Glad to get that out of the way. I had to get up early, take the 0730 bus to the train station, catch the 0804 West bound train to Hicksville, and since there were no taxis and I didn't have change for the bus, I had to walk to the Levittown Town Hall to take the test. I didn't mind walking, but was a bit miffed that the bus wouldn't take bills.
Since I now have a blackberry instead of an iphone, it was really difficult trying to get a map, so I ended up walking a different route than I had planned. I don't think it was much further, maybe a few minutes, but I did have to ask for directions since I couldn't get the map to work. Once I found out where I was, it was already close to 0900, so I started jogging. I didn't want to get there late and maybe miss the test.
I arrived right at 0900, but was soaking wet. They were still setting things up, so I went to the mens room and rinsed off a bit. When I got back, they checked my credentials and gave me the exam. I'd been studying so much lately, that I knew every question on it and breezed through it in about 10 minutes. I ended up getting 100%, which was even better than I'd done on the relatively easier General exam, on which I'd missed one.
Once it was over, I got another guy who was there taking his General exam to give me a lift back to the station. He dropped me off a couple blocks away, so I jogged the rest of the way, and got there just as the train back to Huntington was arriving. It must have been about 1000.
When I got to Huntington, it was overcast and not too hot, so I decided to jog back to the boat. I figured I was already going to have to pay for jogging earlier, so I might as well get a workout. I only had on my flip flops, so after about a mile, I started feeling blisters on my toes where I gripped them so they wouldn't fly off. At that point, I decided to take them off and try to run barefoot. At first, I wasn't sure how that was going to go, but it turned out fine. I just watched where I stepped, ran on grass when I could, which wasn't much, and tried to be extra careful when I crossed streets.
I put my flip flops back on once I got near the boatyard since the streets and sidewalks in that area are pretty bad, and walked the last 1/4 mile. The distance from the train station to the boatyard is about 2 1/4 miles, and I probably went about a mile total in Hicksville, so my guess is that I ran about 3 miles this morning, and except for my left heel, feel great. I'll stretch out several times today, and hopefully, I'll still be able to walk in the morning.
Zoe watch:
I walked Zoe early this morning before catching the bus. She didn't get as long a walk as normal, so I'm going to walk her again in a few minutes. We're having isolated thunder storms today, and the temperature is hovering around 80 with a light wind. I can hear some rumbling, and she's laying on my feet as I type. She gets spooked by loud noises anyway, but thunder seems to be the worst.
I left her on the boat this morning while I went to take the exam. I had closed up most of the cover for fear of the rain, but left it open at both ends so she could get some breeze. With it only getting up to 80, and the boat being a comfortable 70 inside, I figured she'd be fine, but just in cas,e I hurried back. That's partly why I ran back. It takes about 40 minutes to walk, the bus comes every hour, and I'd missed it by about 20 minutes, and the taxis are really expensive, so walking (or running) was the best choice. I was back on the boat by 1100, and she was waiting for me on deck when I climbed up the ladder.
Book watch:
I've seen several references to Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast," so I figured I needed to read it for myself. I found it online a couple of days ago at the Gutenberg site, downloaded, and started reading it. It's an American classic and really good. I like it much better the Chickchester's book. I believe Chickchester even cited Dana in "Gypsy Moth." I just started it and am only to the part where he's approaching the Horn on board Pilgrim, but I'm already hooked. He also seems to be a pretty interesting guy, but according to Dale, he was a disaster as a politician in Boston after the Civil War. If Dale finds and sends me more information on that, I'll post it here. I'm curious to hear what the guy said that ruined his career.
10 July 2010
07 July 2010
Record High of 102 in Huntington
It was truly brutal yesterday and officially reached 102. That's 22 degrees higher than normal. I kept wetting down the cover and ground under and around the boat to keep things cool. However, it was still over 110 under the cover on the deck. I ended up working under the boat from about 11am on, but didn't get too much done.
Today is much better, but I think I'll take Zoe down to the pub to watch the Germany-Spain match this afternoon. I should have done that yesterday, but once it got really hot, we just hunkered down and tried to stay cool. We'll go down a little early to avoid the hottest part of the day, but will still have to walk in it for about a 1/4 mile. I'll wet her down before we leave.
I'm not really pulling for any particular team in the World Cup, but it would be cool if Spain wins today because that would mean the the ultimate winner will be a team who's never won before. The Dutch have been closer, so I think they deserve it more,and a Dutch win would make USA look better since our loss, and all the subsequent margins, have been very close. Also, a Dutch-German final would probably be the most interesting.
Ham License watch:
Due to the heat, I haven't studied as much as I would have liked, but still feel good about it. Now, I just hope it cools off enough that I can go take it and not have to worry about leaving Zoe behind. It's the last exam, and I'd like to get it out of the way before I leave. Otherwise, it may be difficult. The forecast for Saturday is 83, which is almost normal, so if that holds, it won't be a problem.
Zoe watch:
She's over next to the boat in the shade, and I'll move her under the boat as soon as I sign off. The high today is only supposed to be around 93, so I think she'll be okay. However, I may try to trim her a little more and give her a bath before we walk down to the pub.
Today is much better, but I think I'll take Zoe down to the pub to watch the Germany-Spain match this afternoon. I should have done that yesterday, but once it got really hot, we just hunkered down and tried to stay cool. We'll go down a little early to avoid the hottest part of the day, but will still have to walk in it for about a 1/4 mile. I'll wet her down before we leave.
I'm not really pulling for any particular team in the World Cup, but it would be cool if Spain wins today because that would mean the the ultimate winner will be a team who's never won before. The Dutch have been closer, so I think they deserve it more,and a Dutch win would make USA look better since our loss, and all the subsequent margins, have been very close. Also, a Dutch-German final would probably be the most interesting.
Ham License watch:
Due to the heat, I haven't studied as much as I would have liked, but still feel good about it. Now, I just hope it cools off enough that I can go take it and not have to worry about leaving Zoe behind. It's the last exam, and I'd like to get it out of the way before I leave. Otherwise, it may be difficult. The forecast for Saturday is 83, which is almost normal, so if that holds, it won't be a problem.
Zoe watch:
She's over next to the boat in the shade, and I'll move her under the boat as soon as I sign off. The high today is only supposed to be around 93, so I think she'll be okay. However, I may try to trim her a little more and give her a bath before we walk down to the pub.
06 July 2010
Heat wave
It's going to be another hot one today with a forecast of 98 here in Huntington. I think it only got up to about 93-94 yesterday, but the temp on deck under the cover hovered around 110. Obviously, I can't really do much when it's that hot, but I have been able to get some work done inside the cabin, mainly cleaning, and was able to work on the portholes under the boat in the afternoon when it was really hot. I used green scrubbing pads to clean up the aluminum cover plates. I need to do a little more cleaning on the all the portholes/lights, so I'll probably spend this afternoon under the boat trying to finish up.
Some of them are in bad shape, especially where they seal, so I'm going to use some epoxy putty on them. Not sure if I'll get to that this afternoon, but I want to at least get them ready. I need to finish patching the final holes in the deck, so I'll try to do that as soon as the humidity goes down. The only other job I want to do today is finish up the freshwater system. I have one more locker to clean, then I can remount the pump and connect the new hoses. I was able to clean the bilge out yesterday with the shop vac, so I may try to flush the tank one more time before I connect it up.
Zoe watch:
Zoe's holding up pretty well in the heat. I shaved her again yesterday and wet her down a couple of times. She's under the boat right now, and I moved the thermometer down there so I could keep an eye on it. It's only around 80 right now, but we're still in the shade. In another hour, we'll be in full sunshine and it will stay like that for about 10 hours. It's going to be brutal today, but I'll move down there with her in a couple hours and spend the rest of the day under the boat.
Some of them are in bad shape, especially where they seal, so I'm going to use some epoxy putty on them. Not sure if I'll get to that this afternoon, but I want to at least get them ready. I need to finish patching the final holes in the deck, so I'll try to do that as soon as the humidity goes down. The only other job I want to do today is finish up the freshwater system. I have one more locker to clean, then I can remount the pump and connect the new hoses. I was able to clean the bilge out yesterday with the shop vac, so I may try to flush the tank one more time before I connect it up.
Zoe watch:
Zoe's holding up pretty well in the heat. I shaved her again yesterday and wet her down a couple of times. She's under the boat right now, and I moved the thermometer down there so I could keep an eye on it. It's only around 80 right now, but we're still in the shade. In another hour, we'll be in full sunshine and it will stay like that for about 10 hours. It's going to be brutal today, but I'll move down there with her in a couple hours and spend the rest of the day under the boat.
04 July 2010
No more Google news
A couple of years ago, I discovered google news and got hooked. It was okay, and had a few ways you could customize it, but other than weather, I preferred to keep the defaults. You could quickly get an overview of about a dozen general categories and use it to track a particular person or story.
Well, I guess someone decided that wasn't good enough, so they've enhanced it, and after a few days of struggling with it, I've decided to drop it for now and go back to reviewing the half dozen news outlets I like, e.g., the New York Times, LA Times, Seattle P-I, the Guardian, Le Monde, Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, MLB, etc.
Besides the fact that I didn't like the new format, I was miffed that the weather forecast was completely wrong -- it wasn't even for the right days. I hope they don't decide to revamp the blogs too. I'll still use google for everything else, but will probably avoid the news page until they fix the problem.
Well, I guess someone decided that wasn't good enough, so they've enhanced it, and after a few days of struggling with it, I've decided to drop it for now and go back to reviewing the half dozen news outlets I like, e.g., the New York Times, LA Times, Seattle P-I, the Guardian, Le Monde, Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, MLB, etc.
Besides the fact that I didn't like the new format, I was miffed that the weather forecast was completely wrong -- it wasn't even for the right days. I hope they don't decide to revamp the blogs too. I'll still use google for everything else, but will probably avoid the news page until they fix the problem.
Illegal Fireworks
When I got up this morning and climbed down to take Zoe for a walk, I found the remnants of a few dozen fireworks, all the way from 1/2" to 1 1/2" in diameter, on and around the boat. From the pattern, it looks like the people who live directly behind the boat yard, and directly adjacent to where my boat it parked, fired them off. Since I didn't notice it until this morning, they must have fired them off just after dark while I was walking Zoe. We were gone for a couple of hours and got back to the boat sometime after 10pm -- it doesn't start too cool off until around 8 and doesn't get dark until after 9, so we probably left around 8:30 or so.
I don't really care that much about fireworks, but do care about my boat. After I found and picked up most of the spent cardboard casings (guess that's what they're called), I called the police and found out the it was indeed illegal to discharge fireworks here, and they recommended I call them the next time it happened. I plan to be back from the walk this evening before dark and wet down the cover to minimize the risk.
If that sounds paranoid, it's not. I found one large burn spot on the cover and evidence of at least two other projectiles that hit and stayed on the cover. I also found a place in the fore peak where something hit and burned a spot in the paint that looked reminiscent of a small cigarette burn. I had pulled back the cover, and exposed that section of the deck, in order to allow better ventilation. Since I don't smoke and that's the section I've already repainted, it's obviously from the fireworks -- not to mention that the ash is still fresh.
I made these discoveries as I was preparing to do more work on the freshwater and bilge systems and after I'd already spoken to the police. You might image how upset it made me that I'd come this close to loosing my boat even before she was in the water -- there were several gallons of paint and solvents only a few feet from the largest of the burn marks. So I picked up a couple of the spent rounds and walked around the block to talk to the owners. This is the second time, that I know of, that they've set off fireworks. The first time was a few weeks ago and I was here and sprayed water on the cover to make sure it didn't catch fire. None of those rounds came my way, however, it looks like all of these were directed toward the boat yard and my boat got about half.
The walk calmed me down a bit, so when I arrived at the house, I was able to make my case to the owner, a woman sitting out on the patio, without any undue emotion. It was probably even a bit understated, although I did stress that I had paint and solvents stacked on the deck, and that all of it was highly flammable. Had any of the fragments that hit and burned the cover ignited it, the boat would have been a total loss -- something I couldn't afford to replace. Unsaid was that she probably couldn't afford to replace it either.
It went pretty well, and she was very apologetic, so I hope that'll be the last of if. But I'll keep an eye out tonight and try to finish up as quickly as I can just in case.
Zoe watch:
Since Zoe was with me, she was never in any danger. She's hanging out under the bow today.
Boat watch:
Hopefully, I can get the bilge and the last couple of lockers cleaned and reinstall all the pumps today. I'm also going to try to finish filling the deck holes and get ready to paint. We've got a few good days in a row, so I think I can get some painting done. Since I can't paint the whole thing at once anyway, I want to paint a few particular sections first so I can start remounting hardware. That will help a lot with storage in the cabin and in the cockpit and allow me to remount the AC power plug and manual bilge pump in the cockpit. I also want to remount the handrails and the winches. That'll all make a huge difference.
I don't really care that much about fireworks, but do care about my boat. After I found and picked up most of the spent cardboard casings (guess that's what they're called), I called the police and found out the it was indeed illegal to discharge fireworks here, and they recommended I call them the next time it happened. I plan to be back from the walk this evening before dark and wet down the cover to minimize the risk.
If that sounds paranoid, it's not. I found one large burn spot on the cover and evidence of at least two other projectiles that hit and stayed on the cover. I also found a place in the fore peak where something hit and burned a spot in the paint that looked reminiscent of a small cigarette burn. I had pulled back the cover, and exposed that section of the deck, in order to allow better ventilation. Since I don't smoke and that's the section I've already repainted, it's obviously from the fireworks -- not to mention that the ash is still fresh.
I made these discoveries as I was preparing to do more work on the freshwater and bilge systems and after I'd already spoken to the police. You might image how upset it made me that I'd come this close to loosing my boat even before she was in the water -- there were several gallons of paint and solvents only a few feet from the largest of the burn marks. So I picked up a couple of the spent rounds and walked around the block to talk to the owners. This is the second time, that I know of, that they've set off fireworks. The first time was a few weeks ago and I was here and sprayed water on the cover to make sure it didn't catch fire. None of those rounds came my way, however, it looks like all of these were directed toward the boat yard and my boat got about half.
The walk calmed me down a bit, so when I arrived at the house, I was able to make my case to the owner, a woman sitting out on the patio, without any undue emotion. It was probably even a bit understated, although I did stress that I had paint and solvents stacked on the deck, and that all of it was highly flammable. Had any of the fragments that hit and burned the cover ignited it, the boat would have been a total loss -- something I couldn't afford to replace. Unsaid was that she probably couldn't afford to replace it either.
It went pretty well, and she was very apologetic, so I hope that'll be the last of if. But I'll keep an eye out tonight and try to finish up as quickly as I can just in case.
Zoe watch:
Since Zoe was with me, she was never in any danger. She's hanging out under the bow today.
Boat watch:
Hopefully, I can get the bilge and the last couple of lockers cleaned and reinstall all the pumps today. I'm also going to try to finish filling the deck holes and get ready to paint. We've got a few good days in a row, so I think I can get some painting done. Since I can't paint the whole thing at once anyway, I want to paint a few particular sections first so I can start remounting hardware. That will help a lot with storage in the cabin and in the cockpit and allow me to remount the AC power plug and manual bilge pump in the cockpit. I also want to remount the handrails and the winches. That'll all make a huge difference.
03 July 2010
Earplug method
Well, the earplug method I used to try to plug the bottom of the deck holes worked out okay, but only for 6 of the 11 holes. The other 5 will need to be refilled. About half of them seemed to almost work and might have held had the resin been a bit thicker. I'm hoping the first batch blocked those holes and the second will fill them up. If not, I can fill them up a third time. Even though the earplugs didn't work 100% on the first try, I'm still pretty happy with it, since it's the first time I was able to get any of the ones with a void between the two layers to fill on the first try. I might try to mix up another batch this evening, but it's too hot right now.
Zoe watch:
She's hanging out under the bow again, and although there isn't too much special going on with her, I did go ahead and cut my hair again today -- didn't want her to feel like I was picking on just her. I ended up with essentially another high and tight, but didn't touch the top. I was trying to let it grow out a bit, but made a few mistakes and had to keep going higher to get it even. However, I think I'm getting better. Maybe next time it'll look like a normal haircut. I've learned that even though I can't see where what I'm cutting, I can touch the end of my index finger to the clipper and guide it by feel.
I cut it under the boat so I wouldn't get hair everywhere, but had to keep climbing back on board to check to see how it looked. I have a little hand held mirror, but have to go into the head to use it with the large fixed mirror in order to see the back. It actually looks professional this time -- and I've had hundreds of professional, as well as some not so professional, high and tights in my life, so I know what I'm taking about.
I'm not sure where it originated, but after 14 months deployed at sea with no professional barbers, I can only imagine that the amateur barbers on board were basically doing that same thing. i.e., just keep cutting it shorter till it looks right.
Boat watch:
Cleaned up the rest of the lockers on the port side so I can run the freshwater feed line. I've already cut the holes I need to reroute it through the aft locker directly into the sous-sole, but haven't run it yet.
When I was draining the lower tank and pumping the bilge yesterday with the old wash down pump, it got clogged, so I had to spend a few hours taking it apart and fixing it. It's a simple pump, but took a while to clean. When I first tried it again, it didn't work, so I took it back apart, several times, and re-cleaned it and made sure it sealed properly. Finally it worked and I was able to pump the bilge dry and even refill and cycle the lower tank again -- didn't finish till around 10pm. It's much cleaner, but still isn't as clean as I'd like. I'll clean it a bit more and then run some detergent through it and then let some clorox stand for a while before trying to use it, but I don't think it'll foul my new pump -- I'll mount it as soon as I clean two more lockers. In any case, I've had worse, but nothing as bad as what Paul had to drink at his family's cabin up in Canada.
I mentioned earlier that Paul Smoke was my first boss. I spent a lot of time with him the first year I met him, part of which I lived in his spare bedroom, and he used to tell a lot of great stories. One of my favorite was the time he was up in Canada at his family's cabin. Everyone had been complaining for weeks about how bad the well water tasted, so Paul decided to investigate. He grabbed a lantern and climbed down into the well to see what was going on. Once he got to the bottom, he found the remains of a family of possums.
When I asked him what he did about it, to my surprise, he said he just came back up and made a pot of tea, then added that he'd already been drinking the same water for several weeks and it hadn't killed him yet, so it didn't really matter at that point. It was a good lesson, even if it can't be applied to all situations. I learned a lot from Paul. Hopefully I'll get to see him again when I get back to Texas, and drinking my water in a few days.
Zoe watch:
She's hanging out under the bow again, and although there isn't too much special going on with her, I did go ahead and cut my hair again today -- didn't want her to feel like I was picking on just her. I ended up with essentially another high and tight, but didn't touch the top. I was trying to let it grow out a bit, but made a few mistakes and had to keep going higher to get it even. However, I think I'm getting better. Maybe next time it'll look like a normal haircut. I've learned that even though I can't see where what I'm cutting, I can touch the end of my index finger to the clipper and guide it by feel.
I cut it under the boat so I wouldn't get hair everywhere, but had to keep climbing back on board to check to see how it looked. I have a little hand held mirror, but have to go into the head to use it with the large fixed mirror in order to see the back. It actually looks professional this time -- and I've had hundreds of professional, as well as some not so professional, high and tights in my life, so I know what I'm taking about.
I'm not sure where it originated, but after 14 months deployed at sea with no professional barbers, I can only imagine that the amateur barbers on board were basically doing that same thing. i.e., just keep cutting it shorter till it looks right.
Boat watch:
Cleaned up the rest of the lockers on the port side so I can run the freshwater feed line. I've already cut the holes I need to reroute it through the aft locker directly into the sous-sole, but haven't run it yet.
When I was draining the lower tank and pumping the bilge yesterday with the old wash down pump, it got clogged, so I had to spend a few hours taking it apart and fixing it. It's a simple pump, but took a while to clean. When I first tried it again, it didn't work, so I took it back apart, several times, and re-cleaned it and made sure it sealed properly. Finally it worked and I was able to pump the bilge dry and even refill and cycle the lower tank again -- didn't finish till around 10pm. It's much cleaner, but still isn't as clean as I'd like. I'll clean it a bit more and then run some detergent through it and then let some clorox stand for a while before trying to use it, but I don't think it'll foul my new pump -- I'll mount it as soon as I clean two more lockers. In any case, I've had worse, but nothing as bad as what Paul had to drink at his family's cabin up in Canada.
I mentioned earlier that Paul Smoke was my first boss. I spent a lot of time with him the first year I met him, part of which I lived in his spare bedroom, and he used to tell a lot of great stories. One of my favorite was the time he was up in Canada at his family's cabin. Everyone had been complaining for weeks about how bad the well water tasted, so Paul decided to investigate. He grabbed a lantern and climbed down into the well to see what was going on. Once he got to the bottom, he found the remains of a family of possums.
When I asked him what he did about it, to my surprise, he said he just came back up and made a pot of tea, then added that he'd already been drinking the same water for several weeks and it hadn't killed him yet, so it didn't really matter at that point. It was a good lesson, even if it can't be applied to all situations. I learned a lot from Paul. Hopefully I'll get to see him again when I get back to Texas, and drinking my water in a few days.
02 July 2010
Finally cooled off
The weather finally cooled off, but it looks like it will warm up again this weekend for the 4th of July. The 10 day forecast indicates that the high on the 10th will only be 85, so I should be able to head over to Hicksville and take the Amateur Extra exam without having to worry about Zoe. It's at 9am, so I should be back well before noon. It's still a few degrees above normal for this time of year, but a lot better than some of the 90+ degree days we've had lately. I see it'll be back in the low 90's by Sunday.
The boat is progressing, but I've been spending a few hours a day studying for the exam. All the questions are in published question pools, and the Amateur Extra exam pool consists of 735 questions, of which 50 will be on the exam. To pass, you just need to get 37 correct.
The questions are divided into 10 different sections that are further subdivided into subsections, with each subsection averaging around 15 questions, one of which will be on the exam. So each question has about a one in 15 chance of making it into the test. Most of the sections are pretty straight forward, but there are a few that are more technical and require a bit more understanding of electronics than I currently possess. But since those comprise such a small percentage of the entire test, I've been skipping them on the practice exams (normally around 4-8 questions), and have still been averaging around 40 correct answers, so I think I'll be okay. I'll try to learn the information if I get a chance, but won't let that stop me from taking the exam on the 10th. I'm currently going through the entire list of questions so there won't be any surprises when I take the test. I can always guess on the ones I don't know and may get a couple extra points.
The ARRL site has several links to sites that maintain the question pools and have flash cards and practice exams. The one I've found most useful is maintained by KB0MGA, that's his call sign as well as his domain name. I'm over half way through the flash cards right now, and hope to go through them at least twice before I take the exam. The site keeps track of the questions you skip or miss, and will represent them to you once you've seen all the questions at least once. It's a pretty good system, but once I've finished the boat and have more time, I may try to create a more flexible framework which could be used for this or other educational purposes. Maybe I'll do it for the Coast Guard exam questions.
Zoe watch:
Had dinner with Zoe at the bar/restaurant down the street last night. We had fish and chips, which they do pretty well. It was pretty good, and Zoe got a good bit of fish, but the music was loud, as were some of the patrons, and she didn't seem comfortable -- she kept trying to climb up in my lap -- so we ate and left.
She's been hanging out under the bow lately. It's nice and shady there until around 5pm, so I don't have to worry about her until late in the day when the sun is much lower and it's already starting to cool off.
Boat watch:
I'm still working on the freshwater and bilge systems, so I don't want her near the drains. I'm going to do a little more cleaning today, then reinstall the pumps and flush it again. I had to rearrange everything in the saloon so I could get to the lower lockers on the port side under the settee to pull the old lines, clean it, and install the new ones. Once I'm done cleaning today, I'll run the new line from the upper tank to the lower one. I still need to order the float valve, but am going to concentrate on getting everything put back together before I worry about the "would be nice" stuff.
While cleaning the lockers, I found where one of the previous owners had removed some bracing along the hull and didn't fix it correctly. I don't think I'll take the time to do it now, but I'll need to fill in a small depression with fiberglass at some point. There's a piece of iron in the hull that's exposed and since the fiberglass has been removed -- probably to run some hoses -- and water stands there. I want everything to drain nicely and not have any standing water anywhere on the boat, but again, that's a "would be nice" issue that I'll handle some time in the future. I'm sure there will be several of them before I'm done.
Back when I did the bottom, I noticed a patch on the outside of the hull that wasn't done very well, i.e., it hadn't been ground down and floated out smooth. I took care of that when I refinished the bottom and painted it with barrier coat, but didn't see any evidence inside the boat of why it had been patched. Now, I think that this might have been the issue. I'll tap around the area from the outside to make sure it's sound, and refinish the inside if I detect any issues. At this point, I don't think it's a problem, but I'd rather take care of it now than try to jury rig something after it's too late.
I did come up with an idea on how I can fill the last dozen or so bolt holes in the coach roof. The problem, as I've written before, is that there's a void between the bottom of the deck and the inner headliner, so I need to fill it with something before I try to fill the hole with resin from the top, or it will all leak out. I've tried several methods, but they all seem to leak a little, and it's difficult shoving something up into the holes.
The solution I've decided to try is to use earplugs. I bought a bunch of them a while back -- the office where I used to work was so crowded I could barely hear myself think. They are spongy and about an inch long and tapered at one end. I'm not sure if resin will stick to them, but I know it doesn't stick to plastic, so I'll cover them in a piece of plastic bag before I try to use them. You just need to compress them like you do when you want to put them into your ear and insert them into the hole. As they expand, they'll fill the void and hopefully not push too far up into into the hole in the deck. I'll use a light to look down into the holes to make sure the plugs don't go up too far.
Once they're in, I should be able to fill all the holes in one session, then pull the plugs back out. I'll still have to fill the holes in the headliner, but that's a cosmetic issue that currently falls into the "would be nice" category. My goal right now is to get the deck sealed and painted so I can remount the handrails and hardware and get out of here. I can live with a few blemishes in the interior, but don't want to spend another winter up here.
The boat is progressing, but I've been spending a few hours a day studying for the exam. All the questions are in published question pools, and the Amateur Extra exam pool consists of 735 questions, of which 50 will be on the exam. To pass, you just need to get 37 correct.
The questions are divided into 10 different sections that are further subdivided into subsections, with each subsection averaging around 15 questions, one of which will be on the exam. So each question has about a one in 15 chance of making it into the test. Most of the sections are pretty straight forward, but there are a few that are more technical and require a bit more understanding of electronics than I currently possess. But since those comprise such a small percentage of the entire test, I've been skipping them on the practice exams (normally around 4-8 questions), and have still been averaging around 40 correct answers, so I think I'll be okay. I'll try to learn the information if I get a chance, but won't let that stop me from taking the exam on the 10th. I'm currently going through the entire list of questions so there won't be any surprises when I take the test. I can always guess on the ones I don't know and may get a couple extra points.
The ARRL site has several links to sites that maintain the question pools and have flash cards and practice exams. The one I've found most useful is maintained by KB0MGA, that's his call sign as well as his domain name. I'm over half way through the flash cards right now, and hope to go through them at least twice before I take the exam. The site keeps track of the questions you skip or miss, and will represent them to you once you've seen all the questions at least once. It's a pretty good system, but once I've finished the boat and have more time, I may try to create a more flexible framework which could be used for this or other educational purposes. Maybe I'll do it for the Coast Guard exam questions.
Zoe watch:
Had dinner with Zoe at the bar/restaurant down the street last night. We had fish and chips, which they do pretty well. It was pretty good, and Zoe got a good bit of fish, but the music was loud, as were some of the patrons, and she didn't seem comfortable -- she kept trying to climb up in my lap -- so we ate and left.
She's been hanging out under the bow lately. It's nice and shady there until around 5pm, so I don't have to worry about her until late in the day when the sun is much lower and it's already starting to cool off.
Boat watch:
I'm still working on the freshwater and bilge systems, so I don't want her near the drains. I'm going to do a little more cleaning today, then reinstall the pumps and flush it again. I had to rearrange everything in the saloon so I could get to the lower lockers on the port side under the settee to pull the old lines, clean it, and install the new ones. Once I'm done cleaning today, I'll run the new line from the upper tank to the lower one. I still need to order the float valve, but am going to concentrate on getting everything put back together before I worry about the "would be nice" stuff.
While cleaning the lockers, I found where one of the previous owners had removed some bracing along the hull and didn't fix it correctly. I don't think I'll take the time to do it now, but I'll need to fill in a small depression with fiberglass at some point. There's a piece of iron in the hull that's exposed and since the fiberglass has been removed -- probably to run some hoses -- and water stands there. I want everything to drain nicely and not have any standing water anywhere on the boat, but again, that's a "would be nice" issue that I'll handle some time in the future. I'm sure there will be several of them before I'm done.
Back when I did the bottom, I noticed a patch on the outside of the hull that wasn't done very well, i.e., it hadn't been ground down and floated out smooth. I took care of that when I refinished the bottom and painted it with barrier coat, but didn't see any evidence inside the boat of why it had been patched. Now, I think that this might have been the issue. I'll tap around the area from the outside to make sure it's sound, and refinish the inside if I detect any issues. At this point, I don't think it's a problem, but I'd rather take care of it now than try to jury rig something after it's too late.
I did come up with an idea on how I can fill the last dozen or so bolt holes in the coach roof. The problem, as I've written before, is that there's a void between the bottom of the deck and the inner headliner, so I need to fill it with something before I try to fill the hole with resin from the top, or it will all leak out. I've tried several methods, but they all seem to leak a little, and it's difficult shoving something up into the holes.
The solution I've decided to try is to use earplugs. I bought a bunch of them a while back -- the office where I used to work was so crowded I could barely hear myself think. They are spongy and about an inch long and tapered at one end. I'm not sure if resin will stick to them, but I know it doesn't stick to plastic, so I'll cover them in a piece of plastic bag before I try to use them. You just need to compress them like you do when you want to put them into your ear and insert them into the hole. As they expand, they'll fill the void and hopefully not push too far up into into the hole in the deck. I'll use a light to look down into the holes to make sure the plugs don't go up too far.
Once they're in, I should be able to fill all the holes in one session, then pull the plugs back out. I'll still have to fill the holes in the headliner, but that's a cosmetic issue that currently falls into the "would be nice" category. My goal right now is to get the deck sealed and painted so I can remount the handrails and hardware and get out of here. I can live with a few blemishes in the interior, but don't want to spend another winter up here.
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