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Thursday, 22 October 2009

What we have been doing...

...not a whole lot of refitting, that's for certain! Mark has been spending 2 weeks offshore, followed by a harried one week home for over a month now. This has severely impacted the refit schedule. We were hoping to be ready to haul Ceol Mor out for her bottom job and blister repair by the end of October. Now it is looking as if December will be a more likely time frame.
We aren't getting too stressed about our fluctuating schedule because as John Lennon said "Life is what happens to you when your busy making other plans". We can't leave this spring anyway. It seems that instead of leaving in April , we will be welcoming a new crew member instead. While I am feeling rather good, capable and healthy I don't know that I want to be jumping off of boats on to docks while I am 7-9 months pregnant so I think we will stay landside until this kiddo is born. Due date is April 10, we are hoping for an arrival a few days before that.

Sunday, 27 September 2009

Yes, its been a while

I haven't updated the blog in a bit because there hasn't been much boat action to talk about. With the kids in school and the annual fall ramp up at work I have had precious little time to even visit Ceol Mor, let alone spend any quality time with her. Mark's work schedule has gotten insane as well. He's been flying out to the rig for two weeks at a stretch with a week or so home. This means that when he is home, he spends the weekends on the boat trying desperately to keep to a reasonable time frame for the refit while actually doing quality work. It has been a real challenge.
Mark managed to get the blige pumps redesigned, improved and installed. Since we have so precious little time to check on the boat just now, its infinitely reassuring to know that Ceol Mor has a bilge pump, a back up blige pump in case the main one quits and nother in case that one gives up the ghost. We aren't done with bilge pumps yet as Mark will be designing two more to fit in the very narrow yet deep bilge areas which a commercially available pump will not fit in. Eventually, we will have the driest bilge of all time.
Another project which has been completed is the reglassing of the area under the galley sink. Orignally, the under sink area was finished in plywood. After 25 years, you can imgaine what happened- the plywood rotted. In addition, the plywood wasted an awful lot of space under the sink and allowed any drips to pool on the plywood. Mark ripped out all the plywood, and added a fiberglass bottom which slopes properly to allow drainage to the bilge as well as increasing our storage area underneath. I'll post photos later, but it really is a fantastic improvement.
Mark purchased heavy canvas tarps, sewed them together to provide an awning which covers the boom as well as one that comes from the mast to the bow of the boat. This was neccesary as we have to rebed all of the portlights and hatches. Yep, we have our first leak. Since it will be a good 2-3 weeks before Mark can begin to rebed the hatches, our priority became preventing water from entering the hatches while we are away. So far, its working a treat.
The chainplates were in good shape but were in need of recaulking, so that was another item ticked off the list. I still need to finish the cockpit teak but that should be accomplished fairly quickly. We are hoping to be ready to haul out in November, but it might end up being mid November rather than the beginning. Oh well, as long as it gets done and gets done well there is no reason to worry about when it happens. Our January departure doesn't look like its going to happen anyway, so we might as well just relax a bit. It will get done when it gets done. In the meantime, I really hope we have the chance to sneak in a couple of day sails before haul out. I need to sail...

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

An overdue update

I've been remiss in updating the blog mostly because we've not had any exciting stories to share. Mark managed to reengineer the woefully inadequate bilge pump so that Ceol Mor's bottom is now dry. Its just about time to have a diver check the anodes and scrub the bottom. Once again, hardly sexy stuff worth mentioning but owning and refitting a boat is not always exciting and sexy. In fact, its mostly mudane and routine but we do appreciate you all pretending to be interested!
Now for something completely non-nautical...
We've begun house hunting in the Aberdeen area once again. While we aren't planning on returning to Scotland for a year and half or so, the soft market is starting to firm up a bit so it makes sense for us to consider purchasing now before prices skyrocket. Even if the house sits empty for a year or more, having a home base in which to store our furnishings gives us the opportunity to put the US house on the market without worrying about where to put our belongings. US, Europe- its all good as a home away from Ceol Mor which will be our really and truly home for quite some time.
There is no question that housing in the UK is quite a bit more expensive than the US and shockingly more expensive than the very affordable housing here in Texas. It really is not surprising that so many expat Brits opt to stay in Texas, the cost of living is ridiculously affordable here just as the housing in Scotland is ridiculously expensive.
I love shopping for homes in Scotland. Mostly because I really do enjoy the secret code of property solicitors. After searching through literally hundreds of property listings in the Aberdeen area, I have unlocked the secret lexicon of the property solicitor. For the edification of any of you dear readers contemplating a move to Bonny Scotland, I offer this hand dictionary of real estate phrases and their meanings.
Charming cottage: smaller than a bread box, will be a bit dodgy on the outside, completely hideous on the interior. Will also be hugely expensive because it was built during Maggie Thatcher's tenure. All good things happened in the UK while she was in office. Expect to pay a premium.
Could benefit from modernisation: derelict building recently inhabited by squatters. Has no indoor plumbing.
Charming Neighborhood: patrolled by marauding gangs of YOBs, adjacent to a pub so that you can enjoy the view of vomiting drunks on your front lawn at 11 pm every evening.
Desirable accomodation: has one bathroom generally the size of an American closet. Not next door to a pub.
Most Desirable Accomodation: has two bathrooms, but you can't afford it,
Easy Commuting Distance: Front door opens directly onto expressway.
Ample parking: Room enough for you to park a Mini on your front lawn so long as you don't mind front wheels in your flower bed.
Tastefully refurbished: House was remodeled in 1972 and has orange tartan carpeting throughout. Light fixtures were either purchased from Ikea or crafted by hand out of paper by the previous owner, will be hugely expensive as well.
I hope this helps any of you preparing to undergo house hunting in Scotland. Good luck- you will need it!

Sunday, 02 August 2009

Readjusting the event horizon

A November departure date is not going to happen. We knew that any date we chose for our departure was just going to be a target and not a fixed, iron clad schedule. So many things have to fall into place and there are so many variables that it would be virtually impossible to have a concrete date.
Mark is currently out at the marina trying to figure out exactly where the water in our bilges is coming from. On Wednesday, Maura and I went out to clean and check on the boat. As we approached the slip, I noticed Ceol Mor was sitting a little low on the waterline. A quick check in the bilges revealed a lot of water and bilge pumps that were not working properly. We managed to empty the bilges and started on ordering replacement pumps.
Mark and my father, Bob spent all day yesterday wiring the two woefully inadequate (but the only in stock pumps) bilge pumps in series so that they would at least somewhat adequately try to keep Ceol Mor dry until the ordered pumps arrive. Mark arrived at the boat this morning only to find that we once again have a good 6-8 inches in the bilge. *sigh*
There are several theories as to where this water is coming from but the current most likely suspect to my mind is that one of the thru hulls is lacking a vented loop and is therefore allowing water to ingress. This is based only on a "hunch". Mark will undoubtedly find out unequivocally what the issue is but so long as it is all sorted, I really don't mind being wrong.
I mention this in conjunction with the time frame mentioned at the beginning of the post because this was an unexpected happening that due to the possible dire circumstances, has moved its way to the top of the punch list. This means other items we were going to take care of will have to be taken care of at a later date, once again pushing that event horizon back.
We have to have the boat hauled out and the bottom stripped, hull dried out and repainted. During the haul out, we also have to have the prop serviced as well replacing, rebedding and servicing all of the thru hulls and seacocks. I am loathe to put Ceol Mor up on jackstands during hurricane season as she is much safer in the water. This means that the haul out will have to wait until November, with the work beginning completed sometime in early January if we are lucky, late February if we are not so lucky. That means we won't be leaving until late March or early April at the earliest. This also means we will have to change our itinerary completely if we want to be out of the Caribbean by late June, when hurricane season once again ramps up.
So to quote Robert Heinlein- "Waiting is..."

Thursday, 30 July 2009

Light winds and surprising speed

We went out for a short sail on Saturday with our good friends Neil, Stephanie, Jack and our wayward girl who has returned from the corn filled wilds of the Midwest, Maura. One of the great things about sailing repeatedly with them is getting to see their confidence and skill level increase. I'm fairly certain that Stephanie could single hand a smaller boat at this point in time. The coolest thing though is to see Neil coming into his own. He is beginning to look like a seasoned crew member. We need to get him some helm time and let him make some Skipper like decisions on his own. He is so quick, enthusiastic and bright I am thinking he will be a real, honest-to-goodness sailor in no time at all. Which is good, because it allows me to spend time in Cidnie Fantasy Land.
In Cidnie Fantasy Land, Neil and Stephanie buy a boat and decide to cruise for a year or so. Amazingly, their itinerary mirrors ours and we have a buddy boat to make passages with as well as a handy playmate for Maura and good company for anchorages for all. We can cruise with a bit of added safety in numbers, looking out for the welfare of one another. In addition, this would enable us to have our own floating "think tank". Between the two engineers and the rocket scientist we should be able to solve any problem that comes our way. Me? I guess I would naturally segue into the role of cruise director. No one throws a better party than me. But I digress...
Our outing was blissfully uneventful. Even with a torn main and light winds we managed to pick up a surprising amount of speed. We pottered around the bay, the kids kept each other company and we docked the boat with very little drama. We really do enjoy drama free sails. Not much to report other than that, so its time for the photos.

My girl has returned!

The kids assist in checking our course out the channel

Hanging out while Mark practices some docking manuevers

For someone who insists he's not really comfortable on a sailboat, Jack seems to be able to nap an awful lot!

Maura takes the helm. I think she will need a step stool...

Me and two of the coolest kiddos ever.

Brown Pelican or Pterodactyl?

Steph takes the helm under the watchful eye of Captain Bligh.

Neil on the winch. Notice the smile...how long til they are out cruising on their own boat?

Maura completely idolizes Stephanie.