One of the minor projects I’ve had on my list has been the removal of the boom gallows from the cockpit area of the boat. The boom gallows creates an arch over the cockpit of the boat, supporting the boom when the mainsail isn’t being used. I’ve replaced this support by running a line from the top of the mast to the end of the boom, called a Topping...
One of the challenges of owning the Palani is that the previous owner died so I don’t have an easy source to what the game plan was and the boat was part way through a refit before I bought it. As the Cabot’s were sometimes sold as just hull and basic interior shell with the new owners outfitting as they saw fit there isn’t a standard...
Hurricane Matthew passed about 40 – 50 miles east of Jacksonville as a Category 3 hurricane on Friday the 7th of October. Pictures and videos at the end of the post. Thursday the 6th of October was spent doing the final preparations. The hurricane would start with winds from the east and northeast, and these would be the strongest. So in addition to the two...
Spending the next couple of days preparing for Hurricane Matthew to show up. This weekend should be interesting, my first hurricane. The picture above is Windytv’s prediction of Saturday morning. As with most people in Jacksonville been spending the last couple of days watching the weather. As a sailor, I use a number wind prediction tools. By far the best is...
Finally took care of one of the gremlins in the electrical system this weekend. I tend to dislike troubleshooting electrical issues. It has never been one of my strong suites, and I tend to avoid things I’m not good at (or don’t have much hope of improving on). So the friend of the previous owner had been playing with a remote starting system after the...
I didn’t get any projects moved ahead this week. I’ve been moving the last of the stuff from the apartment (a duffle bag a day on my trip from work) and trying to sort out where I’m going to store everything. Unlike a house or an apartment where you have multiple levels of storage (cabinets) and everything stays stable a boat requires a little more...
August was a bad month for me in regards to getting boat jobs done. Just couldn’t find the motivation especially with the heat. But this final weekend I got focused and took care of some items even if most of them were just simple R&R jobs (remove and replace). One job that I had been dreading was replacing the old toilet in the head (boat-speak for a...
I had a productive Saturday. Practiced docking stern first which is harder to do with a sailboat. Since there is only a single propeller sailboats tend to walk (move sideways, in the case of Palani to the port side) in reverse. So you have to compensate for prop walk, the cross wind that was up as well as moving backward. With an older heavier boat it’s extra...
I think my boat is possessed. There’s this evil spirit that grabs you as you come up the companionway first thing in the morning and throws you into a seat. And you just get stuck there all day looking at dolphins or people watching all the boaters at the boat ramp. I thought at first it was just me being lazy but it happened to guests I had over to the boat...
The goal for this weekend was to finish up the exterior teak and other wood working projects. It was another scorcher this weekend, 90’s with 70% humidity and RealFeel was 104. I think the heat and humidity slows me down more than the work. Another day of getting up early to beat the heat. Started sanding the varnish that was left on the hand rails. I taped off...