Wow, it has been a busy week. We had lots of activities planned for every day. And today is our day to rest. Will is up early, playing on his iPhone. I’m waiting for the coffee to finish brewing and will head out to the front porch to enjoy the morning.
It is foggy and damp this morning. I love the smells and sounds in the early morning. It almost seems as if the world had been washed clean overnight, and is waiting for the sunlight to dry out. That is one of the things I love about camping – it forces you outside into the morning as soon as you wake up. At home, it is too easy to stay inside and miss the entire morning.
Today we will just do nothing until after lunch. The only thing that the boys have to do is write about their spring break on their blogs. I’ll probably get bored sitting around and head out and pick up the workshop, but not until later. And we will be quiet to let Susanna and Ben sleep in as late as they want.
Our O’Day 22 sailboat in the Thames river for the first time
Our sailboat has spent many years, first sitting next to the garage in Ledyard, and then (mostly) inside our garage here in Preston. I got the sailboat before William was born, so it has been sitting around for over 10 years. Getting the boat in the water has been one of those great ideas. But for so many years, it has been just a dream. I loved thinking about sailing. I even loved working on the boat, but after a while, it would get old, and I would lose momentum on fixing it up.
Something always came in the way. First it was kids – it is a crazy change in how much free time disappears after kids (but it is well worth it). And then a second kid. It sat through a move, a divorce and my own ADHD. And pieces and parts that I had taken off wandered away, lost in all the transitions, and the trailer rusted away under it.
Will and Ben (and Panda) enjoying the day
I wanted to get it in the water last summer. But of course summer got in the way. There is always lots to do in the summer. And I’m not good at finishing things. Certainly not good at finishing things when there are lots of distractions (like in the summer). But I was able to get the trailer fixed last year.
So, this year I decided to pick a date to put the boat in the water. The boat didn’t have to be perfect. It had to float. Enough of the hardware had to be reinstalled or replaced to get it sailing. The trailer had to make the 10 mile trip to the launch and back.
My goal was to get it in the water on the 17th of April if the weather supported it. And, yesterday, I made that goal. We launched the boat near the head of the Thames river in Groton, CT. The boat launch is directly under the I-95 bridge over the river. We then motored under the railroad bridge (with a couple foot clearance for the mast) and put up the jib and sailed out towards Pine Island.
The weather was perfect for a first sail. The wind was very light – perfect for a first try. We didn’t have anywhere in particular to go, so we could just slowly move along. It is also very early in the season, so there was almost no traffic on the river (a couple of passing ferries, and an outbound submarine with coast guard escort).
Susanna and I enjoying our sail
After reaching Pine Island we headed for Ledge Light and then back up the river. The wind was heading directly downriver and was light. I had a lot of trouble trying to get the boat to move upwind at all – something I’ll have to work on. Eventually we gave up and started the outboard and motored the rest of the way in.
The light wind and bright sun made the ride warm and enjoyable. I had been worried that everyone would freeze on a mid-April outing.
Of course, a couple of things learned from the day out:
Stepping, launching, retrieving and unstepping the mast is a lot of work. I think we will try to find a place to keep the boat in the water for a month or two this summer.
The mainsail is in pretty rough shape. I’ll need to replace it before next season, but I want to figure out how to best use the headsails this year, so I won’t worry too much about the main.
We need a long dock line for launching the boat. The 20′ dock lines are a bit too short.
The cabin needs to be better organized. That is Susanna’s job.
A couple more cleats would make life easier topside.
I’ll need a way of telling how fast we are going if I am to ever figure out how best use the sails.
Before we go to sea again, I’ll reinstall the life lines. Not a big problem on a day like yesterday, but it will make everyone more comfortable going forward.
We need a curtain to give some privacy to the porta-toilet.
The boys are on spring break this week. And finally, it seems that the spring weather is here.
I am on vacation all week. However, Susanna still has school this week – so it isn’t really a vacation for everyone. But, even with Susanna in school, we have a busy week planned. I’ll need a vacation to rest after this week.
Getting ready to try out their new kayaks
This morning the boys and I ran errands (while Susanna ran her errands) – which included hair cuts for all of us (and a surprising long wait to get our hair cut) and dropping off recycling.
This afternoon I took the boys down the road to one of the local boat launches on an inlet off of the Thames river. They both had saved their allowances and purchased kayaks earlier this year. They were very excited to try them out.
It isn’t summer yet, and the weather was only in the low 60s today, and the water is very cold, so not a good day to swim. They both wore a wetsuit (shorty wetsuits) and several layers of clothes to keep them warm. Luckily the inlet was protected from the wind (and current of the river), so they could explore without freezing.
The kayaks are perfect for them. They are light enough that they can work together and carry them. They are also short enough to fit inside the sailboat (though barely). The only problem is that the paddles aren’t the best. I will probably glue them together – they kept rotating on the boys which made it hard to paddle for a long time. But what do you expect for $100 (including shipping).
Will and Ben kayaking.
Tomorrow we are planning on putting the sailboat in the water (I’ll keep my fingers crossed). It seems that the boat is ready, or rather, as ready as it will get this year. I have the mast down and tied for transport.
Tomorrow morning I have to get the last few things put together on the boat, and will head down to the boat launch just before lunch. Will and Ben will help step the mast, and hopefully we will enjoy a short sail to Pine Island. Though, looking at the forecast, we may have to motor to Pine Island (not much wind forecast for the afternoon). Either way, I’m hoping to enjoy the day.
Will enjoying the day from the roof outside his window while Susanna takes a break from painting
It feels like spring is finally here. The weather was much warmer this weekend (though today was a bit breezy). The sun was out yesterday (and some of today). We had a great weekend as a family.
The boys both had friends over this weekend. Will had a friend over on Friday, and Ben on Saturday. And Saturday afternoon the boy next door came over for a while.
Today we went to my friend Mark’s house. He changed the pads and rotors on the front brakes of the Volvo. The boys and Susanna visited the baby (and the chickens). We will be getting four chickens from them early in the summer.
This evening I am listening to Susanna play some Bob Dylan on her computer while she types on her blog. It is nice to sometimes just sit and reflect on the day.
New switch panel installed in the boat (below the starboard settee)
Okay, so my labors in repairing the sailboat are nothing compared to that of creation. Nor is the labor close to that of slaying the Nemean Lion However, it is one of my longest unfinished projects, so finishing any of the tasks to get the boat into the water is a big accomplishment for me.
Then again, a 40 year old boat is probably never a finished project.
Today I created light. Well, at least I hooked up lights. I installed the new switch panel and battery. I had run new wires to the bow light and the interior cabin lights. I tied in the old wiring to the stern light and the masthead light. I turned on the switch, and there was light.
All the lights have either LED bulbs or are low draw bulbs (such as the masthead light). The battery I have is a 35Ah AGM battery. It isn’t nearly as big as most boat batteries, but I figure we won’t be using that much power. And there is room to put another battery the same size next to the current one.
The battery sits on a wood (plywood) platform on wooden supports that I fiberglassed onto the hull. I have a strap holding the battery down to the platform.
rear of switch panel (installed). The battery is on the left side of the picture
The switch panel was made from sapele and has 6 circuits, each with independent fuse holders under the switches.
I used round panel mount switches and panel mount fuse holders. A couple of lessons learned:
Use good components. I got cheap fuse holders, and I hate them. The good ones I picked up from Defender were well worth the couple of bucks I spent on them.
I couldn’t find a good source of high quality switches, so I ordered them off of eBay. Get spares. The quality isn’t always the best – I found one of my switches arrived broken, and don’t have a spare.
I’ll probably add a dedicated USB charger one of these days (before any long days out).
The wood panel is much thicker than the panel mount hardware is able to handle. I needed to drill out a recess behind the fuse holders so I could thread the nut to hold them in. I should have drilled recesses behind every hole prior to drilling the holes. The switches would have snapped in better if I had a recess behind their holes. As it is, I had to use a drop of epoxy to keep the switches from rotating and popping out.
I used all 16ga wire. I probably could have gotten by with using 18ga wire for all the lights, but it wouldn’t have saved much money anyway.
I think I would try to put the negative bus bar and the terminal block strip on the same side of the panel. Right now the positive connection for each circuit is at the forward end of the panel, and the negative bus on the aft end. That makes the cabling a little messier.
The switch panel is relatively simple. The to cables from the battery go to a double bus bar. All the negatives return directly to the negative bus. All the switched circuits go from the positive bus to the fuse holder, and then to the switch. From each switch I ran a wire to a terminal block strip. That allows me to build the entire switch panel in the workshop, and just connect each load to the appropriate terminal block (and negative bus on the other side of the panel).
Since the switches are lighted, I also needed a negative from each switch to the negative of the battery. The negative terminals for each switch are connected in a daisy chain back to the negative bus.
Currently the only electrical connections in the boat are the navigation lights, a pair of interior dome lights and a single 12V outlet.
In addition to making light, I was able to make progress on some other boat projects. Susanna helped me install two more toe rails (I have one left to complete). The boys and I made a run to the Defender warehouse to pick up some more hardware (a couple of shackles and padeyes) as well as pick up Ben a short sleeve wetsuit. Both boys saved their allowances and purchased sit-on-top kayaks (I won’t complain, it is better than spending it on electronics, and we were able to find them for a steal online). The kayaks should show up in two weeks, so I figured getting some warmer water clothes may be good for this spring.
I am also making a plan on how to step the mast without killing myself. I ordered two parts from Nautos to help make the supports I need, a pair of nylon gudgeons:
Nylon gudgeons to be used in making a mast support/raising system.
More on that project when I finish it…. Hopefully tomorrow.
I’m finally making some progress on the sailboat. The weather had been too cold over the past couple of weeks for me to want to work on the boat – but the goal is to get the boat in the water by the boys’ spring break in mid-April, so I needed to get some work done.
Saturday morning Will and I went to Defender Marine Outfitters for their annual warehouse sale. It was completely packed, but Will did very well walking around with me (and waiting line a little longer than we wanted when all the credit card processing went down (luckily I had a check book, so we were able to check out while the line kept getting longer and longer). We picked up some of the supplies we needed for the season. Will go a wetsuit for himself, and I picked up flares, a small inflatable boat, a new masthead light, and a first aid kit.
Sunday I decided to move the boat from where it had been sitting between the house and the garage. The boat got almost no sun on it all day and stayed cold. I moved it to a place near the workshop. Closer to the tools and (hopefully) a bit warmer in the sun.
The mast head before.
I also took time to start getting the mast untangled from all of the rigging. The mast spent the past couple of years sitting behind the barn. Last year, Susanna, the boys, and I pulled the mast off and cleaned it up. But I never spent the time to inspect and organize the rigging.
At Defender, I purchased a Davis Mega-Light masthead light. I had to enlarge the hole on the front of the mast head (it looked like it had, in a previous live, been used as an VHF antenna). The masthead light required a 1/2″ hole. The leads to the light need to be soldered to the wires that are running up (inside) the mast. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any solder (though I did find the soldering iron) – so the final connection will have to wait until another day.
I also removed the stainless plate that was attached to the back part of the mast. I’m not sure what it was used for previously (I think there was an old, cheap, masthead light). I will probably attach a topping lift to the plate. Or just leave it off.
I ordered some additional stainless fasteners. I needed #8 x 1″ screws to reattach the teak toe rails. I also needed some more machine screws to reattach the deck hardware. I have had good luck with BoltDepot.com.
I also placed an order for the needed trailer winch (the old one was lost years ago) and trailer lights. Hopefully I’ll have all the parts needed to put the boat in the water. Now I just need to spend a day or two attaching the deck hardware.
Over the past couple of evenings I have been looking at a new hosting company for hosting this blog (as well as a few other websites). I decided to move to a Digital Ocean SSD server. The beauty is that you can resize the server as needed to support more hosting (or reduce it if the larger plan isn’t needed).
This blog runs WordPress. Previously I had run a CentOS server with an Apache web server. I decided to switch to Nginx from Apache based on some reports of better performance on Nginx. I ran a load test on the site before migrating to the new server and one after moving to a new server. the Nginx server handles a higher load without slowing down. Not that this site ever gets that much traffic, but it may allow for a smaller (cheaper) server to handle the website.
The website load test before moving. The green is the load, and the blue is the response time.
Note that the response time on the post-migration server stays flat for the entire load. The time scale on the left is different from the scale in the first graph.
Website after migrating to the new hosting server (Nginx instead of apache)
So far the migration was reasonably straight forward. I need to work on the Nginx script to allow better permalinks for WordPress. That will be my project one of these evenings.
The boys are here today – we were able to enjoy a full week together this week – so it wasn’t a day I could totally dedicate to home projects. But it was a quiet day for the boys, and they spent most of the day playing together, or hanging out helping work on projects.
During the colder months of the year, the dogs spend the days on the three season porch off of the kitchen. However, it gets too hot in the summer for them, so I fenced off the last bay of the garage to make a dog pen. I had taken down the fencing that had blocked the main door earlier in the year so we could paint the trim. I had always hated having the doorway entirely fenced off, and the quick fencing job I had done earlier looked terrible.
There is a side door to get into the bay, but a full gate would allow easier access to the space. This morning while at Home Depot, the boys and I picked up hinges and a latch to build a gate. After lunch I spent some time working on building a gate to the bay. I milled some of the rough lumber that I had picked up a couple of weeks ago. I initially pulled out some oak to build the gate, but decided to go with soft maple (the maple is lighter). Neither are good outside woods, but the gate will eventually be painted.
The gate isn’t completely finished. I think I need to add a diagonal cross brace to keep the gate from sagging (though I don’t expect to use the gate too frequently, so I may hold off on adding that). I will also add a bottom latch/lock so the dogs can’t push their way out from the bottom corner. I also need to put some bricks/stones under the gate so Tucker won’t dig his way out.
The gate was on my original (proposed) list of projects to finish on a furlough day. It is nice to move projects off the to do list.
And yes, I was finally able to get some quiet time in the evening before dinner to sit by the fire pit and enjoy a beer.
Raised garden beds with a fresh load of manure compost and hay
I’m tired tonight. More than just tired. I’ll probably head to bed when the kids go to bed.
We started this morning at 5:30 when Will and his friend, Shane, woke up. Sleep overs are fun, except at 5:30 in the morning.
Will and Ben had a great morning spent mostly fighting with each other – got to love brothers. At least by the afternoon they were finally playing nicely together. I’m sure it didn’t help that everyone was up early and didn’t get enough sleep. But that is okay, they will go to bed early tonight, and hopefully sleep in. I told them tomorrow is house cleaning morning, unless they sleep in too late to clean the house – I’ll see if that works. If not, at least we will have a clean house early in the morning.
I took the boys over to Rob and Anna Sawyer’s farm to pick up fresh eggs and a trailer load of horse manure compost. I spent the afternoon spreading compost and getting the garden ready for the spring. It wasn’t as warm out today as I had hoped, but it wasn’t too cold to get some yard work done. I could at least get some chores done while watching the boys run around the yard and the woods behind the house.
I didn’t get any time in the shop, except to build swords for the boys. But that is okay, maybe I’ll get in the workshop tomorrow. Tomorrow should be a nice quiet day – no friends over.
I haven’t gotten the official notification yet, but it is coming soon. It looks like I will be furloughed one day a week starting in late-April. It will last up to 22 weeks (22 unpaid days off). It is a big cut in pay for six months – which adds stress. But on the good side, it is during the summer, and if I’m going to get extra time off, I would rather it be in the summer.
I’m working on a plan. I’m thinking that I should take the opportunity to get things done around the house. I had initially thought about making a list of 22 projects that I could do in one day (and that don’t cost much money). I think 22 projects would be too many. On the summer days that the boys are here, I want to be able to spend time with them, and not be a slave to house projects. Also, I would like to spend time with Susanna’s family when they come for the wedding.
I could also just spend the time working on whatever house project is in progress. But I’m thinking that it is a good chance to do some smaller projects that might otherwise be put off until a later year. I’m leaning towards making a list of 11 projects to finish on furlough days. I’m also discussing doing group projects with some of my co-workers if they are furloughed on the same day – that may allow bigger projects at each person’s house, taking turns at each house.
So here is my list so far (in no particular order). I’ll sit down over the next couple of weeks and prioritize them with Susanna. There are more than 11 projects below, so I’ll have to pick the ones I want, or maybe just have a long list and see if I can get 11 of the projects finished.
Replace the fence next to the workshop
Paint the ceiling in the front hallway
Rewire the back porch light (and move the switch inside)
Add two electrical outlets to the study.
Add an electrical outlet to the bedroom and a switch for the light
Spend a day cleaning the basement
Build a bridge/walkway across the stream into the field next door (request by the boys)
Add outlets and timed light to the garage
Build a proper lumber rack in the garage
Repair the windows in the kitchen
Build a gate for the dog pen in the garage
Yard cleanup
Rebuild rain collection drain system next to the front porch (south side)
