Preperation for Departure
This winter has been one of Cruising Kitty refilling. We have been docked at Bowen's Whaft right downtown in Newport Rhode Island to maximise our availbility for jobs to ensure we can make some money and be ready to set off once again in the new boat for an ambitious cruising season. This is all fine and dandy, in fact it's been working rather well. We now have money again! There will be an article to come on this as we will have the most clean cut examples the upcoming season on the price to adventure ratio, but that's not what we are talking about here.
The spring is here, technically although it doesn't feel too much like it, and our departure date is actually approaching now it feels like. We have an April 15th, or maybe the 30th? date we have to be off of the dock. At that point we have 14 days at a time we can anchor in downtown Newport before having a 4 day period where we have to be out of the area. The other luming date is the season. Going north means we have a pretty specific time we are to be up there, so mid May is our departure goal to make the season work in our favor.
Mentality Shift
We have been using the boat as a floating apartment for the most part. We both work most days most hours and really just come back home to sleep. We even eat out a lot as we work at a restaurant so that is more than half the meals so we aren't even really cooking much aboard at this point. No worries, the boat is a comfortable city apartment but now that we are thinking of moving said apartment we have to start thinking about what changes and fixes we want to be ready for more remote locations and longer voyages to get there.
The List
To stay semi organized I've kept an Org document list with what some of the goals are we have before leaving which I've provided below. Some items are changes, some are addtions, and some are fixes. The boat is pretty ready technically but there are always things to do. Especially after now having some cash to spend on nice to have upgrades like a radar, albeit a used one.
This always feels like a frantic time, trying to organize so many things both aquiring used things from places we don't yet know exist at the same time as inventing how we are going to integrate these yet to be aquired things into the boat, but it's apparent we've had some practice at this as each time we go through this phase it's a little less stressfull and overall the whole process is a little more streamlined.
Because the locations, people, fixes and additions, and overall context is always so different it's completely jazz, but operating under these entirely random circumstances I think is a skill which cruising and sailing in general excersizes a lot. Plus it suits us whether or not in the actual moment we are enjoying ourselves or not.
Internal Notes
Here are the actual items as they stand at the time of writing this. Of course I bet there are tons more these are just the ones which require some sort of logistics so I've been keeping track roughly of how they're going. The links won't work because on my machine they link to other documents with more details.
TODO
Fix Mainsail Cover [4/7]
- Plan made
- Sewing machine aquired
- Removed the taco
- Bolt rope for boom
- Measured and cut
- Sewn together
- Reinstalled
TODO Source furlerfix or have part made
TODO Make companionway hatch cover
TODO Oil Change
TODO
Bilge clean [1/4]
- v-berth cleaned and swabbed
- under saloon floor
- under aft bunk
- under hall/galley floor
TODO Provisioning
TODO Install mast head wind indicator
TODO
Centerboard Box metal top replacement [2/7]
- measure dimensions (58inch by 9.5 inch)
- call around to source metal
-
Swansea metals has it, 1/4in thick. they can cut it, available. $62.95: phone 508 379 0803
- source gasket
- Swansea has no gasekt material in a similar size
- JJ Materials: landscaping material, nope
- Powerstretch Carpet:
-
Yoga Mats: 64x24 inches and 5mm thick so they're large enough, made of Polyvinyl Chloride which is inherently waterproof and works as gasket material see [cite:@kakaniHighdensityFoamVs]
- Tidal wave training: no retired yoga mats
- Mend Yoga: no answer
- Love defeats fear: no answer
- Cut to shape
- Drill holes
- Untwist centerboard line
- Mount it up!
TODO Plan for welding?
-
Called Naragannsett Yards
- some yards allow external contractors others require internal workers for under the waterline stuff
-
Portsmith safe harbor New England boat works
- Waiting on email for job bid for haul out, back in, and spot weld fix
-
East Greenwich
- Can do round trip overnight or day haul depening on tide and schedule. No welders on site, don't know of anyone reliable… hmmmm
Purchases [3/10]
DONE Find used radar system with info here radar-search
- Purchased at Wickford Consignment Marine
- Furuno 1612 with all cabling
- Come up with mounting system. Weld onto arch? Maybe pole on stern
- Source materials
- Find welder friend
- Install
DONE VHF radio repair or find vhf-radios
TODO Battons
TODO LifeRaft maybe?
TODO Steering Helms
TODO storm sail options
DONE Primus Stove Burners
TODO Metal topper for centerboard box
TODO
SEA STRAINER! [1/3]
- Heather found one
- organize pickup
- install
TODO Life jacket canister
Conclusions
Maybe the practiced part of this is knowing what is actually important vs just very nice to have done in relation to when it is practical to actually depart and not just continually work on things. The list gets longer every time something gets finished which can definitely feel overwhelming. This check one thing off add two more scenario is partially to blame I think for people preparing for years and years before setting off initially on an extended cruise. Maybe the skill aquired over time is the 'okay we are ready enough for what we are comfortable with and the time is right to depart' decision. Lets hope that all lines up with our plans this time!
