Summer Life in Baltimore
Aug 25 thru Aug 31
—Blogpost written by Bob
Saturday, August 25
Saturday morning was sunny and cool—a pleasant 68 degrees when we woke up! We had a light breakfast at the marina. I had only three small goals for the day: (1) reinstall the clamp on the aft mainsail flaking line, (2) clean the raw water strainers, and (3) route the cable for the subwoofer speaker. By 10 AM the first two little projects were completed.
 |
| Lola readily comes out onto the cabin top now. She still hasn't been on the dock--I'm sure that's her next step. |
I'm still experimenting with my little mirrorless Nikon V1 camera. I realize it is designed to be simpler to use but I really have to work at it as an experienced photographer to get the results I want. I finally figured out how to get it onto Aperture Priority mode. The above photograph of Lola on the cabin top was taken with this camera but I still don't like its inability to focus well.
----------
In the afternoon, I routed the cables for the subwoofer, completing my third project for the day.
-----------
This evening after dinner onboard, we discussed the possibility of sailing to the Exumas (in the Bahamas) in November-December 2019, to Cuba and then Mexico and Guatemala, eventually reaching Panama for hurricane season (before September 2020). We need to improve our conversational Spanish for this trip and we can work on that during this coming winter in New Bern. (I think we are having second thoughts about not going to the Bahamas this winter.) We’ll see how this plan develops...
-----------
John McCain passed today. We will miss a senator that actually lived a principled life. I read his memoir a couple weeks ago. He will be buried on Friday in the cemetery at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis where he started his service to the country.
Sunday, August 26
Today was very relaxing with no boat projects on the agenda! Sure, there are still a dozen or so boat projects remaining for the summer but there is about seven weeks left to complete them. I decided to spend some time planning our trip (southward this fall and northward the following spring) by listing the places we want to visit in the Chesapeake Bay:
Places to visit on our way south:
Annapolis (2 days)
St. Michaels (2 days)
Little Choptank River (Taylor’s Island by dinghy)
Chrisfield
Onancock, VA (2 days)
Cape Charles, VA (2 days)
Norfolk
Places to visit on our way north:
Hampton (2 days)
Sarah Creek (2 days)
Gwynn Island
St. Mary’s City (off the Potomac River)
St. Leonard’s Creek (off the Patuxent River)
Oxford (2 days)
Galesville
Annapolis (2 days)
This list and the number of days we plan to stay in each location are subject to change but at least it is a rough idea of how we want to spend our time while in the southern Chesapeake Bay.
Monday, August 27
We were up and out early this morning because Maggie had to get a fasting blood test in Annapolis at 8:15 AM. While in Annapolis, we did lots of errands (exchanging things in our storage unit, getting groceries, buying some new towels, etc.). We were back in Baltimore by about 2 PM.
-----------
While in Annapolis I purchased some 3/16 inch thick balsa wood to make a fiberglass housing for our new subwoofer speaker—I will make the shape in balsa wood and then completely encase it in fiberglass cloth and epoxy. We’re expecting heat and humidity to dominate our weather over the next couple days—I can work on this project inside in the air conditioning or in the cockpit in the early morning and late evening hours.
 |
| The heat and humidity make beautiful sunsets. |
Tuesday, August 28
It was clearly much hotter and more humid this morning, as expected. After breakfast onboard, we both carted our materials up to the Boater’s Lounge to work on our projects—Maggie is working on a canvas cover for the instrumentation pod and adding flaps to cover the exposed corners of our cockpit table while I’m working on the balsa wood structure that forms the skeleton for the speaker housing while I’m working on the subwoofer speaker housing.
 |
| The subwoofer housing constructed from balsa wood before any fiberglass was attached. |
 |
| The new Sunbrella cover Maggie made for the instrument pod. |
Wednesday, August 29
I put another coat of fiberglass cloth on the speaker housing early this morning while it was relatively cool. We were off to Annapolis by car after a light breakfast on board—we had to pick up some dark navy Sunbrella and a black plastic zipper for a modification Maggie is making to our starboard cockpit rain wing. I also picked up some things I need for an upcoming weekend project (cleaning and lubricating the winch for the mainsail halyard).
When we got back to the boat I sanded the fiberglass (applied this morning to the speaker housing) smooth and applied another coat of fiberglass cloth—this one all around the perimeter of the housing.
 |
| In this photo, the fiberglass cloth and epoxy were applied around the outside perimeter of the speaker housing. |
Meanwhile, Maggie worked on adding a zipper on the starboard rain wing—this will allow us to get the rain wing outboard of the cables from the solar panels. (The rain wings are zip-on lateral extensions to the bimini which helps to keep the rain out of the cockpit. They also help to shield us from the sun. We don’t use them underway because they restrict our visibility.)
 |
| Maggie cut a slot in the rain wing and added a zipper |
 |
| The modification to the starboard rain wing allows the cables from the solar panels to pass through the rain wing. |
I recently learned that the most effective way of making a subwoofer housing is to mount two speakers that directly face one another and are captive in an enclosure. A hole is then made into the enclosure that allows the bass sound to properly exit the enclosure. However, I simply don't have the space needed for this type of enclosure, not without giving up some valuable storage space. (I'm going to continue to think about this but I'm continuing to build the speaker housing as it is currently designed.)
Early in the evening, I added another coat of fiberglass cloth, this time on the inside of the housing and on the rear surface.
Thursday, August 30
Continuing to build the speaker box, I sanded the housing this morning (using my orbital sander) to get it very smooth. After picking up another quart of resin at the local West Marine, I applied a coat of thickened epoxy (about the consistency of latex house paint) to the inside, back, and sides of the housing at about 10:30 AM. (Each coat of epoxy consumes a brush and a plastic cup, as well as the waste of leftover epoxy—so, I try get as much coverage as possible with each coat. The leftover epoxy hardens in the plastic cup within an hour but the epoxy-painted surfaces take longer to harden, maybe 2-1/2 hours—I’ve been allowing 3 hours between coats.)
I applied a coat to the front of the speaker housing at 1:30 PM but at 3 PM I noticed that the plastic sheet I was using as a barrier had blown up over part of the front of the housing. So, it would have been a good idea to tape the plastic sheet down to prevent this from happening—I will do this from now on.
 |
| Lola takes a nap on the starboard settee. |
Friday, August 31
 |
| The brown color is caused by the #407 filler that I use in the epoxy to thicken it. |
By applying coats of epoxy every three hours, I should be able to complete the epoxy coating by the end of the day if the thunderstorms don't cause delays.
----------
As I was working on this project I was thinking how living aboard is pretty much a life of fantasy. None of the projects we have been doing are really necessary. Sure, they have useful purposes, but they are not absolutely necessary. But if we restricted our efforts to those that are absolutely necessary, we would be completely bored.
----------
More next time...thanks for following our blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment