February 25, 2016

Although there were a few interruptions and distractions, the week was mostly devoted to the single sideband radio installation.  I spent quite a few hours researching the best methods for wiring and grounding.  I finally settled on an approach that I hope will be optimal, although it is definitely not the simplest or the easiest.  I'll discuss it in more detail in coming posts as the installation progresses.  Getting the receiver, antenna tuner and the antenna all in the right places requires a good deal of thinking and planning, which eventually degrades into a bunch of work.  Same for the antenna ground or counterpoise.  Simply finding the correct cables and electrical components is pretty involved.  I've gotten some, some is still on order, and some I've not yet located.  Although it's still early in the process, so far things have gone well.
The weather has been perfect:  75 degrees, gentle winds.  Still getting big surf, but the dredge has dug out enough sand that boats can get in and out of the harbor again...at least at high tide.   And there are signs of spring - blue herons nesting in the trees, a few flowers blooming....Nice!!

February 18, 2016

A busy and varied week!  Weather went from sunny and 85 to cool, windy and rainy in 24 hours!  Some big changes in my work priorities too!  I decided to do the Baja Ha Ha this year, and happily was able to conscript a couple of friends to crew.  So, with the restoration work mostly done, I started focusing on prepping the boat for voyaging.  Safety first, of course, so I pulled out my Jordan series drogue to determine how it needed augmenting for Circadian, a larger boat.  Also bought a used SSB radio for weatherfax, forecasts and cruising nets among other things.  Installation will be a major project; I just hope it all works when I'm done!  The purchase (with credit card points) of a new computer allowed me to download a new opensource charting program and made producing blog posts a lot less frustrating.  In the middle of all this, I had to prepare for and undergo an annual Coast Guard inspection to get my liveaboard permit.  But it's all good and I'm very excited about doing the Ha Ha!

February 11, 2016

The weather finally calmed down after some strong, gusty Santa Ana winds.  Beautiful and warm now.  The overhead in the v-berth is nearly done, with only a couple of more coats of varnish needed on the trim strips.  I've now moved on to the next stage, modifying and finishing the lee board for the starboard side berth.  The original lee board was removed by the previous owners and now needs to be shortened to fit my modification of the berth configuration.  It's all going fine so far.
The big swell and surf have subsided, allowing the dredge to get into the harbor, so it should reopen soon.  Not many flowers yet, but there are great sunsets!

 

February 4, 2016

I made good progress on the new underdeck headliner this week.  The wild weather continued, with big surf, shoaling of the harbor entrance and gale force winds with gusts over 56 miles per hour!  Got a few nice sunsets after the storm, though.  They are staging equipment for the dredge now, so soon we will no longer be trapped in the harbor.

Looking at the harbor entrance from inside.