NEW YEARS WISH

Hope everyone reading this has a healthy, happy and prosperous 2016 with fair winds everyday

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME

I've been pretty busy since I pulled the boat and so it has been hard to keep posting on the blog. So I thought I'd share a little Christmas present I bought for myself. It's a Sailrite Folding Sewing machine table. Since I bought the Sailrite Ultrafeed® LSZ-1 Sewing Machine last year. It seemed like a good idea to enhance my sewing area with a proper table to work on. It came fully assembled and flat in the box:

It was pretty easy to setup. I had to adjust the sunken platform for the proper height of the LZ-1 sewing machine. It took just a few minutes.

Once that was done it was simply a matter of loading the Sailrite sewing machine in it's base cabinet  onto the platform:

It sits nice and flush with the table surface. With the legs locked it was pretty stable and has a convenient ruler running across the edge of the table. I think it will help with my winter project which is sewing a new sail cover for BIANKA. More on that later.

ANCHORS AWAY

I'm  trying to catch up on things and put up some blog posts of things done and not done this past season on board. One of the things I had been planning to do was to attach a waterproof camera to the 33 pound Bruce anchor that serves as BIANKA's main anchor. It has been a doing a great job since I bought the boat. It has held in 30 to 40 knots of wind including a brush with Hurricane Earl. I trust it but, I was still curious how it was doing it's job. I never did setup my camera for some underwater video of the Bruce but, a fellow in the Pacific Northwest has. He shows it setting pretty nicely with a 2.5:1 scope Here is his video:

ONE LAST THING: Cleaning the Porta Boat

I finally broke down and splurged on renting a spot on the dingy dock for my eight foot Porta Boat. I spend most of my time during the summer living on the boat with an occasional respite on land for work or to accompany my gal on a beach vacation. Since I have been using a folding Porta Boat for fourteen years I was able to fold it up when and take it home as needed. As I'm getting older this is becoming more of a pain and so I opened the wallet to have access to the dingy dock at the boatyard. It certainly makes it more convenient for quick trips home or provisions. Since for over a decade I have avoided the dingy dock fees that could have paid for the Porta Boat three or four times over I thought it was about time to make things a little easier for me. Though leaving the Porta Boat in the water for the entire season bought some new issues.

MAST CLIMBING: OTHER POSSIBILITIES?

BIANKA has a round unstayed mast almost like a tapered metal telephone pole. So there are no spreaders to deal with like on many other types of sailboats. There are two hanger lines that support the wishbone boom though. I don't have to go up the mast too often. Usually just in the spring and fall when stepping and unstepping the mast. I can use a folding ladder to reach the hanger lines for the quick disconnect that I have to do.  There is no need to drag out a Bosun's Chair. However, this video looks like it might offer an interesting alternative for climbing the mast that also does not involve the ladder or Bosun's chair:

GIFTS FOR BOATERS FROM BIANKA'S GALLEY: Anchor Measuring Shot Glass

It's getting to be that time of year again when gift giving becomes a priority for many. It can be hard for sailors and landlubbers to find gifts for their boater friends. May I suggest this little stocking stuffer for the boaters on your list. Anchor Hocking Measuring Shot Glass. I personally use it quite a bit in the galley when cooking or when making a Bloody Bianka or Rum Spritzer for my sunset libation. It's suitably nautical in appearance for any boat. It can also be a nice thank you gift if you are invited aboard for an afternoon on the water not just during the Christmas holidays.

Snug Harbor 2015

BIANKA is back on land for the winter but, in good company. It was a great sailing season but, winter is a good time to catch up on publishing some overdue blog posts. It's also a time to do some of those projects I thought I'd get to work on during the sailing season but, somehow I never did. The good news is the Super El Nino in the Pacific  is supposed to help allow for a more moderate winter here in the Northeast compared to last year. I hope they are right.

TIME AND TIDE

"Time and tide wait for no man" 

Geoffrey Chaucer

 Well it's the end of the sailing season for BIANKA and I here in the northeast U.S. The boat is at the dock to have the mast unstepped and to be put on land for the winter.  I need to take a number of heavy bulky items off the boat and having the boat at the dock makes it easier than when she is on the jack stands. While  Chaucer says time and tide wait for no man I do just the opposite and wait for the right tide.  Removing the heavy items such as the 540 feet of sail stowed in a large sail bag, the Sailrite sewing machine or the Honda 2000 generator is best done at high tide.  Then the gangway that leads to land and the car is at it's most horizontal position. A prudent mariner waits for time and tide to accomplish such moves. Might as well make it as easy as possible if you can.

MISTAKES WILL BE MADE

Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without

I try to live by the above proverb on both land and sea. I will try to not throw something out until it has no useful function for me. Even then I try an recycle it if I can. A long time ago I bought a boat bag from L.L. Bean. I think it must have been over twenty years ago. It's been around and is beaten up and worn but, still was useful for carrying things. That is until the handles broke recently. The carrying part of the bag was still very usable.  So when I bought my Sailrite Ultrafeed® LSZ-1 Sewing Machine last year one of the first projects was to

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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