The big jobs are done
We had a couple of big items that we wanted to tick off our to-do list before departing Grenada and both were somewhat structural in nature. The first was replacing the line which holds our trampoline together. Long time readers might note that we did this at the end of June 2011 giving us only a little more than a year of use out of that line. That may or may not be a very long life for that line but given the amount of use that our trampoline gets during our daily workouts and the fact that the relatively inexpensive line I’m using on it was originally purchased to hold our mast on deck back when we transited the Oswego and Erie Canals, I think we’re making out OK. How do we swap the line while in the water? We simply begin unlacing the trampoline at one end, removing only a couple of grommets at a time. We then thread the new line through the newly-exposed grommets as we go along. When we were done we made sure not to trim the line flush after tightening it. As I expected, the line stretched a bit after a day (and a workout) so with a bit of extra line still available to hold onto, we were able to more effectively tighten it again the second day.
The second big task was climbing to the top of our mast to give the rigging a once over. I am happy to report that there were no obvious signs of wear to cause us any concern. There sure was a nice view from the top of our mast though!
The last bit of maintenance on yesterday’s list was polishing the stainless steel rub-rail which runs down both of our hulls. Rebecca was able to make short work of that task, in between rain showers that is.
Unfortunately, the one repair job that we weren’t counting on relates to my computer. After jumping through countless hoops to have the logic board in it replaced just a month or so ago, yesterday the trackpad stopped functioning properly. This is NOT cool and I’m once again being forced to update the blog with Rebecca’s computer. If only there was an Apple store in Trinidad!
Love the mast shots…..I hope to one day knock that off my bucket list….I know Mike “John you need to loose some weight first”
Or make sure your boat comes equipped with an electric winch!
I’m in agreement with John. I absolutely love the top down mast-view shots I’ve seen from a lot of cruisers. Can’t wait to be there doing that myself.
Great job on the trampoline re-thread. I used to do a lot of rock climbing years ago and that line looks similar to climbing rope. Are the two similar?
Mike
I believe they are similar.
Mike, what is the ‘thing’ in front of the support for the seagull striker? It seems to have blue end caps and some vertical striping on it. I can’t recognise it. It is to your left in the second photograph.
Nice job on the trampoline. I didn’t realise that the sides and the stern are screwed down, so the elasticity has to come just from the bow and the centre.
Mike
I don’t have the pic in front of me but I think you are referring to the filter for our water maker. We hang it overboard to clean it.
Great shots of the boat, the neighbourhood and of course you guys.
How again are you going up the mast? Bosun’s? Climbing gear?
Search the blog. There are pics and videos.
Now, take the old chaffed line and cut into small pieces, make trolling lures and complete the circle of life by having it bring you food!
Too late. It was trashed. Nor am I looking for additional work. 🙂
have you ever jumped from the mast into the water?
Lol. No! You’d want to make a pretty good jump!
Funny how you said you think the rope was never changed, and now you have changed it twice in 2 years… You can definitely see the fading and fraying of the old rope compared to the bright, new line. What do you do with the old rope?
I don’t think I said that it was never changed. I have no idea. Even if it wasn’t before we bought it the boat was hardly used so its not a fare comparison. The old line was very chafed so we trashed it. Note the it faded so much because it is red. Red is the worst color in the sun.
Mike – there are Apple “resellers” here in Trinidad, but there are no Apple stores, per se.
Let’s hope they do warranty repairs.
With all this talk of work on the boat, you guys have me actually wishing I was on the boat working. We just put her away for the winter 🙁 and right now I would prefer to spend any time, working or not, on the boat. Last night, we sat and prepared our project list for next season. I actually can’t wait to get started. I know….I am a little crazy. However, you guys are great inspiration and you have a very nice looking boat!
Thanks Rosemary. Spring will be here before you know it 😉
Hi Mike,
About your laptop, you can always try to find a mouse as a temporary solution. You may even get used to it 🙂
Unfortunately, from what I’ve read online from others who have the same problem, that does not fix the problem or even bypass it.
I’ve read a few places that Apple and Mac products are relatively susceptible to damage from condensation, perhaps more so than most PC products. Do some research.
If so, perhaps a dry box (could be a kayaker’s drybag or a zip-lock) with descant that you dry the computer in once per week would be smart. It would also be a good place for back-ups. I’m guessing that it takes a while for the dampness to build and a while for it to dry, so it’s not like you would have to keep it in the box, just over night now and then. A crashed computer is so annoying.
I would use silica gel, which is easily regened on the stove.