Thoughts on cutting the mooring lines

I am having thoughts about how it is getting close to time to cut the mooring lines. Everyone tells me that getting underway that first time, casting off the ines for cruising, is the hardest part. I had a small taste of that when I left San Francisco in June bound, solo, for San Diego. However I knew that it was going to be more than four months before it was actually time to leave for Mexico and the first step of extended cruising.

That four plus months is now down to five weeks. Where did the summer go? Well, much of it went to Guatemala and working on the house here in Palm Springs. Not much went to Astraea. However she has sat patiently waiting for her turn, and that time is coming very quickly.

I was on her for a couple of days this week to do a couple of projects from the punch list of things to do before leaving. She is such a great boat. Her bilges were bone dry, no smells or mold or mildew anywhere, everything working. She is a good old girl and I am lucky she found me and I found her. For someone who has never owned a boat is difficult to describe the special relationship that boat owners can develop with their boats.  It is almost as if the boat is a living breathing thing.  Like many sailors I have always felt that boats have a soul.  There is something very special about them.  I have also always felt that there are few things than man builds that are as beautiful as a sailboat.  She and I are both itching to get underway and seek out our next adventure.  There is much to do before we leave, however, so now at the end of the day I sit aboard her in San Diego at the pier and think about being aboard in a warm anchorage somewhere watching the sunset and swimming and just enjoying life aboard. But there is a lot of work to do first.

On Wednesday of this week I drove to San Diego and visited all of the major boat supply stores. West Marine in San Diego is awesome, much nicer than the ones in San Francisco. I also visited Downwind Marine and the San Diego Marine Exchange, which I had been introduced to briefly by my friend Jacob of Pisces.

Thursday found me working HARD on Astraea doing a couple of high priority projects.

Refrigeration or no refrigeration is always a big issue of debate for cruisers, right up there with water makers. Astraea came with a major big time reefer and freezer installation. It is almost 20 years old, but is top notch quality from Technautics and would cost at least $15,000 today. If I did not have such a high end system already on the boat I would just go without refrigeration, as many cruisers do - including Beth Leonard . However since it is there I might as well use it and enjoy it.

The system consists of a good sized 110V compressor for when on shore power, and an engine mounted compressor for underway. There are two holding plates in the freezer, one being a giant four inch thick model, the other two inches thick. Together they really can keep the freezer cold. On the trip down from San Franciso the system stopped working and after some simple trouble shooting I discovered that the old Technautics analog thermostat inside the freezer box had failed. This became obvious when I removed it and connected the two wires that went into it and the system suddenly worked again. However I have found that the engine mounted system is not putting out much cooling, so I have requested a service visit from a local San Diego company. This system was removed when the engine was replaced, and it probably lost some of it's charge. I have all the tech manuals but these marine Technautics systems are so complicated that I think it best to hire a professional. Several places in the tech manuals on the instructions on how to recharge the system are big WARNING paragraphs about blowing out the seals or doing other grevious danger to this expensive system. Not worth the risk.

I called Technautics and of course they no longer offer a simple little manual analog thermostat. They now only offer a $300 digital thermostat, which is probably ten times what the original cheapie cost back when it was new, and which will probably not last 20 years like the one that failed. I did get the new thermostat installed and I must admit it is pretty kewl. One sets the desired temperature and the thermostat provides a constant digital readout of the reefer temperature and controls the compressors. It was made to install on a control panel or in a bulkhead. I did not want to cut a hole in my teak, so I found a nice little electrical box at West Marine and used it to mount the thermostat. It did require running six wires, two for power, two for the temperature probe, and two for the compressor controllers, however it was pretty easy to do with a very long drill bit that would reach through the thick freezer walls.

Fancy new digital controller for the freezer/reefer. I installed it where it would not get wet and where I could see it easily. Excuse the sawdust. I had to drill several holes to install this thing as it has six wires involved with it that I had to run through the cabinetry.

The next project was rough on the old back. I had decided to put in a second GPS system as a backup, and to install it in my cabin where it can provide me course, speed, and position in the night, and also function as a back up anchor alarm when I am asleep at anchor. This involved installing a new GPS antenna on the stern rail and running 25 feet of coax under the cockpit. This involved removing two large anchors, and two chain/rope rodes and other heavy gear from the starboard lazarette. It also involved taking up deck boards inside the boat and emptying several storage lockers. Nothing on a boat is easy. Nothing. However I like the result.

Astraea has a new Furuno NavNet system with integrated radar and GPS with a large monitor at the navigation desk and a smaller remote monitor at the helm, however this simple GPS in my cabin provides a backup and also lets me glance up when I am sleeping to see position, course, speed, and also provides a backup anchor alarm when at anchor. 

The third project that I was able to complete on a very busy day, and which also was rough on the old back, was installing a salt water faucet at the galley sink. I had already installed a new faucet for hot and cold pressurized water, and also a small faucet with a Whale foot pump for fresh water when the water pump is turned off. This is important as when far from water sources it is not a good idea to have the water pump on as a leak can quickly result in pumping all the fresh water into the bilge and thence over the side. This happened to me on the shake down trip from San Francisco to San Diego. This was not big deal as I was close to fresh water sources, but out in the ocean, without a water maker, it could be a serious problem. Hence the foot pump for fresh water.

I also had decided that I needed a salt water pump at the galley sink in order to be able to reduce fresh water use. One can wash dishes in salt water and then rinse in fresh, cutting down on precious fresh water usage. Also, when cooking pasta, once of my favorite things to eat on the boat, why use fresh water and then salt it when one can boil the pasta in seawater? I had the boatyard put in a new thru hull during the last yard visit for this salt water faucet and for a possible future water maker. Here is the new faucet. It is Swedish made and supposed to be really good quality.

Anyway, here is my new salt water pump. My young friend and experienced cruiser Jacob suggested a bucket and a rope. Ah, the energy of youth. The new salt water pump is on the right. Pretty kewl! The small faucet on the left has a foot pump on galley deck and provides fresh water without the need for the water pump to be on.

This will be all the work for a while. I am heading back to Palm Springs to spend some time at home, and then making a trip to Little Rock to see my mother and sister and friend Carol. I am also attending a high school reunion. (I won't say which one!!!!).

Will be back on the boat on September 29th ready to finish the final projects for the October 26th departure!!!!

Punch list for departing October 26

Visited Astraea this past week for a couple of days to see how she fared during my time away in Guatemala. She was ship shape and bristol fashion, no problems. Ah, she is a good old boat. I am always pleasantly surprised by the lack of smells or mildew or mold or other problems. That may change once we are in Mexico. HA! Wednesday was such a beautiful day in San Diego that I decided to take her out for a quick day sail in the Bay. She had been dockside since our arrival from San Francisco in June. I really do not like getting underway from our berth in Chula Vista, the southernmost part of San Diego, about as close as one can get to Mexico and not need a passport. In fact I can see Mexico from my kitchen window.... er, galley porthole. Anyway, the channel to the marina is long and narrow and winds through very shallow water. Also it runs right along the Navy berths at the Amphib base. Also, the marina slip where they put me is too small. I cannot even use my fenders when exiting or entering my slip it is so narrow. Also there is not enough room in the fairway to back out without several "backing and filling" maneuvers. Docking into the slip is a bit hairy too as there is no room at all for error. Just not worth the trouble to get underway. If I were not leaving for Mexico in October I would change marinas, or at least get a bigger berth.

Anyway, the day sail did not turn out to be much fun. We were about 45 minutes up the narrow channel when the engine suddenly died on me. My new engine with 180 hours on it. My $30,000 engine! At the time it died I was only about 100 feet from a barrier with a big sign saying US Navy Property Keep Clear. Of course the current was moving me TOWARD the barrier. I did not have time to try to restart the engine, so I rushed forward and dropped the anchor. Once I was certain that I was secure and would not drift down onto the Navy barrier then shifted the dual Racor filter over and the engine started right up without a problem. Still don't know why this happened, both of the fuel filters are totally clean, but it was a bit nerve racking at the time to lose power as I was so close to the restricted Navy area. I could just see some boat load of Navy SEALS coming out with their machine guns to board me and search the boat. Anyway, all's well that ends well and we were soon underway again.  However I decided that I had enough excitement for the day and headed back to the marina and had no problems.  Ran the engine almost an hour at the berth with the shaft engaged to try to reproduce the problem, but everything is perfect.  Must have been some air in the fuel line.  The Westerbekes are self bleeding, which is probably why the engine started up instantly after this "hiccup".  Mystery.

The next day I spent working on my list of things to do on the boat before leaving for Mexico. The list is so long it is a bit frustrating. I have classified tasks into Priority 1, things that must be done before Mexico; Priority 2, things to do in Mexico; Priorit 3, things to do IF I decide to cross the Pacific.

I stopped by the All Roads Satellite store in San Diego and got my new Iridium 9505A satellite phone, a remote satellite antenna for it, a data interface cable, and a new laptop just for satellite e-mail. I am also going to subscribe to a satellite weather information system that will send me digital weather maps and forecasts via the phone. Up to the minute weather maps, voice, and e-mail all via satellite. So totally kewl! This type of technology was unthinkable back when I was in the Navy. It all cost me a couple of thousand dollars, but it will give me a lot of piece of mind to know that I am in voice and e-mail touch with home and the rest of the world. The phone even has it's own "Extreme" water tight hard case that is International Orange and Floats. If I ever have to go into the life raft the phone will definitely be in my ditch bag.

New Iridium 9505A, new laptop for satellite communications, and satellite modem for the Iridium.  Also a portable Sony SSB receiver.  Kewl new stuff. 

I have also purchased a sweet little Sony SSB receiver. So many people LOVE their SSB systems and get their ham licenses and spend hours a day on the radio. That is not me. I did not even like talking on the radio when I was in the Navy. Don't like talking on my VHF. Therefore a SSB is not me. However this Sony will allow me to listen to the cruiser nets, weather forecasts, and with the Short Wave bands, to commercial short wave radio stations.

I have ordered new LED lights for the inside of the boat. I had replaced all of the old light fixtures with LED a couple of years ago, but they turned out to be total crap. The company that made them went out of business. There is a new vendor, called LunaSea, that makes a really awesome LED fixture. I bought two and installed them as a test. They are super, bright, wonderful! I have ordered another four to replace the remainder of the cabin lights.

Also ordered mosquito netting and velcro to make mosquito nets for the deck hatches.

So many things to do and so little time left to do it! Yikes! Also the budget is getting a bit stretched so some things I would like to have are just not going to be purchased right now.

Back in Palm Springs for a new days. When the netting and new fixtures come in will go back to San Diego to install the lights and make the mosquito nets.