Evanston: not
Evanston: not
There are two afternoon trains from Winthrop Harbor to Evanston: one at 3:00 p.m; one at 6:00. Usually I ride back at 3. But when I took my protein bar lunch break yesterday, I telephoned Carol and told her office answering machine that I wouldn’t be home until after 7. Progress was painfully slow. Painfully. In three hours I had cleared VC17 from both sides of the keel and the starboard side of the hull from the bow back to the keel.
The paint was too thick for the xylol, though the finger tips of my latex gloves were not. I had a pack of gloves, but sometimes they split before I noticed. So I plugged in the dreaded sander. 80 grit paper is the official removal method of International Paint, VC17s diabolical manufacturer, one of whose representatives says in an online support forum, “I’d strongly recommend removing the VC17 which isn’t that big a job.”
The sander does remove the paint, with the obvious noxious side effects. I wore a respiratory mask and goggles, but the seals are not perfect, and my eyes were gritty, my nose sneezy, and I did not feel well last night. And the sander can’t reach everywhere, particularly on a small boat on a trailer. So I varied technique. I sanded. I xyloled. I scraped. I xyloled again.
By the time I stopped at around 4:30 arm weary and shivering with cold, I had used almost the entire gallon of xylol, twelve rolls of paper towels, and I’m not certain how many sheets of sand paper because I already had some open packs on GANNET. And the “isn’t that big a job” was far from completed. The starboard side is done, as are both sides of the rudder and the keel; but most of the port side remains.
I could claim that I didn’t go back up today because I need more and better latex gloves and a better face mask and more sandpaper, all of which is true and all of which I’ll obtain tonight; but I wouldn’t have gone back today anyway. I need the day off to recuperate from noxious fumes, dust and positions.
My eye appointment has been rescheduled for tomorrow, so I’ll have at least two days off. And the shipping of my antifouling paint has been delayed so it won’t arrive until late next week at the earliest.
One consequence of the unparalleled tenacity of VC17 on GANNET is that I will not be trying to repaint the topsides before she goes in the water. That is going to have to wait until the coast.
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I pulled the Torqeedo battery from the closet and recharged it. Over the winter the charge level had dropped to 71%, but I don’t recall if it was at 100% when it went into storage.
In an exchange of emails mostly about other matters, a fellow sailor mentioned that he thought Torqeedos could be charged directly from the ship’s battery, which caused me to google the subject. I found a power cord that purports to do just that and other links that indicate the existence of a chip in the Torqeedo battery that can accept direct 12 volt input.
I emailed the manufacturer of the cord, explaining that on my boat I get a range of about eight miles at a speed of 2.5 to 3 knots and asking what increase in range was likely by using his cord. He replied with detailed information and a conclusion of about 25%. Pretty good return for $40.
Also there would appear to be a gain in efficiency in charging a Torqeedo battery when off the engine with this cord rather than going DC through an inverter to AC to use the provided Torqeedo wall charger and then back to DC.
I’ve also ordered a second Torqeedo battery, so GANNET’s range under power might now be around 18 miles at 2.5 to 3 knots. Surely more than enough to sail around the world.
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When I first went up to GANNET last week every one of North Point Marina’s 1500 slips was empty. That is a lot of empty.
The photo above is “I” Dock, GANNET’s home. Specifically she lives in I-32, about ⅔’s of the way toward the shore on the left hand side of the dock, which is the side closer to the lake.
However the marina is no longer empty.
Over the weekend four boats--three sail, one power--appeared in slips. Only 1496 to go.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012