I better try keeping up a little better.

I know...I kinda suck at keeping up with posts. I will try to do better. I have talked about building dinghies. I am just now to a point where I am feeling competent enough to do it. Everything in its place and time. I am right at 6 weeks without pain meds and I am just getting clear headed enough to tackle this.
I knew I had some obstacles to overcome. Sometimes having a pain pill to shut down the hurt would be nice, but as long as I can manage and enjoy not being in a fog anymore.....I will just have to deal with it. Did I mention I love having a clear mind again? Yup...I missed it. I think it is clearing more all the time. I wonder how long it takes to clear out 7 years of strong pain meds?

So...back to the dinghy. I have 2 partial days on it right now.

I decided to build Sea Midge. It is an old world design from the north seas. Redrawn as a plywood dinghy in the 50's or 60's. I am converting it over to a stitch and glue design.

It is taking a lot of thought to figure out how to take something designed to be build on a frame with a framework and screw construction and convert it to stitch and glue that requires no frame to build on.

It turns out I needed at least a couple forms.

Example of frame.

First was drawing up side boards and lofting. Finding a piece of wood I could bend around the small nails driven in at the different points on pattern was difficult. You bend the stick and it gives you the gentle curves needed. This is also where I found out the old plans were missing a measurement. I had to guess at the angles that attach to the transom and stem. In retrospect. I think I should have build the frame once, just to get the angle. It doesn't say so...but it must be. In stitch and glue. The side boards are attached to the transom and stem first. Then side boards are spread out to appropriate shape.

I have never built a dinghy of any style so it is taking a while to figure out how to convert it over to the stitch and glue.

After side boards, cut out transom.

Then stem.

End of day one. I have had to figure this out as I do it. I started pretty late today because of things happening at the dock. I do not mind leaving it like this for the night. I need to figure out the next step.

Slept on it...Have a plan. Now on to day 2.

As you can see, I now have transom and stem attached. I also have bottom boards of frame inside holding it up while I think about the next step.

Now have frame pieces put in. I actually did not think it was correct when I first started forcing the frame work in. It really spread things out a lot.

To get proper shape for bottom pieces. 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. Cut down center lengthwise. now is 2 x 8. Fasten down one side. Trace out. remove. Cut out. Refasten. Now do other side. I am cutting out first side here.

First side temporarily tacked on.

Looking at bow.

Looking at stern. Bottom pieces have to come off so I can epoxy the side boards to stem and transom.

Not the greatest picture. Epoxy thickened with cabosil to a peanut butter consistency. Keeps it where you put it. End of day two. I cannot mess with it until this cures. If you discount time spent figuring out how I am going to do the different steps. I have about 6-8 hours into this project. I have decided that grinding out projects 7 days a week until done will not work. I will wrap it up on Fridays and continue on Monday. This is Friday morning. I will have the shell epoxied today. It can cure over the weekend.
Once the inside seams are epoxied, The inside and outside of seams will get fiber glassed with woven cloth.
But that is for another day. I have to get moving.

I have silent observers during the project. Mary Beth's pets, Bailey(female dog) and Finn(male cat)

They keep me in line.

More later.....Gotta run!!!

I decided I have been slacking... I better catch up on my blogging while able to remember all that is taking place.
This is a regular scene here at South harbor village marina. I will be here until October 1st. I think???

Much has happened since last update. I am now into week 6 with no pain meds.  Interesting. Overdoing it, certainly has a different connotation when there is not a pain pill to bail one out. :-)  I have had all manner of weird releases of stored up meds in my body. I will suddenly feel kind of weird and buzzy. It will last anywhere from a couple minutes to a half hour. However...taking the good with the bad. I am regaining my faculties. I knew the pain pills affected my reasoning, communication and functioning, I just had to get to a point where I could do something about it.

I feel more like "me" all the time.

Last week Steve and Linda Franko stopped by on their way north. I truly enjoy their company. I have found the boating world to be rife with good people and they are a shining example.

So back to boat projects.

The fresh water pump needed replacing. You know what they say about opening a can of worms?
The old pump was mounted under the galley sink. Instructions for new pump said to mount within 5 feet of water tank....hmmm. Means under v-berth. I also realized that the old water line was pretty flimsy. I am sure it was meant to be used with the hand and foot pumps that came with Mary Lee when new.

So I created a mess. By the time I was done, I had stuff everywhere but the spot on settee where I sat to assemble, rest and plan.

The mess just kept growing...and growing. I also had to run wire for the new pump along with the hose.

At last I had all but the wiring finished. Why is it that I constantly have this place open? I have seen holding tank and hoses for said tank all I can stand.
I get it all put together and find one more problem. No vent on fresh water system. Cannot fill water properly and after fixing many leaks. I now have a vacuum that will not allow pump to work properly. Great!!!

 Picture of new pump in new place. I had to reach in to get a picture of this. It was not so easy to install

Through hull fitting. Vent hose ran up into hanging locker and back down through v-berth. I installed through hull about 7 inches down from elbow that was up near fill cap. Put screen on fitting before sliding hose on. Keeps bugs out. Tank fills correctly and shoots out through fitting when full. Half the boaters (sail and power) I asked had this set-up. It works for now...I'll take it.

Sea Midge is first dinghy on assembly line. I am converting these old plans over to a stitch and glue.
I will build several different dinghies this summer until I find the one that suits me. I should be able to sell the ones I do not like so I can recoup my losses when buying material. I will finish lofting(drawing out) Sea Midge today and should have most of the pieces cut out and be starting assembly today.

I thought I had a picture of hanging locker that vent was installed in. There is a nice little trim piece that keeps everything tucked away nicely in the corner.

Cardboard mock up of new galley. I wanted to see if it was something I could live with. Space on right is where gimbaled stove will go. Old galley will turn into Nav. station. It seems odd to have a sink and stove right in the corner with the electric panel. I also need a galley I can have room to cook in. I m not a minimalist when it comes to that. I thought I would have to learn that when I bought Mary Lee. Steve and Linda set me straight there. They give up nothing as far as having good meals.
Sure...I can cook everything in a skillet, but why?

I can do a hundred variations of meat and potatoes in a skillet. Love pancakes with eggs. I never get tired of favorites. But I think I want a place to make cinnamon rolls, sweet bread....whatever.

I bought a new cast iron skillet and flat iron for galley work. I love cooking with cast iron.

Could not figure out how to turn this picture. The guy had a couple of these out when I rode by on bike.

I have more to blog about but it is getting late in the morning and I have a dinghy to get to work on.

One last picture. I met Paul on his way south to Florida. This is his restoration project. One of 22 block Island 40's built before plans were sold to Hinckley. Bill Trip designed. Paul's was built in 1961. What beautiful lines. I will look him up when I go south just to see how it is coming along. Paul is good people.

I am constantly meeting new people and making friends. The back pain is a constant companion but I am dealing with it. The point....Better to have a life, no matter how painful...than to not have a life because of the pain. I know both ends of it. I am going to hurt anyways, this way I have things to look forward to.
I am constantly amazed that of all the things I could have done to try and get my life back...I really did choose correctly. If given the choice...I would maybe do a few things differently .. maybe? I would still have made the choice to buy Mary Lee. The battles fixing her have helped with the recovery. At times I am sure working on Mary Lee is more than I can take. But to stop...... not a chance. I will happily take the good with the bad. Next week I will be stringing new running rigging. Then begins sailing 101. I have help. I will sail all I can this summer once started.

Mary Lee is pulling into shape at about the speed I can keep up with. A beat up sailor and a neglected boat. What a pair!!!  

Life is good!!!

Hi again....

I have been busy. Not a lot to talk about so have not been posting.

  I am constantly amazed at how difficult my physical recovery has been. That and the fact that it is still ongoing. At this point... I am just about 2 weeks with no real pain meds. It is hard to consider a 600mg ibuprofen and a Tylenol pm at bedtime as real pain meds.

  When I bought Mary Lee, my brain seemed to think my body could somehow just miraculously recover and push on through to completion of future plans. My body did not see it the same way :-)

  My legs still have much nerve pain. It still radiates out from the L-1 to my hips and points south. Getting to sleep at night is difficult at best. However... even though I still have to be careful about what I do,(especially now that I am not taking anything to ease the affects of overdoing) My brain is coming out of the drug induced fuzziness. I am pleased :-)  I hated taking pills long before the back injury in March of 2006. April 16th is 2 year anniversary of buying Mary Lee. I could barely stand without a cane when I bought her. That was on 120mg of oxycontin a day. I had to ride the wheelchairs through the airports. WOW!!!! What a battle it has been.
   Even though I have not moved along at the pace I had planned, I am still doing all I can do every day. If I do to much or do something wrong... I may be several days before I can even continue. Still... I do what I can on the slack days. I have a goal.... I will not be detoured.

  This is beginning my 3rd year with Mary Lee. I have a busy summer planned. I will get a lot of sailing done this summer. A few changes to Mary Lee. Solar panels and wind generator installed. I have a garage to work in and most tools are now bought and shop is set up.

  I built a good solid table to work on. I still need a set-up for doing mortise and tenon joints. Also need to pick up a dovetail jig. I am looking at building a permanent dodger for Mary Lee. It will give me a place for solar panels. I have sorted out how I want to re-fit the galley. I am happy with what I finally came up with.

Lumber delivered for dinghy build.

Because inflatable is selling. I just want a wood dinghy that I can also sail.

  Have plans for nesting dinghy. put together it weighs just over a hundred pounds. I think I am going to build a few different styles of punts, prams and dinghies this summer and find something that I like. I will certainly build this rascal. But not quite yet. Besides... as long as I can sell my experiments, I can let the proceeds pay for some upgrades.

  I am not jumping in blind. I am making sure to read all I can for those little tricks that make projects go easier.

  Spring has sprung. Yesterday was spent enjoying the sun. Long walk on beach was overdoing it a bit. But nice anyways.

Still baking. Spaghetti squash with fresh bread.

  Remember this. Holding tanks. It turned out that following advice is not always the best advice. Capping off second tank only keeps it from being pumped out. It still fills. Putting in suction tubes that are not only the right ones but also installed correctly makes a big difference. Moral of the story??? Never assume that what you are looking at was correct to begin with :-) Murphy said something like. "Never enough time to do it right.. ALWAYS enough time to do it over".

I like the idea of a composting head more all the time. That may be on the list.

   I will be sailing all I can this summer. Building dinghies and refitting a bit on Mary Lee. Of course... The battle to make my back stronger is ongoing. Did I mention I am now riding bicycle? Pretty big step. I have ridden as much as 14 miles on one day(that was not all at once and I had trouble not only finishing, but for days afterwards. But... I did do it) and will be regularly riding 3.5 miles from Mary Lee to garage in the morning and the return trip when I have done all I can and head back to Mary Lee
Tonight Mary Beth is helping me set up her total gym so I can start doing as much of that as possible. The daily plan will be to go for a short sail in the morning. Ride 3.5 miles to Mary Beth's and garage. Spend a short bit on the gym and then build for as long as I can stay on my feet, then ride the 3.5 miles back home. I will set aside one day a week(or more as it suits me) for work on Mary Lee and one day for nothing but sailing.

   I know it sounds like I am planning to overdo it.... Maybe, But I am heading south the first part of October this year and I intend to be as ready as I can. This is it. Whatever shape I am in come October, I am heading south.
At this point... I am wrestling with the idea of going back north next summer to explore the Maine coastline. I keep hearing about how great a place it is to sail. I have even heard it is the best in the U.S. I may have to see for myself.
   Need to get my passport this summer. I am not sure how the other plans are going with Peters sailboat. Refresher... I do not remember if I mentioned it. Peter(from Germany) is refitting a 65 ft. ferro-cement sailboat where I fixed my prop. He and his wife are planning to take it to Cartagena, Colombia sometime around November this year. I have an opportunity to ride along if the schedules work out. I would like to go check it out. Time will tell.

  Lee(south Korean) bought a 57 ft. sailboat in the same yard. He is planning on taking it to South Korea when done. I have an opportunity to go but I think My schedule is to full. Also. North Korea is pretty close to destination. It would be interesting to go along as far as the passage through the Panama canal.

  So you see... Not a lot of exciting things to blog about. However... there are some things about to fall into place. The dream is slowly approaching a point of fruition. I just need to keep my head down and keep pushing along.

Not much time for anything else. I will have to leave out all thoughts of any kind of relations beyond friendship, and certainly any dating, until I have made a pretty big dent in the work load. I have been alone this long. A little longer does not matter. My lesson last winter will keep my nose clean :-) (some of you know about that)

I am constantly making new friends. That makes this experience a rich one for me. I have not forgot anyone I met so far. Everyone has left a permanent mark. Final analogy for today. If it was over tomorrow... Everything leading up to it has been so worth the effort.

Certainly not the way I planned it.  Every minute of my day hurts, whether I move or not. But (if hurt I must) better to have a life and hurt, than to lay around doped up hurting and wishing for a life.

 

 

Hi... It is I.

Sorry I have not updated in a while. Lack of updates are due in part to lack of service when I have time. Other reasons are hurting to bad to want to. I guess everyone is used to this one by now. The other reason is just being busy. Visiting with new friends and emailing and texting pen pals and friends. Somehow... by the time I get all caught up it is usually very late and the blog is put off again.

So everyone knows I had a broken prop.

There it is. I finally got Mary Lee towed to a yard about a mile away and had her hauled out. I thought about just having a diver do it but in the end I decided I better have it hauled so I could see what everything looked like. I hauled at Anchors away. Once Mary Lee was all blocked up they informed me I could not stay on board. Now what???? I had made a friend.. Mary Beth, who told me I could stay at her home until my prop showed up. She is the manager??? of the Old Baldy Lighthouse on Bald Head Island.

I tried to make this download upright but blogger is just not letting me. Since I was so graciously offered a place to stay while awaiting parts, and I needed something to do. I did some volunteer work out at old Baldy.

I repaired a water line, put price tags on things for gift shop, coat hooks in bathrooms. Repaired a handrail, turned up dirt in one of the flower beds to get it ready to plant. I still have other projects I have offered to help with but first things first.

I enjoy cooking all the time. This is pan dulce. Also known as Mexican sweet bread. I have eaten it much but only store bought. It turns out I had a very successful first batch. It is so incredibly better tasting made from scratch that I will never buy it again.

My dinner rolls are a little on the large side.

I also experimented with a different topping for my cinnamon rolls. Very gooey and rich. You can hold these in your hand and eat without making a big mess either. I have a bit of a change in mind for these. It is going to be a very good one.

Meanwhile... Back at the ranch. I thought Steve and Linda Franko would get a kick out of a different kind of Yesterdays dream.

Everybody thinks it is steel until you get a closer look. Fiberglass. Looks like that dream happened yesterday :-)

Prop is on. Key slipped forward and prop would not seat properly. Do not laugh. This Makeshift prop puller worked.

So next time you think things are bad at your marina. I had to run about 70 feet of extension cord and use an adapter to get power. That is my orange cord on the right. I really did not want anything to do with this potentially dangerous set-up but when you need to plug in.
The other yard. Hampstead boat yard was a much better place. I did not know there were two of them using the same slip for haul-outs. I know now.

I can make a pretty good oyster soup.

One of my favorites. Fried potatoes, onions and eggs. Not even close to fish and chips with a side of gravy... but we'll take it.

I finished up a 24 day water fast just a few days after pulling Mary Lee out. I had gained quite a bit of weight in Baltimore. I was 248 pounds before Christmas and I know I gained after that. The 248 was at the doctors office. I dieted a couple weeks and then fasted. I weighed 202 pounds when finished. I feel sooooo very much better.

Back in the water she goes. I am so excited I want to jump up and down. Maybe I did... I am not telling :-)

A friend I met at Anchors away saw me waiting at figure eight bridge in Wrightsville, Nc. and took this with his phone as I went through. Thanks Tom.

It was cold but sunny. Wind kept getting worse. Finally I made it into Snows Cut near Carolina Beach, NC. I got here about 4:00 pm. No wind. I knew I did not have far to go but It was so nice here. I anchored for the night. I spent the afternoon texting, emailing, phoning and just enjoying the sun. It turned out to be a real nice anchorage.

I had it all to myself the following morning. Not even the slightest breeze. It looked like a sheet of glass. I could not have asked for much more. Maybe a sail up and no engine running. Of course a companion who enjoyed it as much as I would be nice too. I am busy but who knows. Maybe someday. Point is. Until they made me share it with other boats... It was pretty spectacular.

I am going to be using Mary Beth's garage in Southport to set up wood shop 101. I will build a few nesting dinghies to sell and also one to keep. Do upgrades on Mary Lee and hopefully have her where I want by the end of the summer. Mary Beth has treated me like family. Something I am finding a lot here in the south.

The people in the boating world are also a breath of fresh air. I am going to miss all of it when I head south. I am amazed at the people I have met and the friends I have made since starting this adventure. To think I could have paid cash for a house in Idaho and staggered around a garage for the rest of my life. I chose to buy Mary Lee and it has certainly been an adventure up until now. I made the right choice. Not the easy choice, but the right one.
     So many wonderful people have all become a part of this in some way or another that the comment I made to a friend about being hurt so bad for so long that my soul just felt sick no longer applies.  I know this may sound odd. But go through what I have and then tell me about it. I spent years thinking all fun in life was over and wondering if there was anything left for me. It turns out I had to take a desperate chance and force a change. Good change. I would not trade what I am doing now for anything anyone else is doing.

So Mary Lee is tied up to a new dock. The weather is getting warmer. I have a very busy summer planned. Muuuch to get done. Sailing weather is upon me and Life is great!!!!!

I promise to update more often. I will have a lot to share as the summer passes. This next winter I will be in warm weather :-) :-)