Provisions

I ran out of alcohol for my stove last night, so I had to buy a new gallon today. I can't remember exactly when I bought the last gallon, but it was well over a month ago. I'll keep better tabs on this one, but either way, my consumption will change a bit once I get on the water and start using the stove more. I hope to install it this week -- need to buy a couple of sheets of marine plywood first.

I thought I had mentioned the burner in either my daily log entries or here on the blog, but couldn't find any mention of it. However, I did find an entry in the log concerning the first time I ran out of coffee on 20 May, and since I use a can in just less than a week, I think I must have started using it on or around the 13th. That means that it took me at least 5-6 weeks to use a gallon of fuel. So when I provision, I'll make sure I have a gallon on board for every month I'll be out. That's even less than I originally figured, so I feel pretty good about it.

However, I was surprised at how fast I went through the coffee. I have one of those Italian, stove-top ones and like my coffee, actually espresso, pretty strong. I don't fill it up, but do add 4 well rounded teaspoons, so I guess that explains it. Right now I'm getting some stuff called "Cafe Bustelo," and it's pretty good. The label says it's for espresso, and it's ground pretty fine, but the best part is that it's just about the cheapest coffee in the store -- under $3.99 for a 10 ounce can, and often an sale for $3.29.

I don't have an idea about other provisions yet, but am consuming about 2 cans of soup, beans, or other vegetables per day, plus a couple of croissants or bagels, and some fruit per day. Once the oven is operational, I'll see if I can learn how to bake bread, and also look into adding rice to my daily diet. I grew up eating rice and love it -- the Houston area is a big rice producer. But with the cabin still packed full of tools and parts, cooking is tough. Right now, I'm just making coffee and warming soup, etc.

Once I'm ready to provision the boat, I'll see if I can get a good deal on a bulk order somewhere. Hopefully, that will be in the next couple of weeks. Not sure if I'll try to provision before or after I splash, but before would be much easier. I just need to have everything done and stowed before I try to bring a bunch of stuff on board. I'll also need to strip the labels and wax all the cans so they won't rust, so it's a big deal. Nothing's easy on a boat.

Zoe watch:

Forgot this earlier, and decided to rename it from update to watch, a la Dan Froomkin. (Used to enjoy reading his White House Briefing until the Washington Post fired him -- what were they thinking?).

Zoe got a little too hot yesterday. We usually take a walk in the morning and she likes to hang out under an empty boat trailer about 10 feet from the boat when we get back. At that time of the morning, it's all in the shade, so it doesn't really matter, but after a few of hours, the only real shade is under the boat, so I have to make sure I move her. I made a little shady area a few days ago under the trailer so she'd have shade if she wanted it, but she often likes to alternate between sun and shade, so I just let her do what she wants.

Anyway, I was up in the boat for a couple of hours and think she must have made some sort of noise, because I heard something and looked out to check on her and she was looking up to me and looked a little anxious. I quickly climbed down, moved her under the boat and gave her some water. She drank almost a whole bottle. I don't think she was in too much trouble, because she still had the shady area I'd created -- and it was still early -- but it was getting hot and she'd run out of water. I kept an eye on her for the rest of the day, but she was fine.

However, I'd decided change our work schedule and working start tropical hours. We get up pretty early now and try to have our walk before it gets too hot. I also make sure I move Zoe before we loose the shade. Then I'll work till it starts to get hot -- wasn't too bad today, so that turned out to be about 3pm. At that point, I stop, rinse off and try to stay off the deck and out of the boat till it cools off again. I'll walk her around the yard and hang out under the boat with her. I've got plenty of stuff I still need to study and read, so that's a good time to catch up. I also took her up to the office this afternoon and she got to hang out in the a/c while I talked to Gill and bought some more fuel.

It's after dark now, and she's already had her evening walk. She's on deck hanging out at the bow keeping watch. As soon as I'm done with this online I'm going to get her and turn in. It's finally cooled off enough in the boat. Since the weather's been nice for the last couple of days, i.e., dry without too much wind, I've got the cover opened up with lines tied to blocks sorta like a tent. It stays a lot cooler that way. I think it was in the high 80's today, and the deck only got up to the low 90's. Normally, it would have been over 100.

Unfortunately, the forecast is for thunder storms early in the morning, so I'll need to button it up beforehand so it doesn't blow away. I'll do some of it before I go to bed, but will set the alarm for really early so I can seal it up before we get too much wind and rain. It's almost like being on the water, except instead of worrying about how much sail I have up, I'm worried about securing the cover. But as soon as I get it painted and the hardware remounted, I won't have to worry too much keeping her dry.

Ham license watch:

I'm thinking about going into Manhattan and taking the Amateur Extra exam at Columbia next Monday. I wasn't sure I'd still be here and still be in the yard for it, but since I am, I might as well. My other options would be to take it in Hicksville in mid July, here in Huntington in August, or wait till I get to Houston and take there. The problem with Houston is that you pretty much have to have a car to do anything -- and I don't even have a driver's license anymore, mine expired last year. Hicksville might be a better choice, but could be a problem if I have the boat in the water. I know I won't have the boat in the water next Monday, and other than having to walk back from the train station when I get back, the whole trip can be done via mass transit. Another good reason to go ahead and take it is that I've been studying for it and think I could pass it right now. The test is hard enough that if I let enough time pass, it might take me a while to get ready again.

I just did a search for exam sessions around Kemah (that's where I'll probably put the boat, it's just a few miles south of Baytown), and there are monthly sessions at the Johnson Space Center. I think that's only a few miles on foot, so Houston may not be a bad option, except that I'll have to get ready again, and probably won't be there for a few more months. I could also take it somewhere along the way on my trip there, but am not really sure how easy that would be -- again, I don't have a car or license. Maybe I could get one of those folding bikes.

Btw, the main reason I want to get the Amateur Extra license is so I can request one of the shorter call signs. I have a 2+3 (2 letters, one digit, and 3 letters), but even with a General license, I can't request one of the 1+2 or 2+1 call signs. Only Amateur Extra holders can do that.

Boat watch:

Just a quick note on the boat progress. I bought an 80 watt solar panel, but can't even think about installing it until I'm done with the deck. I also bought a few other things like a kerosene anchor light, new cowl vents for my dorades, and a really good radar reflector. I got a tri-lense one made by Rozendal Associates, Inc. This is the type that subs use when operating on the surface and are supposed to be the best ones out there. Since my boat is fiberglass, it's practically invisible to radar, therefore I have to use a reflector in order to be seen.

Not sure what I'm going to do about a holding tank, but have almost decided to make my own out of polyethylene. You can buy sheets pretty cheap, and a plastic welder is under $50. It uses compressed air, so I'd need a compressor, but that shouldn't be too difficult, I could always rent one. I just don't know if I could do this before I splash. And if not, am I going to have a problem sailing down to Houston -- most areas are no discharge, so it may not be legal to have a head without a holding tank.

I'm also having some problems with my fresh water system. I have two tanks: the original one is under the cabin sole in the keel, and the other, newer one, is under the v-berth just aft of the chain locker. The one in the v-berth is a couple feet higher and has a hose connected to the bottom of it that drains it into the main tank in the keel. The old system had a fill pipe for each tank, and a valve where the upper tank connected to the fill line for the lower tank. This could work, but seemed a bit too complex for me. If the valve was open, then the lower tank could overfill -- which it would do anyway if you filled it up completely from it's fill hose connected to a deck fitting which is about five feet higher. That means that if the tank doesn't seal, the extra water will leak into the bilge. And of course, it doesn't seal. The draw pipe is a copper tube that's loose. It was taped up with electrical tape to keep if from leaking too much.

But that's not too big of a problem is it's only what's in the hose. However, if it's from the upper tank, it will all go into the bilge and be lost if the valve is in the wrong position. Plus, I'm not sure the bilge would hold that much water. Zoe and I might end up floating in the cabin.

Anyway, I didn't like this idea. In fact, I removed the fill hose and deck fitting for the lower tank completely. I'm planning on always filling the upper tank and letting it keep the lower tank full, and use a float value in the lower tank to control it's level. That it will stay no fuller than say and inch or so from the top. Then I'll always draw from the lower tank and never have to worry about overflows or valves. I just need to find the right value. It's a pretty common problem, so I don't think it will be difficult to get one that works, e.g., they use them for stock tanks, fish ponds, etc.