Finally! It's About The Boat!

I can finally honestly say for the past two days I have accomplished significant chores directly pertaining to getting the Venture ready to go. The Challenger is gone. I sold is cheap to get it gone. Needed the blocks under it for the V22.  The house is empty on the main part except for the washing machine and I am moved in to my son's old bedroom. It's small. Going from 1000 sq ft to less the 200 square feet is not for babes. I'm still sorting and figuring out where to put stuff but the hard part is done. The shed is near to busting full with stuff that has to be picked thru for  the final sort but for now I'm just not going to worry about it.  I'm sick to death of dealing with the house!  I'm focusing on getting things in here organized after dark and working on boat for as many hours as I can during the day.
 Still have not gotten around to finishing pulling off the deck hardware. I got to thinking about it.  I can do that later after she is on the water in a slip, if I have to. Right now it's about the hull. Someone mentioned the idea that a trailer sailor does not need barrier coat and that if it had bare spots scrubbing it off and  slapping a coat of bottom paint on it would do, especially since I'm not planing on keeping it long term.  This seemed like a fantastic idea. I got out the old trusty bucket and scrub brush and got a rather nasty surprise. 

My gel coat has holes in it!   I'm not talking about being pitted. I'm talking about spots that could to the best of my personal knowledge have  ONLY been made by someone sanding through the gel coat.  Yes, I at first thought it was me,  so I started paying extra close attention on how much pressure I was using.Then I saw it!  A hole in the gel coat that was still covered with a thin layer of bottom paint! GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

(*&#^%$*%()+_^) and GRRRR again!
It was a beautiful idea while it lasted, but bare fiberglass with just bottom paint on it is, in my book, a recipe for that horror of all horrors know as BLISTERS! I cannot do it! She is getting completely sanded down to the gel coat and I'm covering any and all spots it is missing on and to make extra sure I'm taking the plunge and putting barrier coat on her. 

Yes, maybe this is over kill but there is a serious reason behind my madness.  If you have been following this blog you know the van went kaput on me so using it as a tow vehicle is not happening.  Here I sit again with that situation.  A couple of times some one has mentioned finding someone who will pull me to water in exchange for the trailer.  If I do it and I'm seriously considering it, that means she is full time in the water. Put the two together and you have the final decision of the barrier coat. 

Since the dogs are gone and I've given  up on getting another for now, all the cinder block that my son drafted  for dog proofing the fence is going under the boat and I'm going to go full bore on getting the bottom at least sanded before I pull out. 
 I have a strip almost completely across the bottom sanded down to gel coat across behind the keel. Once  that is almost done I'm putting timbers under her to raise her.   I'm hoping to get the back raised tomorrow. 
Got another nasty surprise while I was under her. There is a large hole on the tail end of the keel;. It has to be where it was dragged along a hard surface . It looks like it was wore down  from not raising the keel soon enough going up a cement ramp. All I can say is it is a good thing I had already figured on dropping  the keel  and checking it out. Need to redo the lines and replace the bolt any way.

Right now I'm so tired I can't sleep. Stiff and sore does not begin to describe my muscles. It's a good day even with the nasty surprises. I'm going to make some herb tea and pass out.

Sail safe but sail!

Dogs, Housekeeping, Chores and THE BOAT

Dogs    

It's been a interesting couple of weeks. I got my heart broke on the dogs.  Sandy, who was up front known as as a little  escape artist, ran off. She was apparently on her way back to the  Previous owner, when she was found by a couple who adopted her. The previous owner happened to see them all out for a walk so we learned what happened to her. Sandy seems well cared for so I'm letting it go. An escape artist dog, no matter how cute and well behaved she is, won't work  on a cruising boat.

Abbey is back at her PO hopefully getting trained to go out side by her self to do her business.  I figure it's a 50/50 shot IMO if she is sucesfull or not. Abbey has gone out side pack fashion with the  other dogs since  she was little, it may be asking to much for her to go out side by her self.  Her previous owner says she is basically doing the same thing she did here. When you take her out side by her self, she will sniff around then sit there and look at either you or the door as if  to say  OK let's go, why are we still sitting here  and where are the other dogs.  After you let her back in she will go out with the other dogs and do her business or if she can't wait go find a corner in the house. Any one want to buy  some dog food and treats cheap?

Housekeeping

A while back my computer started going absolutely nuts. It did not surprise me. Having not done any serious computer cleaning for a while, it was over due.  Logic said a virus or something was the culprit but nothing showed up on the antivirus program I have used for years  ( AVG) so  I got serious and dug in to do an intense all day  style  computer cleaning and software searching marathon.
I found some new utility software that is making my  computer  housekeeping   job  automated on  some rather boring and mundane parts of computer ownership.

Love this!   Smart Defrag 2     It automatically defrags constantly in the back ground.  PLUS it has a boot defrag that does those pesky files regular defrag can't do while your computer is running. I love it! My page file, hibernation file,  MFT and system files are all lined up in a nice neat row and no more reports of 3.0% of my files that cannot be defragged.  The initial boot defrag may take a few minutes but after that its  quick and painless. The only "down" side on this program I can find is in the directory where you can watch your files get defragged like the original in windows,  shows  types of files but no option for fragmented or non fragmented files. This is sort of discerning at first since it is a defrag program.  Upon reflection, I decided the fact of less then .01 % as the average fragmented files amount is just not significant enough to worry about which files since it is always the same ones.
I've been getting reports of any where between 0.01 %   and .03% of fragmented files instead of 3.0% as a general rule as long as I leave it turned on at night to work while computer is idle.  Last night I turned it off and when I ran an analyze a few minutes ago it showed 0.99% fragmented files. Still less then 1.0% , so it's ALL good. I used the defrag and optimization feature and this system is running as good as new. Considering it's an  old P4- 486, with XP, that ain't bad!

Second runner up for defrag program  Defraggeler  Not a bad little program. Beats the defrag program that comes with  Windows by a mile. Love the layout and  the way it is setup . It shows fragmented files and even lets you focus on defragging one file at  a time if you wish. As  a supplement to Smart Defrag 2,  I highly recommend it.

Antivirus.

For years I've used AVG. Other then being pricey it's OK. My son has been using Avast free version and had decent service with it.  Since running AV dd not solve the performance problem,  I decided to install Avast free and see what it did. Not bad.  I took a look at other antivirus programs and found Advance Systems Care with antivirus. I'm running all three.  It works out OK since they now have them setup so you can have more then  one installed at a time. The only gliche is when more then  2 kick in at same time I have resource issues with the system locking up, then I disable the AVG and it works out OK. I like the root kit  scan on AVG so I think l  will keep them  all until I have a chance to look at them each more thoroughly to make a choice on which one do I scrap.

Chores

 I've been figuring out how do I solve some of life's mini dramas that have been put on my plate, while I keep working on the goal of living aboard . It's been interesting to say the least.  I've made progress on solving  some of the mess that I came back to.  Its been a headache but progress is being made.  I've had to make some harsh decisions. The Toy is being sold as is.  THAT ONE HURT! The boat I got for my son is being sold. Its just not practical to try to take them with me. It's about getting on the water.
The house is down to clean up and a bunch of small stuff.  I'm moving into my son's old room to get  used to living in a really small space and for more practical reasons.  Taking things one at a time, the current job other then working on The V222 and yard, as weather permits, is getting main part of house empty and everything essential for daily living moved into a small bed room with bath. It's time to get cut throat with all possessions and if I can't use it on the boat, it's getting donated, sold  or kicked to the curb with a curb alert on Craigslist for the stuff that is worth recycling.

THE BOAT

With occasional help, I'm getting the deck hard ware off for replacing bolts, installing back plates and resetting in butyl tape. Most of the spider cracks are all in the area of deck hardware that had no back plates. Other then some bolts that refuse to budge due to sever rust, we are making progress. I am seriously debating WD 40 or liquid Wrench versus cutting them off or drilling them out.  I've got portions of those areas sanded. The chain plates are removed and about 75% of the hardware. around the perimeter.  All  decals of the previous name are off completely all the way down to gel coat for de-naming ceremony.  As I feel motivated I've started sanding down the bottom to the gel coat. It's slow but it is progress.  As soon as I get a few of the above listed chores accomplished  I'll be able to focus more on the Venture.  I am hoping that is done this next week. Time will tell.

That' about all for now.
Sail safe but sail!