We CAN'T Be Out Of Water Again!

Yoga mats make great engine covers for projects!

Is that the water pump again?  No way we're out of water already!  Since we began living on the boat full time, we seem to be using just under our full carrying capacity each week.  We have four fresh water tanks totaling about 125 gallons.  While we are living in the marina, I don't even TRY to conserve, although I should be "practicing" for when we leave.  While not conserving, I'm certainly not wasteful.  There are no long luxurious showers or bathtubs full of water.  Just the sound of the water pump going is annoying enough to remind me to turn off the water when I'm brushing my teeth.

But… it seemed that we used all of our water up pretty fast last time we filled the tanks… and that was on Sunday night.  It's only Thursday and we're low again.  I KNEW I had been hearing the pump go way too often, and the bilge pump is running now…  There is only one explanations for this and I think Bruce and I have both been ignoring it.  We've got a leak. This is the very reason we wanted to spend some time on the boat before leaving.  It's better to find these things now and get them fixed than to wait for a less convenient time and place.

I'll be calling the Chiropractor on Monday

When we bought the boat, there was an issue with a leaking T- fitting which, unfortunately we now know wasn't fixed the first time.  I guess we were lucky that we could find it at all and we shouldn't complain that it was tucked away up under the bathtub.  This means someone has to crawl into the engine room upside down whilst pretzeling around the engine and various other mechanical paraphernalia, risking life and vertebral subluxation in the process.  This time we were going to fix this baby right!

We spent the morning tracking down the hoses to determine what goes where.  Bruce formulated a plan in which we would add a stretch of hose so that instead of being under the tub floor, the crossroads could be attached to the engine room wall, making future fixes so much easier.  We had a moment of panic when he had cut a hose and it wouldn't pull through as we thought it should.  Half an hour later we had it all worked out and were making a list of goodies we would need at the hardware store.

Tub Drain... not how we would have done it...

"What the h*%#l is THAT!"  I hear from the bowels of the boat.  This makes me nervous…  I look down to where Bruce is shining his light and see a hose going nowhere right underneath our bathtub drain. 

How it's supposed to look???

 Upon closer inspection, it seems that this was a spectacular botch job which is probably the kind of "fix" we would expect to do while under way from say, the East Coast of the US to Europe! (Route taken by the previous boat owner)  I guess the fitting came loose so with no proper tools and parts, the previous owner poked some kind of putty around it and never looked back!  

Now our little half hour job that turned into a whole day job, was now a full fledged two day job!  Well, we get to the hardware store and back with all of our parts and go to work getting the water leak fixed.  Bruce got to the third fitting of the T and it went on WAY too easily!  Inspecting it further, he found it to be cracked… which explains why it leaked in the first place.  Back to the hardware store for another part, do the last few steps over again and it's time to test the newly spliced hoses…  Water pressure on!  OMG water is pouring out of the free hose under the galley sink!  Oops!  We forgot we had disconnected it to pull the hose through at the other end.  Feeling stupid now, we finish the job adding a length of hose and voila!  QED!

Lessons learned:  Do it right the first time if at all possible; There must be a reason if theres a problem; and Listen to the boat when she's trying to tell you something…  Oh, and that tub drain fix… still pending..

Does Your Boat Move When The Wind Blows?

We're about to get hit from the North

The news of our recent move from Townhouse to Sailboat has gradually made the rounds at my office.  This has sparked the usual questions of "why" and "for how long"…  and the usual big eyes at my answers.  

A couple of weeks ago, on the heels of a particularly strong (for us) Norther', the questions about the weather began.  Does your boat have heat?… What do you do when it rains?… Does your boat move when the wind blows?… Are you scared, can you sleep???

The Townhouse we own was built solid in 1968.  Mother Nature had to produce a pretty impressive display before we became aware of it.  Many mornings, I would make it all the way to the office parking lot before I realized I needed a jacket.  Only the most torrential downpour would rouse us from sleep.  

Living aboard a sailboat these past two months, we are much more in tune with the weather… I would say we are active participants in it.  We watch it.  We note the discrepancies between forecast and reality.  We experience the exact moment when the wind changes direction.  We shiver from the cold and swelter in the heat.  OK, that's a stretch… we have heating and AC so we've never SWELTERED, but I've shivered a little bit when I crawl into my cold damp sheets at night…  We aren't camping in some flimsy tint!  We have quite a nice little floating home with lots of amenities.

Since we've moved aboard, we have had five pretty good wallops from the North.  These were forecast within hours and Bruce had the boat prepared with extra lines at strategic points.  The first Norther' had us both on deck making minor adjustments in a crazy wind in the middle of the night.  (It was kind of exhilarating) But since then, when the wind hits, the boat bounces and tilts in the slip.  We wake up, Bruce takes a quick look around outside and we settle back down to cozy sleep.  

Lightning lit up the night sky

We have actually enjoyed watching a couple of storms pass over from the comfort of our cockpit enclosure.  Our previous boats had only bimini tops and bow dodgers.  (top and forward canvas covers like a roof and windshield) Our full enclosure is QUITE a luxury for us and we're lovin' it!  It's like having an enclosed patio/sunroom in the winter.  We relax inside our "bubble" and ignore the wind/rain/cold conditions outside.  

Ok, so now for the reality check…  My reason for moving aboard prior to leaving for our cruising adventure was to give us time to use all of the equipment and make sure everything works.  I figured it would be better to have to fix things while we are in familiar surroundings than to wait until we were out there.  So… Evidently our aft AC was limping along and with increased use, it has decided to retire.  We are using a cheap space heater while researching it's replacement.  (cha-ching).  OKOK I can hear you seasoned cruisers out there screaming "you don't NEED AC to go cruising".  Yes but we want it be be an option, so we'll be replacing it.  

Then there's the water-in-our-bed episode from last week's torrential downpour.  Really it rains so seldom here, this is the first time we've had a chance to test the boat for leaks.  Evidently the drain in the propane locker on deck wasn't able to keep up with the demand, causing the water to rise inside the locker to the level of the mount screws for the propane bottles.  They were not water tight and water seeped in and ran down the hull into our aft cabin.  This was a pre-existing issue that Bruce thought he had addressed.  I've ordered some butyl tape to use in sealing the screw holes to fix it right up.  A reader noted that if water can get in… so can a propane leak.  Dangerous stuff!  

Am I scared?  Only a fool would be totally unafraid…. Sure when the boat heels wildly there are those creeping thoughts of "what if that forward dock line snaps?"… "What would this blow be like if we were out at anchor?"  We will SURELY be anchored or under way during some weather in our travels.  When these thoughts come… I tell myself that this boat has seen some pretty tough times and is built to handle it.  Each new experience we have together gives me more confidence and trust in the vessel that we have chosen to take us exploring.   

So… while we are still Cruisers-In-Waiting, we are just fine in our slip.  Once I retire and we set out, we will address the more "technical" aspects of weather… We will look at the many different options available for obtaining accurate pertinent weather information that are available to Cruisers today.  That will be quite the learning curve so I'm socking away bits of information to save for that day when I have more free time. 

For now… we embrace the consequences of the choice we've made.  I will squeegee the windows on the car before my drive to work.  I will lay a towel down as I climb out of the cockpit in my work pants and crank the line which brings the boat close enough for me to jump to the dock… and I will feel one with the universe as I turn my face to the wind and marvel at the awesome sunrises, sunsets and rainbows I've been missing all the years we've lived ashore. 

Please Don't Repossess Our Flamingo!

friend |frend|noun1 a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.• a person who acts as a supporter of a cause• a person who is not an enemy or who is on the same side

Sign of the "cool people" on our dock!

Many of our friends share the common bond of sailing.  It's just easier that way as our non-sailing friends just don't get it... and there's certainly no shortage of sailing folks in our circle.  Even so, it seems as if our commitment to the Cruising lifestyle, and what it is going to take for us to achieve our goals in the time we have left, is proving to be somewhat foreign.  
Our friends are not rich, nor are we.  But, we're all comfortable enough to enjoy a certain level of financial freedom.  Bruce and I have been happy to be included in dinners out and even some great group vacations.  We have shared many wonderful times in good and familiar company.  They understand us and we understand them…
Until now...  It seems as if we've taken a detour… we've gone off down a different path.  With my "retirement" date set for less than 6 months out, we have to really watch our spending..  I'm very nervous about quitting my job and reducing our income by more than half.  We have economized in every conceivable way including spending less on food ( little or no dining out), we have cut out frivilous travel (we will be traveling soon for a wedding), and we've not seen a concert or theater production in… I can't remember the last.  We've even let our Yacht Club Membership go…  Before we do or buy anything, we ask ourselves… does this further our cause?  If the answer is no, we pass it by.
Before we moved aboard, there were many weekends when we weren't at the marina.  Now we're always here when our friends come and much of the weekend entertainment when we aren't sailing, revolves around dining and drinking.  Many times its an impromptu run to a local restaurant for dinner which ends up costing us about the equivalent of that new dock line we would like to have, or maybe a couple of LED replacement bulbs.  When I look at it that way… the dinner wasn't really that good.  
It isn't always that way…  Many nights, our gang will all meet on one of our boats for dinner.  That couple will host or maybe we'll do a mini pot luck.  These are great because everyone brings something so nobody feels like a mooch.  Plus the drinks are much less expensive and everyone gets what they want if its BYOB.  If I had to judge, the food is actually BETTER!  Good times for me are those spent lounging around the boat in our jammies with good friends.  Plus, there are no unsympathetic witnesses should things get a little bawdy (you know who you are)!  Bruce and I had a frank discussion about these things.  I wanted to make sure that we are on the same page for when the next group invitation comes along.  Do we want to drop out from our circle of friends?  OF COURSE not.  But we can't continue trotting off to dinners out, splurging on food when we only really wanted the company. It seems as if we've put ourselves into a different "category", we're no longer tourists on holiday when we're at the marina… we LIVE here.  Somehow we have to find a balance between our daily lives  and our goals…while still having some fun!
A friend reminded us of something… He said "you can't just give up everything that you enjoy in life".  This is true.  What we need is to set a very firm budget for "entertainment".  It will be necessarily small, but it will give us a little wiggle room for those spontaneous dinner runs so we won't be struck completely from the invitation list.  With all of the things we are giving up to live our dream, we want very badly to keep our friends.  We just need to figure out a way to fit in with the crowd while staying true to our self imposed savings regimen.  
What we need most from friends and family, was mentioned above in the definition of a Friend… We need support of our Cause.  So, if we decline to join in the festivities, please know that it is not that we don't want to run and play…  It's because we want to sail off into the sunset, where we hope you ALL come to visit!  So... Keep us in the loop and try not to talk TOO badly about us when we aren't there!