Springtime on Kent Island: 6/11 - 6/13

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Friday, June 11

It rained throughout last night and into today.  It was easy to stay in the v-berth an extra hour or two this morning.  Even the solar power was apparently sleeping late too as the amps registered 0.000 until well after 10 AM.

Our cockpit was in a state of disorgani-
zation this morning due to stopping
the cleaning and waxing process
at the start of yesterday's rain.

A lot of tasks were on my agenda for the day: (1) upgrading the seal for the ice box lid, (2) cleaning the raw water strainer of marine growth, (3) hooking up the supplemental cooling water for the fridge (it was still winterized), (4) making a quick grocery run, and (5) cleaning up the boat's interior before Maggie gets back home this evening.

I had previously applied a soft white seal (about 1/16" thick) to the lid but that didn't seem to be enough so today I applied the same seal to the bottom mating surfaces.  On the bottom, the seal is more exposed to damage from putting items into the ice box but the adherence was great and it should be an improvement.  (Was it enough to make a difference?)

The new white seal in place.  This view
was at a corner of the ice box lid.

Next, I unloaded the mass of items we store in the quarter berth so that I had complete access to the compressor.  I also removed the drawer unit by the companionway and the floorboards in the companionway so I had sufficient access to hook up the supplemental cooling pump.  (All of these items, of course, have to be stored in the main salon while I am doing this work.)  By noon, I accomplished all the tasks related to raw water system and put everything back in place. This was a much bigger task than what it seemed from the start.  (Using supplemental cooling makes the fridge more efficient--the compressor should run a lot less after this effort.)

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It was raining pretty steadily when I made the quick grocery run.  When I came back I took a nice hot shower and then carried the groceries from the car to the boat since the rain had slowed significantly by that time.  I drove to pick up Maggie at BWI airport in the late evening.  Her flight arrival was delayed and we ended up getting back to the boat at midnight.  (The sidewalks on the island were already rolled up and the street lights turned off!)

Saturday, June 12

Even though the wind had died down considerably in the morning (to 8 knots out of the north), the sky was still overcast.  The outside temperature was a cool 65 degrees F at 7:45 AM when I awoke.  There was no rain in the day's forecast. 

Even though my original plan for the day was to clean and waterproof some of our canvas (our sail cover and forepeak tent), I felt like it was better to finish a task I previously started (cleaning, waxing, and buffing of the cockpit).  I also want to install the two new reading lights in the navigation station today or tomorrow.  (Maggie was off again, this time driving to her daughter's house in Johnstown PA for two days to meet two of her sisters there. I thought this was complete craziness after she spent so much time traveling yesterday but she can't say no to her sisters for any reason.)

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Our boat was suddenly getting small today.  I don't know how all of a sudden it shrunk about 4 or 6 feet in length and 2 or 3 feet in width.  Maggie left before noon and the boat suddenly expanded to its normal size.  (...and we are getting a second Maine Coon, really???)

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I worked a couple hours in the afternoon, doing more cleaning, waxing, and buffing the cockpit--I finished from the wheel forward.  When I was finished for the day I hosed it down to get rid of the buffing dust.  It's really looking good!

My (accidental) moment of weakness today.  
Modelo Especial contains 14g of carbs
(61% of my allowable carb intake
for the day), 1g of protein,
and 150 calories.

So, with one Modelo Especial consumed before dinner, I was 8g over in my carbs for the day but under in every other category, including calories.  So, I had a low-carb margarita for dinner.  (Does this make any sense?  It has no carbs.)

Sunday, June 13

The weather forecast was great for today (79 degrees F maximum and partly cloudy).  The outside temperature was in the upper 60's in the morning.  I took several photographs around the boat in the morning:

A peaceful Sunday morning in the marina.  
(Recently washed bonnets from the
buffer are drying on our
starboard lifeline.)

One of the first things I did this morning was
to put up our forepeak tent.  Our forepeak
tent is Lola's personal patio.  (We still
haven't launched our dinghy
for the season!)

Ahhhh...a nice clean, freshly waxed cockpit!

I revived these flowers from severe wind
damage after sitting on the dock next
to our boat.  In addition to protecting
them from the wind, I gave them
1 quart of water every 3 days.

I didn't feel like disturbing my nice peaceful Sunday morning by doing more waxing and buffing in the cockpit--it just didn't seem right.  Instead, after my shower, I started installing the new reading lights in the navigation station.  (Don't ask me why that sounded any better!)

By noon I had installed both new reading
lights in the navigation station.

Incidentally, our fridge has been running a lot better since the new ice box lid seal was installed and the supplemental cooling water started.  I think that restarting the supplemental cooling water was the biggest reason for the improvement.  (I can now hold a box temperature slightly less than 40 degrees F with about a 50% duty cycle on the compressor--previously the compressor ran almost continually.)

In case you are wondering about my recovery from radiation treatments for prostate cancer, I am on my way back to normal--still not quite there yet.  (...and I still can't play the violin!)

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