Too Dark to See

The sun didn't come out until almost 1700, so it was really too dark under the cover to get much done. I was able to get all the forward portholes taped, but didn't try to do any caulking since I couldn't see well enough to do a good job. We shouldn't get any more rain for several days, so I'll pull the cover off this weekend, maybe tomorrow.

I ended up doing some cleaning, straightening up, and picking up more caulk, paint rollers, and blue painter's tape. I also ordered several yards of charcoal sunbrella canvas, black thread, and two kerosene yacht lamps from Defender. It should come in early next week, and will probably be the last stuff I order before I leave. Once I start getting her ready to sail, there may be a few other odds and ends, but I don't expect I'll need too much.

However, I will need to stock up on provisions. I'll start doing that as soon as I've got all the hardware remounted, which should be this weekend or early next week. I'm running out of time, so it can't be much later than that, or they won't put me in the water. While I was picking up the caulk and rollers, Kevin saw me and asked, "next week, right?"

I don't know if that's a hard deadline, but I think they shutdown their crane at some point. After that, I'd have to get someone else to put me in. Since that would cost several hundred dollars extra, I'll be going into the water next week no matter what.

Even though the looming deadline is adding a lot of unwelcome stress, the visible progress, including a beautiful deck and portholes back in their holes, feels really good. And while I can't remount or caulk any hardware in the dark, I can make progress on other tasks in the evenings, e.g., breaking out the rigging and ground tackle, adding strips of clothe to the anchor chain to mark the length, and stowing paint and other tools no longer needed.

I'll see how I can get done tonight, but first, I need to take Zoe for a walk.

Book watch:

I keep forgetting to mention that I bought a copy of "The Ashley Book of Knots" the other day and have been reading it at night. It's a great book and the illustrations are terrific. I haven't tried to tie anything yet, but it's still fun to just read about the knots -- I'm only on page 50, so I've got a long way to go yet.