Sammy Found a New Hangout

Sammy has always been very selective in only letting me pet and hold her. If anyone else tried, she would bite them viciously! I knew something was special about Maddie when Sammy met her for the first time and didn't try to peck her skin off.

After two years of Sammy warming up to Maddie, Sammy performed the ultimate "I'm comfortable with you" move: Climbing into your shirt and poking her head out of your collar.

I'm probably the only dentist who wears a hoodie with a candy bar bashing cavities into teeth!

Yes, it was dark and yes, Maddie was wearing my hoodie (so it probably smelled like me). Sammy went right in the hoodie and poked her head out. We went for our walk and Sammy hung out there the entire time, happily watching the world go by.

Electronics Decrease the Value of Your Yacht

When you go to sell your yacht, a survey will be performed. A survey is pretty much the equivalent of a "Board Exam" for boats. This is a massive exam where everything your boat can do is tested to its fullest potential. The more gadgets and gizmos you have on your boat, the more test questions your boat test will have.

The way this exam is graded is very unfair:

If you get 1 out of 100 wrong, you don't get a 99%; you get 1.
If you get 1 out of 5 wrong, you don't get a 80%; you get 1.
If you get 10 out of 100 wrong, you don't get a 90%; you get 10.
If you get 10 out of 20 wrong, you don't get a 50%; you get a 10.

Having more accessories on your boat only increases the length of the list to be tested, and every accessory that doesn't work gets added to the list of problems with the boat. The longer the list, the harder it will be to sell the boat (or the further you will have to come down in price to sell the boat).

I saw a survey where the owner installed a third A/C unit in the salon, and it didn't work. The surveyor listed this as a problem that needs to be fixed. No one cares that the fourth A/C unit (that doesn't exist) doesn't work! If he didn't have the unit, the surveyor would have simply said: "Two A/C units in the salon that work well" and nothing would be added to the list.

My favorite accessory that didn't work was a set of LED underwater lights. These lights are not important in the realm of boating, they supposedly attract fish to the surface when fishing by night. 

This unnecessary non-functional accessory went down on the list as non-functional which goes down on the list of "Recommended Corrections". This list is used by the buyer to negotiate an even lower sale price, and the longer the list, the more the buyer can negotiate.

If you have less accessories in the boat, then you will have fewer items that don't operate and a shorter list overall. Next time you go to install some doodad from the boat show, think about how necessary it is to your boat and if it is worth the loss in value when the accessory fails.

Dodger Snaps

The snaps that hold your dodger to the deck can become a nightmare to work. Being exposed to a marine environment for a short amount of time can cause the metal components of the snaps to corrode. This corrosion can make any attempts at manipulation a true chore. If the corrosion gets severe enough, you do run the risk of ripping the snap out of the canvas!

To avoid these problems, oiling the snaps will help keep corrosion at bay. I would caution against spraying oil onto these snaps, as it will get on the canvas. If you have light colored canvas, these oil stains will show up clearly from a distance! 

Instead of ruining your canvas to maintain your snaps in operational condition, use a Q-Tip. Wetting the cotton end of the Q-Tip with oil will safely contain all the oil you could need for the snap without having excess run into the cloth around it.

Simply place the oil soaked cotton into the snap in the canvas to lubricate the mechanism. This will lubricate the metal and help retard any corrosion without putting too much oil into it and causing it to run into the canvas.

Now your snaps will remain easy to operate and provide you years of headache free operation.

Long Days

Maddie and I have decided to set sail for the Caribbean during 2017, this means that Wisdom needs to be ready to go by then. Being ready to go means that the long list of major projects I want to finish need to be completed. This should not be a difficult task as all of these projects fall well within my comfort level, the problem is finding enough time to carry out all of these projects.

I work during the day as a dentist, when I get home to the boat, I begin working my second job as a rigger. This work will carry on into the night until I go to sleep. As you can see, there is no time available for the boat projects that need to get done.

At the moment, I am re-rigging an Islander 36 as well as doing smaller jobs on other sailboats. As soon as I am finished fabricating the rigging for this yacht, I can resume work on our boat projects that need to be accomplished.

In the mean time, Maddie sees me in the morning and late at night when I get home. The long hours in between are consumed with work. Maddie and I have discussed the lack of time that we spend together and we are in accord with the situation. We both know it is temporary and for a good cause. Once we set sail, we will spend all our time together because we will be cruising once again.

The rigging jobs take priority over the boat projects because the rigging jobs bring in money while the boat projects cost money to finish.

My longest day occurred on a Thursday, when I started my day at 5am with installing a clients in-mast furling mainsail, then I went to the dental office to see patients. When I got home I continued to fabricate the stays for the Islander 36, finally finishing my work at 10pm. It was a very long day, but a very productive day. Knowing that this schedule is temporary helps me make it through these kinds of days.

Whoops!

So, the faying surface of the keel was not square to the keel sides. The stem however was cut into the keel set parallel to the keel sides. The result is a wonky frame in need of a change of plans.

I could either cut a new stem with an offset finger that would connect into the finger joint and keep the bow plumb or I could cut the bottom of the stem off and attach the stem to the keel on the same faying surface as the frames (and inline with the frames). 

If I cut the bottom of the stem off, it would be best to set the bow at a slight angle that way the force is better transferred through the knee and with less strain on the stem. This option allows me to keep my current stem and not need to remake the stem. 

I am able to do this because the stem was cut much longer than necessary, allowing me to cut off the bottom portion and set the stem at an angle on the keel. Since the stem is being pushed back, I will need to reshape the knee to fit in front of the first floor. 

The advantage of building a dinghy is you can change your mind about things as you go, as long as you cut your timbers longer than you need. It is very easy to cut off excess, but not as easy to make members longer.

Since I will not have a finger joint anymore to support the stem, I need to wait for the bronze fasteners to arrive that I will use to connect the stem and stern post to the keel. These large 4 inch lag bolts will tie the wooden structures together and resist corrosion over the hard life of the dinghy.