WINTERLUDE 2016 PART THREE

After a heavy rain had melted much of the snow left from the recent snow storms. I thought I would make another trip to the boatyard and check up on things again. I got to the boatyard and started chatting with the usual crowd that was hanging out in the warm boatyard office. I continued the gam with another boater outside who was heading to the British Virgin Islands the following week to charter a Catamaran. Something I had done for most of January. After that was finished I noticed how cold it was and thought maybe I should come back on the weekend when it would be noticeably warmer than the lower forty degree Fahrenheit day it was. The breeze did not help make it any warmer. I got in the car to warm up and decide what to do. I then thought well I was already here might as well drag out the folding ladder from back of the car and do a quick check. I'm glad I did. Things had taken a turn for the worse since the previous check I had done the week before. The first and most critical thing I noticed even before I climbed on to the boat. One of the frame struts for the solar bimini was no longer connected to the deck hinge:

 This no doubt happened during the 30 to 50 MPH winds during the recent rains. The winds vibrated the frame enough to loosen the screw that held the end cap to the deck hinge. Luckily the screw fell inside the cockpit and was easily found and the frame secured.

The next thing I noticed is that the piece of Lexan that bridged the gap between the two 75 watt solar panels on the solar bimini was gone:

I mean really gone. I could not find it anywhere The same winds that loosened the bimini hardware no doubt sent this piece of plastic flying. This will have to be replaced later during spring outfitting. I have some new ideas for this area anyway.

The last thing I noticed is that the Hydrofarm 5-Gallon Black Bucket had split open:

No doubt from the water accumulating and freezing in it. The bucket had done a great job of providing solar heated rinse water after swims off of BIANKA. But, apparently was not durable enough as some other buckets that have survived the winters unscathed. A replacement will be ordered and stored down below next winter.

On the bright side the small cube ceramic heater I mentioned in the previous post had decided to start working again and provided some much needed heat as I wrestled with the cold stainless steel tubing of the bimini frame. I was glad I decided to do that quick check of the boat instead of heading back home. Things can change dramatically on board in a week even with the weather warming up.

SOMETHING NEW ON THE BUCKET LIST

I use a few of the five gallon buckets or pails on board BIANKA. They come in handy for all kinds of things. From holding cleaning solution for washing down the decks to storage of some of my dive equipment. I use one in the sleeping cabin as a storage bucket and  foot rest for tying shoes. I even use a cover from one of these buckets to cover the opening of the mast partner area over the winter.

I've also used a bucket hung from the main halyard to scare birds away when they seemed to have taken to roosting on the boom:

But, the most useful thing I use the buckets for is a quick wash down after a swim. I keep one of these five gallon buckets filled with fresh water in the corner of the stern and use a small container for a quick freshwater rinse after a swim. So I find these buckets very useful on board. They are pretty durable but, eventually one might crack or I lose the cover and it has to be replaced.  So earlier this spring I went online to look for a replacement cover for one of the buckets and I found a few things that improve my use of these ubiquitous buckets on board. First I discovered the Hydrofarm HG5G 5-Gallon Black Bucket. It is not so much an improvement as a change of color but, the ramifications are that the black color warms the water up faster for that after swim rinse.

The next bucket item I found which was a real improvement was Custom LeatherCraft 1140 EasySeat Lightweight Plastic Bucket Seat for 3 1/2- 5 Gallon Buckets:

This allows one to use the bucket as a seat and works very well for that function as well as a cover for the bucket. It also has a very light coefficient of friction so you can sit on it and spin around on the bucket. Very useful when working down low and needing to turn and reach for a tool. The cover is also has grooves so that it drains off any water that falls on it unlike the usual bucket cover.  It also has a very convenient tab on the side that was probably put there so these covers could be hung up for an in store display:

 But, I found it very useful to tie a lanyard to the tab and the bucket so the cover could not be separated and fall over the side. Which could easily happen with the generic bucket cover:

 I like how this cover worked so well I bought a second one to use on a bucket I have inside the cabin. One would think it's hard to improve on the basic five gallon bucket but, in my opinion someone has.

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A DIFFERENT KIND OF BUCKET LIST

Buckets of rain

Buckets of tears

Got all them buckets coming out of my ears

Buckets of moonbeams in my hand

You got all the love honey baby

I can stand.

                                                                                              -Bob Dylan

 

Well, Capt. Mikes sojourn to the U.S. and Spanish Virgin Islands is over and it's time to get back on board and do what needs to be done. Most of the boats in BIANKA's harbor are pulled and winterized and that means it's time for Capt. Mike to check and renew BIANKA's stock of buckets. Buckets are useful things on board a boat.

The above photo shows the collection I carry on board BIANKA. 

On the left is the ubiquitous five gallon bucket. I have several of these on board. One holds much of my diving gear, another is located on the starboard quarter and holds fresh water for rinse downs after a swim. They can also be useful in making a bird diverter.  Another is located in the Captains cabin where it serves as a small hassock/seat and holds extra canned provisions under it's lid. They stack easily and I am delighted when I find one floating in BIANKA's path while underway or on a beach combing walk.  I will always pick them up and find a use for them on board.

The middle bucket was an emergency purchase made from a Mattituck hardware store when the Wilcox Critterdon head had one of it's all to frequent breakdowns. Since I changed to a LAVAC head it has not had to be put into service but. remains on board just in case.

The bucket on the right is also one of my favorites because it is free! Capt. Mike thinks free is good especially when dealing with a boat's needs. I usually make these buckets from recycled anti freeze containers which in the fall are found in the boatyard by the hundreds:

Cutting off the top of an gallon jug makes for an excellent bucket with many useful purposes. NOTE: The top can also be used as a funnel. Punch a hole on each side and fit some 1/4" line with a figure eight knot on each end and you have a handle. Attach another lanyard to the handle and it becomes a very useful wash bucket in the cockpit. One that will last for years.

I also have a few around that I use to put tools and parts in when I work on projects down below. Like this bucket which is made out of an empty Simple Green container:

The bucket keeps everything in one spot and not rolling around the hull when I'm working.  Because the sides are very flexible they make great bailing buckets for the dingy or bilge too! Even if it does not last years (most of mine do) you can't beat the price and it's easy enough to make another one. Better still you are keeping another piece of plastic out of a landfill. I know it may be just (wait for it) "a drop in the bucket"  but, every little bit helps the environment and since it is useful on board the boat too that's not a bad thing!



ADDING TO THE BUCKET LIST

Remember that 5 gallon bucket I found on the beach a few days ago? It did not take long for me to find another use for it. After I took BIANKA back to the mooring and tied up in the afternoon I needed to do some errands on shore. I left the sail cover off because I would be pulling the sail off since it is the end of the season.   I was not gone more than an hour and half. But, as I rowed back to the boat I notice not one but two Cormorants perched on the boom. Now I'll have to clean and dry the sail before I stored it for the winter. I should have know better. But, even while I was on board another Cormorant tried to land on the boom but, I chased it off. I had to do something temporarily to try and keep the Cormorants off the boom until the morning. Then I remembered the bucket I found on the beach. I attached a halyard to the handle and attached another line loosely and that led aft to a cleat. I hoisted the bucket until it was just slightly higher than the boom and let it swing there in a lazy arc with the wind and rocking of the boat like this:

The plan was to have it swing over the boom and discourage any further landings on the boom and/or clear off any birds that did manage to land. It worked until I got BIANKA to the dock to clean the sail the next morning. See I told you these buckets come in useful on board.

TREASURE BEACH

Well, the small craft warnings have expired and the winds have died down quite a bit. As the sun started to set in the empty anchorage BIANKA was in this fall day:

I decided to row the Porta Bote to shore and take a little walk along the beach:

I've been on board since last Tuesday so a little stretch of the legs would probably in order on this beautiful autumn afternoon. I stopped to watch The Bridgeport Port Jefferson ferry that was almost aglow in the "magic time" sunlight as it entered the harbor:

It was another "pinch me" afternoon as I enjoyed having the beach all to myself. To top it all off I found some treasure along the way. As I walked the wrack line along the shore I found two washed up items that I could use on board. One was a spray bottle still functioning that can always be used for some cleaning uses on board or at home. Even better was five gallon bucket that also has many uses on board:

 I have five gallon buckets that hold spare pieces of line. Another holds some of my dive equipment. Another bucket sits on the stern and holds fresh water for a rinse off after a swim. Not sure what this one will be used for but, it will be used for something. So my little stroll along the beach helped me and helped the environment by recycling a few more pieces of plastic that otherwise would not have been.
What a wonderful afternoon it was.