John V. G. Mayton's Blog (33)

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…