Stepped the Mast

We stepped the mast this morning, and I got the sails bent on this afternoon. I need to go up the mast to rotate the cap at the top of the furler, but other than that, it all looks good.

It started raining a little while ago, and I noticed one of the chainplates leak a little. Normally, I would have waited to caulk them until after stepping the mast, but since I'm out in the weather, I gave it my best shot when I installed them.

The surprising thing is that the forward starboard lower, where the old one tore a hole in the deck, doesn't leak. After fixing the hole and setting the new chainplate, I noticed it touched on one corner, but it was about to rain, so I didn't have time to fix it. I'll need to redo it at some point since you need an 1/8" clearance all the way around the hold the caulk or it will eventually leak. I should be able to use a keyhole saw widen the hole pretty quickly once I get a chance.

We're planning to splash on Monday morning, and anchor in Oyster Bay Monday night. I'm sorta hoping I can get someone to go with me, but chances are I'll have do it by myself. It shouldn't take more than about 6 hours to over there and get anchored, but since I've never been there, I want to make sure I can get there with plenty of daylight remaining, so I'd need to leave here no later than early afternoon. We'll see how it goes and adjust as necessary.

Of course, it all depends on the weather -- assuming she still floats.

Boatyard Drama

I don't really like a lot of drama, but we certainly had a lot of it this morning. As I've mentioned before, they dropped my boat last December when they pulled me out of the water, and, largely due to the fact they removed my forestay which destabilized the mast, broke two chainplates and ripped a hole in the deck.

I quickly lost all faith in them, and ended up fixing it all myself. However, since I would never have unstepped the mast, which they said I had to do so the could fix the chainplates and hole, I didn't appreciate them charging me for it. Anyway, my launch has been somewhat delayed as we've been going back and forth about it.

I finally told Pip this morning that if we couldn't come to an agreement, I'd have to take them to court after I left -- which might also delay my trip south, but there's nothing like getting cheated (and threatened -- see below) to motivate you.

That was at the end of our morning walk, so we went back to the boat and started finishing up a few tasks I wanted to finish before she went in. I'd just tied up Zoe and gone on board to get her water, when Wes walks up and starts telling me that I "might as well get some tomato plants and put them around the boat, because you're never going in." He also said I'd broken a cardinal rule by threatening to sue, to which I answered that it wasn't a threat, I was definitely going to do unless we could work out a deal. It's just business after all.

So he tells me he doesn't know where I'm going to stay and he wants me out of the yard because he thinks I'm a threat to his business. Well, I'm no lawyer, but I do tend to hang out with a lot of them and even worked for a big firm in Houston during college, so I do know a few things. I've also lived in NYC long enough to be familiar with city ordinances concerning renters (ah, yes, as a liveabroad, I'm a tenant). So I sorta laughed and told him it didn't work that way and I wasn't going anywhere.

Now, he was already pretty jazzed up when he came over, but my standing up to him seemed to put him over the edge. He's also a pretty big guy, so he got right in my face and tries to intimidate me -- which was also sorta funny since he'd never be mistaken for a drill instructor. I've heard he does thus a lot so I wasn't surprised.

Anyway I told him to back off several times and even gave way, but he just kept coming and bumping into me. He even put his hands in his pockets and kept saying, as if it mattered, "but my hands are in my pockets."

This could have gone on all morning, but after I told him again and again to stop butting into me, he said, "oh, how about a headbutt." Now, back when I played rugby, I could headbutt with the best of them. In fact some of the forwards (I was a back) liked to come up and headbutt you at the parties or at the bar. One time I got tired if it, so I told the guy, okay, let's go again, and again, and again, etc. Once his forehead started getting a little mushy, he decided it really wasn't that much fun anymore and never bothered me again. I don't know if I've just got a hard head or just plain stubborn, but I'd still be doing it today if he hadn't quit.

But that was 25 years ago right after I'd gotten out of the Corps. At 51, I no longer have a desire to mix it up with idiots looking for a fight. So, when he threatened to headbutt me, I pulled out my phone and called the police. That got him off me for the time being, he still felt the need to harass me later in, so I had to call a second time later in the morning.

I carried a 45 my last 2 years with 26 MAU, but I'd forgotten how quickly things calm down when a couple of guys with guns drive up. It was quite refreshing. A lot of cops are ex-military, so I normally have a pretty good rapport with them.

Things have settled down now, and the boat's ready to go in, but it looks like I'll have to wait till Monday. Fernando, the guy who normally moves the boats, but not the guy who dropped mine, had to go out of town and won't be back till Monday, so I decided to wait for him -- the rest of them are incompetent, and I don't want to take a chance of them dropping her again.

They're probably going to charge me an extra week, but since I was ready on the 29, and they chose not to put me in, and have been making me wait, I'll try to get that back too when I sue.

New Launch Date

I'd hoped to launch this week, and actually asked them to put me in today, but they told me they won't be able to get to me until next week. A few days doesn't matter much to me, so I don't mind. It'll also give me more time to do a few more things and take the time to do them right.

Transmission watch:

She's in and seems to work fine -- however the ultimate test won't come till she's in the water. I still need to realign the engine, but Jordan promised to drop by later this morning to give me a hand. I'm not sure if he's ever done this before either, but it always helps to have another person around, especially when you're trying the wrestle a 300 pound gorilla (engine).

Rigging watch:

I finished making up all the new stays and shrouds, cleaned up an painted the masthead sheaves, and replaced a missing bolt, but still need to connect the wires, reinstall the sheaves, and put the furler back together. I also need to clean up and attach the the turnbuckles. That may sound like a lot, but It's basically an afternoon, or less.

Drain watch:

The drains are still the big unknown. I have all the parts, and will reinstall the seacocks today, but installing the new, larger, cockpit drains will require some cutting, grinding, and glass work. It's tough to say how long that'll take until I start, though I'm hoping to get to it today or tomorrow. It should be easier on land, but the drains are only necessary to drain the cockpit, and that's only an issue when it rains or you're taking water over the gunnels. So, I've got some time yet before it's an issue.

Cutlass Bearing

I finally got everything pressed onto the output shaft late last night, and finished reassembling the entire transmission this morning. It seemed to work fine, so I went ahead and painted it and will reinstall it tomorrow.

However, I never did find anything wrong with it other than a lot of rust and leaking seals. I replaced all the seals and rusted and broken bolts, so all in all pulling it didn't bother me too much -- it looks great now.

While I was cleaning up the shaft this afternoon, I noticed I couldn't see the cutlass bearing. It had gravitated a couple inches into the tube. I didn't notice it last winter, but it obviously happened during the trip, and is quite likely what caused the problem in the first place.

Boston and Ken had both suggested the cutlass bearing, as well as a few other related issues, but I think that was only after I'd pulled the transmission and couldn't find any damage. I'll replace it tomorrow when I install the transmission, but won't really know if that fixes it until I get her into the water.

Launch Party

The launch party was great. If the actual launch later this week is even half as successful, I'll be very happy. A couple of my buddies from Huntington, Kieran and Joe, came down, as well as a few friends I've made here. I had a great time, and I think everyone else did too.

My friend Robyn even played for us -- she's a professional musician who's toured with lots of major acts and lives here on City Island.

Transmission watch:

I'm actually trying to put it together right now. But at this point, I don't even care if it works, I just want to get in the water. Luckily, my improvements to the drains and moving the water lift should mean that I can pull it while I'm in the water if necessary.

In any case, it's in much better shape, so if I do need to work on it in the future, it'll be much easier -- I got rid of all the rusted bolts, etc...

Zoe watch:

She's still the best dog ever, and I think she really enjoyed the party, especially seeing my Huntington friends -- she really likes Joe...

I gave her a bath in the morning before the party, but she more or less forgave me by the time the it started. She looked really good too, even with the haircut.

Party watch:

Kieran took some photos, so I'll post them once he sends them to me. (although I worked for a couple congressmen during my salad days, none were invited to the party, so don't expect any of those sorts of photos, even though I'm currently in New York City.)

iPhone Update

I decided to get an iPhone after my launch got delayed, and I had a problem with both my blackberry (junk) and laptop (running windows, so it's junk too). Since I can't update the blog direct with my phone's browser, I'm going to try to use the email posting feature -- please forgive any typo's since I can't do any editing after a post.

I'm planning to have a little launch party on Saturday, but probably won't launch till early next week. I still have lots of work to do, but it's getting close.

I installed the new chainplates last week and plan to fill the cover plate holes and caulk them today. I finished making up all the new wire except for the backstay -- had to order a new wire after a messed one up, but it's still much cheaper than having a rigger do it -- and still need to reassemble the roller furler on the forestay.

I'll try to get the transmission fixed and reinstalled today or tomorrow, then start working on the cockpit drains -- those parts should arrive today. I still need to finish the head, so I may work on it from time to time. I just need to route and connect hoses, but might need to cut or enlarge some holes in the bulkheads.

There are several others tasks I need to finish before I can sail, e.g., non-skid the deck, but those can wait till I get into the water. It's already way too hot in the boatyard.

Engine Update

Well, there isn't much to say really except that I've taken a lot of stuff apart, broken a few things -- mostly bolts -- and still haven't found anything obviously wrong. Based on my description, which probably wasn't very good since it was the middle of winter and about 28 inside the cabin, Boston thought it was the drive, or dampening, disk that attaches to the flywheel.

It looked okay when I pulled the transmission, but I took that off last night anyway and, other being a little dirty and rusted, it's perfectly fine. I've also partially dismantled the transmission itself -- still need to pull a few bearings -- and haven't found anything wrong. Ken, who worked on all the Coast Guard boats during Katrina, thinks that it might be low oil pressure, so I'm putting part of the engine back together so I can run her and check it. I don't have a gauge, just an idiot light which might not work, so I'm going to borrow a gauge from the yard once I get her back together so I can check it.

I did notice she's a little low, so maybe she was leaking a little and finally dropped down low enough to cause a problem. I don't know. The last time I worked on an engine was in 1995, which didn't turn out too well. The time before that was when I was still in high school. I'm mechanically inclined, but don't have much experience. I was a TOW gunner in the Corps, so although they were mounted on jeeps, I didn't do much more than change the oil in the oil bath for the air breather. Oh, and this is my first diesel.

Part of the problem is that engines, at least ones that need work, are usually oily, dirty, rusty, and just a pain to work on. And this one is about the worst I've seen. I guess it's typical for older sailboats, but the reason I like sailboats is because you can sail them, i.e., you don't use an engine. For example, I haven't really done that much to it, and I've already broken 3 bolts, and there's another one I'm pretty sure will break once I try to get it out -- it's actually a badly rusted stud. At least the broken ones were all on the transmission, so I could work on them after I got her out.

Anyway, I've got a hour or two of work left to do before I can run her, so I guess I better get back to it. I still have to hook the freshwater intake hose back up, and reinstall the exhaust hose that goes from the mixing elbow to the water lift. I needed to cut that one to length anyway, so I don't mind that too much. The same goes for my two main cockpit drain seacocks. I was never happy with the location of the valve arms, so I didn't mind taking them out either -- I had to take them out to get the transmission out.

Zoe watch:

I trimmed her again, and she's doing pretty well, but it's been really hot for the last few days. It's much better today, but I think both of use have been getting too much sun. We slept in the cockpit last night. In fact, she's slept there for the last two nights. We've been having a little trouble with mosquitoes, but they aren't too bad when the wind's blowing. Unfortunately, it stopped early in the morning, so I woke up at around 5am to several bites on my arms -- not sure how many she got. I need to get us some mosquito netting -- and finish repairing my screens, but it's too hot to stay in the cabin so that not a priority right now.