A Five Dollar Screw and a Three Dollar Hacksaw

I have an insurmountable to-do list today, as I’m sure most sailors have on most days, and knowing that I cannot possibly accomplish nearly enough to feel satisfied 12 hours from now, I have decided to stop along the way and smell the coffee. 

I have accomplished two projects before going to the 2^nd cup, half of which was reheated first cup, however only one was nautical in nature and it was not even on my most current revised to-do list.  The unrelated project involved re-installing the Sweet Sixteen’s bedroom window lock which she, or possibly her shirtless boyfriend, had removed despite my previous attempts to make it unremoveable, which led to the recent driving my car around at 1 AM on a school night without so much as a learners permit and being stopped by the police incident for which we must now appear in court on October 27^th. 

The re-installation involved hacksawing off the head of the screw that holds the window lock in place and it was during this step that I remembered the $5 screw I bought 2 weeks ago that was still on a project list somewhere.  So, since I was in a “hacksawing mood” anyway, once the modern day chastity belt project was completed, I moved on to the boat project.

This was a project that never should have existed in the first place, and I am beginning to realize, in my infancy of boat-ownership, that there will probably be a fair number of these projects – created either by neglect or carelessness, and not necessarily of my own doing.

In this case, the previous owner had installed marine air conditioning aboard Chapter Two, an upgrade for which we will be eternally grateful, and one of the baffles that controls the amount of cold air flowing into a particular location was not installed because the double-ended screw had been lost.  So, this one little lost part had an impact upon the entire system because wherever the baffle was not screwed in was going to receive an over-abundance of cool air to the detriment of other locations.  I brought back a retaining nut a few weeks back, incorrectly assuming that a quick trip to Home Depot would yield the proper sized screw.  Actually, it’s not even a screw, although it looks just like a 3 inch screw with threads the entire length and no head.  It’s probably more correctly referred to as a hanger, but I was perfectly willing to go with a screw and break out the little $3 hacksaw I bought years ago for some project long since gone from memory. 

The trip to Home Depot revealed that the part needed was metric and nothing even closely resembling it was in their suddenly not-so-vast inventory.  Apparently, parts that fit onto boats are not created in the same universe with which we are all intimately familiar, but on some parallel universe where only exotic materials, specifications and costs are employed.  Another trip to a “specialty” bolt and screw supplier would be required. 

I did make this trip a few days later, as this was a “hot” item on my to-do list a few weeks ago, and obtained the only metric threaded hanger that could possibly work.  I had to pay $5 and change for the part, pretty expensive for small little part, and probably due to the fact that the only thing they carried in that size with threads from head to toe was 3 feet long.  Yes, I bought a 3 foot long screw to get a 3 inch screw.  Hey, I was down to the specialty shop already, and wasn’t about to try and order a part from the alternate universe, and besides, if one could be lost, than so could another, and for just five bucks I now have a lifetime supply.

The better part of 30 minutes was spent hacking my way through this $5 screw with my $3 hacksaw.  The thought came to me, as I struggled to even make a scratch on this hardened steel piece, that I should really have a bigger and better hacksaw, but I banished that thought (repeatedly) and soldiered on.  After much gnashing of teeth, and several near-misses of the knuckles with the hacksaw blade, this critical project was accomplished.

A well-earned cup of Joe is in order, as I review the actual to-do list I have for the day.  Thankfully, I don’t see anything on it requiring the use of my $3 hacksaw, so I am tossing it back into the bowels of my toolbox where it can stay, hopefully, for a long, long time.

Details, Details, Details

The idea of owning a boat is romantic.  In reality, there are more details than one would have ever imagined.  Leading up to the purchase, we had lists of questions for the seller, lists of boat parts to inspect, lists of projects to begin considering, and yes, even the dreaded list of lists. Now that we actually own Chapter Two, the details have expanded geometrically. 

 

Actually, it isn’t really all that bad.  Details notwithstanding, we had a perfectly wonderful first two days of beginning the huge move around the state of Florida.  The St. Johns River is a scenic and lazy river flowing north from the west central part of the state to its mouth emptying into the Atlantic in Jacksonville.  The river is a great place for a bass boat, or a pontoon boat, but no place for a 37 foot sailboat.  We never unfurled her sails; not so much due to a lack of wind as much as the need to follow the markers and stay in the twisting and turning channel.

Sailors always have a destination in mind, but the actual route to follow is influenced greatly by Mother Nature.  Sailors will sometimes wait in port for days for a proper “weather window” on which to begin a journey.  Chapter Two may not have a chance to do much sailing at all on her initial journey.  Once in Jacksonville, the route south will likely involve the Intracoastal Waterway, which is a lot like trying to sail on a river.  If the wind is favorable, we’ll raise the sails and take advantage, but in all likelihood, we’ll be putzing along under auxiliary power.  It’s alright with us – as long as we’re making progress. 

Right now, Chapter Two is sitting on a grassy lot in San Mateo, Florida, 250 miles from here, propped up with iron stands to keep her from falling on her side.  Once we have put a couple of fresh coats of bottom paint on her, and painted her new home port on her transom, she’ll be back in the river ready for the next leg north. 

 

It’s hard to predict just how long it’ll take us to get Chapter Two into her new home slip.  There’s an unbelievable amount of details involved in getting all of that worked out.  For now, the focus is getting her bottom tidy and getting her back into the blue.

Why We Sail

Sailing is unlike most recreational pursuits, unique even within the boating spectrum itself.  While just about any yahoo can jump into a powerboat, open up the throttle and instantly become a menace on the waterways, sailors must approach things in a more measured and cerebral way.  It’s almost counter-intuitive; going slow requires a greater degree of skill and expertise than ripping across the water at teeth-rattling speeds.

So, given that it takes a lot more skill, brain power and patience to spend the better part of a day traveling just 50 miles, a fair question would be, “Why?”  Why would one invest hundreds of hours to simply become moderately proficient at the skills required to propel a 10 ton fiberglass bucket using only the wind?  Why would one learn an entirely foreign language, spend inordinate amounts of time learning to tie knots and waste dozens of perfectly good weekends beseeching the skies to either send some wind or take some away?

Well, if you’ve never been on a broad reach on a smooth sea, with the sunlight twinkling off the water where the only sounds are the wind in the sails and the water on the hull, it’s gonna be a little hard to explain.  For all of the challenges that sailing presents; the learning curve, the incredible ability of Mother Nature to position the wind to blow from exactly the direction you had planned on sailing (or not at all), there is an emotional chord that is strummed when one does achieve that perfect broad reach on that perfect autumn day.  So far as this sailor knows, there is no other way to achieve this vibrational harmony with Nature, this alignment of Spirit with Source, than to be on the helm at that perfect moment.

If you have held the wheel in your hands on that day, you are no doubt nodding your head in agreement, possibly even grinning as you recall this moment in your mind.  If you have yet to experience this exhilaration for yourself, mere words just cannot convey the essence of that moment properly.  You’re gonna have to find yourself a sailor and see for yourself.  Don’t worry, you won’t have to learn the foreign language or understand the dynamics of lift to attain the Nirvana Moment.  However, be forewarned; should you be on the helm for the perfect broad reach on that perfect autumn day, you may find the question of “why” has been perfectly answered.  No words required.

It's Official: We're Fookin Nutz!

Today we forked over about 1/2 our life savings and all of our remaining sanity when we signed the papers making us the new owners of Chapter Two.  She's an O'Day 37 Center Cockpit Sloop. Her previous owner spent a couple of years upgrading and remodeling her, so we aren't facing any major projects right out of the gate.  And, we really did get a pretty nice deal on her, seeing as how she's got a brand new diesel, new generator and new marine air conditioning.  Oh, and none of the previous owners really ever did any sailing either, so the original 28 year old sails have lots of life in them. 
First thing is to get all the documentation and registration in the works and get some sort of insurance on the boat.  I think I'd rather scrub the bilge than talk to insurance agents, but it has to be done.  She's overdue for a bottom job, so we hope to have her hauled out by month end.  Oh, and Chapter Two is currently in the St John's River, about 110 miles south of Jacksonville.  That's about 200 statue mile from Clearwater by car, but about 600 nautical miles from her new home port.
So, I guess we do have a big project to handle - our new home needs to come home! 

Introduction

Cap'n G and Admiral T have decided to devolve back to the sea.  Leaving dry land behind and paring down our worldly possessions to just what can be stowed aboard a 37' sailboat are but two of the many challenges we are now dealing with.  Another important question; are we an adventurous and daring duo, or just out of our freakin minds?  Into The Blue is our blog that will document the journey.  Read along, and help us decide!