Just what you were all waiting for right? For the past few days I have been "on the hook" at the Pelican Marina here in Elizabeth City, it has been pretty relaxing so far, so much so that I am not nearly getting as much done as I should-I am feeling a bit anxious about getting things done. I suppose a bit of this comes from me being a bit hyperactive - I suppose now-a-days it is called ADHD, but back in the day it was diagnosed as being "hyper", and I don't know if there was medication for it then as there is now, but I have learned to deal with the urge to be permanently busy - I just roll with it and pretty much stay busy.
Yesterday was spent modifying the spare flag that was given to me by Eric back at Calvert County Marina. The flag I was given was meant to be flown with the pole through the header, kind of like a yard banner, not like a flag hooked to a halyard or flagpole. I had to sew in reinforcement to the header of the flag, for which I used some of the 2 inch polyester webbing I had leftover from an earlier project. I sewed this onto the header with some of the sail thread I have, using my old Brother sewing machine. I reinforced the areas where I was going to install grommets with additional stitching, and then installed some 1/2 inch brass grommets. I also reinforces the fly, so that hopefully, it will last a bit longer in higher winds than the other flag did. All of these alterations made the new flag ready to be hoisted. I also have on board a much smaller flag, that I will fly as a storm flag, as it has less surface area and is less likely to be shredded.
I also made lee cloths for the berths, I used some really heavy weight canvas I had gotten at Lowes, sewed it up with a bolt rope, and I will install it using some stainless steel eyes that I have in one of the hardware boxes. The purpose of a lee cloth, for the uninitiated, is to keep people, bedding, or gear in place on the bunk when the boat is heeled over and that berth is on the "high" side, or windward side as it was. When you are on the "low" side (leeward side) you are smushed up against the hull, and have no worries on tumbling out of the rack. I suppose one of these days, perhaps some lazy, sunny, sun drenched day in some southern anchorage I will take the time to create a sailing terminology dictionary, so that all the land lubbers that actually put up with my ramblings will understand just what it is that I am talking about sometimes.
Today I went out early to Lowes to get a few things, that turned out to be a few more things, and then I made a mad dash to the register to get out of there before I spent too much. Sometimes in home improvement places, hardware stores, ships chandlers, and gadget stores I can get a bit preoccupied, distracted and overwhelmed, and spend WAY too much. Today's trip was for repair parts for the windvane, that I should be working on right now.
My mom was asking about the heater on board, so this section is for her. I have
a Taylor kerosene cabin heater on the boat, and it used to work fairly reliably, but not reliably enough for me to trust it when I am sleeping. Now it seems to be working better, after the cleaning I gave the burner parts and the tank, but I am still hesitant to use it all night, although my confidence in it may grow. This heater was designed for use on boats, and so it has a flue and a charley noble (flue cap) just like your heater at home, and if I am not mistaken this pretty much eliminates the worry of carbon monoxide. Again, I don't leave it on as I sleep, and, I ventilate the cabin when I use it, so for now the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning is not that big of a worry for me.
a Taylor kerosene cabin heater on the boat, and it used to work fairly reliably, but not reliably enough for me to trust it when I am sleeping. Now it seems to be working better, after the cleaning I gave the burner parts and the tank, but I am still hesitant to use it all night, although my confidence in it may grow. This heater was designed for use on boats, and so it has a flue and a charley noble (flue cap) just like your heater at home, and if I am not mistaken this pretty much eliminates the worry of carbon monoxide. Again, I don't leave it on as I sleep, and, I ventilate the cabin when I use it, so for now the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning is not that big of a worry for me. Lastly, there is a feature on the blog here that allows readers to make comments on each blog post. I am going to start adding those comments to the blog, so that readers can see what other readers have said. If you make a comment, please let me know if you don't want to see it show up for all the world to see. I welcome all comments, and those that are appropriate I will publish.
From Capt. Glenn up in Maryland:
Dude, love the blog but not sure this entry will work. I'll give it a shot. Colder? I made another delivery today. From Mear's Marina, Annapolis, MD, to California, MD. This morning was 30F and boat was covererd with ice and snow at the start. It was blowing 15 out of the NW.....I hope you and Spook are warmer!!!Capt. Glenn
Definitely sounds like I scooted out of Maryland just in time!
No comments:
Post a Comment