... out where we belong ...

The Dow Corning 795 box showed up today. The box itself was too short for the tubes, so someone had punched four holes in the end for the nozzles to hang out an inch or so. Honest, I wouldn't think to make something like that up even if I was trying. The good news is the tubes managed to make the trip without being damaged and leaking 795 all over someone else's something. So we had sealer to near finish two projects today. (And we will not be buying anything from showerdoordirect.com again.)

The project completely finished was bedding the aft cabin's port port. (Couldn't resist.) Deb removed it weeks (and weeks) ago. But she couldn't do the glass work needed with the kids living with us; not everyone loves the smell of resin in the morning. Then other things came up. Then we used up all the 795 on board doing Bear projects. But today was the day. That port was covered up for so long that we both got used to how dark it was in the back cabin. Now we can get used to how bright it is again.

Ed note: This was my first solo fiberglass repair job rebuilding the completely rotted out opening. I'm pretty proud of it!

Traveler sans sheaves before final assembly.

The port was one leak that we had back there. The main sheet traveler was the other. I pulled it off yesterday and tossed the rotted 1/4 X 1&1/4 X 50 untreated teak some yahoo installed when they moved the traveler from the coach roof to just aft of the companionway. Then we went shopping for parts. At a place called Seafarer Marine it cost us 3 whole dollars to have a custom piece of star board cut, and it took them about 3 whole minutes to hand it to us. In addition they have a whole store full of all kinds of do-dads, tools, and good prices on things like solvent and resin. I think I found a new favorite place.

No more rotten teak spacer under the track.

Before you say it, yes, the non-skid needs painting. It's on the list.

But we came up empty on new sheaves for the traveler. West Marine had 3 of the 8 we needed, but the price seemed a bit high, and what good is three out of eight? Then we got prices from Rig Rite who is the sole distributor of the now defunct Nicro-Fico traveler line and West Marine looked like a bargain. The total suggested price for the 8 plastic wheels that fit is somewhere north of $400. Yeah, like that's going to happen. I'll gnaw new ones out of old skateboard wheels before I'll take that beating. For $400 I'd expect pieces made of solid bronze and polished so bright they would be seen by astronauts.  But the rail is bedded tight and pretty on a new slice of star board, so the biggest part of that project is done.

I think I'm going to take tomorrow off. Someone said something about it being a holiday weekend, good enough excuse for me.

I was sitting in the cockpit this evening watching the parade of boats go by on the New River. Ever wonder why it is that the bigger the boat, the smaller the swimwear adorning the young ladies riding the bow? I guess they used up all the money putting gas in the thing, though someone once told me the smaller the bikini the more the cost. I suspect that is true on several levels.

There was a bit of a breeze leaching some of the day's heat out of the air. Ducks splashed into the water around the boat and a line of big winged cranes coasted down the opposite shore. Once in a while we see a manatee around, but I do miss visits from dolphins. I am a bit jealous of cruising friends we know who are hanging out on a hook somewhere, exploring different places and not near as near land as is Kintala. But all in all, as tired as I am of this dock and the endless work list yet to go, I know the places to be that are worse than here are far, far, more numerous than the places to be that are better than here.

Getting a couple of projects done or near done reminds me that we are, in spite of how it feels some days, making progress toward getting back out where we belong.