Random musings from dock 6

Catching the blog up with the our Facebook page:

Another sunset from the marina (bathroom!)

Life on a boat:  "What shall we do today?"  "Let's lift up the cockpit floor and check for leaks."  "Sounds fun."  It was a cool, non-humid morning so I headed out to scrub the water line with my new scrub brush (Thanks, baby!) and clean the Brunswick scum off of the fenders.  The Captain followed me out and decided to lift up the cockpit floor to check for leaks.  We didn't even lift this up on our survey?!  He got it up to a 45 degree angle and after some examination, I helped lift it upright.  Everything was scrubbed down and sprayed with Corrosion X.

Lifting up the cockpit floor

The fuel tank under the cockpit floor

Upon returning inside to the a/c, I decided to clean out the pantry/storage.  I'd been wanting to remove the door for easier access to the shelves behind it.  In the process, I discovered an inspection hole that Captain hadn't looked in.  It was a seacock he hadn't identified.  That should keep him busy for awhile.

See the feet?!

Amelia took a nap in the cockpit.

"Is this a good place to take a nap, Dad?"

The "recanvasing" job is still ongoing.  The Captain completed the second line bag by recycling the old windshield and using the previous snaps.  However, his finale is the refashioned cabin-top winch bag.  He divided it into three sections for the reef 1, reef 2 and genoa furler lines.  After constant complaining while underway from the First Mate, he also added loops for glasses/sunglasses.  Very nice :-)

Cabin top line bag, before

Cabin-top winch bag with glasses loops, after

There also has been constant talk of adding extensions onto our dodger to keep the rain out.  (Ideally, we'd love to have the ability to full enclose the cockpit for bugs or cold weather but it's tricky) The Captain fashioned a starboard cockpit dodger extension from scraps that could be snapped on quickly and removed to allow a breeze.  The port side will have to wait for another #Sailrite order, but at least the helmsman will be dry.

All-new dodger extension.

It's hard to see in this pic, but another original design by The Captain--fender bags from left-over phifertex:

Fender bags, starboard side

Recipe:
Pickled Jalapenos (that can be canned)
½ c. vinegar
½ c. water
2 Tbsp sugar or honey, optional (adjust for desired heat)
1 Tbsp pickling salt
5 jalapenos, sliced
2 pint jars

Bring vinegar, water, sugar & salt to a boil. (Add jalapenos & simmer for 5-10 min.) OR pour brine over sliced jalapenos in the pint jars.  Let cool. Refrigerate.

Another first:  2 mile bike ride Newcastle beer run (in GLASS bottles).  No casualties.  I rode behind My Captain, Oh Captain because a failure would be EPIC!  Didn't want to miss that pic.

Newcastle in glass bottles.  No casualties.

Occasionally, we over-shop and end up looping grocery bags over the handlebars.  This isn't perfect, since it affects maneuverability, but I made a "grocery" bag out of canvas anyway.  It has come in handy on office runs to pick up packages, holding laundry detergent during laundry runs and stowing the rain jacket.

Grocery handlebar bag,  before

Canvas grocery bag, after

We see lot's of fish splashing around the boat.  We've heard rumors of manatees, dolphins and the occasional shark fin in the marina.  Then finally, while talking to a dock neighbor, we saw a huge pod of strange looking fish go by.  We speculated it could be the baby bull sharks we'd heard about.  What do you think?  Zoom in & check out the tail:

Bull shark, mexicorelax.com

Baby bull sharks?! at our dock

When we cook on the stove, we have to open a hatch for circulation.  The easiest is the hatch above the stove (although leaving the companionway door open is a possibility if the bugs aren't bad).  However, when it rains, the water off the deck eventually forms a river into the stove's hatch.  It's also not fun cooking in the heat without an exhaust fan.  SO, we finally spend the money on a port visor from Seaworthy Goods ($50).  It limits how much we can open that hatch (or I would have bought two for ventilation) but it stops the river.  Then I found a portable USB fan at West Marine.  Some people use computer exhaust fans, but I couldn't find one any cheaper than this.  For $6.99, it can be plugged into one our portable battery packs and hung outside the screen.  It actually works good and got Captain's approval.

USB fan & port visor = cooking in the rain :-)

I'm sore the day after round two of scrubbing the water line.  This time I used the dinghy (lower from davits, pump it up, readjust dock lines to get it out from behind the boat--45 min), the scrub brush and a scraper.  On top of the normal growth, we had some little mollusks(?!) up on the bow.  The Captain had just got back from a bike ride and was not happy when pressed into service to hold the dinghy painter while I worked.  The baby crabs were also not happy that I was scraping off their food.  Small shrimp also feast on the growth (which sounds like rice krispies inside the boat and it was getting LOUD!).  Even the Dock master stopped by and asked why we didn't just hire the divers like everyone else.  (Because we just can't pay someone else to do something we could do ourselves!)  However, we can't reach the inner sides of the hulls without getting in the water and that's not going to happen.  The water here is murky and dirty.  No way we're actually getting in the water.  We have snorkels but not wetsuits.  We'll probably will hire the diver before we leave, but after hearing a fellow sailor had to pay double because his bottom was so bad, I'm happy I attempted to get the worst off.  

Somewhere in here, we tried to cook pizza on the grill.  It was late.  We didn't do any "research."  I heard there was quite a fireball :-0  Crust burnt.  Cheese "smoked."  $16 wasted (actually, The Captain scooped off the cheese & pepperoni and served it on crackers.  Quite good, but makes you realize how much of your pizza is just melted cheese).  It's cheaper to go out for pizza...

Second wedge pillow for the Captain (for the record, stuffed with beach towels & his winter coat.  Gonna be looking for those later...)

I spoke to my sister the other day, and thanks to our blog, she's impressed with how much work we do to keep our lifestyle going vs sitting in a fancy yacht club drinking Rum Runner's (because it's just free cheap wine Mon/Wed/Fri & free cheap beer on Saturdays!  Nothing fancy)