Pressure relief

Ellen and I moved the boat about two miles to a protected anchorage after a noisy night at our home mooring. (Home mooring for less than a week – then we’ve got no terrestrial home!) I decided this was as good a time as any to address some maintenance. When it’s a little bouncy, the sound of the water against the hull in the forward cabin can be a bit much. It was tough to sleep in this morning. (Ok, it was tough for me, Ellen has no such issues.)

The engine has excellent oil pressure, but when I switch from low idle (around 600 rpm) to high idle (around 1100 rpm) the oil pressure gauge pegs at high. If I throttle up in gear the gauge will also peg at high for a minute or two and then will find its way back to 55 psi where it belongs.

See the white bolt head just above the red thing? That’s where it all started.

I thought I diagnosed it as a faulty sensor but got a faulty new sensor that didn’t read anything. So I got the part (I thought) to replace the pressure relief valve. Today I opened it up to check it out. The relief valve looked fine…it moved smoothly in its bore, it had no galling or significant wear. When I went to put it all back together I realized that because of the tight quarters in that part of the engine I was unable to compress the spring and thread the cap back on. Oh boy.

The challenge was to compress the spring and thread the cap on at the same time. No room for a socket wrench. And the engine was still warm enough that I got a burn/blister on my pointer finger. Poor me!

Ellen offered a third hand but there was definitely no room for that. Then she suggested I remove “that thing” so I did. Pulled the alternator out of my way and got the relief valve back together. No leaks. That’s the good news. No change in the gauge readings. That’s the bad. Hmm.

Got it done!

Ok, I guess the other good news is that I am getting to know the engine. So far we seem to be getting along pretty well.

Friday was not much help but she is keeping an eye on things out back.

Beautification committee

Ellen and I have been working with the stained glass artist who made the glass for the cabinet doors last year. We wanted something similar for the tall cabinet. Well, the piece finally arrived today and looks wonderful. Thanks stained glass artist Lindsey Konopka! She’s on Facebook at Portland’s Magic Corner. (The other Portland.)

In more prosaic news, the warranty replacement for the Orion TR 12/24-10 converter (inverter?) arrived! This thing is a magic box that takes 12v and steps it up to 24v so there is less loss of the something something as it travels along the wire I used to connect the Starlink. The original started to intermittently go dead. Even though it was a year old and was a refurbished unit to begin with, Inverters-R-Us (yes, their real name…find them at invertersrus.com) covered it under the excellent Victron warranty and sent us a replacement. I had been using an AC power source in the interim, so it’s nice to get things back to DC. We were concerned the warranty process would take too long and we wouldn’t receive the replacement in time, but here it is. Thanks Inverters-R-Us!

We are nine days from the house closing, after that we will have no shoreside home and will start heading south. This schedule means any Amazon orders better happen speedy quick if we hope to get the deliveries before we up anchor. Need to get a waterproof digital camera and more fuel filters.

I had a nice lunch in Brunswick with my friend Jeremy today. Thanks for making the trip down from Camden! When Ellen and I have read blogs about people who did what we are doing (selling the house, storing the treasures, living aboard full-time) they always talk about the hectic last days before leaving home. All the packing, provisioning, goodbyes. It’s bittersweet - we’ve had such a nice time living in Freeport, I loved my job and the people I worked with, love Maine and plan to return in a few years when we start to dial back our travels a bit. But it is also so exciting to set off on this new adventure.

Jeremy asked me if Ellen and I were worried about lack of intellectual challenges living aboard. We get some version of this question often (some people ask if we will be bored with this life). It’s such an exciting, dynamic existence with so many variables and considerations we need to keep track of each day that I don’t see us getting bored. Hasn’t happened yet and this is not our first go-around on a boat. Plus, since I met her in 1988 I have never been able to get enough of Ellen. Being able to work as a team every day is the realization of a dream.

On that note, let’s end with this lovely image.

Head blockage

So I kind of gave away the theme of today’s post in the headline. We’ve known for a while that the head vent was clogged. This situation is a problem because when we flush the toilet all that shit needs to be able to displace air from the tank. And the vent is how that air escapes. When it can’t vent through the deck fitting the tank ends up “venting” brown shit water into the bilge. We learned this fascinating bit of physics this morning when I did a bilge check and saw (and smelled) the consequences. We had about three gallons of the stuff sloshing around down there. Oh my.

So while Ellen went paddle boarding with our friend Jenny I emptied the cabinet under the head sink, pulled off the access panel in the back, located and cut the end off the head vent hose. As soon as I did, the back-pressure in the tank released with an aromatic whooooof. Delightful.

You can see the disconnected head vent at the top. The other vent is for the shower holding tank. The guys at the bottom are shower discharge and (I think) AC discharge.

Fortunately the clog was in the very end of the vent at the hull fitting. I didn’t have to replace the vent hose or investigate anything closer to that nasty tank. The screens on the hull fitting were corroded and blocked so I first tried to clean them, then simply removed them I reinstalled the hose and buttoned everything back up. Mischief managed.

This is where I had to crawl in to get to the vent hose.

This is the hull fitting. The holes are where I removed the clogged screen from it. Someone needs to get in there with some rust remover…things are looking sloppy!

Initially I didn’t know how the bits of the hull fitting were attached so I taped it to the hull just in case it wanted to fall into the briny deep.

Ellen got back from her paddle and heroically sponged the bilge dry. We both cleaned and bleached the bilge in the engine room and in the tank room. Now we are back in business.

Yesterday we headed up the New Meadows River to anchor near the home of our friends Matt and Jenny. We kayaked to their house and they gave us a ride to Barn Stomp – a musical extravaganza over in Harpswell where our friend Jim was playing with his band. Food truck, oyster bar, tons of friendly happy people. It was a wonderful evening of excellent music and company. Thank you again Matt and Jenny!

Earlier this week I mounted my bench vise on a maple plank so I can use it aboard should the need arise. We are not traveling light. The vise belonged to my granduncle Phil and I know he would have gotten a kick out of the fact that it is now traveling with us on a boat.

Last week we stocked up on boxed milk. Ellen feels uncomfortable if we have anything less than an 18 month supply…(kidding, not really kidding).

And we are essentially moved out of the house. It felt particularly good to drop our snow shovels off at the swap shop at the Freeport Transfer Station. Won’t be needing those things again.

Ellen harvested the peaches from our trees, blanched, peeled, pitted, and froze them. So we have peach smoothies and hand pies in our future.

This picture represents just a fraction of the bounty we enjoyed this year.

In order to get to our anchorage up the New Meadows River we decided to pass through the Jaquish Gut. It’s a narrow passage lined with tourists ready to post any encounter with a rock. Pretty fun stuff.

Last week we went through the narrow passage between Sow and Pigs. Cyclops likes a tricky bit of maneuvering. You can say “I told you so” when all this close work ends in tears one day.

And let’s end on a lovely note with this sunset photo.

So many things!

Hello internet friends! It has been a while since I sat down to provide an update. Many things have been happening, so buckle up. (Trigger warning: if you came here for boat content, this entry may be a little light in that regard.)

We’ve been up to our ears with enjoying summer in Maine, visiting the people, packing up the house, packing Moss off to college, loading the boat. Oh my goodness.

Topsham Fair demolition derby.

One of the things we are doing these days is selling our surplus stuff. So far we’ve moved bookcases, bureaus, diesel jugs, desk chairs, end tables, cars, trucks and so much else out of our lives.

The truck was our beloved 2003 Toyota Tacoma. The best vehicle we have ever owned. But when I was in the midst of replacing a cracked rear spring last month I could no longer pretend the frame wasn’t dangerously rusty. I was able to poke a screwdriver through the frame at the rear spring shackle attachment point. Just not safe. So I stopped the repair and put the truck on Marketplace.

Oof. That’s some rust.

There was lots of interest because even rusty, these trucks are fabulous. And someone with the skills to weld can save them. Anyway, the guy who came to buy the truck was super patient. He was unfazed when, because the axle wasn’t attached to the old springs, the driveshaft fell out of the slip joint as I was trying to drive the truck onto his trailer. He was also ok with the situation when the whole rear axle shifted 4” to the left and got all cattywampus in the wheel wells. He and I jacked the truck up, wiggled the axle into place, u-bolted it back together, and got the Tacoma onto his trailer in the end.

Success!

We are down to just the Austin Healey for our terrestrial vehicle. It makes sense that our daily driver is a 71 year old British car never known for reliability, safety, or weather protection.

After a long, long, long drive to Virginia in a rental minivan, we got Moss installed at William & Mary. It was a very emotional goodbye, we’ve enjoyed having that kid around and will miss her tremendously.

The house is getting empty now. There are no more rugs, most of the art is in storage, all the couches have been sold. And we’ve moved aboard Cyclops full time. We’ve been telling ourselves (and anyone who has patience to listen) that we expect to be living on this boat pretty much full time for the next three years. Yikes! We’re at our home mooring in Freeport, within sight of the house. But it feels so good to be on the water getting things squared away for life on this little tugboat.

Our top priority was hooking up the CO2 tank to the seltzer maker. Note the spare 5 pound cylinder.

This mess of supplies is the tip of the provisioning iceberg. We have enough cat food aboard to last through at least February

Tomorrow we head ashore to keep plugging away at emptying the house. We hope to have it clean and empty by Friday. Stay tuned to see if we meet that goal.

Quickie

Just a quick check-in. After a week of collecting our youngest offspring from camp in New York, watching the new Spider Man movie, and packing more housewares, we are back in business. The goal is to be on board full-time in three weeks. Went out to Cyclops to bring more gear. The fridge was stinky (orzo, rice, milk, and nasty old cheese did not like being left to their own devices for so long). But otherwise all is well.

The kayaks were caught canoodling.

Delightful July day

Today I thoroughly enjoyed my retirement. Went for a run with Ellen first thing, then we washed her car while the driveway was still shaded, then we went for a dump run, then we went out to lunch for a Chinese food treat, and then we went our separate ways as she worked on a special something for our nephew Zachary and his fiancee Kat’s wedding, while I went for a sail on lovely Cupcake.

The wind was fluky but fun and I sailed out to the passage between Williams and Pettengill Islands to investigate the rock in the middle. I like to check up on it periodically. It’s covered at high tide but dry from about mid-tide and lower. The first time I sailed the first Cupcake into the bay after moving here more than twenty years ago Matt and I went right over that chunk of granite, blissfully unaware of the mortal peril. We were more concerned with the ledges stretching off from the islands than we were with the mid-channel rock! Protected by the luck of the ignorant and a 3.5’ draft. Today I kept my distance but was plenty close enough to smell the pungent cormorant shit when I was downwind.

I went back to the mooring as the breeze began to die. But once I had the sails down the wind piped up so I raised them again and dropped the mooring for another go around. Cupcake is a marvelous boat.

While I was out on the water I stopped at Cyclops to test the fit of the sun screens Ellen sewed up this week. The boat came with a sunshade for the aft end of the cockpit, now we’re covered on the sides as well. It was a project months in the making. Nice work Ellen!

And I buttoned up the extra hole in the boat. Took a piece of Starboard that I planed down a bit last night, cut into a circle, and today installed with a backing plate and 4200 adhesive. I’ll let you know when my mistake no longer rankles.

Measure once, cut twice

Well, the cockpit shower is installed. More or less. After weeks of thinking, measuring, discussing, figuring, and determining where the shower should go we finally got down to business. We picked our spot, double checked that I wouldn’t be cutting into any hoses or cables, crawled into the bilge to make double-sure there would be no surprises when I drilled that enormous hole in our beautiful boat. And then I did it.

I know, I should be wearing eye protection. I’ll be better about that in the future.

PEX is so incredibly easy, it is amazing it works so well.

We got the shower holder/fitting in place, and crimped the PEX water fittings onto the water lines. (Nordic Tug thoughtfully installed water lines in the bilge so putting in a cockpit shower would be a piece of cake. They also ran lines in the bilge for a washing machine. Both are factory options.) Then we attached the shower’s water lines to the boat’s and tested the system. No leaks! Great water pressure. Hot and cold!

But I neglected to think about how wide the space I was installing the shower is, and it’s not wide enough. Choice words, self-recrimination, and depression ensued. Then I rallied, installed the shower fitting on the top of the cockpit side like I should have in the first place because it is much easier to install and tidier looking. Then I put up the blue-tape-of-shame until I can make a blanking plate to cover my mistake. Oh the humanity!

But it’ll be super to have an outdoor shower. We love us an outdoor shower.

The flooring is done!

The boat is in a state of chaos as we are starting to move aboard but not really move aboard since we’ll be in our house until September. One of the hangups in getting things squared away on the trawler was the situation with the guest cabin floor. So today, full of vim and vigor, I paddled out to Cyclops, started the generator and ran the air conditioning so I could work in comfort. And wow was it comfortable!

Temps ashore were in the low nineties, but on board things were dry, cool, and 75. So very nice. Yesterday I got the cork floor tiles cut to my satisfaction. Last night I formulated an order of operations so when I glued the tiles down I would be able to minimize gaps and crookedness. The adhesive recommended by the cork company is contact cement, which meant I wouldn’t get a second chance to position the tiles. Today I rolled the contact cement on the subfloor and the backs of the cork tiles, let it dry and get tacky, then got down to business. The installation went better than expected and the results are pleasing. I also laid down two coats of my favorite polyurethane, so once that stuff cures the floor will be good to go.

Glue is applied, waiting for it to get tacky.

Second coat of polyurethane looking good.

Of course, Cyclops is a boat, so the anchor wash down fitting broke this weekend. We managed to get it working but it’s not a long-term fix. And the new fresh water pump is acting funny, hammering and clunking when I run the cold water at the galley sink. It doesn't have a problem pumping water to the head, the sink in the head, or the shower so it’s almost certainly a galley sink issue. I think it needs an accumulator tank to help smooth out the pressure demands relating to trying to push water through the big filter under the sink. Both parts are inbound. Stay tuned.

In non-marine news, I replaced the foggy headlights on the truck, replaced the front brake pads, and located the source of the clunk/rattle from the rear. We’ve got a broken leaf spring, so that repair is also on the to-do list. It’s such a good truck I will do just about anything to keep her going. At 195,000 miles the truck has earned all the love.

On our way home from a weekend aboard we decided to take advantage of high tide and run through the narrow passage between the piglets (of Sow and Pigs fame here in Maquoit Bay). It is a beautiful, peaceful slot of calm green water between two lovely little islands. Not something to attempt at low tide. Probably not something to attempt in a 39 foot trawler at any state of tide, but there you have it.

We’ve sailed this passage in three different sailboats and motored it in two powerboats. Nevertheless, it’s always a treat. Look how beautiful it is up here in the summer!

And we realized there’s no church key aboard the boat so we installed this essential item. Cheers!

Quick update

After dealing with Lyme Disease all week I had enough energy yesterday to get some time on Cyclops with Ellen. (Note: Lyme is no joke. Use bug spray, and if you have even a hint of a tick encounter or have awful flu-like symptoms or that bullseye rash get the antibiotics. I’m finally feeling symptom-free after nearly two weeks on antibiotics that left me utterly enervated.)

We started the flooring project in the guest cabin in earnest. Last year the cat did some outside the box thinking and peed on the carpet in there. It was an accident but definitely needed to be addressed. So this spring we took up the carpet, sealed the floor with polyurethane to contain any residual odor (there was none, but just in case), and yesterday we laid down a 1/4” plywood subfloor. Tomorrow we will install the cork flooring. I’m pretty excited to get that room back in business, and I am looking forward to seeing how the cork does. If it works out well we may use the remaining cork tiles to redo the floor in the head at some point.

This is the subfloor being held down by all the crap we still need to stow.

After the flooring excitement, we practiced being retired by having lunch on the back deck. Nailed it.

And this is our pet aloe plant, the first of the crew members to move aboard full time.

Launch day

So in case you were wondering, preparing a gaff rigged sloop to sail is no quick operation. Ellen and I trailered Cupcake to the boat ramp on Mere Point to catch the high tide, and after a busy hour running the halyards, stepping the mast, bending on the sails, and fussing with the trailer, we got Cupcake back in the sea where she belongs. Had a delightful sail back to the mooring. Then stalwart Ellen kayaked back to the boat launch to retrieve the truck and trailer while I tidied up Cupcake at her mooring.