Suzanne refused to write the blog today AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!!!

JG here, live on the scene... As we all know, Suzanne has been doing an incredible job keeping the blogosphere (you) updated on our whereabouts and happenings.  But today for reasons undisclosed, she has passed the blog-o-baton to me.  But do not fret, my virtual shipmates, we will not let her Stray away from her blog-tastic prowess for long (see what i did there?).

I am happy to report that the crew is now undertaking a myriad of projects on Stray Cat while docked at Harbourtowne for the week.  Surely by now we've all come to realize that Sailing/Cruising is not ALL about sunshine, margaritas and relaxicating!  The boat has a (seemingly) endless task list of must-haves, really-wants, and would-be-nice items that are presented below so you may follow along at home.  While not every task is extremely difficult or time consuming in and of itself, the fact that we are living aboard a boat in flip-flops usually presents its own unique challenge for each.  Fill propane... not really a big deal at home, but I imagine we will be hauling around both tanks by hand (only at the marina - if we're lucky!) looking for the filler station.  The Heli-pad may prove to be a bit larger hurdle (I'll let you guess which category that one falls into), but in typical Stray Cat fashion, we already have a rough implementation plan for it in place, thanks in part to aforementioned margaritas.  

 

The Task List

As you may know, the primary work here at Just Catamarans is that we are having 3 windows replaced due to crazing and leaking.  Here are Mark and I on day one removing the louvers over the front two windows to gain access.  

Mark chiseling away 13 year old "marine sealant" - I'm pretty sure they used cement.  

A "before" picture, not very clear due to the crazing (hairline spiderweb cracking of the plexiglass windows).   These are extremely difficult to see through 1: at night and 2: in the rain... and so navigation is potentially impaired as a result.  "Must have"

 Louvers off

Window removed - Excessively gooey adhesive; did not all cure properly.

A little temporary plastic. 

All taped up

Galley window also quite crazed

Out and taped up

Dudes looking at stuff

Here, an additional dude has been summoned to look at stuff

Two dudes discuss important technical window changing strategy, one dude holds up the mast.  

While we were looking at stuff, we didn't notice the boat directly behind us had been sinking.  In the course of a few minutes, about 20 people came out of the woodwork to watch and/or assist.  I was trying to be discreet in snapping pictures of someone's major investment essentially getting ruined.   Look closely at the wooden platform on the stern - it's underwater.  

They brought out the trash pumps and pumped out the water from inside the hull.  Slowly the boat came back up to its normal waterline, and here you can see here the wooden platform is above the water. Turns out some sort of water cooling pipe had burst inside the boat, allowing the seawater to gush in.  The dock security guy told me it happens occasionally, and this guy was lucky it happened in the daylight with people around - 30 more minutes and this boat very well could have been entirely under water.  Evidently most sinkings at the dock happen at night when nobody is there to catch it in time.  I will now be extra vigilant regarding the water level in my cabin at night time. 

Suzanne had been working on an Amazon.com provisioning order for some time, and has been threatening to hit the "send" button all morning.  She finally did, and immediately Mark and I remembered some more stuff we need.  Then Suzanne went jogging toward the beach.  

Suzanne!  Where are you?  

Oh, you're on the beach taking pretty pictures!  Take us with you! 

Day two projects

Suzanne suggested Stray Cat Glamour Shots, which I obviously jumped at the chance to sign up for.  This is the result.  Second career?  Ahem... maybe I should be thinking about a first career.  Anyway, one of the items on the list was getting our manual control for the electric windlass ("winch", for the landlubbers) working again.  Somewhere, sometime back, we needed our manual backup for the windlass when the electrical supply for it failed, which of course happened right at a critical moment when we needed it for maneuvering the anchor.  Mark then discovered the manual ratcheting function didn't work correctly, either.  The electrical issue was identified and fixed that day, but we had yet to address the manual function.  So that was my project today: take apart, see whatsamattah, fix.  All the cogs and parts were extremely corroded and the old grease had become more like glue.  Thankfully when I finished, I didn't have any leftover parts.    

Windlass re-assembled, and "ops checks ok", which is aviation-speak for "works as advertised."  

Mark loves his power.  More specifically, he really enjoys the details behind Stray Cat's elaborate battery house power and charging system.  And he should, he has either replaced, designed and/or installed virtually every current component in the system.  I can follow along to his description to some degree, but finally he resulted to drawing a diagram of the system so I could remember what power is where and where it's going.  Anyway... the Ammeter essentially indicates to us if our solar/wind charging system is charging the batteries, or if there is a usage draw on the batteries (discharging).   The older Ammeter wasn't working correctly, so today it was getting replaced.  

The new digital gauge on top is the new Ammeter.  Here it is showing that our solar charging cells are pumping 15 amps into the battery bank - this is a good thing - and Capt. Mark is a happy camper when  the sun/wind charging systems are contributing to our power consuming tendencies.  To get more technical:  currently this new ammeter is connected to a 500 amp shunt, which is too large for an accurate indication.  Through the wonders of the Internets and the Amazons, a new 200 amp shunt is now on its way to us.  The smaller value shunt will be better proportioned to Stray Cat's electrical system, and should allow for a more accurate indication. Swapping the new shunt should be a quick job when it arrives.  Mark will then camp even happier.  Happy Captain = happy crew. 

Meanwhile, as shown below, we are experiencing a cold front of biblical proportions.  We ask for your thoughts and well-wishes as we endure these extreme conditions, which required us to locate the heater button on the boat and press "on" last night.  Today we are happy to report the sun has risen and we are able to resume daily operations as expected.  

  

On schedule for Thursday:  new window install, quinoa for lunch, and a bike ride to the strip mall.

Thanks for reading.  We will now return to our regularly scheduled Suzanne.

So long and thanks for all the shoes - JG