Marlene A. Sassaman's Page

Another chapter in my aging life closed yesterday about 2 pm when I seemingly nice gentleman bought my six year old Sunfish. It felt nice returning from the regatta knowing I could tend to other things besides washing the boat, fixing up little do dads and getting her ready for the next race. I grew tired of dragging her off the hill at the yacht club. I grew tired of sailing upwind with no competition within 100 yards after rounding the first mark. Well, certainly after the leeward mark the…

Years ago a sailing friend who specializes in building hydrofoils reminded a group of us that change only takes place via revolution or evolution. This was related to the development of such performance boats as high speed hydrofoil sailboats.It also applies to life. Take for instance the sudden change to a spouse left alone by his or her mate's untimely death. Suddenly decisions have to be made which may cause major change; selling a house, moving in with other family members, getting a…

Reading the Yanmar Diesel Manual was overwhelming at first. I scanned each page of it a few months back as I transitioned it into a looseleaf notebook. Important pages, like what type of oil to use and the maintenance checklist were put in a plastic sleeve. During my daily boat check on Monday I was too tired to take on any real tasks, like sanding the eyebrow the protects the gps in the cockpit, I slithered below to sit at the galley table. After gazing out the stern castle window, which…

Here comes another lesson to learn about diesels. Maybe I should keep a log of each thing I learn....well that's another blog entry. For now my concern is that the last two times, about a week apart, that I started up my Danny Diesel, 2 gm yanmar she made that grinding kind of sound that makes you say, "Come on baby, you can start!" Someone told me yesterday that a diesel should start up right away. So, do I check the battery, the alternator, or what?????

I had a guy look at my wiring…

Several times in the past month I read this statement. Not sure where or who wrote it, but I wish I would remember it and quit wasting time. It goes something like this:

           It is easier to make friends with sailors than to make friends into sailors.