Long Distance Romance

I never thought it would be this hard to be so far away from the boat.  The time between visits is getting painfully long.  I have gotten over the fear that she is still afloat.  I am assuming someone would call if she had sunk to the gunnels. Now the frustration is having a list of things to do in abstentia that I know could be better if she was 100' away. We are supposed to go down to the boat in a couple of weeks and I know the girls would be disappointed to drive all that way and not sail, but i could spend 2 days just tweaking all the things on my list.

At the top of the list is re-plumbing all of the mast wires through the deck.  The temp hose is all kinked.  I now have a piece of seal-tite that will work and not kink.  Then I need to make all the final electrical connections for the mast lights.  I also need to make the antennae wire connection which involves soldering the final pin connector.

I am having a drip pan fabricated (above my skill level) to hold and drain the window AC unit that we will use for cooling at the dock.  I made some brackets for a new bed piece that we came up with last time we were there.  This piece will bridge over the aisle between the two side berths and allow us to sleep across the aisle together instead of separate on each side.  Two aluminum supports that will hang over the trim and support a piece of plywood that will hold a 4" foam cushion that ends up creating a bed that is 36"w and 7' long; about the size of a twin bed. Cozy.

The other project I have been working on is a sun shade for the cockpit.  I have an old canvas sunshade that was designed to be used when anchored.  It is a large piece of fabric with internal support from PVC pipe strung across the boom and is tied off along the life lines.  In a calm anchorage or at the dock this would work well.  What we really need is a Bimini.  A more structural sun shade that can be used while sailing.  The boat came with an original Sampan Taxi type cover.  It is very sturdy, small, low and dated.  However, it will do for this first season.  The issue is the low boom height and the end sheeting on this low boom.  It doesn't lend it's self to a nice large open bimini and has to be short off the back end and low enough to clear the boom.

I began by re-polishing all the SS supports and brackets (before and after).  Next, we will install as is and take some measurements.  I think it can be improved in two main areas.  First in the height, I think we can raise the structure 8" by permanently raising the end of the boom attached to the mast.  The goose neck is in a slotted track that allows the boom to raise up when the mainsail is set to it's full height.  The end off the boom is controlled by the topping lift.  I would like to fill the track and keep the boom at it's full height.  If this works I can have extension pieces made to raise the top of the bimini cover.  Second, is the size.  The width is set and the length on the back is dictated by the end sheeting.  However, I think there is room to extend forward on the cover.  With the additional height, it may be possible to extend the cover 12 inches further forward   Since a new piece would need to be sewn to replace the old one extending it would not represent a problem.

  See how much easier all this would be if we ere closer together