END OF THE SEASON 2017

I had BIANKA pulled and stored in the boatyard for the winter last week. It was time there was a near brush with Hurricane Jose which came up the coast. It's also the time of the year when Nor'easters start forming making for cold, wet windy weather. I was triggered a few weeks ago while sitting in the cockpit noticing how early the sun was going down and also how cold it was while wearing my wool watch cap. It warmed up a little since then but, nature keeps sending it's reminders that it is time to end the sailing season:

Next week the remnants of Hurricane Nate will be impacting the area. Though it should only bring a heavy rain to the area. It is just another sign that it's time to pull the boat for the winter

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.

A QUICK STORAGE PROJECT

The three days hunkering down below waiting for the Nor' Easter to pass gave me time to work on some projects that have been on the "To Do"  list. I have three aerosol products that I try to keep handy in the tool locker. They are Corrosion Block, Boeshield T-9 and PB Blaster.  I often have to rummage through other items to get to them. Somewhat of a pain when all I need to do is grab one of them for a quick spray. So I came up with an idea of hanging a fabric pocket made out of some knock off Sunbrella material I had on board and hanging it on the inside of the tool locker door to hold the cans. It was a quick job using my Sailrite LSZ-1 Sewing Machine to put it together:
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This allows for much easier access to them and utilizes the space inside the tool locker  much better. Not to mention less aggravation trying to find the cans among the other stored items

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UH OH!

BIANKA is not yet in the water but Tropical Storm ANA has formed off the southeast United States. I'm a little concerned as the storm makes it's way up the coast. But, there are a few good things in my favor:

1) One thing is the boat is still on land.
2) The mast has been unstepped which means less windage and stress on it.
3) The brutal cold winter has meant that the waters around Long Island are colder than normal and so should knock down the storms strength.

All of the above help ease my fears about the storm doing any major damage but, I'll be keeping a weather eye on it.

OCTOBER CHANGES: Wind and windage

October is a month of change here in the harbor on the Isle of Long. Boats start disappearing from dock slips and morrings. Sails come off of boats and on some boats the masts also come down. At least they don't fall down but, are laid on deck so the boat can be moved and stored in some inland location. Yep, lot's of changes happening around BIANKA.  The taking down of the mast on a sailboat before it's pulled can change things quite a bit especially if the boat is put back on it's mooring to await hauling out for the winter. I observed this the other day as two nearby boats had a close encounter with the change of tide. One of the boats had it's mast laid on it's deck the day before which changed the amount of windage upon it. This gave the currents flowing underneath the boat more sway in how the boat lay at the mooring. Meanwhile, the boat on the next mooring still had it's mast and was affected more by the wind. The result is when I looked up at one point the end of the mast of the demasted boat was poking into the cockpit enclosure of the fully rigged boat:

Luckily, it appeared to be just high enough to make it over the lifelines and did not appear to be hung up on anything. I kept watching hoping I did not have to make an intervention. Which would have been difficult in the conditions since I only had a dingy with oars and the wind was picking up. In a few minutes the boats had separated:

But, only for a few minutes. Soon the currents and winds resumed their battle and the boats were once again in close proximity to each other. But, not in any danger of getting hung up as before:

Eventually, things got back to normal and the collision danger passed. The next day I woke up from a nap hand found that the boat with the stepped mast had been removed from the mooring eliminating any further chance of the two boats bumping into one another. Just something to consider this time of year when the wind and windage of the boats can change and mysterious damage happens.

AN AHA STORAGE MOMENT IN THE GALLEY

After dismantling major portions of the Gas Range on BIANKA I had some new storage options. I discovered one by accident last time I was on board. Seems one of my favorite cooking pans a 12 inch cast iron skillet stores away quite nicely sitting on top one the new burner:

Best of all it fits under the sliding countertop too. This frees up space in the oven compartment storage area and allows easy access to a pan I use quite often when cooking.  

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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UNPLANNED BENEFITS OF PROJECTS

After removing the twenty three year old Paloma water heater as part of my rethinking propane project. I opened up a lot of space for use. Looking at the cabinet area where it once resided. I saw an opportunity to move over the Brita water filter over into the water heater space.

If it would fit in the space behind the Paloma access door.

My first attempt was a no go. The cabinet door that help hide the heater would not allow the Brita water filter to fit. So I removed the door which was held on by hinges attached with square drive screws. Using one of the square drive screwdrivers I carry on board it was a quick job to remove the door.

Success! The Brita Water Filter would  fit in the space. But, first I had to add another shelf in the back of the cabinet to support the rear of the water filter:

Once this was done I was able to fit  the Brita right into the space

 and it looked like it was planned that way. But, the reality was it's just an unplanned outcome of my rethinking propane project. Another benefit of the move was the outlet water valve for the Brita is now over the sink instead of the counter. So any unplanned drips do not have to be wiped up.

ANOTHER "AHA" MOMENT ON BOARD: STORAGE

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." 

-George Orwell

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The other day I was hunkered down below in the cabin as the wind and a cold rain hit the deck. While nursing a cup of tea I had an "AHA!" moment as I thought about storage in the cabin, BIANKA has three storage lockers in the main cabin behind louvered doors like this one:

One is located amidships just aft of the galley area and is very accessible. It contains several items associated with the cooking and food serving and has done so since I purchased the boat fourteen years ago.  Items in the locker include a steamer (which I never used), paper plates, plastic utensils for guests (seldom on board) and spare storage containers:

The truth is I maybe open this locker once or twice a season. Meanwhile across the cabin and located in the aft end of the cabin behind the table is a locker I access weekly if not more. This locker contains my wiring and electrical tools as well as my ditty box for sail repair items :

Because it sits in the aft corner behind the table access is a bit of a pain. My "aha" moment came when I realized I should swap the contents of the two lockers. Once done I would have much easier access to the electrical and sail repair items I use weekly if not more often. It only took me fourteen years to come up with this plan. George Orwell was right!
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TOOLIN' AROUND WITH STORAGE IDEAS

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Sometimes organization is a constant struggle on a boat. Big tool boxes really have no place on 30 foot monohulls like BIANKA. Being able to find the right tool without tearing the whole boat apart looking for it is a good thing too. A few years ago I hit upon the idea of using   plastic storage boxes  to to store various tools and supplies.

This worked pretty well.  I had one box for glues, another for drills, wrenches etc...
Here is the storage box where I stored the sets of wrenches, ratchets and sockets I used on board:

As you can see from the duct tape repair around the box. This plastic box is really not sturdy enough for the weight of the wrenches and sockets. So this spring I came up with a better idea to store these items. It was a 12 inch plastic toolbox I picked up in Harbor Freight.

It is much sturdier than the plastic storage box and as you can see takes up a little less room than the storage box it replaced. Truth is I could probably get rid of some of the wrenches and sockets I carry. My electric propulsion system does not require the same amount of tools like wrenches to maintain it that my old diesel did. But, this tool box comes with a little tray that fits inside. So I put my frequently used wrenches and sockets in the tray so they are available as soon as I open the tool box . I don't have to hunt around for the right wrench for most jobs. It's little things like having your tools organized and saving space that can make a big difference when working around the boat.
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