West Marine is (not?) my friend

Last week, I received a Friend Request on the Facebook from West Marine.  Awww... West Marine?  FBFs with me?  Yay!

Unfortunately, my new "friend" went behind my back and this past Saturday told the staff at our local West Marine store, at 2827 Festival Lane, Dublin OH, that effective immediately their store hours would be cut back to Tues-Sun, 10 AM - 5 PM. 

Let's pause a moment to reflect on the likelihood that the majority of boat owners -- many of whom, like me, work for a living -- will ever be able to shop at the West Marine between the hours of 10 AM and 5 PM.

Okay, shall we continue?  Yeah.... NO.  It's just not possible, at least for me, and I can't imagine how such a decision could be conducive to the short-term or long-term success of West Marine's Dublin store.  My complaints have nothing to do with losing the ability to buy marine goodies at excellent prices, because I can often find a lower price on what I need at some of the other internet marine retailers.  My complaint is about no longer having a place to fondle marine goodies, stroll the aisles of eye-candy and fun toys, get helpful advice from the friendly staff members, and engage in 'community' with fellow Central Ohio boaters.

I try not to be 'that guy' -- the one who whines and complains and lives in a state of helplessness.  If you feel as I do about the loss of realistic shopping hours at your local West Marine, please consider joining me in taking the following actions:

1. Call West Marine's corporate office at 831-728-2700 to let them know that you will no longer be able to shop at their store with their new hours of operation and propose an alternative that would resolve the issue.  (For me, having the store open from 11 AM - 6 PM would do the trick.)
2. Instead of using the 'Ship to Store' feature when ordering from the West Marine web site, identify the item number(s) you wish to buy and call your local store to place the order.  You still benefit by not paying for shipping, and the store benefits by getting credit for the sale.  A more profitable store is more likely to receive favorable attention from the corporate office!
3. In this age of social networking and its place as a critical part of corporate marketing strategy, turn a Facebook Friend into a Facebook Frenemy by posting your concerns on West Marine's Wall.  You can even un-Friend them if it makes you feel better.

Local West Marine store, I love you.  The sailing off-season will be difficult enough, but having to endure it without you seems unbearable.  I miss you already.

Kaye, thank you for staying a few minutes late this evening so that I could pick up some marine-grade duplex wire and a buss bar for my re-wiring project.  I hated to impose upon you, and I appreciate how gracious and helpful you were (and always are.)  I hope to see you and your staff many more times this Winter as I dream and scheme and shop in preparation for sailing season 2011.

required sailing equipment: tiller tamer, putty knife, bug zapper

I launched Central Air, my Catalina 22, in mid-June, and I've been having a blast with her ever since.  My first sail was singlehanded (yup, and I didn't hit a thing,) and I enjoyed it that evening sail so much that I stayed out until way after dark. 

Being an ardent multi-tasker, I spent a good part of the evening with the Tiller Tamer locked down while I worked on prying off the existing coaming box trim.  I'm going to replace the busted wood trim with the replacement plastic trim from Catalina Direct.  I'm not a big fan of plastic trim on boats, but I'm making an exception here.  (Oh my gosh - This is my first boat with coaming boxes in the cockpit, and I love them!  They really appeal to my sense of a place for everything and everything in its place.)

The Tiller Tamer also came in handy while sailing in the dark, when I made a few spider patrols to shine my flashlight over the transom and then dispatch each newly-discovered creepy-crawly with my tennis-racket-bug-zapper.  UGH - where do they all come from, and why are they so freaking huge?  I know that you all don't like it when I wantonly kill innocent spiders, but I'm feeling a teeny bit pleased with myself for being a big girl and going sailing by myself at night.  The only reason I haven't done so before is my spider-related sense of complete dread.

Oh... also... my boat?  She is fast.

anchor light? check! steaming light? check!

... constant, vague sense of confusion? Check!

I stand amazed. My brother-in-law Terry is super-skilled at wiring projects.... and is also a master of 'how to do things efficiently and with high quality.' Terry offered to install the electrical system in the new boat. We delayed launch day long enough to wire the masthead anchor light and the steaming light. (I remembered to attach the new Windex before we raised the mast too -- woohoo!)

So here's the brainteaser: After drilling holes at the masthead, mid-mast, and at the base of the mast, we organized our supplies:

• 30' wire for anchor light
• 20' wire for steaming light
• 25' conduit to surround and protect the wires within the mast
• 25' fish tape

It would have taken me - conservatively - about 30 minutes with pencil and paper to figure out the sequence of events needed to fish the conduit up through the hole in the base of the mast (or down the open mast "cap")... then fish the two wires (one at masthead and one through a hole at mid-mast (and in the conduit at the same place)... and then end up with everything in the right position to connect the lights to the wires. Terry, on the other hand, paused for perhaps 10 seconds (at most) and then jumped right in with the hole-drilling and "fishing!!"

If it was up to me, I would probably still be up at the boat lot with fish-tape in one hand and conduit in the other and a completely puzzled look on my face. I guess we all have our own individual gifts. Basic problem-solving apparently is not one of my gifts, but I guess you probably already knew that.

Also, my bro-in-law ROCKS! Next up on the electrical to-do list: stereo and speakers!

hull = painted!

I don't have photos, so you must take my word for it:

My new boat is now dark blue!

The second coat didn't provide quite enough coverage, but the third coat perfected the finish. (Where 'perfected' = 'good e-freaking-nough!') My sister Jessi did the rolling and I did the tipping. As is typically my style, I attempted to make up for my lack of skills and experience by purchasing the best equipment I could find. For the painting project, I purchased four badger (or were they China bristle? potayto-potahto, I guess...) brushes. This provided us with a fresh new brush for tipping for each coat. (Jessi and I both did the tipping on the first coat, while Terry did the rolling.)

We let the paint cure while we had lunch at the nearby Cheshire Market and Bait Shop, and then we excitedly removed the painter's tape to reveal the boot stripe. There were many 'oohs' and 'aahs,' but mainly there were heartfelt expressions of gratitude and relief that the hull painting was finally finished. By completing this project, I have proven that - without a doubt - anyone can paint a sailboat.

We are now only 14 days from launch!

second verse, same as the first

Two coats down, one (knock on teak) to go. There is nothing especially noteworthy to report here. Perhaps a photo (a low-quality blackberry snapshot, unfortunately) will tell the story... a story with an ending that could only be better if the second coat had provided sufficient coverage to make a third coat unnecessary.

a "thank-you" note

Dear Pre-Kote,

You gave my sailboat a smooth, monochromatic finish, and you are so safe and easy to apply. For these things, you have my gratitude.

I'm sure you didn't mean to run out when the boat was 92% covered. Don't worry. It wasn't really that big of a deal. Thanks again!

Love,

Christy

killing me softly with a sanding sponge

The "tagline" for Marine-Tex is...

Handles like putty.

Hardens like steel.

Sands like wood.

A more accurate tagline would be...

Handles like scary-#ss

weapons-grade uranium.

Hardens like steel.

Sands like steel too.

My Marine-Tex experience can be best described with a mathematical theorem:

Every minute saved by applying Marine Tex in a slapdash manner results in thirty-four additonal minutes (per patch) of sanding the Marine Tex.

I hope I never have the occasion to hold a sanding sponge in my hand ever again! (Yes, I see you, teak trim. Stop looking at me that way.) The sanding was an excruciating process. I'm so grateful to my sister Jessi and her husband Terry and stepdaughter Hope for their help. They are the most fun and most talented crew ever! We definitely made the best of a hatefully awful situation (aka all the sanding), and we took a break to enjoy the most excellent pizza in the world at the Cheshire Market. I love that place.

After about sixteen person-hours of wet-sanding, the hull was finally ready to receive a coat of Interlux Pre-Kote Primer. (Heh heh - this should be a sponsored series of blog posts. Hey Interlux, are you reading this? No? Okay - didn't think so. But if you do, please know that I adore your products. Also, you are really quite attractive, Interlux. Are you married? Seeing anyone?)

marine-tex, weapons-grade variety

The next step in the topsides-painting project is finished. I had one false start, where I drove (40 minutes) to the boat lot, read the Marine-Tex instructions and warnings, put on nitrile gloves, paced back and forth several times, and then got in my car and drove back home. Seek prompt medical attention if it comes into contact with your skin? Seriously?!?!

I tried again a couple nights ago, and fortunately my friend Commodore Kathy drove up to visit me. Her presence made me feel less afraid of the mixing and usage of the dangerous substances that were packaged in the innocuous little red, white, and blue box.

Wearing long pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt, (hello, summer weather!) and of course the nitrile gloves, I carefully and quickly mixed up the first batch of resin (or whatever the white stuff is called) with the catalyst gel. I applied it with a putty knife, and I worked as quickly as possible so that (1) the marine-tex wouldn't harden before I was finished applying it, and (2) because I felt like the fewer minutes I spent handling the stuff, the better. Less time handling dangerous things = better chance of coming through the experience relatively unscathed.

Since I was working as quickly as I could, my application of the marine-tex to all the dings and chips of varying sizes was fairly slapdash. This would turn out to be a very bad idea...

a guessing game

What is this?

A) a new hose for my overworked basement dehumidifier

B) Colonics! The Home Game

C) something else entirely (supply your own guess)

Please leave a comment here on Blogger with your guess. He or she who leaves the most interesting comment will be featured in a future blog post.

blocks! Harken! with cam cleats, even!

Okay, someone had better take away my debit card, because it's getting out of control here. I recently received repayment on the interest-free loan I generously -- and inadvertently -- made to the federal government during 2008, and I thought 'Hey, it would benefit me, Central Air, *and* the economy if I was to spend a nice chunk of this money on some new boat toys.'

There are several things I've wanted to do to make it easier for me to singlehand or have first-time crew aboard, but -- no surprise -- I never seem to get to those projects during the season. One such project is leading the main halyard (starboard side of mast) and jiffy reefing line (port side of mast) back to the cockpit for easier handling. I always instruct my crew to stand on the companionway steps to raise and lower the main, but they inevitably seem to want to climb up on the cabin top and flail around, putting themselves at risk of going for a swim.... and freaking out the skipper in the process.

A fellow C-18 sailor, Moe, from the Catalina 18 YahooGroup, suggested that the simplest way to lead the lines back to the cockpit is to install a Harken 140 Big Bullet pivoting block with 150 cam cleat at the base of the mast. Wow - what a simple and elegant solution!

I am going to have a seriously tricked-out sailboat for the upcoming season! And I'll again get to satisfy my lust for drilling holes in stuff.

the boomkicker, a favorite of mast-dancers everywhere

I just placed my order at pyacht.com, as recommended by my friend Gordo, for a real honest-to-goodness boomkicker. I had an awkward, low-end boomkicker last season, and I never managed to get it adjusted to my satisfaction.

Aside from the joy of not having to flail around to hook and unhook the topping lift this season, the delight I will experience from this purchase includes (1) drilling holes in the boom, and (2) dancing. (Yeah... ummm... let's just leave it at that.)

2008 Boat Projects

I'm a tinker-er - like my Bro - and a list-maker, so how could I start the sailing season without a super-aggressive list of boat projects? As usual, most of these projects require skills that I do not have (electrical wiring, using scary epoxy, etc), but I've never let that stop me in the past. My personal DIY-related motto is... 'When in doubt, worry about it... procrastinate for weeks... google the heck out of it... and then just wing it.'

Here, in no particular order, is my list of 2008 Boat Projects. I'll create a section for this along the right side of the page, just below my all-important '2008 Sailing Goal' section, and I'll strike through each project as I complete it. I'll be sure to tell you all about the adventure associated with completing each project, too.

1. Swim ladder treads


2. 150 Genoa and associated hardware


3. Velcro-ed bug screen for forward hatch


4. Racing Snapit (not really a "project," but hey, I needed something cheap/easy amongst all these monster projects!)
   
5. New stereo with CD player and iPod input jack


6. Tiller tamer


7. Boomkicker


8. Depth Finder and/or Knot Meter


9. Hinged oscillating fan


10. Refinish the teak


11. Winch handle holder


12. Shelf for cockpit speaker hatch-board


13. New dog-friendly companionway step


14. Fix hatch leaks with weather-stripping


15. Lead main halyard & reefing line to the cockpit


16. Masthead anchor light


17. Mast-front steaming light

Good grief! I must be insane. The only way that I'll get all this done is if there are plenty of no-wind days... and who wants that?

Wired for Sound

My new speakers are installed, and I love them!

This project is of great significance because:

1. it required many of the skills I hold dear: woodworking, hole-drilling, varnishing, measuring twice and still screwing up, and wiring.
2. it went from idea-stealing to idea-implementation in just one months' time.
3. i couldn't hear my ipod played through my cabin speakers from out in the cockpit, and this bummed me out quite a bit.

The design was stolen (with permission) from Cathi and John at August's Ladies' Night. I have been craving some new speakers for the cockpit, but not enough to drill holes in the boat -- especially in the highly-coveted and comfortable 'bulkhead backrest area.' I had heard of the 'speaker-board' idea plenty of times, but I'm a visual learner and needed to see it up close in personal to take it all in before deciding if it was something I wanted to do.

I started by lugging a sharpy-marker and a piece of shockingly yellow poster board (less $ than white) up to the boat one afternoon to trace the lower portion of my hatchboard. Then I purchased the speakers from my local West Marine store and a gorgeous (aren't they all? sigh) piece of oak from my local Lowe's. I was a bit peeved that Lowe's wasn't able (willing?) to cut the oak for me, but they said they couldn't (wouldn't?) make angle cuts, despite two separate attempts to play 'the chick card' on them. Sigh - I must be losing my edge. Fortunately, my friend Chris came through in grand style and made two perfect angle cuts for me!

Next, I sanded the oak and applied two coats of clear polyurethane to it, sanding and dusting again between each coat. I have a terrible issue with (fear of) chemicals and the inhalation of them. I am always careful to perform such tasks in a VERY well-ventilated area. It pains me to say this because I know that it's SO BAD, but I must admit that varnish smells pretty good. Ooh - I feel so dirty just saying that. Okay - moving on...

After the wood was properly finished (and subsequently dropped on the floor and de-virginized - oops), I measured several times, marked the holes for mounting the speakers, and drilled my pilot holes. I apparently used too small of a drill bit in drilling the first pilot hole, because I wasn't able to get the first screw all the way in... stripping it in the process, of course. (I am surprisingly able to sleep at night, despite the fact that this detail isn't perfect. Note to self...) After switching to a slightly larger drill bit (but not *too big*, which is a different lesson I learned on a different project), I screwed the speaker mounting brackets to the board and saddled up the speakers themselves. Slightly crooked, but CUTE! With that done, I measured, marked, and drilled (*love that*) the holes through which the wiring would pass (as opposed to have the wires pass underneath the hatchboard into the cabin.) This went flawlessly and was infinitely satisfying!

Uh - let me pause here for a big shout-out to my brother, who sagely pointed out to me that screwing the 3/4" screws that came with the speakers through my 3/4" thick board could result in some pointy parts sticking through the opposite side of the board. God bless you, Bro!! Sadly, there are no guarantees I would have thought of this myself! Not one to ever avoid 'overkill', I bought the best stainless steel washers I could find... and used two of 'em on each screw. No risk of pointy ends sticking out here!

Electrical work is my achilles heel. I'm much better with a pair of knitting needles and some wool than I am with a crimping thingy and some wires. But unfortunately there is no way to wire a set of speakers into an existing speaker/stereo setup without picking up a pair of crimping thingys and locating a few good crimps and whatnot. Oh -- and unraveling a mess of existing wires and old electrical tape, too. Bro explained the procedure to me very well, but I should have drawn a diagram. Once I got everything taken apart and was staring at a pile of wires (and sort of worrying that I might get shocked), I just kind of froze. I tried to crimp things together one way, and then neither the old or new speakers worked. In my mind, it should have been sufficient just to wad together the whole mess of them and hold it all together with some electrical tape. If it weren't for Dave, who stopped by to say hello to my friend Kacey and me, I would have never gotten 'er done. Dave explained how I needed to have two crimped packages of wires per speaker, consisting of one wire each from stereo, old speaker, and new speaker. Since there were two speakers in each 'set', I ended up with a total of four packages. (Boy, I sure hope that I'm explaining that correctly. Don't quote me!)

When we fired up the tunes and found that sound was coming from all four speakers, it was magical!! I don't recall exactly what was playing, but it should have been Safety Dance and we should have all headed straight to the dance floor because it was some high-quality sound coming from those speakers.

There is one final finishing touch to describe here. In order to keep things neat and tidy, I left plenty of slack in the new speaker wire so that the speaker-board could be moved around for stowage and such, and then I created a bundle of the wires and electrical-taped them together and up out of the way. Also, I wrapped the new speaker wires together at roughly 2-inch intervals with zip-ties so that they will always be nice and neat (and neurotic and fabulous.)

So, finally, here is a photo of the much-heralded 'speaker board', as modeled by our spokesmodel, Judy Jetson. (It also makes a handy cabin 'dog-gate'!)

Pimp my Ride!

I have a few more ride-pimping projects that I'd like to complete before the-day-that-we-won't-reference-directly arrives. Here are the projects and the status of each:

1.) speakers mounted to a second (short-ish) version of my hatchboard, for hearing tunes in the cockpit. (all materials purchased, oak board cut and sanded, needs 2 coats of scary-smelly polyurethane, speakers mounted [hole-drilling - yay!], and speakers wired to existing stereo wiring.)

2.) install treads on swim leadder (need to summon up the financial resources -- and the nerve -- to purchase handy little $85 [!!!] kit from Catalina Direct , then borrow Dad's rivet gun again.)

3.) install depth finder (currently researching which make/model to buy)... which brings me to my request for assistance from the internet people (that's you!):

Does anyone have a favorite brand, model, and/or retail source (online or offline) for a depth finder that is not outlandishly priced (low-mid $100s, maybe?)? From what I can tell so far, I think that I'm interested in installing one with a transducer that works through the hull (mounted with mineral oil and epoxy, or something to that effect?), and that has a smallish display screen with an alarm feature.

Any suggestions?