Posted by Monty
It's funny how the mind works.
Now that we have taken the decision to remain here, in Oriental, through October to continue to work on the boat and to take advantage of the sailing offered by the Neuse river and the Pamlico sound (something sorely lacking on most of the ICW), I still remain stuck in my old ways.
I awoke today with the goal of accomplishing not one, but two projects. The first was to install the new waste level gauge for the holding tank. (For those of you who do not know, that is the tank where your previous drink and/or meal ends up on a boat, until you can get to a place to have it pumped out, or your can get past the three mile coastal limit, and offer it to the sea. (Before you comment, remember whales do it all the time.)) The other was to finish the refrigerator project, which means replacing the insulation on the underside of the doors.
TOTALLY doable, right? Let's get started.
Oh, wait. I guess we had better run the engine for at least an hour to freeze the holding plate. We are going to be keeping the refrigerator door open a lot today, right?
So while that is going on, Carol is cutting her foam for the vee berth. (She has her own agenda on projects, of which I am, for the most part, blissfully unaware.) That's good, because the holding tank is under our bed, all the way forward and under a screwed on panel section. So I tear up the main cabin to get to my tools and tear up the forward cabin to get to the holding tank. BUT FIRST, I read the installation directions on the tank monitor and went into town for three runs of 18 gauge wire. Arriving back at the boat, I unscrewed the access panel over the tank, and realized the very expensive gauge I bought would not work at all.
After some pouting, thinking, and lunch (holy cow, is it lunchtime already?), we put the forward cabin back together. I abandoned the holding tank project and started on the door insulation. That project went pretty well, as all I had to do was remove the door, scrape off the insulation that was there, cut new panels, fasten them into place, reinstall and check for fit, rework as it didn't fit, remove the door and apply metal tape, and reinstall. Oh, and do it all twice, as there are two doors.
I finished just after 5:00. Around here, that's quitting time.
So in the cockpit, having sundowners, I wondered, why am I in such a rush? Is it because we are going back to Concord on Monday for Carol's (hopefully last) dentist visit? Is it because we have guests coming in two weeks? Is it just because I want it done?
Probably all of the above. For in the sailing world, as in the real world, things have to happen. And we are the only ones making them happen. So, as it turns out, there is still a sense of urgency, even with no time clocks, bosses, children, or pets.
Left to my own devices, I am still my most demanding master.
Now that we have taken the decision to remain here, in Oriental, through October to continue to work on the boat and to take advantage of the sailing offered by the Neuse river and the Pamlico sound (something sorely lacking on most of the ICW), I still remain stuck in my old ways.
I awoke today with the goal of accomplishing not one, but two projects. The first was to install the new waste level gauge for the holding tank. (For those of you who do not know, that is the tank where your previous drink and/or meal ends up on a boat, until you can get to a place to have it pumped out, or your can get past the three mile coastal limit, and offer it to the sea. (Before you comment, remember whales do it all the time.)) The other was to finish the refrigerator project, which means replacing the insulation on the underside of the doors.
TOTALLY doable, right? Let's get started.
Oh, wait. I guess we had better run the engine for at least an hour to freeze the holding plate. We are going to be keeping the refrigerator door open a lot today, right?
So while that is going on, Carol is cutting her foam for the vee berth. (She has her own agenda on projects, of which I am, for the most part, blissfully unaware.) That's good, because the holding tank is under our bed, all the way forward and under a screwed on panel section. So I tear up the main cabin to get to my tools and tear up the forward cabin to get to the holding tank. BUT FIRST, I read the installation directions on the tank monitor and went into town for three runs of 18 gauge wire. Arriving back at the boat, I unscrewed the access panel over the tank, and realized the very expensive gauge I bought would not work at all.
After some pouting, thinking, and lunch (holy cow, is it lunchtime already?), we put the forward cabin back together. I abandoned the holding tank project and started on the door insulation. That project went pretty well, as all I had to do was remove the door, scrape off the insulation that was there, cut new panels, fasten them into place, reinstall and check for fit, rework as it didn't fit, remove the door and apply metal tape, and reinstall. Oh, and do it all twice, as there are two doors.
I finished just after 5:00. Around here, that's quitting time.
So in the cockpit, having sundowners, I wondered, why am I in such a rush? Is it because we are going back to Concord on Monday for Carol's (hopefully last) dentist visit? Is it because we have guests coming in two weeks? Is it just because I want it done?
Probably all of the above. For in the sailing world, as in the real world, things have to happen. And we are the only ones making them happen. So, as it turns out, there is still a sense of urgency, even with no time clocks, bosses, children, or pets.
Left to my own devices, I am still my most demanding master.