Brenda, this is for you. Been humming Pink Floyd's "wish you were here" in my head all morning long.

Yet another hat today - Welder

First off, this is for Brenda. Went for a walk on the beach this morning, there's a trail down from the North Head Lighthouse, here's the view. Then while on the beach, I saw the most amazing sight, a first for me anyway. Check this out. A parade of Pelicans. Now for the hat stuff. The installation of the new mechanical systems on board will require a number of custom holders, brackets, shelves and so on. On going maintenance on a metal boat eventually involves welding. Hence, I reasoned it would be a very important skill to have in order to maintain the level of independence I would like. So I picked up a MIG welder on Ebay and then asked Cap if he would teach me some basics, to which he immediately agreed. Which reminds me of a story, I once decided that I would like to try my hand at painting, as in landscape painting. So I thought, I'll go out and get a bunch of supplies and see what happens. Went to the art store and stocked up on water color stuff. It wasn't until after I had been at it for a while, that I learned that painting in water colors is the most difficult medium to master. And so it is with my foray into welding, it seems that I couldn't start at the bottom, noooo, I had to start with the most difficult medium to weld in. The fact that the boat happens to be aluminum, meant the die was cast. At any rate my lesson started this morning, with a thorough briefing on how not to get electrocuted and die, I watched as Cap made a number of welds and then took matters into my own hands. Eureka! It seems I'm a natural. The lesson was cut short and I got my first homework assignment. I'll be practicing this weekend on a number of different welds, then on Monday when Cap gets back from his weekend, I'll get graded. Fingers crossed. This afternoon, I completed the first of seven hatches that need re-bedding. The hatches though well constructed, had suffered from UV degradation, causing the old bedding compound to breakdown and leak. I mean really leak. I've been sort of getting by putting out buckets to catch the rainwater, not sure of how I was going to accomplish the repair. The first one is done, and I must say, I'm really pleased with the result. Amazing stuff, teak is, this wood was covered in algae and moss when I first saw it. Some sanding and viola! It is beautiful wood again. Thanks to the wonders of chemistry from 3M, the new bedding compound should be good for as long as I'll need it to be. One down, six more to go.

Put on the Carpenter's hat for a while

Now that I know we're settling in for the long haul, I've spent the last couple of days building what the local guys have dubbed, "the stairway to heaven".

Firstly, I can't believe how cheap the lumber is out here, compared to the crappy spruce we get back in Ontario, guess it makes a difference when they cut it down a few miles away.

I built these stairs out of Douglass fir, beautiful stuff, seems a shame to think that when we're done and out of here, I'll be cutting it all up and stocking up firewood for our on-board wood stove. Guess I can think of it as recycling. More importantly, the stairs will make it safe and comfortable getting on and off the boat, especially for Jack, our Furkid.

Now, on a technical note for those of you that are interested. I finally selected and ordered a water heater. And you think, "so?", one might assume that it should be fairly straight forward, well it's not. Hot water, lots of it, is a very important thing, something we all take pretty much for granted in our homes. Having it on a boat is another story. Most hot water heaters need to be plugged into electricity. The same is true for on board heaters, problem is, unless one has the power generation capacity, (a lot of it) matters get a little complicated when you pull away from the dock and unplug the cord. On our vessel, I want to have the ability to heat water using waste heat generated by the engine while it is running to charge the battery bank, as well as use the heat generated by the diesel fired boiler that will heat water for the heating radiators dispersed through out the boat. In order to accomplish this, manufacturers install heat exchangers built in to their hot water heaters so that engine coolant can be routed through the heater thereby capturing heat that would otherwise have been lost. Seems simple enough, not really, no two heaters are constructed the same way, resulting in vast differences in efficiency. After going through the specs, (most companies don't even publish theirs), I finally settled on a 20 gal unit made by Heat Transfer Products. Wasn't cheap, almost twice the price of the lowest priced units, however the heat capture capabilities were quite impressive, as well as the heat loss numbers. Built entirely of stainless steel, with super insulation, and an unheard of cuprous/nickle finned heat exchanger, (versus a couple of loops of copper tubing in the cheaper units) this vital piece of equipment should be good for many many years of trouble free service. I hope?

Back to work

Had a nice break, well, really it was better than nice. Took a week off and went back to Ontario to re-group, re-connect, re-charge, all of those great things. It was a last minute decision, Brenda and I were having our usual evening phone call, when before I knew it, I was booking a flight home to see her. Amazing powers of persuasion that women have. Actually, I didn't need much persuading, truth be known, six weeks of living like a hermit, obsessing about this boat had taken it's toll. The reception and TLC I received from Brenda, not to mention my dog Jack, was worth all of the rubber gloves they could come up with at the airports. There's also been another development, originally I had planned on rushing to get the Kaian seaworthy in order to make the passage north before the weather turned. Last week before heading home, I reconsidered the plan. I came to the realization that the situation here in Ilwaco was not likely to be easily replicated elsewhere. The folks I've met here are great, the work yard and port management are all really laid back and accommodating, leaving here for an unknown might not be such a great idea. It's getting harder and harder to find yards that will allow do-it-yourself boat projects. Environmental concerns along with the crush of real estate prices have closed down or condo-ized a lot of the older yards. So after some consultation with Brenda, we're staying put and finishing the boat here in Ilwaco over the winter. Great news is, Brenda has signed on for the passage, she's taken up the challenge and coming out to join me. YAHOOO!!!! Now my priorities are shifting, I'll be focusing on making the Kaian a more livable space for my crew (family). While I've been getting along on the most primitive level, it's time to get some basic systems in place so that we can spend the coming winter on board. The sooner I can put it together, the sooner I can go fetch the crew. I'm pumped!