One day seems to blend seemlessly with the next, so it is hard to look back on the week if I dont blog each day.
Monday, we had to go to the Baybrook Mall ...again...This is one of our favorite places for just about anything we need/want.
Parcels have been arriving every day now, with electronics essential for the navigation and running of this vessel. There are wires, holes, boxes with stuff spilling out of them, etc, all over the place. Just as we get one mess cleared away, another arrives to take it's place.
The Pilot House is in disarray...total disarray.
Warren is trying to get the windshield washers to work, among other things...The cellular blinds on the front windshield do an average job of keeping the heat out, but we have decided to put some silver reflective covers on the outside. We just took the navy blue covers off, while the boat is being detailed, but who in their right mind puts something dark over something you are trying to keep the sun and heat out of??? It appears it is all about the 'look' of the thing. I volunteered to sew some brightly colored striped covers, but nodoby else around here has any, so guess what...I dont think it is the 'done thing'! Image is everything:)
Wires are hanging out everywhere due to installations and renovations of new and existing electronics. The seat back is taken out to give access to the wires etc that run in behind the seats. This is the dinette in the pilot house.
Kiwi and 'Freezer' the lamb have been displaced from the pilot desk to the far corner, for now...along with Teatanic. Dont you just love Kiwi's crooked smile? He looks a bit uncertain, to me. Freezer just looks vacant and oblivious...same thing?
Teatanic! Put leaf tea into the bottom and put the top back on then sink it into the boiling water in your mug:) We figured that if you have a sinking ship onboard, then you wont be one...skewed thinking ?? maybe, but every ship should have a good luck charm and a couple of mascots!
WOW!! World Market it sure was. Wines from almost every country (NZ included...they are everywhere here) VEGEMITE!!! at $9 a small jar. We bought a 6 pack of Bundaberg lemon, Lime and bitter for $6+, which I think is about what you pay for it in NZ?? Some baked blue corn chips with flax seeds, some baked mixed vegetable chips (which we opened and ate with a home made Salsa, when we got back), and some Salsa flavored baked yellow corn chips.
We havnt been eating snacks other than fresh fruit, so this was a treat. Consequently we didnt have dinner for another couple of hours, which meant 8pm!
I also found an Hawaiian mix (there were LOTS there) for Shoyu chicken, and prompty put down some chicken to marinate, which we ate last night with white rice and salad....I will make my own shoyu mix next time, though the subtle flavors from the sachet were quite nice, nothing like home made.
It would have been easy to spend a lot of money at the World Market, but we only put down $19 on the till, for this lot. Though the vegemite was tempting, we didnt think we would eat it.
Tuesday...I made a third attempt (sorry, no pics this time) to make muffins that resembled the lovely ones I used to make in NZ. Not sure what is happening with the flour...I buy Gold Seal unbleached plain flour...if anyone can give me a heads up on the type of flour that is best for baking, then please do!!...but my muffins just dont make the grade yet. These banana ones taste good, but the texture is not good.
Two muffins with a fresh peach and some strawberries for breakfast was great. It made a change from the normal meusli and fresh fruit.
By one pm, the worms were biting again, and as we had to make yet another run to Home Depot for some cable et al, we decided to stop by the local Sushi restaurant we liked the first time..Ichibon. The Taiwanese lady who owns it gave us personal service this time. We had enjoyed a lengthy discussion with her the first time we went, and she was happy that we had returned. She made a recommendation or two which we followed, and had a marvelous selection of four rolls and a mix of tempura. Miso soup was included. The rolls were bite sized, which suited us just fine and we left feeling very satisfied, both with the meal and the hospitality.
While there, a policeman came into the restaurant and the wait-staff were asking if someone owned a blue pick-up?? We watched in fascination as the owner left the restaurant, and discovered that she must have left her vehicle in gear and it had jumped the curb and driven straight across the road into the back of a small car which was now totally displaced with a large dent in the trunk (boot). I hope she has good insurance! Sorry...it would have looked a bit tacky to have taken photos, but we did indulge in more than a bit of rubber necking:)
We have had no hot water for three weeks now and our bid to solve the problem goes on..and on...and on.
This boat was built in Taiwan, so of course the water tank is made there too. One of the elements is stuffed, and in a bid to cut the cost of replacement, both of the element and having to replace the whole tank due to the configuration of the whole caboodle, Warren has ordered various parts which should have been easy to put together...at home, where all the machinery is!!!
We have been sent on a somewhat wild goose chase from one machining business to another. The Vietnamese bloke down the road 5 miles was just too busy to deal with our small machining job, and sent us just 2 mins up the road to another business. We finally made it there yesterday and what a delight to find the man who said "no problem"! He just called us, at 9am, to tell us the part was ready for pick up. We will take the new element with us and hope like heck that it all fits together, then Waz can put the element back, and bingo! hot water...well, after it heats. One good thing about this....less electricity being used!.
Here she is...the newly fabricated plate with the new element attached. One new plate ($80), one new element ($16)..vs one new hot water cylinder ($6-700)..no contest!
We find it pays to tell people where we are from...someone inevitably knows someone else who has been there, married a kiwi, or wants to go there:) I love it!
The fellow who has solved our problem builds midget and sprint cars. He has raced them himself and now his son does the racing...as they do. Photos on the walls, the suits with embroidered emblems etc, and memorabilia are everywhere. The best part of the story? His son races each year in Mt Maunganui, just across the harbour from where we lived before we left NZ. I took my camera to the machine shop with me this morning to pick up the plate for the element, and of course recorded the office space...which wasnt small..
David, these are for you:)
Of course, every machine shop should have a clock that looks like this. I love it!
He has his own old ones, and his son's newer fire suits hanging inside the workshop office. Note the helmets, too.
This was the first generation of safety car built around 1949. Same racetrack as the bottom photo.
a collection of toy cars
I forget the name of the racetrack this was taken at during a 1948 race, but this was before the safety and roll cages were deemed necessary. The fellow on the left hand side would have been lucky to survive this one!So..you might ask...what do we do for hot water??
For one thing, the water coming out of the bowels of the boat...even though the tank is under the master bed...has been warm enough for me to shower comfortably both morning and night. I also ended up buying a small kettle to speed up the dishes process. I had been boiling a pot of water each time, which is cumbersome. We think we will continue with the boiling water thing as the hot water tank is a good 30 feet away, which means a lot of wasted water. Water is precious on a vessel, so we dont waste it if we dont have to. When in a marina, there are usually showers and laundry facilities, so we dont have to use the resources on the boat..both electrical and liquid. The boat is hooked up to Shore Power right now, so she is clocking up the $$ each time we flip a switch. If we weren't in a marina, those resources would come from the diesel in the hold. Aircon pulls lots of gas...as you will know if you drive your car in summer with the aircon on all the time. Every week we put the hose into the tank and fill her up. Easy! No extra charge for water, thank goodness.
We had thought about installing a watermaker into the boat, as water is an expensive commodity in some locations, such as the bahamas. However, at around $5k, that is a luxury we cannot afford right now, and frankly, $5k buys a heck of a lot of water.
Detailing the boat...
All that milky looking stuff running down the windshield is oxidized gel coat.
When they start the moulding process for the fibreglass for a boat (as I understand it), they put the gel coat on the mould first. Then they spray (with a gun) the resins/fibre/hardeners (mixed) onto the mould and build up the layers to about 1" thick, on the hull. The topside is less, of course.
We have waited about 6 weeks for the detailers to arrive at the boat. They are busy all year round it appears and this particular one is sought after. He came highly recommended, so we hope he is good.
He has taken extra time to get here because of an oil spill down near Tiki Island, just before Galveston Island, and the company that spilled the oil has contracted all the detailers to clean off all the boats in and around the spill.
Gary and his men started work this morning, sanding the gel coat to get rid of all the chalkiness and then wax and polish/buff her. She should look almost good as new when done. This process is essential for the general upkeep of the boat. She hasnt been done for a number of years, we think, so hopefully, will just a wax and polish each year, she will be fine for the next 3-5 yrs, without needing a coat of paint. Think major $$ for that one! Doesn't bear thinking about at this stage, and we will keep her in tiptop shape so that we dont have to. This involves washing her regularly (just like if you wash your house/car down) to maintain the shine.
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