Anchors: Remix

I've been doing  some  more research since I do not intend to be locked into lake only  or shore only anchoring. It seems reasonable to find an anchor I feel comfortable with and start saving up for it.  I think I hve found the anchor.  I watched the YOUTUBE presentations and I like  the Manson. Expensive ( so what else is new, its marine equipment, of course its is expensive.) The things that made the final cut are:  1. I really like the slot for your rode chain to slide up in to get it out backwards if need be and  2, I like the fact it has a Loyd's rating  of 

SHHP status, Super High Holding Power. I don't know if i is as they say the ONLY anchor to ever achieve that but it is my pick.  Have the 35 - 45 pound ones on my wish list at west marine.  Yes 35 - 45 pounds of anchor is WAY over kill for the V 22 and The Toy. I'm planning on eventually getting a 27 to 30 ft boat later and its going with me.  As is suggested in so many sites I'm getting something a size or two larger then the recommendations. Another reason I went with this one is if the price for stainless steel is to steep for your budget it is available in galvanized .  I figure I can buy a lot of re- galvanizing for the price difference. Its going to cost between 350.00 - 429.00 plus shipping but I think it will be worth the tightening of the belt to to get one.
 

Speaking of ground equipment. I opened the tie downs I bought  to hold down boat while its on frame to fix keel. Turns out each box has two tie downs, so now I don't feel so bad about it.  Now I can get two straps over it when we get to that point. 


Other then that this week so far has been about getting the van ready and the house ready to sell.


I am so looking forward the extra 300 to 400 a month I WONT be handing to the light company and other land based bills once I am out of here! Insurance and cell phone bills will come to 115.00 a month and I'd be paying that any way. All I'll have going out, other then that is groceries and gas, which is not much, The rest is SAILING KITTY!
MEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!


Every one sing !!!!!
(Tune of get me to the church of my fair lady)


I'm going sailing in the morning! 
Ding Dong the watch is gonna chime,
Hoist up the main sail, 
pull up the nchor,
just get me to the dock on time!

Foam Experiment Final

Checked the foam. All four pieces are still floating,. Noticed I was able to squeeze some water out of the canned foam. It was however still floating.    One piece felt kind of slick and a bit gooey on the out side but was still floating. The other two were simply wet.

We have a Tow Vehicle

Once again Providence has smiled upon us. The budget for a van capable to tow the Venture was 400.00. She is old and she needs a LOT of TLC. She will get out there and do 90 as my son states, who followed me home in the car. No, I was not speeding on purpose. When you are used to driving a small car and get into a large full sized van, it does not seem like your going that fast. The good news is she also has cruise control. Other then windshield repair or replacement  and some tires, mostly she needs a major tuneup and the lights on the back do not work yet.  The fancy interior lights work now that we have done a bit of rewiring. One is missing but that's another easy fix. Need a new switch as the buttons  to turn on the light do not function properly but that's an easy fix.
Just for grins and giggles I'm going to play around and see what happens with a windshield repair kit. I know the recommendations. I've been researching this ever since I saw her online. They say it can't be done. If you have been following this blog you KNOW where that is going, right?  If my theory proves out, I won't have to replace the glass. If it does not, I'm out the price of a couple of windshield repair kits. I have this nagging thought that says try it and see what happens. Every time I go with a nagging idea  like this something good happens so I'm going for it.



Have not taken pics of the van yet but here is the windshield.

I doubt you can see it but here are places where the crack disappears and starts again later.

They call that a daisy, To much pressure was used injecting the resin.Yes, that is the mast up on the porch roof. 

If you look at the spot between the arrows you can see the crack fades out and restarts.

 Physics is physics. If you cure resin it will bond, so lets see how this turns out.

Anchors

I've been considering anchors.  The topic came up in one of my groups so I did some searching round. Did a search using "what bottoms to use a Delta anchor on"  and this link came up. I don't know if he is affiliated with Delta or not but its some information you can read on this type of anchor.


SOFT MUD BOTTOM ANCHOR TEST  52 pound steel SUPER MAX 17 Pivoting Arm 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor


http://www.cruising.sailingcourse.com/docking.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2078516_anchor-sailboat.html

http://www.gosailing.info/Anchoring.htm

A Video about sailing

 I thought it was worth watching

 

Hold Fast by Moxie Marlinspike

Heads UP! Be On Lookout For Captain Javier Martin

This came across in one of my groups.
The FBI in Panana City, Panama and the Panamanian Police have asked the assistance of all cruisers throughout the world to be on the lookout for JAVIER MARTIN. Javier Martin is from Valencia, Spain, and described at a Latin Male, approximately 5' 7"-8", thin build, with dark hair and eyes. His age is unknown at this time, but he appears to be in his 30s or 40s and very fit. For years he owned a charter sailboat named "Twlya" in which he used to take backpackers between Panama and Cartagena, Colombia, and spent a lot of time in the San Blas Islands. Javier Martin is wanted as a person of interest in a homicide investigation ongoing in Panama involving missing cruiser Don North, and the homicide of a French cruiser named Jean Pierre.

Anyone who has any information regarding Javier Martin should contact the FBI in Panama City, Panama at telephone number 507-207-5000. Also you may contact Investigative Reporter Don Winner, editor of The Panama Guide.Com online newspaper at telephone number 507-6614-0451 or US number 845-514-9893. Javier Martin's photographs may be found on the recent editions of The Panama-Guide. com and by Googling Javier Martin's name looking for him in connection with his charter boat "Twyla" which he used to take backpackers between Panama and Colombia.

Also, please spread this information to ALL YOUR CRUISER FRIENDS via SSB radio and VHF radio nets throughout the world. Javier Martin could be anywhere now.

Do not approach Javier Martin yourself, but contact any police authority and let them know of the above information. Javier Martin should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.

                                                                  

Today Is About Not Doing A Thing Except Enjoying The Boat

Some days you got to just sit on your butt and relax in your boat, ready or not , regardless of how long the current bucket list is. Today was that day.  It was in the 70's and once we got the ice and water out of the cockpit so we could lift up the tarp to get inside and put the pop top up, it was all over but the sitting.  Made my first cup of boat coffee for the season and enjoyed a game of Monopoly with my son. Is it me or do Oreo's and bagels taste better on a boat?  I know I have not tasted better coffee then that cup I made today.
 To give all you Northerner's a clue as to how cold did it get here... . It was so cold in Oklahoma that I had ice a good 4 to  6 inches deep in the water buckets in the boat.  That was after the highs yesterday being in the 40's and today's high gettign up to the 70's. Here are a few of the pics we took clearing out the cock pit. We had chunks of large, thick ice that were in the tarp over the cock pit.

 The 2 "dividers" are the rope holding the tarp up from the surface of the boat.

                                        That's some decent sized ice chunks in any ones book.

 The good news is except for about an inch of water in the cock pit under the tarp, the rest of the boat was bone dry.


I noticed the drain t in the cock pit has nothing to stop small items from passing through it unhindered. Need to correct that.

That's all for now. Happy Sailing Season!!!!

The Good News: Spring is Arriving

According to Yahoo weather it is supposed to get up into the 70's this week! YIPPEEE!!!!
 The marine grade resin and cloth is sitting here waiting to go on my rudder.
I bought most of the charting tools. Found the ruler, triangles etc at Hobby Lobby for 11 bucks and some change. Went to look at office depot and Staples hoping to find parallel rulers but came up dry, so  I figure I'll just order them online. 
Got two tie downs at the RV section  of Wallay world for 10.00 a piece. Remember when they where called dog tie outs in the pet department and  LOT cheaper? What what the heck. Its a one time expanse so I'm not gonna kick to bad.  Have rope, was planning on using straps. Have you priced straps lately? YIKES! Talk about sticker shock! A gal could get a heart attack with those prices. Since short lengths of rope are fairly stout, I'm going to tie three ropes to each one and run it that way since I already have some rope with the right working strength.
They will work as dual ground tackle for tying up to shore after it does its duty as a boat tie down for keel repair .   I have been seriously thinking I need heavier anchors for the V 222. Yes, it came with an anchor. It's the same identical make and size anchor as the one I bought for The Toy.  I know they will work for The Toy no doubt but.......

Next step : Go outside and look at what wood is on hand to make a crawler for under the boat to to lower the keel on to.

Tool Box Modification

I have this 16 drawer Craftsman tool chest. Its big and I don't see me taking it on the boat when I get to the live aboard part. So I'm changing things over to smaller plastic boxes with tools sorted into groups.
The issue is the regular sized socket holders are to long for this box. Yeah I could get the larger tool boxes.  I really like this particular line so I'm modifying the snap on  holders to fit.

Can  you tell I like the pics with the sparks flying?

 Later I think I will fasten the bars to the base of the tray with some sort of adhesive. I'm thinking maybe just  a big glob of silicone going under the holes in the holder so it will squish through the hole. It will make a silicone rivet type mess once it is cured and the bars will stay in place.My other idea is get some really small skinny bolts to hold it.


I ground down the ends to remove sharpness but the photos were duds.  The red on the sockets are to mark them as mine. I got some preformix plastic dip at ace. It is the stuff you dip tool handles in . It was about 10.00 a can for 14.5 oz. Not to bad.

Not to shabby for ten minutes work by an old lady. LOL

General Update

Not a lot going on,. Weather has KO'ed fiber glassing rudder due to temps being in the tens to 30's.  In all the years I have lived here, we are for the first time, actually having a real winter. This is the first time it has not only snowed but the snow has stayed on the ground for more then a day. Snow on top of snow already on the ground is a new one for us here. It just does not happen that often here.
 
Picked up the polyester resin today. Looking for a tow vehicle. Need at least a REALLY CHEAP 6cyl with automatic.  Don't care what it looks like. Minor repairs OK.  I keep responding to ads on craigslist but so far it has not happened.

Trying to decide how I want to deal with all the rust on trailer and keel.. Thinking naval jelly  and steel brushes. They are fairly cheap and I can get both locally. Other idea is wait until I get the keel out, then rent a sand blaster and do both at the same time.  Have pretty much decided to go with Rustoleum Marine Grade paint for both since it s cheap and designed for marine use.
Well that's about it. More after the weather warms up.

One For The Books

My son decided to treat us to pizza, so I called up Domino's. Normally this is NOT worthy of posting. Today I got an unusual  response to that age old question of how long before it gets here. Keep in mind as you read this, we have an inch of more of ice under at least 2 inches of snow on the roads. Also today they are the only pizza joint in town that is open, much less delivering.
The answer was................




Are you ready for this...................



"It will get there, when it gets there,."


Guess we can't expect a thirty minute or less delivery today. LOL