Friends, Forts, & Flags

Friends

Here is the Bucket with his friend Taylor.
 We wandered off the beaten path to build a fort on the beach.
 As everyone knows, every fort needs a flag, and here is the one they made.

T + B= Taylor and Bucket

Supervisor

Just the right size, room for two.

Flag flying

Limited Internet (11-25-2013)

     The internet is being elusive.  Some days I find myself sitting in McDonalds enjoying a soda and fries just for the privilege of using their WIFI.  I have made a friend at Anchor/Canvas (they are making our dodger), who has been generous to offer the use of the internet.  It just hasn't been working the last few days.  I have hope that I will be back on the blogging track soon.

Day Trip (11-17-2013)

     We had our first, "out of state" visitor last week.  It happened like this.  We have no television, no internet, have read, cooked, ate, cleaned, walked, organized, repaired, done just about anything we could think of or we inclined to do.  It is Monday night around 5:00, I have an idea. Let's play cribbage!  We love cribbage and we have a board on board.  We are all set up and ready to play.  There is one problem, we don't remember exactly how.  Funny!  We try to walk ourselves through a hand and  find ourselves creating some kind of new game mixing gin, cribbage and battleship.  This is not it.

      I have another idea.  Let's call Unk!  He knows!  We played for hours in past years.  One phone call and we were back into cribbage and informed that Unk would be here to visit the next day, November 12, 2013.  We hit the jackpot.  Unk, is Scott's Uncle, those of you who know us either know him or know of him.  It was a spontaneous move on his part, we were thrilled.

     Scott and I played several rounds of cribbage and know that it will likely be a permanent form of entertainment for us.

     Tuesday we woke and spent the morning anxiously awaiting phone call from Unk telling us that he had left his home and would be arriving in Port Townsend within 10 hours.  It is a 10 hour drive from Idaho to here, well, at least it is for me.  Unk made it here in just 8 hours!  It was such a treat to see a familiar face.  He was here to sail.  He had contributed ,  hours of labor, love, and so much energy in helping make the Velvet Sky our home and getting her on the water.  He was here to see and feel the magic he had a hand in creating.

     We set out for a sail on Wednesday morning, 10-ish.  Our destination.... Port Ludlow.  We might stay the night in a guest slip there and return to Port Townsend on Thursday.  Although we have been out into the sound 4 or five times and sauntered about, this is our first real venture.  It was a beautiful day, the clouds were near non existent and the rays of the sun danced happily on the water surface and warmed our faces as he started underway.  We  motored out looking for the most important element in sailing.  The Wind.  We found it for about 30 minutes halfway to Ludlow.  It was lovely.  So quiet and peaceful.  No motor, just the sound of the boat cutting through the cool, salty water that delightfully embraced the Velvet Sky.  There was also the sound of 8 knots of wind swirling in and around the sails and waterbirds calling out to their kin when they came across good ocean feed.  A little piece of heaven.

     We enjoyed the 30 minutes of sailing, then motored our way to Ludlow.  Out in the water we see a new sight.  This was our first time around Marrowstone Island.  Colvos Rock is like a tiny little island out on our port side.

Unk enjoying the view and quiet from the sprit 

A new place...Approaching Port Ludlow on our the Starboard Side (exciting for us)

The "Boys," after docking at Ludlow

     We made a short tour of Ludlow and decided to motor-sail back to Port Townsend.  This was a nice day trip, with and without the wind.

Sew WHAT? (November 10, 2013)

     My Husband has a lot of faith in me as a domestic goddess.  He believes I can create and sew anything at his requests.  Believe me, I have never given him this impression and I don't know from where or how he conceived this idea, all I know is that he stands by it no matter what I think about it.  I am confident I can thread a machine, fill a bobbin, cut out a pattern, and sew a fairly straight line (thanks, Mom).

      Making covers and "stuff" for the boat started with shopping for a heavy duty, industrial style machine.  Something I might be able to do a few sail repairs, if needed. It had to take up little space and have good reviews from fellow sailors.  We decided on a Sailrite LSZ-1.  It is a semi-industrial machine, it is well suited for sewing medium, heavy and extra heavy materials such as canvas, sail, upholstery, and some leather.  It is pretty versatile and can be used for home sewing as well.

      Scott's first request was hatch covers.  Luckily for me on this project I had the old hatch covers that I picked apart and used them for patterns.  I found material similar to "Sunbrella" at a local fabric outlet store in Boise, and ordered shock cord online.  It was a fairly easy project. Six covers took approximately 12 hours to complete.  I was really liking this machine.  We bought it used on Craig's list, by the way, and it came with a lot of extras (bobbins, thread, belts, etc.).

     The next project I decided to take on was sheets and mattress covers for the boat.  Oh....this was much more of a challenge.  No patterns and no straight angles.  I managed one set of sheets for the Bucket's bed.  They worked, just okay. I was not satisfied with the results.  I decided the best thing was sheet straps (they are elastic pieces with clasps that hold the corners of the sheets secure under the mattress) they can be found at any department store in the linen section and are a terrific solution to misfitting sheets.

     I did make a mattress cover for our bedroom mattress and added about 270 inches of zipper so that it could be removed for washing.  I just want to add that we used the mattress we were sleeping on in the house (a standard queen) and had an upholstery place cut it to fit the boat.  The mattress that came with the boat was 5 1/2 inches thick and smelled of...I don't know what, it was bad! The new mattress was 10 inches thick with 2 inches of memory foam on the top.  Again, I was creating my own pattern. Ughhh!  I spent hours and days measuring, tracing, cutting, sewing, picking out, and resewing.  We have a mattress cover that is moisture resistant.  Does it fit perfectly? Nope.  Am I satisfied with the performance of the new mattress cover and the zipper (what a pain that was), yes.  And so it is, and shall remain until I am ready to take it on again, maybe 5 or 6 years down the road.  That is a big MAYBE.

      So here we are, living on the boat.  We were on the hard for about 3 weeks.  That put us and our windows (portholes) around 15 feet above the passerby's.  I was comfortable walking around nude if I felt like it (Zayden was visiting Hope at this time, so I could).  The Velvet Sky was splashed in the last week of September.  Now I could look out the windows and see the entire world at ground level.  Even though I was pretty sure they could not see in, I felt vulnerable and exposed.  I mentioned earlier, in another post the window cover thing.  I followed the same steps I did in making the hatch covers.  Cut blue velvet material the size to cover the porthole, made a one inch pocket for small, round elastic. This works! And, it saves on the tape (we were taping material to the window for privacy).

Let the sunshine in

 

Privacy and Room Darkening (for naps)

   

     The window covers were necessary as far as I was concerned.  Scott has ideas for necessary sewing projects, too.  We need a cover for our outboard motor.  Okay, I can do this.  No pattern, just ambition and my husbands faith in me.  Yes, it is a bit extravagant and a lot over the top, considering it could have been as easy as making a shower cap.  We have a good laugh over the (unnecessary) detail.

 Since I am on a roll....I will try my hand at a life raft cover.

The good side :)

My next project will be a cover for the binnacle.  I don't know when, but soon.  I want to shout out a big, "Thank You!" to Unk for making the master head of the Velvet Sky into a work room.  It makes a great sewing room and one of the shelves seems custom made to fit the Sailrite while stowed.

November 5, 2013

    Between yesterday and today we managed to get two major catastrophes done and over with.  Yesterday afternoon around 1:30 in the afternoon I was making the bed or some odd job like that and hear a crashy boom sound.  I go out on deck to find Scott and ask, "What was that?" He points at small boat with it's bow sprit resting on our bow sprit, "It was them hitting us." No harm done, none to speak of, just a little scrape on the stainless.  I was relieved that it was someone hitting us rather than the other way around.

     Second catastrophe...about and hour ago, the Bucket fell in the water between the boat and dock.  He was getting on the boat after a trip to the grocery.  He had his hat in his hand which mad his hand slip and in he went.  He managed to get his first bloody nose and lost his hat to the harbor.  The water here is very cold.  He will be much more cautious and has changed his mind about wanting to swim in the sound.  He was also thrilled that his "boat coat worked," he calls his life jacket his boat coat and does not go out into the cockpit without putting it on.  He practically lives in it because he puts in on right out of the cabin and wears it to the end of the gangway and puts it back on upon returning to the gangway.

November 4, 2013

     The new Mainsail is on, the Genoa is on and the Stays'l is on.....LET'S GO SAILING!  Saturday the 26th was the day.  We headed out around 10:00  that morning.  Scott and the Bucket started at the helm, taking us out of the slip and into the big water of The Sound.

Eventually I found my place at the helm while Scott handled the sails.

Scott got the sails up and we had windspeed around 9 or 10 which moved us along at around 3.7 or 4 knots.    Not much to speak of, but we were sailing! That counts for something, heck, that counts for a lot considering we have been sitting in a slip for over a month.

Our Main.....she is up and alive!

November 4, 2013

     Reefing nettles are simple lines used to tie the extra sail down while the sail is reefed.  We have to reefing lines and two places in our sail for nettles.  One nettle is measured at 3 1/2 feet and the second is measured at 4 1/2 feet the third would be measured at 5 1/2 feet (if we had a 3 reef sail).  Reefing is the process of lowering the sail in heavy winds, it brings the center of gravity closer to the boat, which in turn allows better control in harsher weather.   Reefing is a good thing.

     This is something I learned that day at the sail loft.  I also learned that there is a great group of women working at the loft.  You can read about them here.  http://porttownsendsails.com/index.htm
Not only do they make the best sails in the Northwest, they are professional, and so so kind.  They call themselves "the Ladies," and let me know that I was welcome anytime, even if I just needed to chat.  I hadn't made any friends here yet, but that day, I felt like I had.

     Honestly, living aboard, in this tiny space, in a town I know nothing about, can get a little uncomfortable.  As much as I love and adore my Husband and our little boy, and being with them brings me joy like no other, I just need to be in the presence of another or other women.  Scott and I can get on each others nerves, and when this happens, who do I vent to?  The ladies at the loft had complete understanding.  They too have the experience of living aboard.  They too say it can be very challenging.  Scott and I are new at breathing each others air 2/4/7.  We are learning a lot about each other, ourselves, and our relationship.  Most of the time it is hearts, rainbows, and lollipops.  Let me tell you, though, when the air is so thick it can be cut with a knife, we HAVE to deal with it.  There is no backyard for me to run to or no going out to wash a vehicle for him.....nope, no running, only dealing.  We are becoming good communicators.  Sometimes I find a good cry is all I need.  I have read a few blogs of other family's that live aboard.  None seem to mention "those" times.  The times that get tough.   The times that you get on each other's nerves.  I wish they would speak of it, let us newbies know, that it is normal.  If I am the first to mention that living aboard as a family can get emotionally challenging, then good for me.  After speaking with "the Ladies" at the loft, I know we are normal.  That makes it a lot easier.  Life is good.

 

November 2, 2013

November 2, 2013

     We picked up our new main sail from Hasse & Co. (Port Townsend Sails) on Tuesday the 22nd of October.

 Let me back up a little.  Kelsey from Port Townsend Sails called and informed us that our sails were ready to be picked up.  Our old sails were there waiting in storage and the new Main was white and beautiful waiting to be filled with wind for the first time in its existence.  We get there (this was on the 18th of October) and pick up all of our old sails, they fill the car, we have no room for the new Main. The old sails are living in the car for the time being.  We are hoping that we can sell them to another IP owner.  If we don't sell them, I will likely cut them into some kind of pattern for reusable grocery bags or beach bags, or maybe just recycle them somewhere.  And as it turns out the new main does not fold anyway and even if the car was empty it would not go in.  The kind people at Port Townsend Rigging offered their Pickup, and we graciously accepted and picked up our new Mainsail on Tuesday the 22nd.  With all the rigging complete to date, the boom was ready to welcome its new tenant.  We put the sail on and  hoisted it up on the 23rd.  We slowly let it back down and ever so carefully began flaking it (laying it down on the boom in a nice even folded pattern).  We were proud of our flaking job.  In the sail bag we found we came across a smaller bag filled with parts and pieces for sail repair, an instruction manual for replacing the cars, and some line labeled "reefing nettle."  What in the world is a reefing nettle?  I would plan to return the sail loft and talk to the ladies there, they would explain all this "stuff."  And what about this giant sail bag?  Do we stow it somewhere on the boat?  Do I return it to the sail makers?  Oh the questions! I will go to the loft on Friday, the 25th.  For today, we are just happy to get the sail on the boom, flaked, and tied down.  OH! The next thing we are so grateful for is that our sail cover fits and fastens over the new sail. So that was our major accomplishment for that day.

       Thursday rolls by with nothing much to report.  The riggers are finishing up their jobs.  Putting on the cunningham, making their final touch ups and looking over the rigging to be sure we were ready to set sail.

     Friday morning I drop the Bucket off at preschool and go to the sail loft with my little bag of goods.

   

Life Raft (11-01-2013)

One of the essential pieces of safety equipment we felt we needed for off shore passage was a life raft.
As luck would have it while we were negotiating for the purchase of Velvet Sky we hit an impasse with the old owner and the brokerage offered a life raft as an inducement to make another offer.
The raft is manufactured by Zodiac and is rated for 4 people.
A life raft has to be re certified every 3 years; which means that a certified test facility pulls the rip cord and inflates the raft just as it would in an abandon ship situation.
We had Rollie at Westpac Marine in Tacoma complete the inspection.
There is limited real estate on the deck of Velvet Sky so we decided to mount the raft in the center of the cabin roof just ahead of the turtle top ( the dome that the companionway door slides into).

Blue tape is used to lay out the positioning of the through holes and ease of clean-up

The cradle was built custom at Port Townsend Rigging (thanks Josh)

Island Packet builds their yachts with a hard fiberglass headliner under the fiberglass reinforced deck, while it is a very clean look it presents a challenge or two to mounting anything on deck.
We discovered that there was a void between the inner liner and the deck on the starboard side of the install holes. I used some thickened epoxy to fill the void, then re-drilled the holes and used the same method as the stay'l track mounts to bed the fasteners.
For securing the raft we used nylon web belt straps and a quick release snap hook to complete the tie down.

November 1, 2013

Happy November!

     We did the traditional "Halloween" thing last night.  We went trick-or-treating in Port Townsend.  There was something about it that was not traditional for us, however.  We were a part of the Halloween Parade.  This IS tradition for the town of Port Townsend.  So, it started out that Zayden was going to dress as a White Ninja, and he did.

Well, those of you who know me, also know that October 31st does not get by without me in some kind of costume.  Mind you, we are on a sailing vessel and there is little to no storage for extra stuff like costumes or holiday decorations.  I have managed to stow away a small holiday flag for each holiday (thank you, Ronna).  I have also stowed a bit of costume jewelry and skirts.  This was my first year to dress as a gypsy for Halloween ("how fitting," I thought).  I must say also, that Scott (the man who prefers to go as himself) found the spirit to play along.  He wore his Grandmother's (yes, Great Mama's) silky summer scarf (which I so gratefully inherited).  Yes it is a very nice scarf and as it turns out it makes great "pirate" headwear.  Scott had me add a bit of a mustache and some sort of beardy hair with my eyeliner make-up and we were off to a parade of 1500 or so.

After parading through town and coming across some close encounters of the same kind,

we found ourselves with a pail full of candy.  We even enjoyed a cupcake from the local cupcakery, who today told us that she makes 500 cupcakes to hand out and adds 1500 pieces of candy to her treat giving night.  Now that is a lot of sugar for this small town!

 We walked home to our Velvet Sky and crossed the paths of many spooks and other beings heading downtown.  Zayden toasted them with his pail of candy and shouted, "Halloween is over!" He was a happy white ninja and it seems that 2 hours of costume and candy was just what the kid doctor ordered.  As for me.... I was ready for a combination of hops, barley, and yeast joined together in their finest form.....and make it bubbly.  It was a fun 2 hours.