Summer in Baltimore
August 22 thru August 25
—Blogpost written by Bob
Thursday, August 22
We had a light breakfast in the cockpit this morning while it was cool outside. It was so peaceful except for the blast from a ship's horn and even that was somewhat melodious.
I've been able to keep the varnishing of the companionway stairs project moving by turning them upside down every 12 hours and varnishing the surfaces that face upward (and forward). (I'm doing this varnishing in the cockpit--actually on our cockpit table. Of course, I'm lightly sanding between coats of varnish with progressively finer sandpaper.)
I applied another coat of varnish (after lightly sanding) to the interior teak trim around the companionway stairs. (Of course, Lola walked on it shortly after I applied the varnish--she looked funny as she was shaking her feet because they were sticky.)
I also applied the first coat of white paint to the bin divider that I recently finished making. (I got the second and last coat of white paint applied later in the day.)
It is expected to be considerably cooler over the next 4 or 5 days which will make it more pleasant to work outdoors. Yes, I even have more painting to do--the dinghy bottom.
We are starting to make plans for our trip south this fall. Of course, the Exumas are our southernmost destination for this season. On our way south, we expect to stop for a couple weeks in St. Augustine, FL so that Maggie can fly home for Thanksgiving. We would expect to be somewhere in the Bahamas by Christmas. We will leave the Bahamas for home sometime in May.
Today was a complete soaker with steady rain from the very start of the day through the evening. We drove to Annapolis today for several reasons. The first was to replace a lost prescription--it was lost somewhere on the boat. CVS in Annapolis really helped to get this straightened out by calling our insurance company for loss coverage and then applying it to the replacement cost--this applied to only one half of the prescription. The other half would involve dealing with Medicare and would take weeks and there was no clear outcome after the two weeks--so, we paid out of pocket for the second half of the prescription.
The second reason was to get some wider brushes and a half dozen cap screws. Fawcetts, my favorite marine store in Annapolis, didn't have the 2-inch wide foam brushes in stock so we had to go to West Marine. At West Marine, the 2-1/2" wide foam brushes were $3.99 each! I can buy 2-inch wide brushes in bulk (96 brushes) on Amazon for $0.36 each. This means that West Marine is making over 1100% profit on simple foam brushes that require very little space on their shelves! This is completely ridiculous and is one of the reasons I don't like to buy from West Marine.
With the all-day kind of rain, nothing much got accomplished today.
The outside temperature was cool early this morning--63 degrees! The afternoon high temperature was expected to be only 77 degrees F. The nice weather meant that it was a great day for doing outdoorsy things.
When I got back from breakfast in the boater's lounge I lightly sanded the companionway stairs (it took almost forty-five minutes because of all the surface area) that I have been refinishing and applied the third coat of (Epifanes-brand Gloss) varnish. The teak companionway stairs are starting to look good! It was the first time they have been refinished in the boat's 36 years.
In the afternoon I designed and made teak trim for the new panel lights from teak scraps I had just lying around. In the image below, I am epoxying two layers together where the LED lights will be mounted. I realize that it is hard to imagine from the image but in about a week, you will see the finished product.
As the day ended the sky became overcast and it looked like rain was coming but it was unlikely according to the weather forecast.
Before I knew it, Happy Hour was upon us and my panel light trim project had too some to a halt. We are still experimenting with drinks that use powdered mixes--this evening's drink is wild strawberry Crystal Light with (Sailor Jerry) rum. Tonight, I might even have a second one. As I'm writing this I'm listening to Radio Margaritaville (on Sirius XM) and they pronounced that "the only thing that's better than a margarita is two margaritas."
To us, Sunday is like any other day except that we probably take it a little easier on Sundays. One of my goals for the day is to clean out the raw water strainer and put in a couple bromine tablets to keep the marine growth minimized--it has been over two weeks since I have done this but, fortunately, this year marine growth in this harbor has been minimal.
Today was another cool day with a clear sky. It was great drying conditions for my varnish. Most of my morning was spent sanding and varnishing the companionway stairs--this project probably won't be completed until Tuesday or Wednesday. Well, enough about varnishing!
We spent some time today planning for cat food storage, mainly for the time we will be in the Bahamas. We recently came across cat food in 3-ounce (single serving) pouches. By buying this cat food ahead of time on Amazon we can save money on the purchase (and a great deal of savings compared to buying any cat food in the Bahamas!) and reduce the volume needed for storage (and weight!) and eliminate the need for the disposal of cans.
The seasonal peak for tropical storms and hurricanes (September 10) is only about 2 weeks from now. There is a secondary peak about October 19. We will be underway during the secondary peak but we will still be in the Chesapeake Bay which is usually protected from the major effects of hurricanes.
Stay tuned as I wrap up the project of refinishing our companionway stairs early next week...
Thanks for following our blog!
I've been able to keep the varnishing of the companionway stairs project moving by turning them upside down every 12 hours and varnishing the surfaces that face upward (and forward). (I'm doing this varnishing in the cockpit--actually on our cockpit table. Of course, I'm lightly sanding between coats of varnish with progressively finer sandpaper.)
 |
| Today I feel like a painter with all the varnishing I have been doing lately and painting the new bin divider. |
I applied another coat of varnish (after lightly sanding) to the interior teak trim around the companionway stairs. (Of course, Lola walked on it shortly after I applied the varnish--she looked funny as she was shaking her feet because they were sticky.)
I also applied the first coat of white paint to the bin divider that I recently finished making. (I got the second and last coat of white paint applied later in the day.)
 |
| Some of the interior teak around the companionway stairs that I am refinishing. (Note the deep red color created by the stain.) |
It is expected to be considerably cooler over the next 4 or 5 days which will make it more pleasant to work outdoors. Yes, I even have more painting to do--the dinghy bottom.
----------
We are starting to make plans for our trip south this fall. Of course, the Exumas are our southernmost destination for this season. On our way south, we expect to stop for a couple weeks in St. Augustine, FL so that Maggie can fly home for Thanksgiving. We would expect to be somewhere in the Bahamas by Christmas. We will leave the Bahamas for home sometime in May.
Friday, August 23
Today was a complete soaker with steady rain from the very start of the day through the evening. We drove to Annapolis today for several reasons. The first was to replace a lost prescription--it was lost somewhere on the boat. CVS in Annapolis really helped to get this straightened out by calling our insurance company for loss coverage and then applying it to the replacement cost--this applied to only one half of the prescription. The other half would involve dealing with Medicare and would take weeks and there was no clear outcome after the two weeks--so, we paid out of pocket for the second half of the prescription.
The second reason was to get some wider brushes and a half dozen cap screws. Fawcetts, my favorite marine store in Annapolis, didn't have the 2-inch wide foam brushes in stock so we had to go to West Marine. At West Marine, the 2-1/2" wide foam brushes were $3.99 each! I can buy 2-inch wide brushes in bulk (96 brushes) on Amazon for $0.36 each. This means that West Marine is making over 1100% profit on simple foam brushes that require very little space on their shelves! This is completely ridiculous and is one of the reasons I don't like to buy from West Marine.
With the all-day kind of rain, nothing much got accomplished today.
Saturday, August 24
The outside temperature was cool early this morning--63 degrees! The afternoon high temperature was expected to be only 77 degrees F. The nice weather meant that it was a great day for doing outdoorsy things.
When I got back from breakfast in the boater's lounge I lightly sanded the companionway stairs (it took almost forty-five minutes because of all the surface area) that I have been refinishing and applied the third coat of (Epifanes-brand Gloss) varnish. The teak companionway stairs are starting to look good! It was the first time they have been refinished in the boat's 36 years.
 |
| Varnishing the companionway stairs outside on the cockpit table. |
In the afternoon I designed and made teak trim for the new panel lights from teak scraps I had just lying around. In the image below, I am epoxying two layers together where the LED lights will be mounted. I realize that it is hard to imagine from the image but in about a week, you will see the finished product.
 |
| Making panel light trim from scraps of teak I had just lying around. |
As the day ended the sky became overcast and it looked like rain was coming but it was unlikely according to the weather forecast.
----------
Before I knew it, Happy Hour was upon us and my panel light trim project had too some to a halt. We are still experimenting with drinks that use powdered mixes--this evening's drink is wild strawberry Crystal Light with (Sailor Jerry) rum. Tonight, I might even have a second one. As I'm writing this I'm listening to Radio Margaritaville (on Sirius XM) and they pronounced that "the only thing that's better than a margarita is two margaritas."
Sunday, August 25
To us, Sunday is like any other day except that we probably take it a little easier on Sundays. One of my goals for the day is to clean out the raw water strainer and put in a couple bromine tablets to keep the marine growth minimized--it has been over two weeks since I have done this but, fortunately, this year marine growth in this harbor has been minimal.
Today was another cool day with a clear sky. It was great drying conditions for my varnish. Most of my morning was spent sanding and varnishing the companionway stairs--this project probably won't be completed until Tuesday or Wednesday. Well, enough about varnishing!
----------
We spent some time today planning for cat food storage, mainly for the time we will be in the Bahamas. We recently came across cat food in 3-ounce (single serving) pouches. By buying this cat food ahead of time on Amazon we can save money on the purchase (and a great deal of savings compared to buying any cat food in the Bahamas!) and reduce the volume needed for storage (and weight!) and eliminate the need for the disposal of cans.
 |
| Wet cat food in 3-ounce pouches. |
The seasonal peak for tropical storms and hurricanes (September 10) is only about 2 weeks from now. There is a secondary peak about October 19. We will be underway during the secondary peak but we will still be in the Chesapeake Bay which is usually protected from the major effects of hurricanes.
 |
| The 100-year history of tropical storms and hurricanes. |
Stay tuned as I wrap up the project of refinishing our companionway stairs early next week...
Thanks for following our blog!
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