More Pre-Haulout Projects

June 14 thru June 17

—Blogpost written by Bob

Thursday, June 14

This morning, I applied the final coat of satin varnish on the port bulkhead—it is now completed!

I also changed the bulbs in all my running lights, a project which has been on my list for a while now.  I installed very bright LED bulbs after I thoroughly cleaned all the internal contacts.  The bulbs are 39mm festoon type to match the original Aqua Signal light fixtures. The new LED bulbs have strips of LEDs on one side only—so, they have to be oriented properly to direct the light through the colored plastic lens on the fixtures.  To accomplish this, I taped the bulbs in position with a strip of electrical tape over the back of the bulb.

39mm long festoon type LED
bulbs for running lights
(This pic was taken 
with my iPad)

I had some difficulty getting the forward starboard (red) running light to work. Clearly it was exposed to water at some point despite the rubber gasket on the lens cover.  I was dismayed to learn that the wiring was still the original un-tinned wire. I decided to re-tackle this project tomorrow morning.

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One of the tasks we’ve added to our list of haulout projects is installing a TV antenna at the top of the mast. I have purchased a 14” diameter GLOMAX-brand antenna with an automatic gain amplifier for this purpose.

A GLOMAX-brand TV antenna will be installed at the
top of our mast during the upcoming haulout.

The primary purpose for the TV is so that I can watch Penn State football games this fall since we will be stateside this entire season.

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In the afternoon, I drove to Annapolis to pick up some things I needed for a couple upcoming projects.  (I know it seems like I’m always driving to Annapolis but the only source of marine supplies in Baltimore is a very small West Marine store on Boston Street.  Most of the time the little store doesn’t have what I need.  Annapolis, even though it is much smaller than Baltimore, has multiple, larger, marine stores because it is much more aligned with the boating community.)

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Today has been a beautiful day, full of sunshine and very low humidity, very breezy as well.

Friday, June 15

We were awoken at 5:15 AM by a phone call from Maggie’s niece that she was waiting to meet her in Frederick MD which is about an hour away from Baltimore.  It was Maggie’s understanding that they were supposed to meet tomorrow (Saturday) morning.  (They are having a week-long family outing at the beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.)  After the confusion settled, they decided to pick Maggie up at our marina (and that would give Maggie an hour to pack).  I went back to sleep after Maggie left the boat.

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After I woke the second time, I went back to work on the starboard (red) running light. I took the entire fixture off the bow and closely examined it. What had happened was that the original un-tinned wire corroded completely through at the point where the set screw holds it in place.  This was the reason for it working intermittently.  I managed to strip a little more insulation off the wire and fixed it for now but re-wiring all the running lights with good tinned wire is on my list for next summer.  (I might even tackle after it after this year's haulout.)

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After that small project was completed, I made nine more 7/16” diameter x 40” long 3-strand nylon rope ties.  We lost quite a few of them over the past two seasons.  We use these rope ties for many different purposes onboard, even tying down our primary anchor to prevent it from flying off the bow roller in rough seas.  (If you recall from a blogpost from the season before last, we did $5,000 worth of damage to our bow from two anchors getting loose and hitting the fiberglass hull several times while motoring into 20 to 25 knots winds in the Bahamas.)

I made nine new 7/16" diameter x 40"
long nylon rope ties to replace the
many we have lost over the
past two seasons.

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Again, today was all bright sunshine, low humidity, and breezy.  It was so nice that I took the afternoon off (from boat projects, that is).

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This afternoon I updated my old blogpost on my favorite pocket knives to include my current favorite, the GERBER Sharkbelly with a serrated edge, as shown below.

You can visit my updated blogpost at this link or search my blog for "pocket knives."

Saturday, June 16

This morning was very peaceful and cool. There were no train whistles nor police helicopters overhead (sometimes it sounds like a war zone here in Baltimore).  Our cats were anxious about being fed since Maggie (their can opener) was away.  They turned over a waste basket early this morning, looking for food.  Performing their now customary breakfast routine, they each started out eating from their own bowls and then switched places halfway through their meal.  After breakfast it was morning nap time for them and it wasn’t even 7 AM yet.

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I really felt the need to clean up some of the remains of my last several days of projects before the day really started.  The “mess” is mostly the supplies used for my refinishing of the bulkhead in the navigation station area.  (I’m glad that job is now complete!  Not because it was a tough job but because of the several days of disruption.  The living space on a boat is small enough as it is.)

Some of my refinishing supplies lingered around
the companionway a little too long.

After cleaning up the "mess" around the companionway, I tackled some small wiring projects that have been on my pre-haulout "to do" list.  One involved providing power to the masthead light selector switch (which will be hooked up when my mast is re-wired during the haulout).  Another, involved combining the galley (overhead) light with the remainder of the lights in the main cabin.  I also put the SSB receiver on its own circuit, instead of having it combined with our satellite radio's circuit.  In addition, I removed all the old wiring associated with the Xantrex-brand battery monitor which I recently removed.  (I found that it was nearly useless since I can get the same information from my voltage readout and many times it would indicate a low battery when it wasn't low at all.)

When all the re-wiring was completed, I ordered a few new labels (from Blue Sea Systems) for my electrical panel that reflects the changes I just made.

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Changing out our spray head for the head sink was a recent addition to the project list. 
The 35-year old spray head developed a crack that shoots a small stream of water sideways whenever the faucet is in use.   (These are the kinds of failures that drive me crazy.  I'm glad it didn't happen in the Bahamas!)

The original DAISY-brand spray head failed recently
when a crack developed on the left side of the
handle.  I covered it in duct tape until
we install a replacement.

Of course, DAISY-brand is no longer around.  So, I reviewed the many different spray heads that are available and ordered one that is very close in size.  The new spray head (made by SCANDVIK) arrived in the mail today from Amazon.  The photo below shows the new spray head installed in the head sink:

The SCANDVIK Euro spray head installed.

With the valve handle positioned perpendicular to the spray head (as shown above), the spray head is in the "on" position all the time (like a normal sink).  Alternatively, the handle can be lowered and it is "off" until it is depressed (like a normal shower head).

Sunset in the marina in Baltimore City.

Sunday, June 17

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning—the sun is shining brightly and it is a cool 75 degrees. I’m enjoying my morning cup of coffee sitting in the nav station relishing in the fact that everything on the boat is currently working as it should be. I have already completed 47 summer projects and I only have 4 pre-haulout projects still to do (and most of them are small projects).  So, I feel that I can relax for a while...

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I made fried eggs for breakfast this morning, the way I like them best. Fried and flipped over once without breaking the yoke—this way the yokes are semi-soft (just a tiny bit runny).  I like to use a generous sprinkling of course black pepper and sea salt. (Being on a low-carb diet, I couldn’t have toast or a bagel but either would have been a nice accompaniment.)

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My primary objective for today is to make Eggplant Parmesan in our crockpot. I’m using a recipe from Delish.com.  It takes 4 to 5 hours to cook on the high setting—so, I will start the cooking around noon (and the prep around 11 AM) so that it will be ready for dinner tonight.

This image is from the recipe on Delish.com—looks
pretty tasty! The only part of this recipe which
has a significant carb content is
the bread crumbs.

Since cooking on a sailboat is somewhat unique, I thought I would document some of the steps in my preparation and then include a photo of what my version of this dish looks like (which was not quite as nice as the above photo).

The first step in the preparation was peeling off the skin.

The second step was to slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch
thick slices and to sprinkle with sea salt.  I allowed
them to sit for about 45 minutes and then
patted them dry with a paper towel..

In this recipe the slices do not have to be sautéed like you would normally do if cooking in an oven.  This is a real advantage on a boat where space is limited.

I dipped each piece of eggplant into the eggs and then
into the seasoned bread crumbs and arranged
them in the crockpot.  This was the first layer.

I alternated layers of marinara sauce, breaded eggplant slices,
and mozzarella cheese.  Along the way, I sprinkled
in some red pepper flakes for a little spice and
topped it off with some Italian blend
cheese plus Parmesan cheese.

Five hours later, I had a great dinner waiting for me.  Oh, I promised a photo of my dish:

It may not look as pretty as the photo with the recipe
but it tastes fantastic!  OK, I need a lot
of help with the presentation.

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