The List

by with 2 Comments Getting Ready

Wednesday April 18, 2012

So I’m sure some of you might be looking at this site and thinking to yourself, ‘All the stories of their weekends out on the water are fine and dandy, but I know they’re getting ready for a possible circumnavigation and I want to know “What are they doing to get ready?”‘  Well I’m taking a break from our exciting leiserly yachting weekends (because right now I’m posting from September 2011) to get down to the nitty gritty and tell you exactly what we’re doing and what we still need to do to get our boat ready to leave this summer.  With no further ado, here is The List.

* means that it needs to get done before the boat is launched

Anchor Locker and Bow

  • Install new Aqua Signal Series 25 Bow light and DR. LED Bi-color light – done 4/15/12
  • Grease furling gear with Mclube Sailkote dry sail lube
  • Check furling line for wear
  • Mount stainless anchor chain stopper
  • Separate chain from 5/8″ rode and coil the rope on Starboard anchor locker side.  Secure chain with easy to cut lashings
  • Mount padeye on deck for Solent Stay
  • Glass in bulkhead to anchor locker and mount lower padeye for Solent Stay
  • Add protecting grease to windlass motor for corrosion
  • Peen anchor chain Crosby – done 3/18/12

V-Berth

  • Cut down bulkhead for better sleeping position – done 4/1/12
  • Mount photos in v-berth
  • Add half mixture of varnish and teak oil to modified bulkhead
  • Mount fan in v-verth
  • Replace drain hose for sink
  • Secure windlass wiring on starboard side shelf
  • Install LED lights in v-berth lights
  • Mount 12v outlet in v-berth
  • *Grease seacock

Saloon

  • *Glass in the hole in the hull from the depth gauge
  • Install DC outlet in cabin – done 4/1/12
  • *Install new Airmar V744 depth, temp, and speed transducer
  • Install Raymarine compass to old location above bilge pump – done 4/29/12
  • *Torque keel bolts to 90 ftlbs – done 4/20/12

Mast

  • Mount new Raymarine RD418 radar on mast (use old bracket) Wire pull already in mast.  Shorten RJ45 wire to length of mast and install terminal strip for easy stepping of mast
  • Mount new Tri-lens radar reflector on mast above radar
  • Remove streaming light and clean and inspect
  • Install mast tang for Solent Stay
  • Mount Spinlock clutch for jib sheet on mast
  • Inspect rigging
  • Install new forestay, backstay, and cap shrouds when dropping mast for Erie Canal
  • Remove reefing hook from boom
  • Install eye to the boom vang for single line reefing block
  • Make and install mast gate for lowering the sail during reefing
  • Get third reef added to mainsail (currently at North Sail’s sailmaker)

 

Navigation Station

  • Move Xantrex inverter over 1 1/2″ from Starboard bulkhead to allow more airflow – done 4/20/12
  • Install Raymarine x10 Smartpilot computer behind radio in navigation station (or in head compartment)
  • *Install 4 new Duracell 6-volt batteries purchased from Sam’s Club – done 5/20/12
  • Clean up wiring for wire panel
  • Install bulb in Aqua Signal chart light  (BA 9s bulb)
  • *Disconnect bonding system for all seacocks

 

Galley

  • Heat shrink wire for fan and install outlet in galley port side
  • Insulate refrigeration with slow rise foam – done 10/9/11
  • Sand and polish Marine-tex that filled hole in refrigerator’s liner
  • Install a holder for the cutting board on top of stove
  • Install LED light bulb over stove – done
  • Replace hose for sink drain – done 4/20/12
  • Install Whale foot pump for salt water faucet – done 4/1/12
  • *Grease seacock – done 6/2/12

 

Head

  • Install 12v outlet in head – done 4/1/12
  • Install fan for locker in head 4/15/12
  • Install fan in head – done 4/1/12
  • Replace hose for sink drain
  • Install new Trident 101 hose for head to holding tank – done 1/15/12
  • *Grease seacock – done 6/2/12

 

Engine

  • Install bushing for alternator slide
  • Plumb cooling lines for heater
  • Install fan and switch for heater
  • Switch fuel filter valve lines
  • Install Soundown 1 1/2″ insulation to engine compartment
  • *Adjust  drive seal to prevent leaks – done 4/20/12
  • Install auxiliary fuel pump
  • *Paint prop with Pettit Zinc Coat Barnacle Spray
  • *Grease Max-prop

 

Aft Berth

  • Correct leaking deck drain
  • Add padeyes to hold down Rubbermaid containers in berth areas
  • Refinish sole in berth area
  • Seal engine cover to prevent sound from coming into the compartment
  • Reinstall cover over steering system

 

Deck

  • Build and install hatch screens for salon and v-berth
  • Polish dead lights to remove haze
  • *Polish deck to remove sanding residue of bottom paint
  • Install spinnaker pole mounts
  • Install new Amsteel Blue lifelines
  • Install Lewmar organizers and Spinlock clutches for single line reefing – done 10/7/11
  • Install Easylock clutches for furler, boom preventer and genoa tracks
  • Make Sunbrella covers for 2 hatches on deck

 

Cockpit

  • Cut down Edson pedestal guard and add horizontal support – done 4/28/12
  • Install new steering chain and wire kit
  • Grease and inspect steering system
  • Install Starboard cover over hole left from old autopilot – done 4/28/12
  • Install Standard Horizon helm mic and 12v outlet to Starboard cover (listed above) – done 4/28/12
  • Replace rotten bulkhead in lazarette separating holding tank from water heater – done 4/15/12
  • Reinstall plumbing to water heater – done 4/15/12
  • Remove battery charger – done 4/28/12
  • Install Katadyn 40 watermaker to area where the battery charger was
  • Secure wiring in lazarette
  • Install fuse for start battery next to water heater – done 4/1/12
  • Mount 2 Kyocera 135 watt solar panels on new bimini frame
  • Install antenna on backstay for WIFI
  • *Reinstall rudder and patch drain hole on the bottom of rudder
  • *Install tiller arm for rudder (being built from aluminum)
  • *Fiberglass in shelf support for autopilot
  • *Install Raymarine type 1 linear drive
  • Calibrate autopilot once boat is in the water
  • *Move stern light to davits and add LED to this light
  • Make two point harness for aft of dinghy on the davits
  • Mount Evergreen Solar 205 Watt panel to davits
  • Install Whale o-ring to emergency bilge pump cover – done 9/24/11
  • Relplace shower hose in cockpit – done 3/25/12
  • Rebed cockpit drains – done 10/12/11
  • Replace vinyl windows in dodger, replace zipper in dodger and touch up stitching – done 5/18/12
  • Make Sunbrella/vinyl wind protector to wrap around cockpit

 

Hull

  • *Polish hull
  • *Raise waterline 1 1/2″ – done 5/27/12
  • *Paint new boot line with Interlux Brightside (down to sand and polish now… it will look good enough) – done 5/28/12
  • *Finish sanding and fairing hull – done 5/26/12
  • *Apply 2 layers of Interprotect 2000 barrier coat – done 5/27/12
  • *Paint on Interlux bottom paint to bottom – done 5/27/12

And there you have it.  The million and one things that will keep us busy past the day we leave.   So if you’re family wondering why we may not have the free time to make it to a weekend BBQ or friends wondering why we can’t just shell out a  few extra dollars to go out to the bars just this once, hopefully this list will give you a good perspective on where all of our time and money go.  Don’t feel too bad for us though.  Ten months from now we’ll be sitting in the Bahamas with fruity drinks in our hands while thinking about you at home doing the daily grind and remember that every cent and minute was worth it.

Didn’t We Just do This 15 Years Ago?

by with No Comment Family

Monday April 9, 2012

If you caught it in the last post, I had been to Arizona before and on my trip back this year we were going places I’ve never been as well as visiting a few again that I have.  My first time in Arizona was back in 1997 when my family took a vacation here while road tripping through Arizona and California.  While we were in AZ we spent a few days in Tucson doing things like visiting mountains and getting our picture taken in an old time photo shop.  Coming back in 2012 my parents thought it would be fun to recreate those days by going back to Tuscon and doing all those things again.  So only a half a day after we had gotten back from Sedona we piled back into the truck with coolers and snacks loaded up to set off on another two hour ride in the opposite direction from where we had been the day before.

Our first stop of the day once we reached Tucson was Sebino Canyon which has trails to walk and a tram to drive you around when you were tired.  My brother Joe and I did specifically remember this place as it had large rocks over water we had dangled off before,  scaring the hell out of my mom I’m sure.  Changing pace from the cool February weather we had experienced our first time around, this day we were faced with 90 degree heat.  Unloading from the truck we all slathered on sunscreen and had personal water bottles to tote around with us.  We purchased tickets to take the tram to the top where we would then begin our descent on foot, and while waiting for the next tour to leave we took seats under the shade of an arbor while watching little chimpmunk like creatures pop their heads out of little holes and run across the ground almost too quick for you to see them.  By the time our tram rolled up it filled so quickly that we were left with the rows in the second cart, not protected by the sun.  It was already scorching hot and you could tell it by the people who were coming back on foot wearing as little clothing as possible, already drenched in sweat.  Once the tram starting moving though, there was a nice breeze and the friendly tour guide began with an explaination of all the stops along the way where we could get off and get back on with our trusty blue ticket stub and also went into detail about the canyon itself and the flora and fauna around us.  No one in our tour group felt the need  to get off on the way up and we continuted to climb up to the very last stop.  We had passed the infamous rocks along the way and figured we’d ride the tram back down and get off there.

Once we were dropped off at that stop, surprisingly the only ones in the tour group, we filled our water bottles back up at the rest area and made our way down the sandy path to where the rocks met a little pool of water.  After taking the obligatory few photos of the scenery Joe and I started climing the rocks to get back to the same spot for some ‘now and then’ photos.  The first few rocks were small and easy to jump over, but then we came up to one where a minerature stream of water ran between the two rocks to the shallow pool below.  Joe backed up a few steps and took a running leap over to the other side with minimal effort.  I was about to do the same thing when I realized that even tough it was only an 18″ gap, the rock on the other side had a higher elevation than the one I was currently on and I could see myself losing balance and falling 15 feet into 10 inches of water.  So I figured the smartest thing to do would be to take off my Sketchers and wade across the water to step on a slightly level part of the rock on the other side.  Sounded good in theory.  The new issue became, and I realized this as soon as i was in the water, that the water itself made the rocks incredibly slippery and my foot could not get traction while trying to climb up the other side.  Joe, who probably trusts my ‘climbing’ abilities about as much as Matt, instantly thought I was in peril and grabbed my arm to start yanking me up.  I should have just let him pull me all the way up while I dangled limply below and have the ordeal over with, but knowing that I only needed assistance instead of a rescue I started pulling back on my end.  I had only wanted him to steady me while I did get good footing, but each time I would start to slip and then he’d start to yank while I yanked back.  I think at one point I fully twisted around and had to try and twist myself back.  Standing back on the shore my dad knew this wasn’t a serious case of my getting hurt and was just happily snapping pictures of us from the sand, eager to share my embarrassing moment with me which I was probably just as eager to see.  Finally after getting turned back around I told Joe to wait while I put my foot up on a small indent in the rock and then he could yank me up.  This worked and just a few seconds later I was safe and sound again.  To make things worse though, a woman who was on our side of the rock came over to me to show where there was a simple place to hop over on the back side.  Of course there was.

Now that I had made all the effort to get to this particular rock I was ready to sit there in the sun for awhile and relax but everyone else was ready to get moving again.  On the tram ride up we had spotted a nice little sandy beach area next to a bridge we had wanted to see and with all the things on our list to do again, we couldn’t spend too much time in one spot.  Taking the much easier way across the rocks this time I picked up my shoes and we made our way back out to the road and began to make our way down it.  At this point the sky became hazy again which was nice for the heat but terrible for the photos I was trying to take.  Instead of getting beautiful brown and red mountains popping against a blue sky the scenery wasn’t translating through the camera and my pictures were coming out a little dull and uninteresting.  After awhile I gave up and just enjoyed the walk and the chance to be with family.  We were still surrounded by beautiful sights and the memories of when we had done this together 15 years ago.

When we made our way down to the stop that housed the beach it was overcrowed and still overcast.  The little dip in the water we had been looking forward to was no longer needed as much.  We still stopped to rest for a few minutes and made the decision to continue on our way and out of the canyon so we could squeeze in a visit to University of Arizona while we were in the area.  Since we had seen the tram pass us on it’s way up just 10 minutes before and we knew it wouldn’t be back down to pick us up for at least 20 minutes we kept walking down the foothills to meet it at a location closer to the entrance.  When we got to stop 3 we thought we’d stay and wait for the tram since it does not pick up hitchhikers along the road and they are very specific about only picking up and dropping people off at assigned stops.  While waiting to be picked up my mom pointed out where other people who I’m guessing were bored like me started piling up little rocks one on top of the other almost like a marker or memorial.  I figured I had a few minutes to kill and I would make my own art too.  Looking around the area for one of the larger rocks to place on the bottom I found one off to the side and picked it up to move to a flat location.  As soon as I stuck my hand under it a very large brown spider ran out just below my fingertips.  I turned to my dad to asked if there were brown recluse spiders in the area and he replied there were.  No more playing with rocks for me, I did not feel like losing a finger or an arm on this trip.  I was just going to sit my butt on the seat and wait for the tram to pick me up since my scraped up knees already showed that I had enough adventure for the day.

When we got back to the truck Joe took over the GPS and punched in University of Arizona for us to swing by and bascially only visit the bookstore to buy a shirt before leaving.  The monotone voice began directing us out of the park and back on the main road to town.  After traveling a few miles we hit a large traffic jam due to construction and were at a complete standstill.  We could see on the map we’d be taking a left turn a mile up the road so as soon as we got to the next light a few hundred yards ahead we decided to take the turn early.  This did not please GPS lady and she angrily told us she was recalculating.  Taking our new roundabout recalculated way there were plenty of twists and turns as we tried to follow the new directions.  Once it seemed like we were getting into a populated area again the GPS told us to take a right onto a road, and then another right which led us into a housing development.  We were all a little confused wondering if this was campus housing and we were being taken in the back way.  After following the street for a few hundred feet we could tell this definitley wasn’t right but there was no good place to turn around so we kept following the dirctions on the GPS hoping it would lead us back out.  After a few more ‘turn left in 500 feet, turn right in 300 feet’ we were dropped onto a dead end street.  Making our way to the end of the culdesac to turn ourselvles around since we knew it was all wrong the GPS proudly announced to us ‘You have now reached the University of Arizona’.  Apparently classes are now being held at Catalina Foothills Estates 7 in Tucson.  Lesson learned.  Never upset the GPS, it will get back at you.  Choosing a new U of A location on University Drive we made our way to what actually looked like a campus this time.

Finding a 20 minute parking spot by the quad we all hopped out with no real idea of where to go.  Visiting college campuses together before (ASU, Uof NC, and Duke) we knew the bookstore was usually in the center of campus.  We just kept walking to where all the crowds of people seemed to be but still ended up having to ask students for directions.  Walking into the bookstore there were crowds of people seated infront of a large screen with a potium.  It was obvious there was going to be a speaker of some kind but I was too interested in finding who and made my way to the t-shirts to find a new one for Matt.  After browsing the racks and deciding that red was not his color I opted for a dark gray shirt with the wildcat logo.  Forgoing a shirt for myself since the girls collection was pretty dismal I met my parents back at the front where we cashed out and made our way back to the truck before our 20 mintues was up.  All that work just for a shirt.  I was still happy with it though.

The next thing on the agenda for us was to go to Tucson Mountain Park.  This was another place we had visited on our trip out in ’97.  It was filled with steep mountains covered in saguaro cacti with a winding road running through it.  We arrived there in late afternoon and while we didn’t have time to take in a sunset like when we were last here we drove up to a trail head and sat on one of the benches to enjoy the scenery.  This time we were smart and packed beer for the trip so we each pulled out a can while letting the low lying sun wash over us.  (No, alchohol is not permitted in the park, but we’re big time rebels)  When the bottoms of the cans were dry we got back in the truck for our last stop of the day; old time photos and dinner at a steakhouse.  Both were housed together in Trail Dust Town, a cheesey tourist Old Western area.  I personally was excited to play dress up in one of the frilly gowns at watch my dad and Joe get old time mustaches painted on their faces.  Going to reach for the handle on the door we saw a sign with the schedule ‘Closed Mondays’.  I was a little disappointed to say the least and while the four of us were standing there wondering what to do next a couple and their dog came walking up the dirt road to tell us they’re open.  It was the owners and I guess they happened to be out walking their dog at the same time we arrived.  They opened shop and brought all of us inside.

After going through the story that we had been here before and wanted to re-create a memory my mom and I were ushered behind a curtain with all the women’s costume’s while my dad and Joe stayed out in the main area to be fitted for coats and hats – see more at the page.  Behind the curtain were many frilly and lacy dresses, some conservative but also many for ladies of the evening.  This was the route we were taking.  After being shown many options we each picked one out and started changing into our costumes while rolling on fishnet stockings and lacing up black boots.  We were each given a garter, choker necklace and some fancy head gear.  When we stepped out into the shop again we could see the guys were almost fully dressed as well but needed a little extra facial hair drawn on by burning the end of a cork and using the black tip like chalk.  Once we were deemed outlaws and hussies we were let to the set for positioning.  None of us could remember how we were positioned the last time even though we had just looked at the last photo before leaving that morning, so we let the experts put us in a place they thought we’d look best.  They even threw the dog into the mix free of charge.  One of the great things that did change from the last time we were here is they’ve gone digital.  Last time there was only one shot at the photo and if you had your eyes closed or were making a funny face it was too bad for you.  This time they would snap a few pictures, bring us over to the computer where we could see them and then go back to fix things that didn’t look right.  After about eight photos we decided on a winner and went back to change into our 21st century clothes while they boys wiped off their mustaches with baby wipes.

By the time we were presentable to the modern day again they had already printed off our photos and were placing them in cardboard frames for us to take home.  We thanked them for their time and told them hopefully we’d be back in 15 more years, maybe with some little kids in the mix.  The last thing on the agenda for the night was a dinner at a steakhouse right across the dusty trail from the photo studio.  It also had an Old West theme to it and as we were seated at our table I could tell there also must be a theme against wearing a neck tie to the joint because there were cut of ties nailed to all the walls.  Most you could tell were worn by people who knew they would not be leaving the restaurant with it because the ones by our table were some of the tackiest ties I’ve ever seen.  The one by me that took the prize was from the 80’s in an electric blue with hot pink and yellow accents and covered in computers and floppy discs.  Totally radical.  The menu was smaller than I thought it would be, but sticking with the Western theme I ordered a fillet mignon with beans and a glass of red wine.  Ok, the whine should have been whiskey but I didn’t think I could shoot that back.  The food was delicious with a juicy and tender steak and the beans were reminiscent of chili which was even better than the baked beans I was imagining them to be.  It was a great end to a busy day and after spending the last 48 hours of traveling all over the state and taking in so many things I was ready for a more slow paced relaxing day tomorrow.

Sedona….It Used to be Apple Orchards, You Know

by with No Comment Family

Sunday April 8, 2012

It’s a good thing my body was on Michigan time or I would never have been able to force myself out of bed at 6:30 to attend 8:00 Easter mass with my family.  It was supposed to be a really warm day in Mesa, over 90, and by the time we got in the truck at twenty to eight it was already closing in on 70.  Which felt 10 degrees warmer to me and I was immediately loving it there.  The church my parents attend is very large and can get quite crowded between the months of October through April when all the snow birds are in town.  We were put into an overflow chapel and somehow snagged the last four seats together in the back.  I was relieved to see the overflow chapel did not have pews and I wouldn’t have to spend half the service kneeling.  In the seats directly in front of us was a family with an adorable baby girl that had some of the best bedhead I’ve ever seen.  Throughout the service she’d look back at us and giggle and coo.  Just in front of her was a baby boy that was trying to out-cute her, and a battle of the cuteness ensued for about 20 minutes before bedhead girl won with a few sneezes.

When service was let out we all rushed home to change into more comfortable clothes and get ready for a day trip to Sedona.  Packing coolers with pop and water we got back in the truck for the two hour drive north.  My parents had used their timeshare up there the year before and told us there were too many beautiful sights to miss out on while we were so close.  Even though I’d been to Arizona before I’d never been to that area so weeks before I even left I’d Google images and look at the large red rocks that seemed to glow in the sun.  As we were making the drive I kept waiting for us to come up on these large mountainous rocks but all I could see out my window were dirt hills covered with with bushes and a few cacti.  Even without the awe inspiring views out the window we were still enjoying the drive with my dad’s GPS, watching the elevation climb higher and higher until we were in the 4,000 ft range.  I was getting worried as we were taking expressway signs into Sedona and I was still not seeing the red rocks out my window but my dad who seemed to be reading my mind mentioned that you didn’t come upon them until you were just a mile or two away.  Sure enough we turned a corner and all you could see were the giant red rocks I had been waiting for against a blue sky, looking just like a scene from a Western movie.

Our first stop of the day was a hiking trail my parents had found when they were visiting before.  I changed from my comfy Toms into sneakers and put on a hat to protect myself from the desert sun.  Although Sedona is usually 10-15 degrees cooler than Mesa due to the elevation, the 75 degrees that was reading as the outside temperature felt like it was 90 once we stepped out into it.  There was not a breath of wind around.  I had a feeling we wouldn’t be walking around for too long with all the other plans we had for the day and didn’t bother to take a bottle of water with me even though I could tell I would be getting thirsty before too long.  As the four of us crossed the uneven dirt road that brought us here onto the burnt red path of soil and sand beneath us there were instantly rocks and hills to start climbing up and around.  Nothing strenuous but enough to keep a klutz like me eyeing every step of the path ahead.  There were little trail markers of rocks filled inside chicken wire and I could see why because it was not always obvious where the trail was going.  We ventured off it a little bit to climb a large flat rock and get some good pictures of the scenery.  I would have loved to have the whole day to spend on these trails alone walking around and discovering new things.  One of my favorite things to do at home with Matt is just hike through woods and trails for hours with no destination in mind.  Back on the trails in Sedona, with the heat of the day coming upon us now and so many other things to see  we turned back around after making it a half mile into the trail, seeing the gorgeous sights that surrounded us and getting all of our pretty pictures.

Getting back out to civilization there were a few other sights to see before we got into the heart of Sedona.  First we stopped at Bell Rock but just got out in the parking lot to take a few pictures instead of doing any hiking in that area.  When we were driving past the other side though you could see the little white t-shirts of people who were making the climb.  Again I was a little jealous of these people who were able to make the climb up the immense rock,  but I know I have a ton of that coming up in my future in many exotic locations so I can’t complain.  Our last stop before lunch was a Frank Llyod Wright structure called Chapel of the Holy Cross and it’s built right into the rock on a Sedona hill.  As we came up on it from the road I was surprised to see how small it was.  I guess I was expecting some large wandering cathedral, but what I saw was just a small simple structure. As we drove up the winding road through the crowds we found a parking spot near the top and walked the rest of the way up.  I don’t know if it was always busy here or if it was because it was Easter, but most of the crowds were on the outside walkway and we were able to sneak inside to sit on the pews and look around.  The chapel itself, from what I could see, had pews lined against each wall on the inside and then 6-8 rows through the middle with an aisle in between.  At the front was where the priest would stand to give service, and right behind there were the large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the rocks in the background.  Going back outside we squeezed our way into an open spot for some photos of the family and the views surrounding us.  Just below the chapel on the main road to get in was Nicholas Cage’s Sedona home (one of the ones that didn’t foreclose, I think) sticking out like a sore thumb.  It was large and gaudy and didn’t fit into the landscape at all.  Plus there would be absolutely no privacy there at all.  From where we were standing you could see his whole yard plus the pool and decks.  If I had that kind of money it wouldn’t be my first choice of homes, but I guess when you have so many you can give up little luxuries like privacy at one of them.

Getting back in the truck the four of us were starving and ready to get lunch.  Acting as tour guides my parents brought us to a restaurant which I’m assuming is pretty famous in the area, The Coffee Pot.  It’s located near a rock formation shaped like a percolator and has 101 omelettes on their menu.  We walked in about five minutes to two, happy to see it wasn’t overflowing with an Easter brunch crowd.  Sitting down my dad asked the hostess what time they closed and she replied, “2:00.  So don’t worry, you just made it”.  All of us felt terrible for walking in just before close and making a poor server stay about 45 minutes later because of us, but we were all so hungry and the food sounded so good that we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave.  Looking at the menu I knew I couldn’t visit a place like this and not choose one of their 101 omelettes so I started scanning the list as quick as possible so we could get our food order in right away.  There were many appetizing options and part of me was craving just a good old Western or Veggie omelette but at the same time I wanted to choose some crazy combination that I knew they didn’t serve back at home.  With a few really good options narrowed down with choices of crab, avocado, and zucchini among them (not all together), when the server stopped by to take our order I went with number 64, the cream cheese, sliced ham and asparagus omelette.  Since we were practically the only people in the restaurant our food came up within minutes and I started scarfing it down like there was no tomorrow.  In addition to the omelette itself I also had a side of cottage cheese and a biscuit so I didn’t get too far and there were some to-go boxes being passed out at the end of the meal.  While having lunch there I’d totally forgotten that I told my friend back home I’d send her pictures of the mountain views and before I could forget I made sure to snap this photo for her.

I’m such a smart ass

So many omelettes!!

After our delicious lunch we began to head back to town as the next thing on our agenda was to take a Jeep tour through areas not well accessible in regular vehicles.  We had a flyer printed out for Pink Jeep tours and went to look for a parking spot near their shop on the main strip.  It was a popular day to be out there and all the street spots were taken.  Trying the public parking lots there we also had no luck and were forced to park on the street a few blocks away.  Walking back to the main strip we were weaving through little shops trying to find our way to Pink Jeep.  Once spit out on the main street we were directly across from Red Rock Jeep Tours, the people my parents had used when they were here before.  They hadn’t wanted to take the same tour as they did last year which is why we were headed to Pink Jeep, but we decided to walk in and see what else they offered.  While my parents had gone on a very bumpy off road 4×4 kind of trail before we found another one that would bring us through Dry Creek Basin and to and old cabin used to make moonshine in the 1800s.  That tour was leaving within 10 minutes so we all stuck by the door until our guide came to get us.  His name was Larry and he was very friendly and outgoing.  He led us back to their parking lot along with another couple from Pittsburgh.  We climbed in the back and buckled ourselves in as Larry had us all introduce ourselves and he began to describe the areas we were about to see.  Pulling out onto the strip he made his way up some side streets to a residential area and began the tour with a history of the area.  He explained that what was around us were not actually mountains and asked if anyone knew what they were.  I replied ‘rock formations’ which was correct.  Gold star for me!  Then he started speaking about flat topped rock formations called mesas and asked if anyone knew how they got their name.  I answered that mesa was the Spanish word for table.  Right again!  (Thank you, Spanish Behind the Wheel)  Just as I was feeling like I was on a game show where I might win a prize he continued on pointing out different rock formations and how they got their names, usually because of the shapes they formed.  There was ‘Coffee Pot, Elephant, Snoopy’, and many more that I can’t remember.  Larry then began to tell us the history of Sedona, how it was named after the founder’s wife’s middle name and how all this area around us used to be apple orchards.  Leaving the residential area he had brought us to see these rocks formations we drove down the strip to another road and began to go up it while Larry told us he was taking us to an airport on top of a Mesa.  We stayed up there in the Jeep for a minute before heading down again and then going to another street that housed the library so he could show us a statue of Mrs. Sedona Schnebly.

At this point I was beginning to wonder why we had just dropped so much money to travel roads that were open to the public and we’d have no problem getting to when Larry turned to us and said that we were his last tour of the day before his weekend and he was giving us an additional tour on top of what everyone else got to see.  It was at this time we pulled into an area with rocky roads leading back to more rock formations through 4×4 trails.  Finally.  We bumped along the roads and made our way further from civilization.  The sun had ducked behind some clouds which made for  comfortable temperatures but was also hiding some of the brilliant colors of the red rocks.  We came up to an area called Devil’s Bridge which was a little walk from the main trail and sounded very interesting, but we kept plugging along after getting a little narrative on it.  We headed deeper and deeper into the creek, aiming for Van Derin Cabin.  We were told this is a place where moonshine used to be made until the moonshiner was gunned down.  Then it became the residence of the Van Derin’s who expanded to make two rooms under one roof with a breezeway, and raised their five kids.  Even though it is surrounded by private land (and a golf course in the middle of nowhere that I believe went bankrupt), the cabin is now property of the State Forest.  It was used to make a few Western movies, including ‘Blood on the Moon’ back in 1948.  Getting up to the cabin from the trail we did get good use out of the Jeep as it was literally climbing up rocks and not a trail.  Once there we got out to do a little walking around and tour the two room cabin.  It was interesting to see how people used to survive normally back then.   The cabin was two rooms around 10×15 ft and had dirt floors.  That was it.   I’m sure it would have looked slightly different back when it was being lived in, but to me it didn’t look like much of a step up from living in a cave.  Ahhhh, frontier days.  Ignorantly blissful for those who didn’t know any better.

Loading everyone into the Jeep again we began to take the trail back to the main road.  When we were getting to the spot where the knotted and gnarly pine trees were sitting and Larry had described many people believed it was due to a mystical vortex in the area, I received a sudden and sharp shock on my collar bone.  No bug that had pelted me through the lack of windows and nothing touching the area except my shirt.  Guess I was touched by the vortex.  When we were back on pavement Larry took us by the Beverly Hills area of Sedona and showed us the gated communities while rattling off all the celebrities who had homes there and which ones you might find wandering around town.  We were dropped back off in the parking lot around 5:30, making for a two and a half hour tour when it was only supposed to be two.  It wasn’t quite the thrill ride of off roading that my parents experienced on their first tour without us, but that’s not what this one was meant for and I really enjoyed the steady pace through the trails and the history of what was surrounding us.  Not that I would have turned down a few minutes of climbing up more rocks at 60 degree angles or gunning it and flying down 10 foot cliffs though.  I don’t think the tours actually do that second part….but they do have Jeeps to rent out!

With our last hour of sunlight the four of us made our way across the street to sit in an outdoor patio area to enjoy a drink and relax.  While my mom and brother enjoyed beers, my dad and I got a glass of red wine which I didn’t know why I did since we weren’t staying for dinner because I’ve been known to take two hours to drink one glass at home.  Red that is, white and blush go down much quicker.  We reflected on the day and talked a little bit about our plans for the next day, a trip down to Tucson.  This is another place my parents had spent a day or two at visiting in the past few years but more importantly it was a place the four of us had visited back in 1997 on a road trip through the southwest.  We were going to recreate our trip there by visiting Sebino Canyon, Tucson Mountain Park, and even getting our picture taken in an Old West photo shop.  Once our drinks were done (and yes, I did have to chug the last half of my glass) we piled in the truck for the ride home and just like when I was ten years old I layed my head on a pillow while sprawled out in the backseat bundled under a jacket and slept the car ride home.  Some things never change.

Mama I’m Coming Home

by with 5 Comments Family

Saturday April 7, 2012

Since the only time I get to see my parents is the one time a year they fly into Michigan to visit family and friends, I didn’t want to leave on a four year journey without squeezing in a little quality time with them.  My brother and I made plans to fly out and visit while Matt unfortunately stayed behind to work.  My brother had flown out from Detroit the night before me and I was supposed to arrive the next afternoon around 3:30 with plenty of time in the day to still lounge by the pool with a drink in my hand.

Getting dropped off at the airport by Chris and Jack I was checked in at the counter within 15 minutes and still had over an hour to occupy my time before the flight left.  Knowing I didn’t want to quarantine myself to the terminal just yet I visited the Pizza Hut counter to get a fountain drink and sat among the large array of tables to get some writing done.  30 minutes later I grabbed my purse and carry-on to make my way through security as I spent a few extra dollars on my ticket for an assigned seat and they made sure to tell you that if you’re not to your gate 45 minutes before departure you could forfeit that assigned seat.  As I walked to the end of the terminal I could see our gate was quite crowded and my chances of not having anyone sit next to me were getting slimmer.  Still having those 45 minutes before our plane was supposed to depart I plopped down in an empty seat and pulled out my e-reader to keep myself busy.  Scrolling through all the new books Matt and downloaded I was hoping Tina Fey’s ‘Bossy Pants’ was on there, but it hadn’t made it so I settled on a blog-type book from Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) and began reading stories about how he dropped a bomb (literally) on North Carolina and how British women don’t fit into the fashion or social scene of the Caribbean.

Before I knew it they were boarding the plane and I took my window seat while wondering what kind of over-talkative cat lady they were going to sit next to me.  When the open seating began I was thankful when a family of four came to my row where the wife and two daughters took the seats across the aisle and the husband took the empty seat next to me where I knew he’d be too preoccupied with his family to talk my ear off the whole flight.  There was however a six year old ginger kid that took a seat in front of me and was so excited to go see his grandma that he couldn’t stop talking about it.  I remember what it’s like to be that young and that excited about something but after the week I’d just had at work I didn’t want to slap on a smile and talk to anyone unless I personally knew them.  I was waiting for the point where we were high enough in the air that electronics were allowed and I could pop in my earbuds and drown out the world for the next four hours.  Just as I thought we were about to start moving since the doors were closed and everyone was seated there was and announcement that came on overhead.  “Ladies and Gentleman, this is your Captain speaking.  We appear to have an issue where our fuel tanks were overfilled and extra fuel has spilled on the tarmac.  We need to have this cleaned before we can start moving, and my previous experience with this has seen it take an hour or two so we’re going to offload you from the plane so you can be more comfortable while we take care of this”.  The attendants instructed us to collect all our belongings, that we couldn’t leave anything behind, and that we also could not go past the security point without having to buy another ticket to get back on the plane.  Everyone deboarded pretty quickly and after checking with an attendant that there would be an overhead announcement when they were reboarding so I wouldn’t have to be glued to our gate I grabbed my bags and started heading down the terminal.  Treating myself to Starbucks was out since that was past the security point but I was able to buy a 20 oz Pepsi for $2.79 and take a seat at an empty gate and start reading more stories from And Another Thing: The World According to Clarkson.

There were a few people I recognized from my flight sitting at this less crowded gate so I wasn’t worried it would leave without me.  One by one they left and went back to the gate our flight was leaving from but there had still not been an overhead announcement.  When they finally did call it over the speakers there was only me and one guy left and as we made our way to the gate we found the area was already empty.  Apparently they had already reloaded everyone that was standing around before calling it on the speakers.  I was glad I would not have to wait in a line again while boarding but was worried people would not have stuck to their original seats and mine would be gone.  Hurrying to the back of the plane where I had originally been sitting I found my seat open and the same family of four sitting next to me.  Phew.  Everything went much quicker this time as they were able to close the doors just after I had gotten on and everyone else was already seated.  I overheard a conversation the man next to me was having with his wife about how scared she is of flying and had her hold her hand out to see how steady it was.  Of course it was not at all steady but he assured her that everything would be fine.  I thought about chirping in with the ‘You’re more likely to get into an accident on the way to the airport’ comment but decided to keep it to myself.  We started rolling backward on the tarmac and ever excited ginger kid started talking non-stop.  “Are we moving yet?  When are we going to take off?  How fast will we be going?  When are we going to get there?”  The poor kid was also only making matters worse for the anxiety ridden woman next to me once we got off the ground by turning to his dad and saying “Are we falling?  It feels like we’re falling.  It feels like the plane is going down”.  We were definitely not going down, but that did not make her feel any better.

We landed at the Phoenix-Mesa airport two hours behind schedule where my family was waiting to pick me up.  There were hugs all around as I hadn’t seen my parents since on the boat Labor Day.  Muscling through the crowds my brother grabbed my bag from the carousel and we were quickly loaded in the truck for the short drive to my parent’s place.  It was a nice sunny evening in the low 80’s, and as soon as I dropped my bags off in my room we all made our way out to the patio to catch up over wine and beer.  I love that with my family we can pick up like it was just yesterday we last saw each other.  We stayed out until the sun started going down about an hour later and my dad realized he needed to get the steaks on the grill before it was too dark to see.  a little later we sat down to a family dinner with just the four of us, which probably hasn’t happened in almost 10 years since if I were there then Matt was always there too.  By the time dinner ended I was already getting a little tired and with the three hour time difference I was still on Michigan time where it was close to 11:00.

We weren’t ready to call it a night yet as my mom had bought an old VHS copy of Captain Ron for all of us to watch together.  After getting into comfy pajama clothes I took a seat next to my brother on the couch.  We laughed at all the classic and hilarious lines from the movie and I took note to try and find out where their starting location of ‘Saint Potato’ was.  When the movie had finished I was more than ready for bed.  I had only been up for 17 hours at this point, but after all the traveling and delays and excited talkative kids it felt like 30.

Finally Making Progress

by with No Comment Boat workGetting Ready

Sunday April 1, 2012

Only two weeks into sanding and I was already starting to dread Sundays.  The hassle and 60 minutes spent to get the tarps up while the wind fought me every step of the way, working with a sander that did not get me anywhere, and having my whole body aching by the end of the day.  It may not have been so bad if I could tell that I was making progress or the end was in sight, but when we got to the marina and I took a look at the boat there was still sooooo much more to be done.  In my head I kept thinking that if I were to keep working at this pace every week we really would not finish this project until some time in the fall.

After getting everything set up for hte day I was ready to pull out the Makita when Matt said I should switch to the the Porter Cable he had been using in the fall.  He thought I’d get much further with it than what I had been using and it would make work a lot easier on me.  At first I was thinking this plan would not work at all because the thing was huge and I was pretty sure there was no way I’d be able to hold it up for more than 30 seconds at a time but I figured I’d work with it for thirty minutes just to tell him I tried and then go back to the Makita.

Lifting the heavy sander I turned it sideways so I could get a better grip, turned it on and held it up to the hull.  The moment the rough paper touched the paint it began to take it off immediately.  This wasn’t like the Makita where the paint would turn 3 different colors before I could see the white/gray hull.   Removing the paint wasn’t the full 6″ diameter of the sander but it was a few inches high by a few inches wide which was good enough for me.  Working the sander from left to right the paint would just fall off although huge clouds of dust always followed it.  When I’d start to get to an area where I was raising the sander enough so it was level with my face I’d pull out a little step ladder and keeping working my way up.  The progress I was now making with the larger sander was amazing.  In one hour with the Porter Cable I did more than one whole day with the Makita.  By the time I was nearing the end of my work day I had probably gotten 1/3 of the Port side of the hull done.  I hadn’t gone underneath the hull though because that would have actually required me to hold the sander above my head and I didn’t think I was ready for that yet.  My arms were still adjusting to the extra weight of the heavier sander and quitting time did end up coming 45 minutes earlier than normal.  I was still proud of my work though and in a tired but estatic  way I was thinking this project may actually get finished in the next few weeks.

Getting ready to start

 

Pinned Down

by with No Comment Boat workGetting Ready

Sunday March 25, 2012

I was not looking forward to going to the boat today since I was already slightly defeated from the small amount of work I had completed last week.  At least I knew I’d be able to angle the sander all day today which meant I should get more accomplished and that made me feel a little better.  Winds were whipping around in the 10-15 mph range and even after having Matt help me with the tarps I was still having issues.  It would blow into the areas where the tarp was overlapping,  catch it like a sail filling with wind and eventually start to pull the tape from the hull.  Not wanting to give up a full day of work I needed to find a way to get the tarp completely closed.  I had tried taping small sections together but it wasn’t doing much good and would just make it harder to take apart and put back together.  Knowing there wouldn’t be anything laying around the boat to do the job and not even wanting to make an attempt at a search to see if there was I stole the car keys from Matt to drive to the local dollar store.  Passing through the aisles of random things looking for laundry supplies (hardcover books for $1, what?!) I finally found the clothespins which I assumed would do the job and picked up a few boxes of 50 knowing they probably wouldn’t be the best of quality and I’d need to stock up.  Getting back to the boat I ripped opened a packed and started pinning all the openings shut.

When I was able to get inside and start on the actual work the area I had been sanding last week was now blocked by the wind and I’d be eating tarp if I wanted to work there.  Moving on to the Port side, since I had the whole thing to do anyway, I started in the same stern area.  The little bit of exercise my muscles and steroids last week must have been enough to strengthen a little bit because my arms were not as sore as the first time around.  I could usually go three minutes before breaking and even then it would only be about thirty seconds before I got back to work.  I worked hard and I worked all day.  In the end it still feels like I didn’t get anything done.  I’m going to have to bring out some big guns next time.

La Femme Makita

by with No Comment Boat workGetting Ready

Sunday March 18, 2012

St. Patrick’s Day happened to fall on a Saturday this year.  If you coupled that with what we were expecting our night to be after last year (first time hanging out with Jeff and Jared at the bars for an awesome time!) and the fact that we should have been going balls out since this was our last St. Paddy’s Day with friends, you would expect that we wouldn’t be able to drag ourselves out of bed at all, let alone work on the boat.  But after being mobbed in our car on the way downtown from thousands of drunks taking advantage of the 80 degree weather, we ended up at TGI Fridays where I had one green beer and what I expect were watered down margaritas.  When we woke up the next morning it was as if we had stayed home all night.  Not to mention the sun was shining and it was 25 degrees warmer  outside than it should be right now, the kind of day that makes you want to rush outside, even if it is to do manual labor.

Wanting to wear shorts and a t-shirt in the heat I was still banished to wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt because of all the dust particles I was about to encounter.  Winds were predicted to be under 10 knots all day which meant I should not have any issues getting the tarps to stay up.  When we got out of the car there was just a slight breeze on my face, but there must be something about where our boat sits because as soon as we started walking down the row where Serendip stood there was a strong wind whipping right through.  Again, starting to tape on the side the wind was blowing I didn’t have much difficulty getting it to stay.  Once I got to the other side however, the wind kept trying to rip the tarp  out of my hands and rip the tape off the boat.  I knew I could get the tarp to stay in place if it were weighted at the bottom but there was nothing around me.  Abandoning the remaining tarp that was flapping in the wind I climbed into the boat to try and find any heavy objects I’d be able to anchor down the bottom of the tarp with and hopefully keep the top part from detaching from the boat.  In the mess of everything in the cockpit and cabin I thought I’d be able to find some kind of cart or container to do the job, but anything we had would have been much to big of a hassle to even try and get down the ladder.  Matt being ever so clever went up on deck to release the anchor chain and we could use the length and weight to hold down the bottom of the tarp and keep it in place.  He wound it around the boat while I was able to finally successfully keep it taped to the boat up top.

With Matt’s help I was able to get everything set up within a matter of minutes at this point.  I pulled the  little Makita palm sander we borrowed from Jack out of it’s box and went to work where Matt had left off last fall.  It was the aft area of the boat and I was hoping to be able to finish u the rest of that side that afternoon.  I had very specific instructions that the sander had to be held flat against the hull of the boat and couldn’t use it at any angles for fear of digging in.  I switched the on button and held the sander on a spot in front of my face.  It spun to life and as I held it in a spot the now gray color of the hull would give way to the burnt orange underneath and finally the white/gray of the hull.  I was able to work for about 90 seconds and then my arms would become sore and I’d have to break for 60 seconds and then go back to work.  Every 3-4 rounds of this I’d have to take a longer 2-3 minute break.  I knew I wouldn’t be great at this project but was pleased with myself for making any kind of advancement.  It was obvious right away though that my progress was not as quick as I’d originally hoped it would be with the sander and it would be very unlikely to finish that side that day.  I was hoping it would not be my job to sand the entire hull (the port side had not even been touched yet) because working once a week at the pace I was would have me finishing sometime in September.  At this point I assumed I was probably just ‘extra help’ to take a few hours of work away from Matt when he went back to finish the project himself.  I kept dutifully working for 90 seconds at a time making sure I could help out as much as possible and leave him with only one full day of sanding.

You can see the line to the right where I started

As the day dragged on my arms were feeling weaker and weaker and the work time would change t0 60 seconds with 90 second breaks.  The ‘long’ breaks also became longer lasting for about five minutes where I’d lay on the ground and try to get rid of the awful pain in my back.  When Matt came down to check on me one hour before quitting time he took at my work and turned to me and said, ‘So think you’ll be able to finish this side before we go home tonight?’.  I laughed as I knew by now there was no way it could be done.  When he realized I was serious he went into time-panick mode.  ‘I thought you’d be able to do this today.  We don’t have a lot of time, you still have to do the whole other side.’  (Me) ‘You know I don’t have the strength to work as quickly as you, I thought I was just helping out so that when you went back to do it there wouldn’t be as much work.’  Neither of us were mad or yelling at each other, but there was a conversation going back and forth of how I didn’t have the strength for a project like this and he didn’t have time with all the other million things that have to be done to take time out and work on this too.

He took the sander from my hands and try it himself to make sure it was not an issue with the sander itself that was slowing down my work compared to when he was doing it.  As I watched him work the sander (which was perfectly fine) I was that he’d angle it in certain spots to get down to bare hull.  I ask why he was allowed to angle it but I had to keep it completely flat.  He replied again it was so I didn’t accidentally dig into the hull.  Exasperated I came back that if he could do it without digging into the hull that I’m sure my light touch could do it too.  I also replied that part of the reason my arms were so tired was using all of my energy to keep the sander flat while still giving it enough force to do anything.  I told him that if I were allowed to angle it I’d be able to get much more work done.  He handed the sander back to me and told me to be careful not to do any damage.  As he went back up the ladder to work in the cabin I went back to work sanding with much more ease.  I was able to get twice as much area sanded in almost half the time.  In the next 45 minutes I worked there was dust flying everywhere as bottom became more and more bare.  I still wasn’t able to finish that side but by the time I started clean up I was much further along than I would have been flat sanding.

I was still ready to pack up and go home around 6:30, vacuuming the dust particles that had fallen on the tarp below me and the cradle of the boat.  I un-taped the tarp and Matt brought the anchor chain back up in the locker.  We had everything cleaned up and I was happy not to have to raise my arms again.  I did however snatch my camera out of my purse and snap a few photos of the docks near us and the first boat of the year to make it in the water.

Spring Fever

by with No Comment Boat workGetting Ready

Sunday March 11, 2012

There’s been some kind of weird phenomenon going on in Michigan this winter as in we’re barely having one.  There’s never been snow on the ground for more than five consecutive days and temperatures have been way above normal.  I could count on both hands the number of days the daily high was under 30 degrees.  Back in November we made plans with Ken and Mindy to go snowmobiling sometime before spring but were never able to because we never had a weekend with enough snow on the ground.  This trend followed into what’s becoming  Spring, and on this bright sunny Sunday Matt decided my home vacation time on weekends was now over.  It was going to be clear, 62, and there was a bottom that needed paint sanded.  I warned him that forecasts were showing winds to be near 20 mph that day and asked if he’d rather have me stay home and finish work on the dodger since we had just gotten in all the trim and zippers I needed to finish it.  ‘Oh no, when I checked again winds looked like they’re slowing down, we should be fine’.  I was slightly disappointed to be taken away from staying in my comfy bed all day (where I do my work on the dodger) but also a little excited to get outside on such a nice day.

Making sure to still put on a few layers of warm clothes because Muskegon was showing about 8 degrees cooler than GR I was able to get out the door on this day without any hassle of ‘Are you ready yet?  Are you ready?  Why are you taking so long?  We’re just going to the boat’.  Yes, I am one of those girls who will always put on make-up even for a day of hard labor where I don’t plan on running into  soul.  Not bothering to try and pack any kind of lunch since we’d just grab something on the way, we still made it out the door in pretty good time.  Pulling into the parking lot I was happy not to see Nemesis’ truck but didn’t really expect him to be there anyway.  As expected as soon as the doors to the car were opened we could feel a nice strong breeze rolling through the boat yard, but determined as we are we thought things may still work out for us.  Pulling out the ladder and climbing aboard the first thing I wanted to do was try out my test hatch cover I made a few weeks before out of scrap fabric.  Crawling under the cover and on top of all the things we had strewn around under the deck I laid the template on top of the hatch and found out I was not far off on where I needed to be.  Good news as I could now go home and start the real thing.

The next order of business was for me to tape sheets of plastic around the boat to make a bubble underneath that would keep sanding dust and debris contained to the area of our boat.  After being handed the tarps and an almost empty roll of duct tape I worked hard to beat the winds from taking the tarps out of my hands.  On the side the wind was blowing I didn’t have much trouble getting it to stay on but as soon s I started working on the other side there was no amount of tape that was going to keep it on.  I was fooled once when I had half the sheet secured, but then a big gust came along and ripped it all off.  This was not going to work out.  Just as I had mentioned to Matt, the winds were too high and it just wouldn’t be possible.  You’d think that by now he would have learned that I’m always right.  Plucking the remaining tape off the boat I had to fight the wind again to get the tarps folded up properly.  Getting my mess all cleaned up I went to find Matt below deck and tell him that sanding would be a no go today, which he wasn’t at all surprised to hear.  The good news for me is that he wasn’t going to keep me out there all day with nothing to do and said after 30 more minutes of work he’d be ready to go home.

Guess who gets to clean up this mess in the future?

With the weather being so nice and me not having been outside much to enjoy it I grabbed the camera to take a walk with my new free time.

Black Friday

by with 4 Comments Getting Ready

Friday November 25, 2011

Not that I would ever be one to line up outside of a store at 4 am for Black Friday prices, Matt still had errands for me to run when I expected to be sitting at home all day watching movies in bed and maybe getting a little work done on the dodger.  He had purchased a spinnaker pole to use on the trip and the gentleman he aquired it from was going to be at a marina just up the road from ours today and I would need to go pick it up while he had the unfortunate task of working through the holiday weekend.  For the non sailors out there, a spinnaker pole is a long aluminum pole that many boats use to attach to one end of the spinnaker while the other end attaches to lines on the mast to keep the giant sail in the air.  Since our boat has an asymetrical spinnaker it isn’t necessary (and I may have just given a completely bogus explanation since we’ve never used one) but we thought it would be good to have in days of really light wind.  It would force the spinnaker sail or even our genoa (large head sail) to stay fully open and catch any wind that may hit instead of just flapping in the lack of wind.  The size pole we’re looking for is normally $1500 new and the one we found was in great condition for only $300.

After having a quick lunch with Matt in town I hopped in my car and zipped out to Muskegon.  The place I was heading to was Great Lakes Marina, somewhere I’d driven by 100 times but had never actually been to.  When I pulled in the entrance the big white gates infront of me were closed and locked.  Calling the phone number I had been given for Al, the seller, I reached his wife.  She explained the gates I was currently parked by could not be openedand I’d have to use a different entrance just up the road.  That entrance also had a gate that was locked but could be opened with a passcode.  I was given the code and hung up with Ruth letting her know I’d be around in just a minute.

Realizing there was no place to turn myself around I backed fully into the main road.  Good thing it was the off season or I could have been waiting an hour for an opening.  Pulling into the correct entrance I felt like a country club member as I punched in the code and the gates opened in front of me.  Parking behind Al and Ruth’s truck I jumped out it was much cooler by the water than in Grand Rapids.  As I pulled on a jacket Al wedged himself out from where he had just been working under his boat and after introductions jumped under his boat cover to work on getting the pole for me.  Sliding it blindly through a hole in the cover Ruth and I stood up on tip toe until it was low enough to reach our hands and we gently got it on the ground.  Looking it over it appeared to be in great shape and I handed the money to Ruth while Al strapped it on my roof rack.  I assured him it didn’t need to be too tight as I was only going up the road to drop it off at my own boat, but with wind gusts near the water jumping up near 25 knots he didn’t want to take any chances.  I thanked them again and prepared for my one mile journey up the road.  (After meeting me and finding out I was married Ruth asked if Matt and I were newlyweds.  Do I really look that young?)

Since I had chugged about 30 oz of Coke during my lunch with Matt and my drive to Muskegon my bladder could handle no more and I pulled right up to the restrooms when arriving at Torrensen’s.  Getting back into my car I looked in my rearview mirror to the row our boat is in and saw a black Ford pickup.  Nemesis’ truck.  I wasn’t 100% positive so I decided on using a trick of driving to the mooring balls near the edge of the water, trying to glance down the row to get a closer look of who the vehicle belonged to.  That didn’t help me too much so I took a ‘walk’ down an adjacent dock to get a view of his boat and see if there was work going on there.  I didn’t want to appear as if I was staring or get too close and let him realize I was there, but it definitley looked as if there were people on his boat and a blue tarp was going up.  Since I obviously looked out of place standing on an empty dock at the end of November I quickly made my way out of sight.  Trying to get one more glance I walked through a row of boats but could not get close enough to see his.  My heart was pounding knowing he was there, the last thing I wanted was a confrontation about how dirty he might still think his boat is because of us and not have Matt around to defend me.  I would have no idea what to tell him if he started asking about his boat or how it got cleaned off or what we would do for him if it still wasn’t up to his expectations.

Since I didn’t trust the spinnaker pole to make the 30 mile journey home on the expressway I had no option but to wait out Nemesis until he left.  I figured I’d head down to the lakeshore for a walk.  Pulling into a parking spot I grabbed my mittens and zipped my spring jacket up to my neck.  The waves were rolling in force and the wind was gusting vigorously.  Walking through the sand to the beginning of the boardwalk I could seethe waves crashing over it which ruled out going any more than a quarter of the way down it.  There was one brave soul who was kite surfing in the breakers and I stood to watch him for a few minutes before retreating back to the warmth of my car.  Driving past the marina again the truck was still there and I wondered what else I could do to wast time.  Most normal people would find a hidden parking spot and suft the web on their phone for the next hour but I was still in the dark ages in that area without internet on my phone.  I figured the car could make it a few miles to the main drag of Norton Shores and I could look for entertainment there.  After finding there were no craft stores in which I could buy decent yarn for the two scarves my brother just requested I make for Christmas I settled on a spiced coffee and a Vanity Fair to read while I sat and waited.

My plan at this point was to park in the empty lot across the street from our marina and keep watch until I saw his truck leave.  I would have to be the worst person ever to take on a stake-out as I would in no way be hidden and it would be quite obvious what I was doing.  When I got to my not-so-secluded spot it was only quarter to four in the afternoon, but with the sun already starting to go down it felt like it should be 7:00.  Flipping open my magazine I looked up and did not see any cars let at the marina.  I knew this would happen.  As soon as I spend my money on something to keep myself busy I would no longer need it.  Slowly creeping into the marina I pulled into my row half expecting that Nemesis would be hiding in the shadows ready to pounce out at me.  When I realized I was alone I went about pulling out the ladder and getting the pole ready to drag up.  Climbing onto my boat to unzip the cover I looked over to his boat and saw there was no cover on there.  I could have sworn that when I was on the dock trying to spy I was looking in the right direction and saw a dark blue cover going on his boat.  Was I not even looking at the right boat?  Was he never there at all?

Once I had our spinnaker pole stowed safely under our cover I took another look at his boat.  I could have sworn I had seen him there that day.  sure enough there was a bungee cord running from his mast to the bow preparing for a cover.  Climbing down the ladder I walked around his boat and saw fresh footsteps in the gravel.  Now the question was, why did he have the cover on his boat an hour ago but not when he left?  Was he in the middle of putting it on when he got a closer look at his fiberglass and realized it would need cleaning again?  Or worse.  What if he was fine and dandy, all set to put the cover on and leave it alone for the winter when he saw me show up, notice he was there, and leave right away.  What if it was because of me that he thought there was cause for concern and is going to have th boat inspected?  What if I just completly F’d everything up??!!  I began texting Matt like crazy letting him know what I saw.  He tried comforting me saying that maybe Nemesis forgot tools or necessary parts and would finish the job tomorrow.  One can only hope.

* When the cover finally did go on his boat a few months later it was not blue but tan.  I to this day have no idea if it was him out there that weekend.

Nemesis

by with No Comment Getting Ready

Sunday October 23, 2011

I was quite surprised this morning when we left home and I still had full use of my arms.  I was originally thinking that I’d be so sore from Friday that I wouldn’t even be able to brush my hair.  I knew I wouldn’t have Superman strength that day (not that I ever do), but was confident I would get a decent amount of work done.  To help us even more we made a quick stop at Home Depot and picked up some 60 grit sandpaper for our sanders to help push through the layers of paint quicker.  Throwing up the ladder and climing into the cockpit when we got there it looked like a layer of dirt or dust was covering our boat and the boat next to ours.  There was still a little morning dew on the deck as well, so Matt rubbed the surface with his finger and it came right off.  We knew it would need rinsing off (as well as the boat next to ours) but we figured we might as well wait until the end of the day since we were just going to make a mess again.

Ther original plan of the morning ws for Matt to work on the hull of the boat with his larger sander while I was going to try again with the Makita sander lent to us by Jack.  This plan lasted all of five minutes where we still weren’t able to supply both of us with enough power and I was forced to go back to the chisel.  The good thing about working on the keel for me is that there was actually a good spot for me to sit on the cradle while working and I rarely had to lift my arms above my head.  Matt was zooming along with the coarser sandpaper ans were were on the road to having a ton done that day.  And that’s when he pulled up…..Nemisis.

Just as Matt was going to have me walk around the boat while he was sanding to see if the dust was floating anywhere, a black pick-up truck pulled into a spot by our stern and a man got out and walked over to the boat next to ours.  We immediately walked over and Matt apologized for us running our electrical cord through their boat cradle to get to shore power and offered to move it.  We also mentioned that we think some of the dust from our sanding had landed on their boat and we’d be happy to wash it off for him.  Instead of being greeted in return with the friendly boater reply of ‘Wow, thank you so much, that would be really nice’ that we were expecting, we got this instead.  ‘We had this same problem last year when someone next to us with a blue bottom sanded and got dust all over our boat.  It’s not going to come off with soap and water.’  Turns, and walks away.

We looked at eachother in shock with a kind of ‘what do we do now?’ expression while we walked back to our boat.  That day we had been working on the Starboard side of the boat while their’s is to our Port side so luckily we didn’t have to look at Nemisis and his wife while they worked on their boat.  Sanding again was obviously not an option while they were there, at least not with the power sander Matt was using.  Both of us took shelter behind the keel, completely hidden from view of Nemisis and his wife.  We started hand scraping just to be doing something and wondered how long this other couple would be here.  We were desperate to run up the ladder of their boat and show them how easily the dust does actually wipe off but we figured the best course of action was would be to stay where we were and attempt cleaning it after they had left.  It felt agonizingly long but an hour to an hour and a half later we could tell they were packing it up for the day.  By this time Matt had pulled out the palm sander to do work on some of the hard to reach areas on the bottom of the hull.  I saw Nemisis walk up first and tapped Matt on the shoulder.  We both turned around as Nemisis explained that the dust was in fact very bad and he would be contacting the service department at Torrsen’s the next morning to see what chemicals could be used to clean his boat without damaging it.  He said we should expect to be hearing from them (Torrsen’s) soon and again walked away to his truck to leave.

This is where Matt and I differ on our feelings of the situation.  He feels our neighbor has every right to be mad since it was our fault his boat is ‘damaged’.  He also feels that this guy has every right to treat us as inconsiderately as he did because it’s understandable that he’d be upset especially if this was the second year in a row this has happened to him.  Then there’s me.  Although I agree this was our fault and we should be the ones to take care of it, I feel we should be treated better than we were.  We told this guy immediately about his boat as soon as he pulled up that day.  We admitted it was our fault and the next words our of our mouth were ‘We’ll do whatever it takes to fix it’.  Yet still we could not get one Thank you or I appreciate that out of him.

So when they pulled out we raced up our boat to get a closer look at his.  The morning dew was long gone and our finger rubbing did nothing this time around.  Matt started pulling out cleaners and we mixed them in a bowl with water and applied it to his fiberglass with a wet rag.  Nothin’.  We pulled out every cleaning supply on board and it was not getting any closer to coming off.  This sent Matt into a panic.  He imagined that Nemesis’ boat would have to be pulled into the service area to be cleaned and polished professionally.  He started calculating the cost in his head, what our deductible was and what we would have to pay out of our pockets.  He was obviously too scared to keep sanding any further that day so we moved to the next project on the list, putting anti-freeze in the lines.  It took us less than a half hour and we were still left with a little over two hours of daylight.    Since the only project available for us to do that day was sanding and Matt was still in such a panic we decided to go home so he could begin his hours of research on the internet of what takes paint from fiberglass and what the cost of a professional cleaning would be (expensive).  In the end the plan was for me to drive out as soon as the sun was up the next morning and give another attempt to clean it since I couldn’t get away from the explanation that the morning dew wiped it right off as soon as we had gotten there.

Rolling out of bed the next day in the dark I put on grungy clothes and packed nice ones in my car for work.  I made the drive out to Muskegon with a stop at Meijer on the way for some rags and cleaning products.  The first thing I did when I pulled in to the marina was stop into the service center and make them aware of the situation and that I was going to try cleaning it myself since I knew Nemesis would be giving a call there later that day.  The guys in the building were super nice and helpful with information and possible solutions for our problem.  One even said he would walk out with me to take a look at the ‘damage’.  Unlocking the ladder from our cradle he leaned it against the boat and climbed on deck to have a look at the two boats.  After standing up there for a few seconds he glanced down at me and said, ‘What dust?  I don’t see anything on either boat.’.  I explained it was a thin covering that looked like dirt and was on the cockpit and deck.   He verified that he still wasn’t seeing anything and invited me up to take a look.  When I was on our deck everything did in fact appear clean.  There had been rain the previous night and it must have washed everything off.

Upon closer inspection there were still a few small dots on the fiberglass if you looked really close.  The service guy said everything looked good enough to him and stepped down the ladder to go back to work.  That made me feel so much better because even if a call were placed to the marina that day I had someone on the inside to back me up.  Still wanting to make everything as clean and shiny as possible I pulled out my rags and started giving both boats a good wipe down.  When I finished, to me, they looked cleaner than they had before any sanding had even started.  I texted Matt that everything was ok and he didn’t have to keep stressing himself into a heart attack, we’ve lived to fight another day.