltage than that. 

While the batteries bubbled, we cleaned the deck, and put the mainsail back on.  A full battened sail takes a few hours to get it reconnected, re-lace the reefing system and get her back in the lazy jacks and sailbag.  Other chores followed in the coming days:  Renovate and grease the toilet (RM 69), re-assemble the engine belts and seawater pumps, re-assemble the folding propellers and anodes, put the jib on, re-assemble the watermaker, test the electronics, test the air-cooled fridge unit, re-assemble dinghy and motor, wash and wax, and carry out various work that needs to be done on the hard.

Most things worked out o.k., just the usual time, hot work, and minor blood-letting.  However, some things were not adding up - the ham radio was cutting out, the frig would shudder but not start, the stereo sounded funny.  I was most suspicious of my batteries, thinking that they no longer had enough "depth" in their storage.  It was not until yesterday, after we anchored, that I started working on all aspects I could think of for the refrigerator.  I was tracing the negative lines through switches and fuses when I found a major negative battery switch that I had missed turning on.  Now most things are working, especially the refrigerator.

After getting the fridge to work, it was time to travel to Customs to get a new cruising permit.  We dropped the dinghy, with the motor that had successfully started on the hard, and no, it would not start at all.  I spent about 40 minutes trying spark plugs and pulling the cord with no luck.  We tried our best to row upwind to Customs, and just as my arms were going to fall off, another boater gave us a tow.  Customs was uneventful, and, as the wind blew us back towards the boat, I continued to work on the engine.  Well, the "varnish" that was likely causing the trouble in the carburetor must have started to dissolve, because it started a few hundred feet before we were home.

The other big thing that had to be done was to track down the sources of the leaks in each hull.  The watermaker inlet screen continues to leak, and will be attacked over the weekend.  The toilet seems to be the other source, and by tightening all the screws a little, I managed to strip the plastic threads in one spot and crack the plastic in another.  I've reassembled it with a lot of calking and used a pipe clamp to maintain the seal on another spot.  The toilet, an RM 69, is a Dutch product, and the spares are only available in the French chandleries.  I am searching down suppliers who might send some parts to us.  The other outstanding issue that comes to mind is the radar that has started blowing fuses for some reason.

I should report that while we were in the boatyard, we got together with John and Alex of Free Spirit for two great nights of food and drink before they headed north.  It was good to see them, but sad in that we may not catch them again before they sail back to the UK.

Today we walked about an hour to a mall, and hauled some major groceries back by bus.  We hope to leave the work alone for a few hours and de-stress. The weblog is courtesy of a free signal from the boatyard that surprisingly we can get from the boat.

Boatyard Blues in Grenada

Here are a few pictures of the progress over the past few days while working on Cat Tales in Spice Island Marine in Grenada.  

We left the boat with a nice coat of wax which intentionally wasn't buffed off.  We washed the wax off, tidied up some dirty spots and re-waxed the boat, followed by buffing.  This work took us most of the weekend and left Cat Tales pretty shiny.

Laurie took a full day while I was waxing to do the engine work.  The main sail is back in place, but we're awaiting a calmer day to put up the jib.  We wouldn't want to take off like a kite in the boatyard!

Laurie found an old pallet in the boatyard and designed a nice little work table for himself.  The boards he is sanding are from over top of the engine.  They will be painted a shade of terra cotta.  We had to rinse some of the salty, wet, never drying edges and have left them to dry before applying the 1st coat.  We are hoping 2 coats will do, but time is running short.

We put up the bimini the first day, which is a lot of lacing.  The older zipper style we had wore out because of the rotten zippers.  Shade is something we need, so it was first on the list.

Laurie's yearly tearing apart of the toilet went well, but we'll really see how well it went after we launch on thursday!

Cat Tales "At Home in Canada for the Summer"

As we get further into November, 2015, and complete all our northerly chores in anticipation of our return to Cat Tales in Grenada, it becomes timely to put up a weblog that wraps up our summer in Canada.

Like most travelers who spend some time at home, we worked hard to arrange our visits to doctors, dentists, optometrists, and accountants and financial managers.  We got moles, eyes, ears, and other stuff inspected and prodded; and made those little changes to allow us to abandon home once more.  Of course, we also worked even harder to ensure we spent as much time as we could with friends and family. 

We were immediately thrown into the Friday night parties with our neighbours that have become the highlight of each summer.  Dawn's sister Lorna and her husband Brian (S/v Peace and Plenty) visited us, as did Laurie's brother Paul and his wife Alida (living in Calgary).   The August Pig Roast that Hugh Whalen and Liz Abraham host was great fun in excellent weather, with near 150 attendees, and our little Halloween Pastafarian Party was fun as well.  These events ensured the parties were quite regular.  Sadly, the great and regular rum tastings of the previous year were non-existent, but for the comparisons made during the other scheduled events - especially since we had more bottles to consider this year.  

Friday night get-togethers with our friends from the cove.  This one is at our place.

Pirates Richard, Dave & Hugh!

Mike O'Brien and Dawn at the Pig Roast at Hugh and Liz's.

Laurie and the guest of honour!

We were kept busy with a major chore:  the removal of our pretty pine kitchen and older appliances, and the installation of a completely new kitchen.   The most significant work was contracted out, but Laurie was kept busy by the demolition work, the rewiring, the installation of a back-splash, and the reinstallation of trim.  Laurie was also kept busy helping neighbour Hugh construct an iconic shed, and helping neighbour Richard with a boat repair.  Laurie also spent a few hours constructing a new outdoor bar area on the deck, and the necessary testing of it.

Laurie helped Hugh build the prettiest shed ever built!

Laurie testing out the new bar he built at the end of the deck!

Kitchen Before Picture

Kitchen during project...too late to turn back!

Kitchen After picture - actually, more was done after this picture.

Travel was rather minimal this year, with a 4-day camping trip to Mount Carleton with Brian and Paula (s/v Magique), for hiking, biking, and kayaking; and a bus trip to outside Boston with Art and Gloria Dean for a Jimmy Buffett tailgate party and concert, with Hughie Lewis and the News as opening band.

Oops, can't turn this one around.  Art & Gloria Dean with Dawn at Jimmy Buffett

Enjoying Jimmy Buffett in Boston.  Love the freedom of a bus trip!

Paula & Laurie at Mount Carleton...let's not forget the mosquitoes!

Top of Mount Carleton

We have most of the cottage ready for closure, are going through lists of what to shut off, what to pack, etc., and will be stepping onto the airplane on November 18.  Hopefully, we can put up a weblog soon after that, documenting our efforts at repairing and preparing Cat Tales for the season of sailing.