It is a small space, but I never thought of it that way. Paneled in rich dark honey colored teak the interior of my sailboat seems soothing to me. The largest “room” on the boat is the solon and it’s about eleven feet wide by eleven feet long. Of course within the solon are the settees which borders the port side of the solon area from beneath the companion way ladder thwart ship to the port side of the area then forward to the bulkhead and where it makes a right angled turn to extend all…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on July 28, 2013 at 9:48am —
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Before heading off to work on Friday I packed my stuff for a weekend on the boat and stowed it in the car; gym bag, toiletries and laptop. At 5:30 I check out of the office and headed east towards New Bern, stopping briefly to fuel up at Sam’s Club. Arriving at the dock it was still light out as I loaded my gear in a dock cart and proceeded to the boat. Climbing aboard I settled in after a quick check of the bilges and other routine tasks such as opening the thru hull valves for the…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on May 13, 2013 at 8:06pm —
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It has been more like Seattle than North Carolina for the past several weeks. Clouds masking the sun and the occasional rainy day might be well for the farmers but not for those of us who NEED some sunshine to feel normal. I am so tired of overcast that I’m beginning to think, “Forget waiting for retirement, I’m leaving for the tropics now!!” At any rate it was dark…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on May 6, 2013 at 5:17am —
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I awoke at 0600 and after making the needed head call I returned to my bunk to check out the weather on my Kindle, read the USA Today news, and listen to Pandora’s comedy channel for a bit. Tim, my friend from the marina, had invited me to ...join him to get breakfast so I got…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 10, 2013 at 1:30pm —
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Kai, one of my daughter’s very good friends, and I drove down to the boat Sunday morning with plans to do some maintenance and boat chores. Kai is interested in the boating life style and had asked several times to come along with me. It was fun to have his company as he talked about his studies in college, his aspiration to become a video game developer, as well as some of his opinions about a plethora of topics. It…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 9, 2013 at 8:32am —
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Yesterday was superlative in every way imaginable. Driving into Crescent City from Smith River, Marina and I joined my brothers Steve and Michael, along with their spouses, Lori and Antoinette, for breakfast at the North Woods Inn. The jokes, quips, and laughter made our table one seriously raucous focal point for bemused glances from the other patrons. Even out server got caught up in our…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 1, 2013 at 9:02am —
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Down to the boat Saturday morning. I got a late start, mostly because I stayed up later that I should have. I went to Jude’s third birthday party last night and drank a cup of coffee; Jude may soon become my grandson because it looks like... my daughter, Marina, is going to marry Jude’s dad, Josh. At any rate the coffee kept me up, at least in…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 1, 2013 at 8:59am —
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Just about 3:30 AM on Monday morning I awoke to the sound of rain on the deck above my head in the aft cabin’s bunk where I was snug under the covers. Great, I thought, it is raining and my day of sailing with Marina is shot. I made a qui...ck head call and back under the covers I switched on my Kindle, selected the Weather Channel app and was able…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 1, 2013 at 8:57am —
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It was good to get down to the marina to check on the boat. The weather was clear, if cool, but that did not prevent me from taking a much needed boat inspection trip. I had left my bicycle up in the parking lot so I swung a leg over the ...seat and peddled down the dock to my boat slip. I didn’t see anyone on the dock or on any of the boats even…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 1, 2013 at 8:54am —
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Filled with ambitious plans for a productive weekend working on the boat I arrived shortly before Noon at the dock in Bridgeton just across the river north of New Bern. A quick check of the boat revealed that the canvas cover for the hatch... above the V-berth had come adrift and some water had leaked onto the storm sail in its bag and the cushion…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 1, 2013 at 8:49am —
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Last week, on Monday, I had plans to revisit the engine oil issues on the boat. It was going to be a bit warmer and the diesel engine shop was going to be open so I could pickup an oil filter for my old Perkin (1987) engine. The Greybeard... pump (…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 1, 2013 at 8:48am —
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A perfect Spring day, the sun held the promise of warmer days ahead, the breeze was out of the south which suggests that last week’s freezing nights are shortly to be history, and it was payday yesterday so I can afford to buy a few boat things. As I arrived at the dock the parking lot seemed quite a bit fuller than I’ve been accustom to. I’m guessing, but it could be the weather and nice weather always brings out the…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 1, 2013 at 8:45am —
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Even though I go to bed at a reasonable hour, normally 9:00 P.M. and rarely latter then 10:00, I’ve been waking up at 3:45 or so recently. I try to get back to sleep, sometimes with success, however this morning it was not the case. My cat, Pixie, likes the company and an early breakfast for her, but I’m not a happy camper when sleep is short changed. At any rate, I got busy cleaning the galley up, which meant doing…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on October 5, 2012 at 3:30pm —
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I spent Friday listening to an audio book and occasionally looking out the main hatch at the rain while waiting for the kids to get to the boat. I must have taken four or more naps that day. I had expected the kids to show up earlier, but
...I should have known that “we’ll be there Friday” really meant in the evening. I did a few chores like…
Added by John V. G. Mayton on August 28, 2012 at 5:30am —
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Marina and I drove down to the boat Thursday afternoon after I got off work. Arriving at the dock we loaded up a cart with our gear, food, and water and proceeded to our slip. While moving stuff from the dock to the boat Marina said she could hear a noise in the boat. I guessed it was the dehumidifier running and told her so. When we got inside it was clear that it was something else. I quickly started down the electrical panel switching off everything one at a time until the sound…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on August 11, 2012 at 7:13pm —
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Boat withdrawal is painful. It has been two weeks since I spent time on Kittiwake and I must confess it was not comfortable at all. The heat and some medical concerns kept me at home worrying about how she was holding up during the severe thunder storms that were moving through the area. Thankfully Kittiwake is moored in a marina where fellow dock mates look out for each…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on August 5, 2012 at 2:25pm —
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Down to the marina early Friday morning to get started with boat chores. First big effort was to remove a seriously rusted shackle from my secondary anchor rode. I took it up to the marina’s shop to use my drill and cutting wheel to slice through a chain link as the shackle was so badly corroded that I couldn’t dismantle it. Once that project was finished I carried the…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on July 15, 2012 at 4:30pm —
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Arriving at the boat about 2000 hours on Thursday, I unlocked the companion way hatch, climbed down the ladder and using a LED light on my keychain to see what I was doing, switched on the cabin lights, refrigerator, water pump, charger, and AC outlets. Then back up the ladder to bring down my weekend bag and lap top. A quick look around the boat to satisfy myself that everything was in order only took a moment. I don’t think I’m alone in that I worry every time I leave that something…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on May 6, 2012 at 3:11pm —
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The weekend started nice with wind and sunshine on Friday morning following brief showers the night before. Marina called and said she wouldn’t be down to the boat until late Friday night as her boyfriend, Josh, had to work and he was bringing his son and brother along. I got busy with boat projects such as working on the stern light, and attempting to cut some bolts on the dinghy with a dremel,…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on May 1, 2012 at 9:42am —
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After work on Thursday I drove down to the boat and spent the night. In the morning I trudged up to the Captain’s Lounge for a shower and then back to the car to stop by the Waffle House for breakfast. Back to the boat I got busy clearing Marina’s cabin out by pulling her beding and mattresses into the solon. I removed all the access covers and stuck my head down into the…
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Added by John V. G. Mayton on April 13, 2012 at 7:35pm —
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