Summer in Baltimore
May 24 thru May 28
—Blogpost written by Bob
Friday, May 24
Prior to the start of Memorial Day weekend, the weather was windy and cool but sunny. I was up early to install the bimini struts since the last of the fittings arrived late yesterday.
The struts are positioned so that they add support for the solar panels and create a concave shape to allow for better drainage of rain water. Previously the solar panels would allow the bimini to sag a little and create some puddling of rain water, as well as some salt water that splashed over the bimini from the bow. In addition the vertical strut keeps the bimini away from the antennas on the stern and the outboard motor lift. (I'm surprised at how flexible the structure still seems but, of course, the canvas bimini will help to stiffen things up a little. Later, I decided to add another strut on the port side from the aft cross member to the stern pulpit to add additional stiffness. I am now waiting for more fittings that I ordered.)
In the early afternoon I cut and drilled two backing plates for the folding pad eyes I will be installing near the helm seat for attachment of our safety harnesses.
The folding pad eyes are rated at 3,000 pounds of force which is more than enough to restrain me from flying over the lifelines and into the water. (I plan to install them tomorrow.)
I had installing snaps on the cockpit cushions on my agenda for this afternoon. I watched an instructional video that SAILRITE has put on YouTube and quickly realized that I have to punch the holes in the fabric tabs before installing the snaps. So, I ordered a punch that works in a portable drill. Consequently, I had to postpone the snap installation project until the punch arrives next week.
At the end of the day I planned to add the ninth (and last) coat of varnish to the small teak covers that I've been making. I noticed some flakes of hardened varnish in the can of varnish--so, before using it I had to strain out the flakes.
First thing in the morning, I installed the teak covers (that I've recently made) over the holes near the mast where the original overhead lights used to be mounted. (I have plenty of overhead LED lights mounted flush into the ceiling panels.)
Maggie and I installed the two folding pad eyes by the helm seat this morning. These are intended to be an anchor point for our safety harnesses when we are making gulf stream crossings. We mounted one on each side of the helm seat. When not in use they will be folded down. (For installation we removed two small bins that we previously mounted next to the helm seat--these proved to provide excellent access for this installation.)
This installation required the two of us working together, me with a ratchet wrench on the bottom and Maggie with a Phillips head screw driver on the top. I used duct tape on the backing plate to hold it up and in place while I was assembling the washers and nylon-inserted nuts.
In the afternoon, I replaced three threaded inserts--one in the instrument pod and two at the A/C return air grate. I used 5-minute epoxy to glue them into position and then thickened West System epoxy to permanently hold them in place.
The permanent thickened epoxy was filled with Colloidal Silica Adhesive Filler (West System #406) to the point where it resembled a thick white paste about the consistency of peanut butter. I applied it to the back of the brass threaded inserts in little globs with my finger while wearing disposable latex gloves.
In the late afternoon, we attended a dock party here at the marina.
It rained during the night and everything outside was wet when we got up but the sun was shining brightly. There is not much on the agenda for today. As I learned today, nothing on the agenda means nothing gets accomplished. But that was OK for today. The temperature reached 92 degrees and that was hot for this time of year!
It rained (again) last night and caused the outside temperature to drop considerably by the morning. The light northerly winds are expected to keep today's temperatures at least 10 degrees cooler than yesterday.
On my agenda for today was a lot of electrical wiring associated with the new AIS unit and the secondary chart plotter in the navigation station (which is also new).
Even though I had the power connected to the new AIS unit, I decided to install a remote power terminal in the area so that I didn't have to run a separate power cable for the secondary chart plotter. This meant that this project was on hold until I got the 4-post terminal.
With one project on hold, we decided to install the snaps on our new cockpit cushions. Before starting on the finished cushions, I made two sample installations as shown below:
I'm glad that the hole-making tool arrived in the mail over the weekend--it worked great! (I just ordered it from SAILRITE on Friday.)
There are a couple things I learned during this (snap installation) process. First, it helps to have two people. Second (and as my boat neighbor kindly pointed out) the part of the snap that engages with the fixed part on the boat can be held by the snap installation tool itself, eliminating one of the many hands needed. Third, I found it easiest to mark the centerlines of the snap installation using a thin black magic marker. We applied zipper lubricant to the snaps as we put everything together. Another small task has been stricken off the "to do" list!
The day started out with a rainstorm and didn't get much better as the day progresses, except for the improving weather.
Today we drove to Annapolis for our dental appointments and to accomplish a few other errands. The dental (cleaning) appointments went as expected--we have sore gums. We went out for lunch at our favorite pizza restaurant, Italian Market, and had a nice lunch. From there we went to our storage unit for Maggie to pick up her suitcases for another trip to Sarasota, FL--she leaves tomorrow morning.
I stopped at the USAA insurance office in Annapolis to get a quote on car insurance since GEICO recently doubled our rate without explanation. The insurance quote was all by phone as opposed to someone quoting us a rate in their office--this was a little strange. As we were going through the process it became clear that not only did GEICO double our rate but the insurance they were providing was grossly inadequate in terms of coverage. As we got to the point of getting around to getting a quote from USAA they discovered that there was a large accident on our driving record that occurred on August 2, 2016 in Florida. We weren't in Florida (or even Florida residents) on August 2 and we didn't have an accident on that date or anywhere near that date. It appears that the company (Lexis Nexis) that compiles this type of data for the insurance companies made a gross mistake--it must have been someone else. The company doesn't have a full time office staff--I have to contact them first by letter and arrange a time to talk to someone. So, now I have a big mess to untangle somehow. Stay tuned to find out how this big mess ends...
Thanks for following our blog!
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| There are two struts between the last two cross members (top of the image) and one strut between the second and third cross member (middle of image). There is also a vertical strut on the starboard side from the stern pulpit to the last cross member. |
The struts are positioned so that they add support for the solar panels and create a concave shape to allow for better drainage of rain water. Previously the solar panels would allow the bimini to sag a little and create some puddling of rain water, as well as some salt water that splashed over the bimini from the bow. In addition the vertical strut keeps the bimini away from the antennas on the stern and the outboard motor lift. (I'm surprised at how flexible the structure still seems but, of course, the canvas bimini will help to stiffen things up a little. Later, I decided to add another strut on the port side from the aft cross member to the stern pulpit to add additional stiffness. I am now waiting for more fittings that I ordered.)
In the early afternoon I cut and drilled two backing plates for the folding pad eyes I will be installing near the helm seat for attachment of our safety harnesses.
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| I made the 2-1/4" x 4" backing plates (one shown above) from 1/8-inch thick aluminum plate that I had on hand. |
The folding pad eyes are rated at 3,000 pounds of force which is more than enough to restrain me from flying over the lifelines and into the water. (I plan to install them tomorrow.)
----------
I had installing snaps on the cockpit cushions on my agenda for this afternoon. I watched an instructional video that SAILRITE has put on YouTube and quickly realized that I have to punch the holes in the fabric tabs before installing the snaps. So, I ordered a punch that works in a portable drill. Consequently, I had to postpone the snap installation project until the punch arrives next week.
-----------
At the end of the day I planned to add the ninth (and last) coat of varnish to the small teak covers that I've been making. I noticed some flakes of hardened varnish in the can of varnish--so, before using it I had to strain out the flakes.
Saturday, May 25
First thing in the morning, I installed the teak covers (that I've recently made) over the holes near the mast where the original overhead lights used to be mounted. (I have plenty of overhead LED lights mounted flush into the ceiling panels.)
 |
| The port-side teak cover is shown installed in this photo. |
Maggie and I installed the two folding pad eyes by the helm seat this morning. These are intended to be an anchor point for our safety harnesses when we are making gulf stream crossings. We mounted one on each side of the helm seat. When not in use they will be folded down. (For installation we removed two small bins that we previously mounted next to the helm seat--these proved to provide excellent access for this installation.)
 |
| The port-side folding pad eye in the up position. |
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| The port-side folding pad eye in the down position. |
This installation required the two of us working together, me with a ratchet wrench on the bottom and Maggie with a Phillips head screw driver on the top. I used duct tape on the backing plate to hold it up and in place while I was assembling the washers and nylon-inserted nuts.
In the afternoon, I replaced three threaded inserts--one in the instrument pod and two at the A/C return air grate. I used 5-minute epoxy to glue them into position and then thickened West System epoxy to permanently hold them in place.
 |
| Two of many threaded inserts (bottom of image) used to hold our electrical panel in place. One of them became loose and fell inside the instrument pod which is why I had to replace one. |
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| I used a piece of yellow plastic with a mounting screw through it to make sure that the threads remain aligned while the epoxy cured. |
The permanent thickened epoxy was filled with Colloidal Silica Adhesive Filler (West System #406) to the point where it resembled a thick white paste about the consistency of peanut butter. I applied it to the back of the brass threaded inserts in little globs with my finger while wearing disposable latex gloves.
 |
| Maggie made new bands for our head lamps. They are white and whenever I'm wearing one, it reminds me of a ladies undergarment. |
In the late afternoon, we attended a dock party here at the marina.
Sunday, May 26
It rained during the night and everything outside was wet when we got up but the sun was shining brightly. There is not much on the agenda for today. As I learned today, nothing on the agenda means nothing gets accomplished. But that was OK for today. The temperature reached 92 degrees and that was hot for this time of year!
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I finished reading my latest kindle book, Imperfect Passage: A Sailing Story of Vision, Terror, and Redemption by Michael Cosgrove.
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| The cover image of the latest book I enjoyed. |
This book (available in Kindle version on Amazon at this link) is about the author’s turning 60 years old and deciding to sail around the world as a last hurrah. He makes it from California to Australia and calls his journey to an end but learns a lot about himself in the process. I can really relate to a lot of events in this book! The book is very well written and I recommend it to anyone over the age of 60. You don't have to be a sailor to enjoy this book, but it helps.
I have to admit that it made me think about the choice we made to sell our comfortable home in Annapolis and live aboard our sailboat and how we gave up a life of comfort for one of adventure (though not quite as much adventure as that described in this book). But I still think for us it was worth it (and I'm glad that Maggie was a willing co-conspirator).
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Jessica and Joe, Maggie’s oldest daughter and son-in-law came over to use the pool with Maggie and, later, we all went out for an early dinner at Mama’s On The Half Shell in Canton.
Monday, May 27
It rained (again) last night and caused the outside temperature to drop considerably by the morning. The light northerly winds are expected to keep today's temperatures at least 10 degrees cooler than yesterday.
 |
| My trusty helper catching a cat nap before the day's work began. |
On my agenda for today was a lot of electrical wiring associated with the new AIS unit and the secondary chart plotter in the navigation station (which is also new).
 |
| By lunch time we had the new AIS unit installed and completely wired, except for 12-volt power. |
Even though I had the power connected to the new AIS unit, I decided to install a remote power terminal in the area so that I didn't have to run a separate power cable for the secondary chart plotter. This meant that this project was on hold until I got the 4-post terminal.
With one project on hold, we decided to install the snaps on our new cockpit cushions. Before starting on the finished cushions, I made two sample installations as shown below:
 |
| It took like three or four hands to hold everything in place while I compressed the snap installation tool. |
I'm glad that the hole-making tool arrived in the mail over the weekend--it worked great! (I just ordered it from SAILRITE on Friday.)
There are a couple things I learned during this (snap installation) process. First, it helps to have two people. Second (and as my boat neighbor kindly pointed out) the part of the snap that engages with the fixed part on the boat can be held by the snap installation tool itself, eliminating one of the many hands needed. Third, I found it easiest to mark the centerlines of the snap installation using a thin black magic marker. We applied zipper lubricant to the snaps as we put everything together. Another small task has been stricken off the "to do" list!
Tuesday, May 28
The day started out with a rainstorm and didn't get much better as the day progresses, except for the improving weather.
Today we drove to Annapolis for our dental appointments and to accomplish a few other errands. The dental (cleaning) appointments went as expected--we have sore gums. We went out for lunch at our favorite pizza restaurant, Italian Market, and had a nice lunch. From there we went to our storage unit for Maggie to pick up her suitcases for another trip to Sarasota, FL--she leaves tomorrow morning.
I stopped at the USAA insurance office in Annapolis to get a quote on car insurance since GEICO recently doubled our rate without explanation. The insurance quote was all by phone as opposed to someone quoting us a rate in their office--this was a little strange. As we were going through the process it became clear that not only did GEICO double our rate but the insurance they were providing was grossly inadequate in terms of coverage. As we got to the point of getting around to getting a quote from USAA they discovered that there was a large accident on our driving record that occurred on August 2, 2016 in Florida. We weren't in Florida (or even Florida residents) on August 2 and we didn't have an accident on that date or anywhere near that date. It appears that the company (Lexis Nexis) that compiles this type of data for the insurance companies made a gross mistake--it must have been someone else. The company doesn't have a full time office staff--I have to contact them first by letter and arrange a time to talk to someone. So, now I have a big mess to untangle somehow. Stay tuned to find out how this big mess ends...
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