on the water « Means of Seeing

May 23, 2007

around the docks

Filed under: nature,on the water,pics — osteoderm @ 4:50 pm

Here’s a few pics I snapped while taking a cooling swim around the docks a few days ago. Click away for a better look.

This one is of one of the many tubeworms that grow on almost everything. This particular one is growing on a sunken tugboat in the shallows.

I was delighted to find a couple Banded Coral Shrimp on the side of one of the docks. These guys are larger than they look; the six antennae are at least ten inches long.

There has been some great tarpon activity in the shallows lately. It’s easy to get close to these large fish, but mighty hard to get a good picture. Anyways, this pic of a pair cruising the feeding grounds is for Clive…

This particular Fairy Basslet can always be found along one stretch of retaining wall in our haul-out pit. I’ve tried and tried to get a “normal” shot if it, but have read that these fish are very commonly found cruising ledges and walls on their sides or upside down.

By the way, I LOVE my new underwater camera housing…

Comments (2)

May 14, 2007

the cost so far…

Filed under: Centaurea — osteoderm @ 8:56 am

Added up the receipts, again:

Plumbing – Fittings, hoses, seacocks, though-hulls, etc
$570.34
Epoxy – Resin, hardener, applicators, fillers, fairing compounds
$662.56
Paint – Primers, topcoats, thinners, masking, sundries
$625.68
Surfacing – Sandpaper, wire wheels, grinding discs, buffing wheels & compounds
$178.16
Rigging – Fittings, furler, terminals, turnbuckles
$1152.66
Sealants – 5200, beddings, caulking, adhesives, etc.
$113.68
Fasteners
$241.94
Hardware – Hinges, handles, latches
$328.37
Driveline – Engine, shaft, log, prop, stuffing box, accessories
$1456.15
Building materials – wood, fiberglass cloth, lexan, plywood
$238

Total – $5562.54

Oh yeah, the boat was $3500. 🙂 So that’s $9062.54. And still not floating yet. Hah!

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May 1, 2007

April come and gone

Filed under: Centaurea — osteoderm @ 9:54 am

Since I’ve been back, I’ve been charging ahead at full speed on Centaurea. Deckhouse and margins painted, many bits of deck hardware installed, stays’l tracks finished off, boomkin metalwork all cut, shaped, and fitted (awaiting final welding though), freshwater tank finally FINALLY plumbed and full of water, cockpit locker lids/seats and sole non-skidded and in place, shaft log & shaft installed… Really have to look at the calendar to keep track.

Yup, there’s been a new game to help me maintain momentum: keeping a list of completed tasks on a calender, day by day. I’m trying to get something into every box on the calender… Somedays I don’t but many other days see multiple things get checked off.

Last night I signed off on two frikkin’ hours of miserable hand hacksawing; cutting an 8″ long bevel into the end of a 2″ stainless steel heavy-wall pipe. It’s only slightly reassuring to note that there’s “only” three more of these cuts to make, haha! This, of course, for the A-frame bowsprit/anchor platform.

Last week I also got around to adding up all the receipts. Yikes! This $3500 boat has now cost me a little over $9000, and in many ways is no closer to the water than it was when I bought it. I’ll be re-posting the “running costs” page asap so you all can keep track of the ridiculous spending. 🙂

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April 25, 2007

jiggidy-jig

Filed under: Centaurea,friends,travel — osteoderm @ 9:06 am

These last couple weeks since my return from California have been marked by the departures of several dear new friends. Conundrum left for St. Martin last night (or more precisely, very very early this morning) with Van and my dear Eddie, Twig & Bonnie’s Heron is gone to Antigua, Paul & Sonya’s Event Horizon is somewhere south (I think, and sometime soon to be north), and Eilean Donan is already hauled out, her owners gone to new jobs in the States. Small Scott is leaving New Moon this afternoon, after a brief yet timely trip down.

This is the time of year I most dislike. It’s getting hotter by the day, people are leaving, and even worse, I’m forcing myself to turn down offer after offer to sail in Antigua Classics and/or deliver boats north. The timing of the California trip was poor, but I so desperately needed to get off this rock for awhile! Unfortunately, It really shot me in the foot, so to speak; as it’s now too late to seriously consider launching Centaurea for a northward escape of my own before summer shuts me in. Also, work has backed up since I left, and it’s almost impossible to justify another “vacation” so soon.

Still, I’m full of renewed vigor, and every week sees me making signifigant forward progress on Centaurea. I’m feeling less process-oriented and increasingly goal-oriented. In short, I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, not brightly, but at least clearly enough to be able to see that it’s not another train coming at me. If, as planned, the boat is passably ready for action by mid-summer, I see a trip to… Michigan. Michigan? Yup, Michigan. Eddie has a summer gig up there, and I’ll be dying to see her again.