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With the temperature holding unseasonably warm through
tomorrow, when incredibly it's supposed to climb into the 80s, I decided
to jump on this unexpected window of opportunity and get going on repairing last
season's anchor damage to
the bow. (Apr. 22, 2007)
Go
to: Bow Fiberglass Repair Project |
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Today I
also began replacing the VHF coax cable,
lightning-struck last season. There's no better motivation than
just looking at the antenna base that used to be . . . (Apr. 29,
2007) |
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Okay, first I had to get the old (sheesh, just put it
in new back in '03) coax out. But -- think first. Thanks to my buddy Wally's suggestion, this morning I
asked my neighbor Rick, an electrical contactor, about "electrical
snakes." Rick loaned me one -- and it was the perfect tool for the
job! Then I had to stop and think about my strategy. I
wrestled with getting the coax up the mast and making that right-hand
turn. Impossible. I used strapping tape on the "snake" to
secure the coax to it. Still, I had to remove the mast head truck
to pull this project off. |
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Once the coax was run up the mast
and clear, I tied a string (with strapping tape) to the topmost part of
the coax, so I could pull it back down into its exit hole and out.
Then I slowly, carefully pulled it back down into the mast. |
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With the snake, I was able to pull out the old coax
cable and
replace it with the new one, relatively easily. I had to remove
the mast head truck -- which I hoped I wouldn't need to -- but in the end,
perfection. (Apr. 29, 2007) |
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Today I'll be selling "Carpe Diem." I
pulled it out from behind my house yesterday, then Wally and I got it
loaded, the outboard and all the other equipment that's going with it together.
This morning it was ready to hitch up and roll. (May 1, 2007) |
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Michael Sullivan arrived just before 11:00
this morning as planned.
We hitched up my newer LoadRite trailer to my Blazer. I'm loaning him
the trailer until I can launch Chip Ahoy from my old one, then
we'll swap. We loaded the back of my SUV and his mini-van with
the other equipment. Surprisingly, everything fit; we were able to bring
the boat and everything else up to his home in Haverhill in one trip. |
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Mike and "Carpe Diem," ready to roll,
bring his new boat home. |
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My next project was replacing the old Humminbird Max15
fishfinder, damaged in last season's lightning strike, with a new
Humminbird HDR 610 depth gauge. (May 5, 2007)
See:
Replacing the Depth Gauge Project |
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At the end of the depth gauge project, while wiring up
the gauge and its fuse, I spotted this fried wire -- the feed to the
ignition key switch for my old Tohatsu outboard. Before I realized
Chip Ahoy had been struck by lightning, I'd been having problems with
the old motor, so replaced it with a
new Honda 8hp four-stroke
for my
Cape Cod cruise last summer. Later I found some ignition wires cooked, but
this one was still connected to the positive buss -- and the batteries. |
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This was an accident just waiting to happen: I
discovered and removed it today.
Luckily I avoided that potential disaster waiting in the wings -- caused
by a useless wire with no purpose any more.
(May 8, 2007) |
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NEXT |
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It's never-ending ... but Sailing Season '07 has officially begun! |
