5/5/2010 - Baby steps

First off: Happy Cinco de Mayo.

This whole single sideband (SSB) radio e-mail stuff is kind of a mystery to me. I'm usually a pretty tech-savvy guy (or at least I was when I was still working), but this stuff is really foreign to me. However, I had a bit of success today. First, several months ago, I installed my SSB radio. Then, over the course of a few months, I managed to put together an antenna and a ground plane that seemed to be acceptable as far as I could ascertain from various web sources. Next step was to connect the Pactor modem to the SSB. Fortunately for me, I bought my radio and modem as a package (used) from a guy who had previously had them on his boat. Besides the big pieces (radio, modem, automatic antenna tuner) there was also a baggie full of cables and various other gizmos. I found it really hard to find a definitive answer as to what connects to what and how. But, luckily, I only had so many cables and the ends were each unique enough that it was fairly easy to figure out what went where. Still, a little scary because, knowing as little as I do about this stuff, I could just see myself plugging the wrong thing in, keying the microphone and blowing some expensive piece of equipment up. But, as always, you eventually have to bite the bullet and go for it.

So I got everything connected to each other but I still wasn't sure if anything was going to work or not. The next step was to install Airmail and all its accouterments on my computer, configure it correctly, and fire that mutha up.

You cannot believe how happy I was when, after many incorrect paths, I finally hooked everything together, told the computer (via Airmail) what frequency to set the SSB at, and then watched as it actually happened! Coooooool. Still wasn't making any contact with anyone or anything but at least the computer could control the modem and the radio (actually I think the computer is controlling the modem and the modem is controlling the radio... but what do I know?).

Each one of these little steps represents weeks of fussing and fuming about what to do next as well as many hours on the internet poring over advice.

Today, another breakthrough. I actually made contact with an Airmail PMBO (Participating Mail Box Office) in Olympia, WA. My queued-up messages didn't go out and nothing came in and it disconnected me after just a few minutes, but I MADE CONTACT!

Next step: actually get the whole e-mail thing to work. I suppose it would also be a good idea to make voice contact with someone. I've been unsuccessful so far but I've only tried a couple of times. But that's okay. Baby steps. I know that eventually I will get it all working right.

Oh, BTW, Lulu has decided she needs to climb the ratlines at least once a day. I assumed it was for some sort of exercise but she says that she does it just 'cuz it's fun.

5/4/2010 - Fuel filtration

I may have written about some of this stuff before but I finalized the installation today so here's a little reprise:

If you've read one of my earliest entries, telling about our trip down the Washington and Oregon coasts, you know about the hassles we had with fuel filters. At the time I wrote the whole thing off to crud in the fuel tank being stirred up. Since that time I have read quite a bit about fuel filtration. One thing that stands out is that you can find at least one "expert" to back up whatever filtration strategy you choose. Of course, that's the story of nearly everything associated with sailing and cruising.

One of the jobs I did a few months ago was to cut an access hole into my fuel tank so that it could be opened up and cleaned by hand occasionally.

What I found when I dug in and started cleaning the tank was that it wasn't really that dirty. Sure there was some crud down at the very bottom but it was pretty well stuck in place. This led me to rethink what our problem was when coming down the coast. After doing some more reading to find an "expert" to back up the theory that I chose to believe, I decided that we probably were WAY over-filtering the fuel. I had switched filter elements in our primary filter from 30 microns to 2 microns. This is the same size filter that is installed on my engine as the final filter. I figured that, rather than rely on my engine-mounted filter (which is pretty small and somewhat of a hassle to change) I would just filter out all that stuff at the beginning of the line and probably never have to change the engine-mounted filter as a result. And, the theory sort of worked.

What I hadn't thought about was how often the 2 micron primary filter was going to plug up. On our trip down, I found out. It's a lot.

So, my next move was to install a regular Racor filter with a 30 micron element as my primary filter. If I'd had that on the way down the coast we may have never had to swap filters en route. But, that's not all. In the off chance that we do have to change filters while underway, I'd like to be able to do it on my schedule. Don't want the filter plugging up and stopping the engine during some critical operation. So, I borrowed a trick from the big guys and installed twin filters with switchover valves between them so that, in the event of a plug-up, I can simply switch 2 valves and I'm once again operating with a clean filter. Now, I can change elements when it's convenient.

And that was where things stood until today. The boat originally came to us equipped with a Racor canister filter unit. It's kind of a nice unit but the elements are ridiculously expensive. I was going to shitcan the unit and just use the 30 micron filters and the engine-mounted filter. However, after finding out what the canister units cost, I decided it would be foolish not to find a use for it. So, I reinstalled it and installed a 2 micron element. This then will serve as the polishing filter, easing the load on the engine-mounted unit.

I managed to get it all back together without any leaks and without any spills. I'd like to say that my trusty little Westerbeke diesel, which is advertised as "self-bleeding" fired right up. However, because I didn't pre-fill the new filter with clean fuel, there is a LOT of air to bleed off. I have always been amazed in the past at the level which the engine will self-bleed so I decided to put it to the big test while I'm still connected to shore power and therefore, unlimited battery-charging capability. By the time I decided to give things a rest, the new filter was full of fuel but the engine hadn't fired yet. I'm letting it sit to see if the air will work its way up to the self-bleeding unit (wherever that is) and will then miraculously start next time I try. Hey, it's happened before!

I was able to do all of this plumbing through the engine room door at the base of the companionway ladder. Lulu had been planning to do some sewing but was afraid she'd be in the way. But we decided that we really needed to learn to be able to work on 2 projects at the same time because we're going to have to in the near future. The good news is, we both got our jobs done, no one got hurt, no one got mad, and we were never really in each other's way.

Hey, take a look at this view of the engine room. It really is a room and the size is unprecedented for almost any sailboat, much less a 28 foot sailboat.

You're looking aft through the door behind the companionway ladder. The engine room is also accessible from above through a hatch in the cockpit floor. Behind the engine is a huge Edson diaphragm pump mounted on a piece of plywood. It's got a 2-1/2' handle and will pump something like a gallon per stroke. We used it to great advantage when we got to our old boat late one Friday night and found the floorboards floating. The boat was not terribly raintight, it had rained a lot since our last visit and, at the time, it didn't have an electric bilge pump. We've learned a lot since then. At any rate, the point is that this is one herkin' big manual pump. Behind the pump base you're looking into the lazerette.

To starboard of the engine is a shelf which houses our 2 group 27 starting batteries, our Honda 2000 generator (sporting a Lulu-made custom canvas cover), as well as a bunch of miscellaneous pieces of lumber. A Webasto diesel forced-air heater and a Whale gusher bilge pump are located above the Honda. Most boats seem to be built with the absolute smallest space for the engine that they can get away with. This is okay if, by removing some panels you can expose the beast. But I've read about boats where you had to lay down on the quarter berth, and then reach (one-armed) through an access hatch to change oil filters, etc. Those boats undoubtedly have more stowage space, but I'll take my proper engine "room" anytime.

PS: a future blog will talk about the sewing project that Lulu is working on. But I want to wait until it's done so you can get the big picture.

5/3/2010 So long, Sailrite...Hello, Singer

Well, it had a good run, but we decided that we just couldn't keep the Sailrite sewing machine any longer.

Lulu did a lot of work with it: converting our headsails to roller furling, recovering all of our cushions, recovering all the cushions on our friends' boat S/V Terrapin, lots of canvas coverings for the tiller, jerry jugs, LPG bottles, winches, etc.

But, we've finally decided the thing is just too darn big. Fully loaded in it's carrying case it weighs close to 70 lbs. It's hard to find a place to store it on our little 28 footer and even harder to move it around to use. Because it is such a big ordeal to use, we only pull it out when there is a real need.

So, we've sold the Sailrite machine (took all of 1 day) and reclaimed Lulu's tructy old Singer Featherweight (Thanks, Cody).

The whole thing, box and all, weighs maybe 15 lbs. Sure we won't be repairing any sails, but with a little finesses Lulu can do just about everything else we'll need to do. And, since it's so easy to move around, she'll set it up at the drop of a hat. Need a t-shirt mended? No sweat. Need some pants hemmed? Piece of cake. And, truth be told, when we got to the really heavy parts of the sail project, the corners, we had to hand sew them anyway. So, we'll use some sail repair tape, our trusty sewing awls. And if it takes more than that, we'll just have to hire someone with a Sailrite.

5/2/2010 Why wait? and Mexico? Really?

One of the most frequent questions we're asked when someone around here asks us our plans is "Why are you waiting until July to leave?" Was it Roy Clark who sang "How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away?"? Feels kind of like that although I'm sure (or at least I hope) that's not the speaker's intention.

So, why are we waiting until July? Well, the original reason, which still holds, is that it's not summer until then. Actually, on the Oregon coast it's not really summer yet in July but if we wait for actual summer weather we might still be here in 2011. But, that aside, July is summertime and that's when the predominantly southerly winds that have prevailed all winter are supposed to start turning around and coming from the north and northwest which is what we need to actually sail the boat down the coast. And, by July we should start to just generally see better weather.

The other reason, which has become tied with the first reason in importance is that I made a commitment to the Oregon Coast Aquarium to stay with them until July. They put their volunteer trainees through a pretty extensive training program before letting them loose on the floor. I attended 8-hour classes every Saturday for 6 weeks back in October/November. In return for that training, the Aquarium asks volunteers to commit to at least a year of service. I told them at the time that we would be leaving in July but that I'd put in as much time as possible until then. And I've lived up to my part of the deal. Besides my regular Sunday afternoon shift as a volunteer interpreter, I also spend an hour and a half every other week cleaning the otters' toys. Can't just throw them all in a toy box like we did for Lucas and Cody. We actually have to spread everything out, rinse it off, spray it down with disinfectant and then rinse it two more times. I've also helped with an outreach program where we went to a bunch of schools and put on assemblies for the younger kids. Matter of fact, I have another outreach coming up this month. The Aquarium also is available for evening events (Christmas parties, appreciation dinners, etc.) and volunteers are always needed to help with those. I've done three of those events so far. But one of the coolest things I get to do which will keep me there through June is helping with the new Swamplands exhibit opening on Memorial Day weekend. A new feature that the Aquarium is trying out with Swamplands is animal handling. Obviously most of the critters at an aquarium belong in the water so there's not much chance to pick them up and show them to the visitors up close. Well, with swamplands we'll be exhibiting a number of reptiles and amphibians and some of these do lend themselves to handling. I, along with a number of other volunteers, applied to be handlers. There is a fair amount of training that goes along with the assignment and, since they knew I was leaving in July, I really didn't expect to be chosen for the program. But I was. So, for the past several weeks I have been getting comfortable handling Grey Tree Frogs, turtles (Florida Softshell, Red-Eared Slider, and Alligator Snapping) and, best of all, snakes (Colombian Red-Tailed Boa Constrictor and Burmese Python). We've been trained on handling the animals so that the visitors are safe and, more importantly, so that the animals are safe from the visitors. We've also received training in caring for them, recognizing stress, etc. Really looking forward to the exhibit's opening.

So that's why we're waiting.

Now, to the second question:

"Where are you going?"

"Well, we're going to make a slow harbor-hopping trip down the west coast ultimately ending up in Mexico where we'll spend at least a couple years before possibly venturing out across the Pacific."

"Really? Mexico? Wow I wouldn't feel safe traveling in Mexico these days."

At this point I flabbergasted. I can't figure out what they're scared of. I guess it's the difference between reading the news and reading first-hand accounts of people who are actually there right now doing the same things we'll be doing. If your only source of information is the nightly news, it seems that Mexico comes across as some wild west frontier where life, especially gringo life, is cheap and violence is rampant. But even if all you did was compare Mexico's murder rate with that of the United States, Mexico would come out looking pretty darn good. Nowadays, you can do so much more. With the advent of the internet and everyone writing blogs, you can get near-real-time accounts from everyday people (not reporters) who are actually there right now. Here are 2 blogs that I follow from 2 cruisers (a couple and a family of 4) who are down there RIGHT NOW:

SV THIRD DAY
Sailing with Mark and Vicki

And here's one from a young Minnesota couple who, after traveling extensively through Mexico in their 1958 VW bus, went back last fall to have their baby because they could actually afford to pay for childbirth in Mexico:

bumfuzzle.com (They're back from Mexico now so you'll have to check out their archives to find accounts of their Mexico trip. If you want a real treat, go back and read the archives from the very beginning and join them on a trip around the world on their catamaran. But don't blame me if you find yourself wanting to run out and get a catamaran and sail away after reading their account.)

Reading these blogs makes me think that the biggest dangers in Mexico are sunburn and getting fat from too many Mexican hot dogs (a whole different beast than your basic ballpark frank). Actually, I think that Mexico should be issuing travel warnings to their citizens who are considering travel to the U.S. instead of the other way around. One good thing about the recent drug violence in Mexico is that we're hardly ever asked "What about pirates?" anymore.

(Just for the heck of it, here's a picture of our first boat. Salty, eh?)

The folks who warn us about Mexico also ask about carrying guns. Every country has their own rules In Mexico, you aren't allowed to have a gun. So, on checking in to the country, if you declare your weapon, it will be held at the local police station until your departure. So, if you needed a gun in port you wouldn't have it anyway. If you decide to take a chance and not declare it and maybe hide it on the boat in case Customs comes aboard, there are three possible outcomes:

1.) You never need the gun, Customs never finds it and no one is the wiser.
2.) Customs finds the gun that you said you didn't have, you go to jail for smuggling and the Mexican government confiscates your boat.
3.) Customs doesn't find the gun or never comes aboard in the first place, you have to use your gun to defend yourself and either injure or kill the intruder (or just scare him off). In this case you go to jail on smuggling and attempted murder (or maybe assault) charges or on smuggling and murder charges. And, in either case, they confiscate your boat. If brandishing the weapon succeeds in scaring the intruder off and word never reaches the authorities that you have a gun (fat chance as it sounds to me like cruisers are an incredibly gossipy lot), you might get away with it. But after reading the day-to-day accounts in the aforementioned blogs, you have to wonder why on earth you would ever take the chance.

Okay, that's it for me for today.

-Steve (&Lulu)

Blogo!

It worked!

For Macs: http://www.drinkbrainjuice.com/blogo

May 1, 2010

Now I don't guarantee that I'm actually going to start doing daily posts, but I am going to give it a try. Not because I have anything to say but rather just to get in the habit because I'd like to post daily or at least near-daily once we get underway. I also like reading blogs that are updated at least every few days, so I'm guessing that maybe you do too. Well, all that and our friends Ron and Jane were just here and gave me a mild haranguing about never writing anything. So, if this gets terminally boring, I'll give you their e-mail address and you can blame them directly.

can you find our boat?

So, it's May 1st and our departure date is actually getting close enough to seem real. Yesterday I got a refund from the port for the 2 months that we had paid for but won't be here so our new "get the hell outa the marina or pay up, ya deadbeats" date is July 15th. Our current plan is to head upriver soon after the 1st of July to get the boat hauled so we can repaint the bottom and, in the process, raise the waterline. After we loaded ol' Siempre Sabado down with all of the things we need to live on a boat full-time she tends to float a wee bit lower than she was originally designed to. Consequently we've got stuff growing on the portion of the boat that doesn't have anti-fouling bottom paint on it. Gotta fix that.

We're planning to head upriver a few days before our haulout and just anchor in the river to get a wee taste of that. Then after the haulout, we may just continue to anchor out until we spot a prime weather window in which to make our escape. The first leg is planned as an overnight trip to Coos Bay. We had originally planned to make our first stop Winchester Bay. But it's far enough away that we would have to leave really early in the morning in order to get in before the late afternoon winds start ripping. So we figured that a mellow overnighter to Coos Bay would be a better way to ease in to the cruising life.

Today I went to Englund Marine and bought a bunch of stainless steel stuff. We now have our solar panels but I need to build something to attach them to, hence the need for some stainless steel stuff. Also, yesterday I attached the passageway doors that I built back at Christmas time. In order to make them more secure, more stainless steel stuff was needed. Need a place to secure the staysail furling line. Yep, more stainless steel stuff. And how about stowing the stern anchor? You guessed it, more stainless steel stuff.

I tell ya, if cruising was only about getting stuff, we'd be halfway around the world by now. Other recent acquisitions: a Rocna anchor (supposed to be the bee's knees when it comes to holding power), a pair of used West Marine binoculars with built-in compass (just the ticket when you're trying to figure out where you are and you can identify an object in real life that is also on your chart), a separate GPS receiver to feed info to the AIS on the VHF (remember the 'alphabet soup' entry?), 200' of 5/8" nylon line as a back-up to the 200' of 5/16" high test anchor chain to go with our new anchor, etc, etc, etc. Well, actually I haven't bought the chain yet and, if I'm going to make daily blog entries, I'd better be careful what I write since buying the chain may be the highlight of a future blog.

Over the last couple of weeks I got the ratlines on the port side varnished and mounted; designed, painted and installed a vertical divider in the anchor locker so that each of the two bow anchors has a separate home for its rode; folded up and stowed the PortaBote and installed what I hope will be a better SSB antenna. Oh yeah, I also got the computer-SSB-Pactor modem all connected and working together. So far I've been unsuccessful in actually making contact with any of the WinLink e-mail stations but the new antenna should (I hope) solve that problem.

OK, I've droned on enough for this entry. Have to save something for tomorrow. Oh and, by the way, I'm trying out a program called Blogo that should allow me to compose blog entries, complete with photos, off-line and then post them later. Hope it works. Right now I'm sitting at the nav station composing this. In a few minutes, I'll trek up to the laundry room and post it.

Well, hasta manana...

-Steve (& Lulu)

Interview with a cruiser

If you'd like to read some 10-question interviews of cruisers who have been actively cruising away from their home countries for a minimum of two years, click on the link on the right-hand side of the page. I particularly liked the interview with Bumfuzzle and it led me on to read their whole website. OK, I'm not actually done with it yet but I've downloaded the archives so that I can read their whole story.