Winter in Charleston
Dec 13 thru Dec 18
--Blogpost written by Bob
Thursday, December 13
Today, at twelve days before Christmas, started out sunny and surprisingly warm (60's!). However, the clouds were gathering as a sign of the rain to come over the next couple days. This time, the rain will come before the weekend and probably end on Saturday morning. (So far, every weekend here has been a wash out!)
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| This sailboat based here in Charleston has a man-size nutcracker as a Christmas decoration! |
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| There is a lot of economic activity around Charleston. A large building is being constructed across Lockwood Drive from the marina. |
I have to go back to West Marine today since I purchased the incorrect 303-brand spray to waterproof my old foul weather jacket. (I should have bought the Fabric Guard and instead I bought the UV Protectorant by mistake.)
Again, it was nice being "out'" I bought the right stuff (303 Fabric Guard) and coated both of my foul weather jackets this afternoon. (Maggie wants to wash her jackets before coating or I would have done hers as well.)
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Over the past two days since I started using the dehumidifier/air purifier in our boat I've noticed that I haven't had nasal congestion in the mornings like I have had this entire trip. This is a nice benefit of having the dehumidifier! Condensation seems to have been reduced too but it is hard to compare one day against others when the outside temperature fluctuate so wildly.
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Today, for the first time ever, I looked at larger C&C sailboats on YachtWorld.com. I still don't think we can swing it but it would be nice to have more (storage) space than we have.
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After the sun went down, the wind kicked up a bit. I could hear our three flags whipping against the rod rigging of the shrouds and backstay. The mast pumped a little in the wind. The air felt damp and, consequently, colder than the temperature alone would indicate. Because it was still relatively warm outside, the heat came on infrequently since it is controlled by a central thermostat located in the main salon. When the inside temperature drops two degrees below the setting, the heat comes on until it increases to the exact setting. Because it felt so damp, I had the thermostat set at 75 degrees F for the night.
Occasionally, I hear our 3/4-inch 12-strand nylon dock lines creaking from the strain caused by the tidal current acting on the boat. I seldom hear any current against the hull even though it is quite swift at times (~3 knots).
My foul weather jackets are still out in the cockpit since the 303 Fabric Guard was not dry (or fully saturated) yet.
In the morning, I want to check for leaks at the bolts that fasten the jib sheet track to the deck. A recent discussion on the C&C owners list featured this problem on another C&C model—sometimes chasing possible boat problems can drive me crazy (not that it that long of a trip). I’m hoping that I can tell the difference between a rainwater leak and condensation when I check them. We’ll see what tomorrow brings...
Friday, December 14
The rain started around midnight last night and continued into today. (It is expected to stop around mid-day on Saturday.) Since there is not much I could do outside, I focused my energy on a couple small interior projects that were on my list:
(1) check for leakage at the bolts that mount the jib sheet track, and
(2) fix a "creaking" floor board in the v-berth.
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In checking for leakage at the jib sheet track mounting bolts, I didn't find any leakage but I couldn't do a 100% inspection either--I could inspect a large enough area that I don't think this is a significant problem. (I'm putting this project on my summer project list). During this inspection I DID find a significant source of condensation near the hull-to-deck joint in the cabinets on the port side of the main salon.
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| You can see droplets of condensation along the lowest edge of the hull-to-deck joint (middle of image) where the deck coring tapers off. This photo was taken on a day when the outside temperature was about 60 degrees F. (You can also see the mold that develops in these unventilated areas.) |
Maggie intends to thoroughly clean out the mold in this area once she returns. My focus is to come up with something that prevents the condensation, like insulating this area in some way. A detailed sketch of this area follows:
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| A modified sketch of the hull-to-deck joint where a lot of condensation droplets form. |
I got the two small tasks done and, consequently, my boat project frenzy is over for the day.
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Our new boat neighbor, a young guy by the name of Bart, stopped by briefly tonight to introduce himself. He recently bought his boat, I think a Catalina 36 or thereabouts, in Annapolis. Like us, he will be here for the winter. He lived here in Charleston a few months before purchasing his boat. It still amazes me how boaters are so much more social than dirt dwellers.
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This evening as I lay in the v-berth after doing some reading, the light rain makes a soothing sound on the cabintop (until my overactive imagination comes around to thinking about all that water possibly soaking into the balsa core of our deck through a leaking fitting).
Saturday, December 15
The rain and fog continued at the start of today--actually, it continued all day! I like (warm) rainy days but this steady diet of rain is getting ridiculous.
Since it’s Saturday I decided to forget about some nagging little boat projects and do some (slightly creative) cooking. So, I sautéed onion and pepper in a frying pan before browning the 1-1/2 pounds of hamburger for chili. Every time I make chili it turns out a little different—this time, more so than usual. Once the hamburger was browned and the sautéed onion and green pepper was mixed throughout, I put the meat mixture in the bowl of the crockpot. Then, I added a 27-ounce can of kidney beans (brown ones—not red ones), two small cans of sliced mushrooms (I prefer fresh mushrooms but we didn't have any), two cans of crushed green chili’s (this was a new ingredient!), one can of petite-diced tomatoes (we usually use more than one can), and one small can of tomato paste.
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| Dried Thai chili peppers are quite spicy--I wouldn't use more than one per serving size! |
I put three dried Thai chili’s into the mixture (this was another new ingredient!), some dried parsley flakes, and a sprinkle of cayenne. I thoroughly mixed the contents together and then assembled the crockpot and started cooking on the low setting for the remainder of the day (about 6 hours).
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The sun finally came out at 2:15 PM but it was short lived as the overcast skies returned late in the day. I watched some early college bowl games (football) in the afternoon. I had chili for dinner, of course—it was good but not great. Maybe the red kidney beans would have been better.
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Lola has been my constant companion all day, laying around my laptop while I was making blogpost updates, lounging on the dining table during my dinner, and sitting beside me while watching football games. What a dedicated cat!
Sunday, December 16
Today is sunny and warm for a change! It was great spending an hour or two outside today. I filled our water tanks and sprayed another coat of 303 Fabric Guard (water repellent) onto my red foul weather jacket.
We’ve been in Charleston a little over 2 weeks now and today was the second time we filled the water tanks—that works out to be over 12.5 gallons per day in fresh water usage! For sailors, that’s a lot, particularly considering that it doesn’t include any water for bathing. So, we are either using more water than I think we are OR the fresh water leak is more significant than I have realized. I removed the floorboard between the head sink and the galley sink and retightened the connections that previously leaked but I really don’t think it was leaking at this point again. (I noticed that the bilge pump went off as I was filling the water tanks—I wonder about the possibility of one of our three water tanks leaking.)
Because of some interesting late season NFL games, I didn't get much done in the afternoon (but then, I don't really have to, do I?).
Monday, December 17
Today started out overcast with the sky clear to the east. The cloud cover is expected to move offshore by noon. The morning outside temperature is in the mid-40’s.
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Lately, I’ve yearned to express some creativity and I think I will try writing a short fictional (illustrated) story like I did in the Bahamas, “s/v Ellipsis.” I will probably keep it boat-related since boating is now my life. Keep an eye out for it in the next couple weeks.
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Again today, I’m going to take the 11 AM courtesy van to West Marine. I need to pick up a couple longer screws for the v-berth floor board panel, some groceries, and cat food at the nearby Harris Teeter grocery store.
While I was waiting for the marina's courtesy van I got a surprise via email that my osprey photo made "Waterway Guide Photo of the Year" for 2018! As a reward I get a free Waterway publication of my choice. (For those who subscribe to Waterway Guide newsletters, look for the announcement on December 26.)
While I was waiting for the marina's courtesy van I got a surprise via email that my osprey photo made "Waterway Guide Photo of the Year" for 2018! As a reward I get a free Waterway publication of my choice. (For those who subscribe to Waterway Guide newsletters, look for the announcement on December 26.)
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| My osprey photo shown above made Waterway Guide's Photo of the Year - 2018! |
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| The osprey family must get the credit for the award--they built the elaborate nest on the bow of a sailboat--I just took the photo. |
Tuesday, December 18
Lots of sunshine would describe today pretty accurately. It was cool in the morning (mid-40’s) but warm in the afternoon (mid-60’s).
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| This is a photo of some beach bikes that I took in Wrightsville Beach on our way south. |
You would think it would be impossible to lose things in such a small living space as on a sailboat but just today, I can’t find a mini SD card that I purchased to upgrade the software on our chart plotter plus I lost the cap on my Apple Pencil. Once the cap was off I’m sure my little buddy, Lola, batted it onto the floor and then chased it until it went into the bilge. I had to order replacements this morning.
After lunch we took an Uber to the nearest Verizon store (about 5 miles away) and implemented my veteran’s savings ($35/month) on our wireless bill. This brings the cost of our Verizon service (which is great) down closer to the cost of our T-Mobile service (which was inadequate). Our experience with Verizon Wireless has been excellent!
Only five days until Christmas!
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