August 4, 2010
Cap’n Pat working on Shaboom in the dead of winter
Shaboom under wraps
This all originally started well over a year ago with a simple phone call:
(* RING *) Me: “Hello”
Pat: “So, I have this idea…”
I immediately knew I was in deep doo doo, because if Pat has an idea and it involves me and a boat, someone’s gonna be loosing an eye … or a limb … or something … and it will be hilarious!
The idea was to sail down east from Long Island to spend two glorious weeks coastal cruising in Maine. He had arranged crew and had a plan all worked out. Only issue was he needed to put his Westsail back together and get it from Annapolis, MD to Long Island.
Pat: “You in?”
Me: “Sure”
Pat: “Well don’t sound so damn excited!” (* Click – Buzzzzzz *)
Ready to paint the bottom?
Now I was excited, of course. I told Vanessa and she simply threw her head back and laughed. “Will his boat be ready?” she asked, knowing Pat is like me and that we have great ideas – even reasonable ones – but reality always prevails. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” she remarked.
I knew we were doomed the moment I got the first email. You see, Pat broke Rule #1 – no schedules (see this link to previous entry regarding cruising rules). He seemingly left himself enough time, but with Rule #1, there’s never enough time for everything. Plus, we already lost the first of our committed four man crew.
I suggested via email: I know how tough getting a cruise together is. If you are finding it too time constrained, then here’s a potential back up plan. We can always sail from wherever the boat is now to your new port on Long Island. That way, you’ll have the boat in the back yard, can get it finished, and then sail to Maine in the future. In less than four minutes there was a reply:
Attention all crew. Plans have changed. We are sailing from Annapolis to Long Island, with a possible side trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Book airfare to anywhere in the Baltimore/D.C. area.
I hit “Reply All” with the message: That’s a great idea Pat!
Ah, Annapolis: More sailboats than people?
I’m such a good friend. Sarcasm aside, this is a plan that is very doable for me. I know the waters around there and I know the route. It’s a good plan.
Over the next few months, I would have a great laugh as Pat toiled through all the repairs and installs he needed to get the boat ready. I happily followed along with Pat’s progress and even gave advise where I had it to give. His emails are always hilarious, yet truthful. I’m sure he used to get a kick out of me when I was having my issues before and during our Voyage of Our Lifetime cruise. It is his turn now. Next, it will be my turn again when I finally get the crazy idea to head out on another adventure. We always get a kick out of each others progress (or lack there of). Here’s a prime example of a Pat update email:
April 12, 2010
re: time of the sailing
sorry for the delay in responding. work is about as f@#$%d up as it can get – and that’s saying a lot for this place – and i thought things would settle out enough to permit me to make a rational plan. then i realized i wouldn’t know what to do with anything labeled “rational”.
couple choices here which i let you ladies decide between you – 8-15 august, or 15-28 august. plan on flying into dc area (bwi supports Southwest, but they’re all close enough to find you) and flying out of Islip on Long Island (again, SW flies into it, but the others are doable). if by some bizarre reason we end up marauding the chesapeake for the cruise, i’ll get you to the NY airport(s).
i tested your auto-inflating harness the other day on the dog. he wasn’t thrilled, but considering the cat wore a chain and anvil, i think he’ll get over it.
heading south to work the boat this weekend. count on me to completely ignore the shit that absolutely needs to be done in favor of doing things that catch my eye – the fucking diesel cabin heater will be operational by august, so at least you guys won’t have to pack your woolies!! as steve can attest, you never know where the challenges will pop up. last time down, i was ramping up to sledge off the moth eaten prop to replace it only to discover it simply slid off when i removed the (bronze) holding nuts. cool, i thought, a simple job for once! then i dropped one of the nuts and watched it fall apart into three pieces, requiring a long discussion with the bronze nut store. i discovered an upholstery joint less than a mile from the boat and went in to see if they could come to the boat and do the resizing of the existing cushions and then re-cover them…
“yeah, yeah,” said the nice asian man.
“great! i’ll give you directions,” i told him.
“yeah, yeah,” said the nice asian man.
“understand, no really big hurry. would getting them done by july be a problem?”
“yeah, yeah,” said the nice asian man.
suddenly i had a thought…
“you don’t, uh, habla english, do you?”
“yeah, yeah,” said the nice asian man.
“really? i think i banged your wife 25 years ago when i was in asia.”
“yeah, yeah,” said the nice asian man.
“and her mother.”
“yeah, yeah,” said the nice asian man.
“at the same time.”
“yeah, yeah,” said the nice asian man.
i’m hoping he’ll have a translator around this trip down.
Ready to launch?
Or on another follow up on a comment I made:
May 23, 2010
re: greetings, mates
Not get arrested?! I guess I can cross it of the “to do” list, but please reconsider your decision. Seems like a great way to open any story, sailing or otherwise.
Just got back from a few days of slaving away on dear old Shabby. After almost ten years of indecision I decided to mount the reefer compressor under the settee instead of the engine compartment. The real reason was I was just to damned lazy to build a shelf in there. Sad. As Z will attest, i’ve put less thought into wives than where to mount that thing. Left the new shelf curing so the next trip down will be installation and wiring. With luck the thing will work but if it doesn’t, at least I won’t be stepping over it for another ten years.
I also ran new portable water hose; the shit that came out of the old stuff was cringe inducing, and that comes from a guy that spent more than a few years drinking water in third world countries. If we do the beer provisioning right, we’ll arrive with the same amount of water we left with, minus a few gallons for coffee. Painted some stuff. Installed new through hulls for the galley and head sinks – no need to discuss how they used to drain – and made templates for the recushioning. Not sure if the new covers will be made by the time we shove off but at least the cushions will- um, should fit, thus assuring your comfort. Thought about installing the roller furling but settled for sticking some SOLAS tape on the mast instead. Seemed equally as important at the time, required so much less thought, and you guys will be kissing my ass over that decision when the Coast Guard helicopter arrives on scene. Cracked open the Cape Horn install manual and was kind of disappointed with the lack of detail for our model. Should have opened the box to see if he included the mentioned “omega band” to mount it to the boomkin. Recall if yours had one, or did you need to get one made up?
I’m thinking (knock on wood) that this might just come together!
P
On the same thread:
May 26, 2010
re: greetings, mates
I’m going to ask my doctor ex-wife to put together a first aid kit. You guys have any medical issues or allergies (work’s a given) I should be aware of? Codeine and penicillin give me cooties so we’ll need to avoid armed prostitutes if at all possible.
A sign of our pending cruise or pending doom? Boat swag arrives from Pat.
The real funny thing is during this whole process, Pat kept sending me stuff. He sent a custom Shaboom ball cap which arrived in a bashed-in box (see photo to right). He sent a DVD of a Discovery Channel show on rogue waves. He’d send me DVDs of sailing boats the way it is suppose to be done, as opposed to the way we are gonna do it.
Finally, after years of hard labor and more than a few bottles of asprin, Pat has Shaboom gently resting in her slip, awaiting my arrival and one last update on status:
On Jul 29, 2010, at 9:54 AM, Tilson, Pat wrote:
Update on Shabby…
1. She’s resting comfortably at Jabin’s Marina on Back Creek in Annapolis.
2. It was over 100 degrees (with humidity, you desert rats!) three out of the five days I was down there last week, so I’m curious how much stuff I messed up while delirious.
3. The roller furler was put together, but the drum is binding. I’ve left two messages with the rigger to wander by and fix the problem!!
4. The reefer compressor is still napping with the factory authorized repair guy. Glad I overnighted it to him five weeks ago. I told them this past Monday I needed a “dead or alive” determination by Tuesday evening so I could order a new one, but of course they didn’t call. I called him yesterday and he said he’s “trying” to get to it. I’ve been by his shop twice and they’re not all that busy.
5. Remind me – the bilge pump really should be hooked up…
6. The newly installed radar/chartplotter should be operational. The guy called me yesterday from the dock, and how hard can it be to hook up four wires?
7. Pressure water is a dream at this time. Not sure if the pump just needs priming, the filter is clogged, or what. Could be I’ve interfaced it with the roller furler. The foot pump does work, though.
8. Engine guy came by to service the engine while the boat was out of the water. Suggested he come by when it was in. haven’t heard back.
9. Don’t get me started on the dinette table…
Looking forward to whatever this ends up being!
Shaboom finally in the water
This is beginning to sound like a great adventure! We will certainly have no great stories to tell if all the gear operates as it should. That said, I’ve never been anywhere with everything perfect to start only to have it all go to hell. I think we’ll be good. Nothing on a boat we can’t fix and handle underway, with the exception of the refrigerator. It just might mean we’ll have to make more beer stops than originally planned. I think I’ll need to clear my calendar for an extra week to compensate.
This is going to be something. Not sure what, yet, but it will certainly be something.
Here’s to adventure!
– Steve