Today was a beautiful day for boat projects, sunny and 45 degrees or so. The first one was the hatch on the foredeck. This old boat has a few leaks and this was one of them.
A phillips bit on my power drill and a hammer and pry bar and I had it off in ten minutes. I used a good scraper to peel off the old silicone that I put on there last year when I did this same job. Not good enough, I guess, because it still leaked.
This time, I was very liberal with the silicone. When I screwed it back down, I didn't screw it down tightly. I left a turn or two of each screw so that when the silicone set up, I could tighten it down without squeezing it all out.
Next up, the prism. Basically, the same deal here. Take out the screws, pry it up, and scrape off the silicone I put on there last year when I didn't fix it right.
Then apply a heavy dose of silicone, and lightly screw the prism back down.
I hear Pam holler that Chevy was off the boat and off the docks and standing on the rock wall. How did he get past the locked gate at the head of the ramp?? It was low tide, and I'm thinking that maybe he jumped off the dock and climbed the rock wall. The only other thing he could do would be to crawl under the gate, which has a space of about a foot, and Chevy is a 72 pound big headed pit bull. Pam retrieved the dog, put him back on the boat, and decided to go grocery shopping.
Next up for me, the washer. Our boat has a washer and dryer under the bench seat in the helm station. They both worked (much to our surprise after sitting unused for 20 years or more), but the washer only had hot water, no cold, so Pam has been going to the laundromat. I used to go with her to help her, but she decided that I was more in the way than a help.
I emptied all the live aboard junk that accumulates on a large flat area like the bench and lifted the lid. Yep, there they were. The dryer (on the left under the charts), the washer, and to the right, the ice maker.
Looking behind the washer with a flashlight, I could just barely make out that there were two water hoses attached. I could see no way of getting behind the washer without dismantling the bench seat, and that wasn't happening. I decided to try to find the water lines that went to the washer, and the logical place to look was under the sink in the galley. First, I had to spend ten minutes unloading all the stuff we store under the sink, and then crawl in there with a flashlight, looking for pipes or hoses. I saw the hot water pipe running through the bulkhead, but where was the cold water? Did it simply come up from the engine room to the washer? Well, after poking around in there, I lifted a floor board up and there it was, a copper cold water pipe AND a shut off. Which was shut off. Time for a victory beer!
I got the beer and sat on the foredeck with Ruby and... where's Chevy? He was outside just a few minutes ago. I walk around the deck. No dog. I walk out on the dock. No dog. I go up on shore and call his name several times. No dog. I walk around some boats on the hard where he likes to play. No dog. I go up to the parking lot. No dog. Then, I see him, at the opposite end of the marina, running towards me like crazy. Apparently, he decided I might be angry, which I was, and he thought he should beat feet.
Now, here comes the unbelievable part. Pam comes home and we decide to sit on the foredeck and enjoy a beer and sunshine while waiting for silicone to set up, and we notice a Canada Goose fight. Apparently, two males are fighting over a female. One large male is definitely kicking the smaller one's butt and the smaller one is trying desperately to get away, but the larger one is all over him. Suddenly, the small one dives underwater, just like a Merganser! Completely, totally underwater, and he's gone. The large one is flapping his wings and squawking his head off as the smaller one pops back up. The large one is right on him and the small one dives again! This time, he gives the large goose the slip and pops up by shore where he scampers up into the rocks to hide. The large goose paddles off towards the city marina, looking for the small goose. Meanwhile, the female decides to head over to shore and is right up close to the small goose. The small goose has his opportunity now that the large goose is not nearby, but after the whooping he took, decided to stay in the rocks.
I ran inside and got my camera, hoping for a repeat ass whooping, diving performance, but it didn't happen. You can see the female standing on a rock in the middle of the photo, and if you look carefully to the right and up a little, you can see the little male peeking up from his hiding place.
I told Pam that no one is going to believe that we saw a plump, feathery Canada Goose dive underwater, but I swear, we did. Really.
As live aboards, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and the waterfowl. We saw dozens of seagulls chasing an Osprey away from their territory and other interesting things. We stayed out until the sun dropped and we were in shadows. I was the designated cook and fixed up some Jamaican Jerk Chicken, with horseradish laced mashed potatoes and peas. Mmmmmmm...
All in all, a productive day.
And that Canada Goose dove underwater. He did.
Did you ever find out how the dog was getting off the boat ?
ReplyDeleteBill Kelleher
Hi Bill,
ReplyDeleteNo, we haven't found out yet. He got off the boat a third time that day. Since the tide was higher, I think he must be crawling under the gate. There's about a foot gap between the bottom of the gate and the deck so the gate can be opened when it snows, and somehow he must wriggle under it.
The third time he got out, Pam called him and he went to the gate. She coaxed and coaxed him to come, thinking that he might crawl under so we'd know for sure, but smart dog that he is, he just stood there, waiting for her to open it.
The darn dog is smarter than we are.