Looking Back - Spring Prep: Ground Tackle Upgrade

Old chain - eek!

When we bought Zephyr we didn't fully inspect the chain, rope and anchor system as good as we should have. Last spring as we were prepping we pulled all the chain and rope out along the dock and our boat neighbor, a licensed captain, alerted us to some serious corrosion on the links of the chain - AKA NOT SAFE! We knew then that we'd have to upgrade the chain ($$$) and most likely the anchor as it was quite clearly undersized (35# for 43' boat). So this spring's big project was a full upgrade. First we bought new chain. Now, for a second, imagine logistics involved in buying and moving aboard 150 feet of 3/8ths inch chain...imagine...

Luckily, there's a fantastic place in Portsmouth for ALL THINGS steel, chain, shackle, chainplates and more - Fastener Warehouse. We wanted BBB 3/8ths chain, the good stuff, and we went with our little Jetta Wagon to go pick it up - laughable. Lucky for us and our struts they only had 100' and we wanted 150' so they had to order it and deliver it to the marina - the Jetta thanked us! I can only imagine loading and unloading 150' of chain! 

The half barrel of chain arrived unfortunately at low tide. 
Do the math - 300 lbs. of chain + a steep graded ramp = yea, not ideal. 
The delivery guy at first thought he could do it, looking at me and saying, "You game to anchor me down?" Response: "NO!" 
Delivery Guy: "What's the worst that could happen, it will just fly down and off the dock."
Me: "Ummmm...Yea, let's not lose $800 of chain to the bottom of the river. Let's wait 6 hours!" 



West Marine was our destination for the rope, called rode. We got 300 feet of 3 strand, high gauge nylon rope. Measuring it out was quite a show. 

So we had the chain and we had the rope, now we could do the next phase of the project- marking it all so when we deploy the anchor we know how much we're putting out. When anchoring there's a ratio that you use depending upon the depth of the water you're in - typically it's 7:1, then you add the freeboard or height of your boat from the surface of the water, the ground type, the winds, the forecasted winds, the tide differential and you get the amount of chain/rode to deploy to have the proper scope and angle on your anchor for it to dig in deep. The more chain you have the more weight you have along the bottom of the ocean and more secure you will be, hence the 150' of chain.

I did HOURS of research on the best way to mark your anchor chain and rode, HOURS. The advice and methods are innumerable - everyone's got a way, some super complicated, some super easy. I took to my ever reliable and fantastic womens' sailing Facebook group, Women Who Sail to ask. These ladies are the BOMB they are women all over the world living on boats, sailing across oceans, raising boat babies, generally rocking at life! The advice was awesome and so were the anecdotes - disagreements among husband and wife on the method, painted feet, highly technical methods that were forgotten and more. Over 30 responses! 

We finally decided upon a 2-tier approach - paint and zip ties. So once the paint wore off the zip ties were there and/or once the zip ties rip off the paint's there. We laid out all 450' of chain and rode along the dock. 

First we painted links and rope yellow. We used bright yellow rustoleum.

One Yellow Painted Link = 100's
2 Painted Links = 200's 
3 Painted Links = 300's 
4 Painted Links = 400's 

Had to be sure not to get the dock yellow - though we did leave a small mark on the concrete, Jill & Tim's mark at Badgers Island Marina for life! 





Then came the multi-colored zip ties. We used pink, orange, yellow, green, blue (in rainbow order). Here's the method we used:
- Pink Ties starting at 25-feet, then at 50 feet, then at 75. 
- Orange ties at 100, 125, 150, 175
- Yellow ties at 200, 225, 250, 275
- Green ties at 300, 325, 350, 375
- Blue ties at 400, 425, 450 

And at 10 feet we did an array of all colors so that we have a signal when the anchor has freed itself from the bottom and then we know as we're pulling it up that the boat is free. 

Our fantastic boat neighbor Captain Tim helped us splice the rode to the chain, this is a VERY important part of the system, weak splices = boats adrift! 

The weather for this project was less than desirable, we were FREEZING with cold, raw rain and a frigid Maine April seabreeze, it was one of those many times when we say, "this life aboard sure isn't all Jimmy Buffett songs & margaritas!"  


We have been offered a sponsorship by Mantus Anchors  - a fantastic new anchor manufacturer, cruisers who developed this state of the art anchor that sets the first time, every time. So we'll be ordering a brand spanking new 65 lb. galvanized steel anchor to add to this sweet new ground tackle system we have now. We're going to have it in time for our Summer 2014 cruise to the Cape and Islands - hello gunkholing! 

The ground tackle system is SO important for any cruising sailboat, it means freedom and safety! In a couple years when we're anchored off a deserted island in the Bahamas we'll think of the cold, bitter Maine afternoon that we did our anchor chain marking project and laugh -and maybe we'll sip a margarita too! 

Looking Back - Spring Prep: Bubble Hatching, Rigging & Dinghy Prep

Sitting here in Boston Harbor on a 89 degree day, this past winter feels like a VERY distant memory! It seems New England just sort of skipped over spring again this year we went from 40 and raw to 90 and humid - whew! Though we, for one, are not complaining. This winter was one for the ages for us. I swear I was showing signs of PTSD (see photo right) after surviving this FRIGID winter aboard in Maine. I never trusted that the weather was actually going to get nice again, I kept waiting for the temps to drop and the snow to fall. Whew, I am so, so happy that summer is here (though I still have a heater ready to deploy in the aft cabin, just in case!)

I promised that we'd revisit all the preparations done this spring for this sailing season. We both admitted that we got A LOT later start to the prep this year than last, mostly because this was the winter that would never end! It was cold, rainy and cruddy most of spring, so cold that we needed our heat on! Our minds were not even thinking sailing so, needless to say, we were delayed. Finally in mid-April the weather gods were with us on a weekend and we hatched from our bubble. Once again, nothing felt better than taking the knife to that plastic shrinkwrap that encapsulated us all winter and springing forth into the sunshine and seabreeze! Becoming a boat again instead of a wrapped up floating apartment! 

We also had a professional sailboat rigger down to the boat for a looksee. We never had a rigging survey conducted and we knew our standing rigging (the mast, the stays, chainplates, etc. all the things that help hold the mast up) was a bit worn. Paul, the rigger, did tell us she was showing her age, OK, but old. He suggested that before we cast off to the islands we should consider putting on a new rig, we are starting to save up to do that this Fall/Winter. It's a lot of money and a big project but there's nothing more important than your rig on a sailboat, no one wants to deal with rigging failures "out there".  

B.O.A.T. = Break Out Another Thousand

We (stupidly) left our dinghy in the water all winter and she was a little worse for wear. The engine was happily kept aboard but the boat was covered in an array of very interesting species. The wiggly, squirmy wormy things were moving around and not excited to be seeing sunlight. Armed with a scraper and some magic elixir from the dollar store I set to work. It came out SOOOO clean and sparkly, I was quite proud of my handywork. 

Tim then set out to do some outboard engine maintenance with our boat neighbor Brendan's help.  Some lube, some oil filters and a wiggle and waggle and the old Evinrude sprung back to life! Of course after a day of dinghy work the boys had to try them out so they zipped across the river to Martingale Wharf while I walked over the bridge. We sat at the outdoor fire pit and enjoyed the view we knew we'd be leaving soon. 

Casting off into the Piscataqua River 

The boys did have a 'hiccup' on their way back across the river due to water in our dinghy's gas tank. We've since bought a new 6-gallon tank and the problem's resolved. 

We spent a lot of spring also soaking up all the things we loved about the place we called home for the last 8 years before moving to Boston - hitting our favorite bars, cockpit cocktails, dinner with friends, loving on this little seaside town. 

Friday seisiun at The Press Room - always a favorite 

Great nights with friends at favorite bars, Rusty Hammer 

Portsmouth just takes away your breath away sometimes...reminds me of NOLA...

The obligatory Portsmouth Tug Boat Photo 

Saying goodbye to great winter boat neighbors aboard "House Cat", Celie and Jennings, they're anchored up in Great Bay this summer! 

Late night beers in the cockpit with the Naval Shipyard off our bow 

There's more spring projects to report on...NEXT UP...Ground Tackle Upgrade. Stay tuned...

Where have we been? Big City Living!

I can't believe we haven't updated this blog since the end of March, and here it is mid-June! It's 70 outside, the sun is shining and I'm listening to the sounds of a rocking concert across the harbor in the Seaport. Yup - that's right, we're living it up in the big city, Boston - East Boston to be exact. We're at the Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina in the Jeffries Point neighborhood of "Eastie". We are right across the harbor from the Seaport District and the World Trade Center. We've been here exactly one month today. We have lots to share about our projects and prep this spring and then our trip south from Portsmouth to Boston, but for now I'll share a little slice of life from this first month here in Boston. 

The view off the stern of Zephyr - that big 'ole red boat is the Nantucket Light Ship

The transition has been a bit tough, not going to lie, the change from the quiet, quaint, forested lands of New Hampshire and Maine to the constant hustle and bustle and WAVY, ROCKY waters of Boston Harbor has taken some getting used to. The marina is a bit more 'industrial' and with not so many luxuries but the view is quiet something! The whole city skyline is laid out before us. Not to mention the entire city is at our fingertips, the T into downtown is a 10-minute walk and the city water taxis pick up right on our pier! There's a funky, fun place called KO Pies right inside the Shipyard that serves authentic Australian pies and Harpoon on tap. It's a lot of fun and only a 3 minute walk from the deck of our boat. 

Toby is getting used to city living, loving all the smells! 

Our dock, F-Dock is almost entirely sailboats and a few young liveaboards! We're all the way at the end on the right.

The skyline at night is quite spectacular 

The Shipyard is part of Harbor Arts Shipyard Gallery so throughout the piers and buildings are fantastic works of murals, sculptures, installations and more. 

My two loves on our new dock 

Great view for walking Big Guy 

 We've been trying to fall into our groove here in Boston but with the onset of summer weather life's been busy with F-U-N! We have also been spending a lot of time at the Cape House getting that place ready to rent for the summer. The couple of weekends we've spent in Boston have been great fun! Tim's brother Andrew and a bunch of his good buddies all live around the corner from the marina so, needless to say, this first month has included A LOT of boat drinks! Bridget from NYC even came aboard for a few and crazy thunderstorm!

We are definitely liking the array of options in front of us for going out - the options for live music especially, but also for going out to eat - innumerable cuisine types from every culture, loads of delicious Latino food in Eastie. On a Tuesday we were able to go to a really cool club in Cambridge and catch a nationally touring bluegrass band that we love - Chatham County Line. Great craft beer line up, delicious food and incredible music. It was AWESOME! And on a Tuesday! Certainly not something we could do in Portsmouth! 

Toby got his summer shave - he's ready for the beach!

The highlight of the past month by far was definitely this past weekend - we finally got off the dock and went sailing! Woo Hoo! On Sunday morning we hit up The Green Bean Food Truck that parks every Sunday morning in the Shipyard - bombing breakfast sandwiches & iced coffee. Crowds of folks show up in the Shipyard - Dogs Welcome - and chow down while overlooking the harbor. 

After that we welcomed Andrew and his bright, short-shorts called Chubbies aboard and prepped the boat to cast off. It was GORGEOUS out, 80 degrees, full sun and a light breeze. After talking to our next door boat neighbor we set our sights on Great Brewster Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. He raved about its seclusion, easy anchoring and breezes. We haven't yet upgraded our anchor, though we very much upgraded our chain and rode - keep posted for another post on that topic - so we thought, well, we can at least try a "lunch hook". 

Sailing out of the marina you're right in the mix and mayhem of Boston's Inner Harbor, the "Rules of the Road" that we learned in sailing school were very much put to the test. We had an upwind sail tacking back and forth to make our way out to the outer harbor. There were ferries barreling past, booze cruise boats, jet skis, powerboats, sailing school boats, yachts and more! Not to mention 747's flying overhead and a giant container ship! WHEW! The crew did great! We had great boat speed and made meaningful tacks to make our course. 

Great crew - brings mimosas & steaktips & a mean Farmers Tan, thanks Dupree!

I wasn't kidding about the short-shorts - long live Chubbies!

Spectacle Island

As we got out to the outer harbor the winds picked up nicely and we were making 6.5 knots on a close hauled sail - very nice! The temperature was at least 15 degrees cooler out there and it felt amazing! Zephyr was loving it! We approached Great Brewster Island and pulled in close to shore and Andrew and I started to deploy our anchor, she set in, we all took a visual spot on shore and made sure the boat wasn't moving and then we set about CHILL-LAX-IN! We grilled up steak tip sandwiches, I cast off the fishing pole to troll for stripers we jammed out to the Dead and enjoyed the solitude and sun. 

The sandy cliffs of Great Brewster - gorgeous! 

Trolling for stripers with the city skyline off our stern

Toby LOVED roaming around while at anchor

Toby loves to sail, motoring not as much.

Our windlass which brings up the anchor had a bit of a snafu since we've upgraded our chain to a 3/8ths size it was jamming up the windlass. Lucky for us Andrew has been hitting the gym and was able to haul the anchor by hand! We 'weighed anchor' and set sail back towards the city. It was a nice, peaceful downwind sail at about 3.5 knots, not bad. We even had a wing-on-wing sail set up going on for a bit. We had bluegrass tunes spinning and soaked up the late day sun, feeling quite good about our first anchoring success.

That is until we were very closely buzzed by 747 transatlantic jet! WHOA! That was close and very loud! Poor Toby was shaking for the next 1/2 hour...sorry Boo!

We sailed right into the harbor only furling and putting the engine on as we were outside the marina entrance. 

Relatively smooth docking - still have things to learn - and then some cold beers at the KO Pie Shop as the sun set. All in all it was a FANTASTIC Sunday! We can't wait to get back out there! 

We are still finding our comfort zone here in Boston and find there are moments of homesickness for the fabulous Seacoast we left and all the awesome friends and boat neighbors we left, but so far, we've been enjoying the newness, the change and the challenges. Life's richness is found in moments of change and challenge. 

Winter Projects Completed!

Well we narrowly escaped a late season Nor'Easter yesterday and though it was QUITE a bumpy, rolly night aboard we were so thankful for NO SNOW! Winds topped out with 55+mph gusts in the middle of the night but our crew was safe and feeling quite secure. So much has changed in a year, we've all become a lot braver and more comfortable with the sounds and feelings of big winds. Not too complacent because aboard a boat, complacency leads to disasters but we were aware and alert, and secure. 

All that being said this NEVER ENDING winter is carrying on - we've come up with a new vocabulary to describe our exhaustion, frustration and outright hatred for winter. We are hoping the temps will finally get above 45 (they haven't since October) this weekend so we can start to prep for our move south. We're hoping to burst forth from the bubble next weekend and get to work on prepping the engine, rigging the sails, scrubbing the decks and on and on. We're hosting our own 'Fare the Well' party under the bubble this Saturday so we can say goodbye to our fabulous Portsmouth friends. We're planning a make-your-own painkiller bar, chowder in the crockpit & many great friends packed under the bubble. 

Last year's Bubble Party - we topped out at 20 people under the bubble! 

We've also been checking some things off our to-do/improvement lists. Winter is a great time to accomplish those projects in the cabin, our living space because the decks and rigging are inaccessible due to the bubble. We had a few major things we wanted done this year mostly involving bathrooms and plumbing. Tim admitted that he never realized just how much plumbing he'd be doing living on a boat. 

First up...Aft Bathroom Improvements.

The aft head is right off of our bedroom and it's the main spot we use. I'd wanted to improve it since we moved aboard, make it a bit more personal and 'spa-like'. This was the first "improvement" project that we've done that was simply aesthetic. Up till now we'd done a lot of maintenance, upgrades, updates and necessities, this bathroom project was our first beautification project. I was the project lead and I had a very specific inspiration in mind. So here's the before...

Blah - all white and BORING! 

YAY for improvements! 

First we installed a bead board headliner on the ceiling

This was a big change for Tim who's typically the project lead on things, this was my job, start to finish and my vision. In order to paint we had to do a lot of wall prep. The walls were originally plastic and used to wick off water since there was a handheld shower attached to the sink. We have built a full shower in the front head(see next story) so we disconnected the shower operation in the aft bathroom. There was sanding, two coats of primer and then finally the paint. I'm not the most thorough or patient painter, lucky for me Tim is. He was just short of a pushy superintendent making sure I did everything perfectly, blue taped impeccably, didn't have any 'holidays'. Needless to say, there were some tense words while I crammed into a bathroom with a wet paintbrush and there may have been a schmear or two on someone, including a furry someone's tail. 

My vision...Sun, sand & sea...

Found these great turquoise Ball jars & used plumbers' clamps to mount to the wall 

We removed the old sanitary treatment controls
and it left a big hole, so I got some color coordinated
shells & a perfectly sized basket to fill the hole

New towel ring & painted frame of my sunrise
from Byron Bay, Australia 

New faucet, so much better than 2 handles
less scalding of faces! 

Perfectly coordinated bath mat & the best addition
a TP holder! Hadn't had any TP holder before
so dry TP is quite awesome - it's the little things!

My turquoise accent wall with a sea fan and sea star as decoration, late afternoon sun streaming in

FRESH WATER PUMP UPGRADE 

Staying on the faucet/plumbing theme we were forced to replace and upgrade our fresh water pump. The system that takes the fresh water from the tanks and pressurizes it to come out of the faucets. It's quite clutch because without it we don't have any running water. The old pump was from 1983 - we were 3 years old when that thing was installed on Zephyr. The old pump was also incredibly loud, sounded like jack hammer and with Tim getting up every morning at 5:15AM a quieter pump was quite appreciated. 

This little pump holds a whole lot of power and necessity 

The tools & the plumber extraordinaire - another Saturday, another project!
Note the headlamp - key for any engine room projects! 

NEW KITCHEN FAUCET...

Another pet peeve since we moved aboard was our kitchen (galley) sink. It was another sink with 2 separate handles rather than one mixer. This led to water waste and often scalded hands from the hot water running before the pump turned on to pump cooler water. The mixer is key! One thing we learned...faucets AREN'T CHEAP! We couldn't believe how expensive these things are. Though the interactions with staff at Home Depot or Lowe's is always interesting when they ask where we live! We know new galley faucet isn't exactly important for sailing performance but it is something that makes living aboard so much better. 

Contorting  to screw nuts with multiple wrenches at the ready. 

The new sink faucet - the other pump to the right is a salt water flush system that we use when
cruising to save water while doing dishes and the other nozzle is our drinking water. OH -and HI TOBY!

And last plumping improvement...AN ONBOARD SHOWER! 

Since we've moved aboard we've packed up all our stuff into bags and trekked up the docks to the marina shower facilities. Though it hasn't been awful on those 2 degree mornings with slushy snow it's not the best. When we decided to build an on board shower we wanted to build something a bit more substantial than the typical boat shower which normally involves a hose with a small shower head coming out from the bathroom sink - so you shower over the toilet and soak the entire head. Though not terrible, for living aboard full-time we really thought we'd like to have something a bit more like a shower in a house. The more we can make living on the boat comfortable and soothing the less likely we'll grow frustrated and move onto terra firma and the shower was a serious part of that. 

The project started in October when we pulled out the forward bathroom's toilet, opening up more floor space for the shower stall and then the project doubled and then tripled in size. We ended up plumbing a full mixing valve with full shower controls. We had to buy a specially designed shower curtain tracking system and upgrade the sump pump (the drain that you push to function once you're done showering). We joke that this shower is approaching $1,000 in parts! But boy does it feel amazing to shower in your own home! To roll out of bed without having to put on boots, coats, hats, scarfs, to walk up to the shower is a thing of glory. Now, don't fool yourselves, it's not some luxurious spa like experience - it's still a "Navy Shower". Water on to wet yourself, water off, lather up, water on to rinse off, water off and you're done! Water conservation is still vital aboard the boat and only something that we have to get better at as we set off to go cruising. But you realize that you don't need a 45 minute shower to feel fresh and clean, 5 minutes is plenty. Just another awesome life lesson living aboard a boat teaches you - you CAN live with less - in this case, water. 

We still want to 'beautify' this space with some paint and teak accents 

The $75 shower curtain tracking system & "State of The Art" shower curtain

So now, the winter of cabin projects starts to come to an end the spring of sailing projects starts back up! There's NEVER an end to the work on a boat but we LOVE it that way! Constant challenge, continuous improvements and lots of satisfaction in our abilities. Next blog post - our Spring to-do list! Until then...it's time to celebrate!