July 18, 2007
An added attraction when we first looked at KLOOSH was that she came equipped with a liferaft. This week we took the liferaft in for certification. We were both a little apprehensive about the condition and quality of the raft.
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Chase Leavitt & CO in < namespace="" prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xml="true">
When John pulled the pin the raft immediately took shape, the light on top illuminated, and all functioned as advertised. The raft appeared brand new, no mold or other signs of moisture or insect intrusion.
Chris Harrison, the Chase Leavitt representative, went over every part of the raft and survival gear included inside. This was a very informative hour. We both feel if the raft is ever needed we stand a better chance after having familiarized ourselves with its deployment.
We added a new 121 MHZ radio beacon, sunglasses, reading glasses, sunscreen lotion and a fifth of scotch whiskey to the supplies.
Not really on the scotch, we ended up drinking that when we found out how much recertification of the raft costs.
We are still doing lots of projects and making some progress. Heather and Jeff Rouse builders of Sceptre yachts have been very helpful giving advise and direction when we’ve asked. For example they told us how to reseal the toe rail and warned to do it in small portions. We did and found it was easy. So we proceeded to do a large portion. Now we will go back and redo the large portion in small portions. ( Heather & Jeff - we promise to do exactly like you tell us next time)
A long held belief in some of the sailing community is to leave the port for a journey on ANY day but Friday. Friday is considered a bad luck day to depart on a voyage. Superstitions can run rampant in sailors’ minds…but we felt in such dire need of a little ‘get-a-way’ from our boat projects that even Friday the 13th did not deter us from casting our lines and setting sail to The Goslings in Casco Bay.
The Goslings offered quite a lot for such a small spot on the chart. We enjoyed watching the harbor seals swimming and basking in the sun on the rocks. Occasional great blue herons flew by heading to, or from,
07/07/07
Taken at the top of the Portland Observatory
Of the chores done so far the one that turned out most fun was the retrieval of our car, which we left in Rockport, when we sailed the boat to < namespace="" prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xml="true">
Early yesterday, when the morning winds were dead calm, we got the staysail and trysail out of the locker and hoisted them. We wanted to both inspect the condition of the sails and familiarize ourselves with the process. Much to our delight both sails are new or little used.
KLOOSH now sports a new toilet and associated plumbing. We decided to go with the Lavac toilet because of its simplicity. This job took four days and more trips back to the store than we want to admit. We are (particularly John) VERY happy to have this little chore behind us – no pun intended.
After, the new Lavac and custom trim panel we made from iroko wood.
Over the winter, while KLOOSH was stored at the boatyard we contracted to have the large windows in the salon replaced. During that process quite a bit of the old sealant got tracked onto the deck. It took Cheryl and me a day of on-hands-and-knees scrubbing to rectify that problem. But now the deck is cleaner and brighter than we have ever seen it.
Another whole day we spent emptying the lockers in the aft stateroom. The previous owner had stowed spare parts (everything from plumbing, rigging, electrical, miscellaneous hardware, etc) in these lockers. We inventoried every item by sorting, bagging and labeling bags. Then we stowed all the little bags in two larger duffel sized bags. Next we printed off a master list of all the items in all the bags which we attached to the locker doors. Hopefully this system will help in a quick search and retrieval for anything we might need. Because, as the saying goes, ‘ the most faded ink is better than the finest memory’.
We have been through the boat like never before during these projects. While pulling in and attaching new wire while installing the LED masthead light John discovered many nooks and crannies that were previously unknown to us. He found even more storage space while installing the 40’ of new plumbing hose. This could be both good and bad. Now we know we have more space than we originally thought… but do we really need to fill it?
Cheryl and I have been knocking off boat projects faster than the nicks, cuts, and sore muscles can recover from. So today we took the day off to do a little sight seeing around
Henry W Longfellow's home
After an obligatory stop at West Marine to lighten the load in our wallets the culture tour began. First we toured Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s home which was built in 1785. It was willed to the state of
Next we went to the Portland Observatory. Built in 1807 it is the last remaining signal tower in