We woke to alarm at 7am...it is monday, after all, and the detailers would be here at 8, on the dot. The light coming through the upstairs window was not bright, but we had been prepared for less than stellar weather for the rest of the week. Deep dark thunderclouds surrounded us. Just as we sat down on the cockpit deck to eat our cinnamon and raisin Bagels and White peaches, the rain spattered heavily on the starboard side (looing towards the front or bow, this is on the right hand side of the boat), wetting me slightly. We decided to put up one of thr side curtains which is really for sun shade, but seems to work equally well for keeping the worst of the rain out. This worked for a bit, until the rain started absolutely hosing down. There was no way to stay outside and stay dry, at this stage.
The clouds looked much blacker in person, than they appear in these photos. I wish I could have captured the lightening and thunder that came with them!
Some big decisions had to be made on how and whether to put a curtain across the back of the boat at cockpit level. This serves several purposes, not the least of which is a bit of privacy when we are backed into a dock. We also need it for another sun shade and to keep the worst of the rain out of the cockpit.
Waz and I went over sveral scenarios, depending on the types of material we could obtain for me to sew and install. We would need 11 feet of track to feed the top of the curtain onto (it has a kind of piping along the top to feed into the track) and then what were we going to secure it with at the bottom? Grommets will be spaced along the bottom so that we can tie it town if necessary, and also pull it out towards the dinghy to give us more shade, rain protection etc, when we want it. In other words, it has to be versatile!
I set forth in the car, mid morning, for the Marine sewing lady who has sewn a new winch cover for us, whose business is just a mile away in Kemah. She has a huge 'factory' ou back where she covers anything and everything marine. I posed all the questions, and to my delight that was the first and last stop for the morning....she could supply everything we needed for the job. Not only that, when she heard i would be sewing it, she gave me all the tips for a successful outcome and also come fabric I would need for the corners to reinforce where the grommets would go. She took all the details down and will e-mail me a quote for all the parts tomorrow:) I had taken one of the curtains with me so that she could see color, and the type of fabric to match. This fabric is 95% UV proof, lets the air flow through but keeps the place cool. Textraline, is the name of the fabric.
I came home on a high and went to make lunch. I had half a dozen eggs sitting on the counter waiting to be used, so decided to make scrambled eggs on olive and asiago cheese bread...artisan bread that doesnt have too much sugar in it!...with cherry tomatoes. I had put the kettle on to boil, the induction cook top was going and I turned on the microwave to cook a cob of corn...and the power blew!Warren had his head deep in the dashboard somewhere installing yet another piece of navigation equipment, at the time. It didnt appear to be a big deal at the time, and I waited until he could come and check things out.
This boat runs off of 240vlt Shore power at the moment. In other words, she is dependent on what comes of the national grid.
Deciding, after a long inspection, that the cable connecting us to the shore power must be at fault, he went there next, to investigate. With his multimeter out, he ascertained that one of the wires in the cable, wasnt connected, end to end. Took off the cable, and into the car to go and find another plug...thinking all along that this was the problem, and easily solved.
We went back to a Yacht Services store that we had been to before, and they said yes, they could attach another plug...we just had to go down the road to West Marine and buy one. Off we went to WM and of course, it would be another three days before they would get any more in. They did find out for us if their NSA Rd 1 store had them in stock, and yes, they did, so off we went to that store to buy the female plug.
Back to the Yacht services workshop, and Warren helps the guy attach the new plug. They had to shorten the cord a couple of feet because what they found when they took the old plug off was that it had water in the cable, and the copper wire was brittle. This is probably the original ship to shore power cable that came with the boat, 14 yrs ago. We also tested the other ed (male) and decided to get another plug for that end, just in case we got back to the boat and it still didnt work.
The reason you are seeing this photo?? Well, Yacht Services have a Boston Terrier named Trixie. Apparently she just appeared at the shop next door, one day. The landlady came into YS and asked if they wanted a dog? NO! was the reply, but the puppy was so cute and playful, they decided to make it theirs, as nobody claimed her.
This is our second time at this store, so we had already met, and I was just as excited to see Trixie again as she appeared to be to see me...but then I guess she is excited by anyone coming in the door:) I had to wait half an hour for the plugs to be changed out, so spent that time giving her puppy loves. Here she is with her 'baby' (dinosaur) which she has finally managed to pull some stuffing out of:)
Back at the boat and plugged in again, only half the switch board worked. This was because the 110vlt was being fed through the inverter, with the inverter switch off. (ok, dont get cocky you lot...more coming).
Lots of head scratching continued for the best part of the afternoon, and we called a couple of marine electricians to see if they could help out. No, they couldnt tonight (by this time it was 4.30pm) but if we liked to go by their office in the morning, we could be put on the roster for the next day!
Meantime, the fridges and the freezer are not working on 12vlt power..for some reason.
I had to go up the boardwalk to the marina bathroom (we have electric loos and they were running off batteries at this stage, so wasting power was not on the agenda), and ran into a contractor on one of the other boats nearby. I asked if he knew of a marine electrician...always ask a contractor, coz they know all the subs, and will invariably know the best!
Mark made a couple of phone calls, then told me his mate Greg would be over right away. He had been working in the marina all day and had to come back to check on something he was working on. Ten mins later Gred arrived and came aboard to take a look at the switch board. After a short discussion and looking over the switchboard, he turned the inverter on. Presto!!! everything suddenly worked.
It may seem such a simple item to those who know, and normally we would know this but our excuse is that this is a new boat, there are no wiring diagrams, and we are unfamiliar with the whole set up. Greg advised that there are better ways to set a switvchboard up, but we wouldnt need to make any immediate changes..Phew!
Anyway...the good thing is, everything worked again.
The second good thing to come out of all this drama...we now know we have to get another ship to shore cable, because the one being used right now is on it's last legs. We dont want to be caught in the middle of nowhere marina where we dont have access to places where we can replace these things easily. Another reason we are staying put for the moment, until we feel we have discovered most of what there is to discover.
Our electrician friend reluctantly charged us $50 for the call-out (I insisted) and invited us to visit with him and his wife when we are ready to go. He has sailed most places around here and been as far as Florida in his 42ft sailboat. he knows the Intracoastal waterway, and has lots of special spots for us to explore, if we are interested. Sounds good to us!:)
Nothing Like local knowledge!
Not wanting to open the fridges to get anything out, having been off for at least 5 hours, by now, we opted for a meal at the Outrigger...yet, the restaurant I keep talking about.
Well, I will now stop talking about it. Fried food anyone? I dont think there was anything on the menu that wasnt fried. I did opt for grilled crab cakes, vs fried or blackened, and Warren decided to bite the bullet and try a Chicken Fried Steak. there was considerable choice of side dishes to go with all that, and we chose fries (skinny ones) and saute'd vegetables...being virtuous..ha!
Warrens CFS had been beated to within an inch of it's life (tenderized) and then breaded with corn meal and fried. The crab cakes were possibly the worst I have ever eaten in my life. the veges were a frozen mix straight out of the freezer, then Microwaved. Waz chose sweet potato fries, just to be different. His verdict? The steak was 'different', the fries were ok, but the veg was not.
We were not impressed with having to ask for the table to be wiped clean before being seated, and the windows out onto the water needed a good wash. The price was a bit high for what we got, but we wont be back.
So, here we are, it is damp (humid) and threatening to rain again. The thunder and lightening has been very dramatic today. Our detailers have worked through most of it, but as they are at the waxing stage, I dont think rain is too good in the mix. Lets hope they finish up in the next two days.
The fabricator for the Eisenglas called today to say he wants to come by to measure the back of the fly bridge to finish off the enclosure. He didnt turn up...perhaps due to the rain, but I hope he will tomorrow. I need that flybridge enclosed, so we can be water tight...for the most part. I will then have another place to go and sew, among other things.
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