Sea Trials...

Today was sunny and beautiful in Seattle so we did some more water proofing to fix leaky windows, dry-fit some more Flexi-Teak and then took Epilogue out for a little cruise around Lake Union. It's pretty fun to approach one of the three draw bridges on Lake Union in a 55' sailboat and not hail the bridge keeper. I was actually nervous passing under a bridge I normally see raise when underway aboard a sailboat. I imagine it's like having a phantom limb after an amputation. Soon enough I'll be nervous that the bridge isn't raised high enough for the 75' of mast she'll have.





Epilogue ran smoothly, cool as a cucumber and seemd to handle just fine. I'm confident she's ready to take the trip north to Everett as soon as the mast is ready to step.

Flexi-Teak

Flexi-Teak is a synthetic teak decking material that I'll be using in the cockpits and probably eventually in the cockpit soles. Today I installed the first two, of 10, panels just to get a look at how they look. I think they're going to be beautiful and virtually maintenance free! Tomorrow I'll go back and run a bead of black caulk around the outer edget to seal so water can't find it's way underneath. Tomorrow we may install the large center cockpit panel, depending on weather.

This is the main drum of the new roller furling system I'm installing. I've never seen a roller furling drum this big. We're hoping to take Epilogue north to Everett in a couple of weeks to have the mast stepped and rigged and return to Ballard for the winter. This will be a huge event. She'll look like a real sailboat and have a mast that is 73' off the deck.


This is the new mast collar and cut-out where the mast will enter into the boat. Have to get some work done before the mast makes it impossible get back in there.

Coasting...

There is in this aspect of land from the sea I know not what of continual discovery and adventure, and therefore of youth, or, if you prefer a more mystical term, of resurrection. That which you thought you knew so well is quite transformed, and as you gaze you begin to think of the poeple inhabiting the firm earth beyond that line of sand as some unknown and happy people, or, if you remember their arrangements of wealth and poverty and their ambitious follies, they seem not tragic but comic to you, thus isolated as you are on the waters and free from it all. You think of landsmen as on a stage. And, again, the majesty of the Land itself takes its true place and properly lessens the mere interest in one's fellows. Nowhere does England take on personality so strongly as from the sea.

- Hilaire Belloc, "Off Exmouth"

I'm reading Jonathan Raban's Coasting: A Private Journey - a story about his sailing in a small boat around his native England.

Shipwreck...

No other element has such accreted layers of significance for us, such complex archetypal meaning. The sea’s moods and uses sex it. It is the great creatrix, feeder, womb and vagina, place of pleasure; the gentlest thing on earth, the most maternal; the most seductive whore, and handsomely the most faithless. It has the attributes of all women, and men too. It can be subtle and noble, brave and energetic; and far crueller than the meanest, most sadistic human king who ever ruled. “I believe in the Bible”, an old sailor once told Lord Fisher, “because it don’t mention no sea in Paradise”. I happen to live over the sea myself, I watch it every day, I hear it every night. I do not like it angry, but I’ve noticed that most urban and inland people adore it so. Storms and gales seem to awaken something joyous and excited in them: the thunder on the shingle, the spray and spume, the rut and rage.
--John Fowles "Shipwreck" 1975

This passage came from The Oxford Book of The Sea, edited by Jonathan Raban. I was scouring it for inspiration and found myself quickly searching the web for other work by John Fowles.

Bitter-Sweet...

Ah my dear angry Lord, Since thou dost love, yet strike; Cast down, yet help afford; Sure I will do the like. I will complain, yet praise; I will bewail, approve; And all my sour-sweet days I will lament, and love.
-- George Herbert

Rainy and cold in Seattle today...

Good times and noodle salad...

Last week my Dad came out to help work on Epilogue for an entire week. Again, it was great to have him see and experience all that I'm going through with this project. He even got to spend an afternoon doing parts runs for me...it's my least favorite thing to do, besides grinding fiberglass. He was a huge help and we spent many an hour laboring and dreaming about what is in store for this boat in the very near future. The last thing he said to me before he disappeared into the airport was "I'm proud of you." I think I knew that, but had been hoping to hear those words all week and even thought about asking him if he was proud of me at one point. That it came unsolicited made me want to jump out of my skin. Thank you. I only wish we'd taken more pictures. Mom will be disappointed we didn't.

Whaleback Marine Systems...

Part of what I've been working on for the past couple months is the electrical and mechanical systems. When my Dad was out here, we started the engine and she ran for over an hour at the dock, in gear, and was beautiful. Short of a couple minor changes, the engine is all plumbed, wired, aligned and ready for a little test cruise around Lake Union before she goes up to Everett. This we all did by ourselves and feel pretty good about the old Perkins workhorse.

I've also been working with an exceptional electrician to build the foundation of my electirccal system. This will be a 12v system with an inverter to change to 110V if I need to run something while away from the dock. The guy doing the electrical work is building a solid, redundant and protected system that will make it easy to operate and modify as the project moves on.

Fast Forward Fall...

Fall is fast approaching but summer seems to be holding on tight with 70+ degree days and plenty of sunshine. As Fall approaches, so does a very significant milestone for Epilogue. By the end of October, I hope to take the boat up to Everett under her own power, a major feat in it's own right, and step the 80' mast which has been lying up in the yard for over two years. This is a brand new mast and boom that was purchased by the previous owner before he handed her over to me. With equipment like this, it doesn't make sense not to finish her off well. There is well over 450' of Dyform Stainless Steel wire rope being ordered to complete the rig, along with a roller furlingn system for the genoa (the foresail of a sloop rig). The cost is staggering for sure, but compared to the cost of a new mast and boom, it's simply icing on the cake. Why go to a dance with a new dress and old ratty shoes?

She will be beautiufl, yes, she will be beautiful.

A Great and Glorious Game...

Today (Sunday) I spent an hour at the boat and decided I wasn't going to get anything done so I went to see the Mariners play the Detriot Tigers. Both teams are well in contention for a pennant and this was the final game in a four game set in Seattle. Even though the Mariners lost, it was indeed a beautiful day to take in a baseball game. The rythm of a baseball game, enjoyed with friends, soothes my soul and seems to bring clarity to my life - if even for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. It's better than church...well for me at least.

I snapped these two pictures as I left the boat feeling pretty good about the previous day's accomplishment of installing the stainless steel bow and stern rails. Now all that's left of that job is to replace the broken stancions and install lifelines throughout. probably next year sometime.

Slow Summer Evenings...

As yet another summer passes I am becoming more and more aware of what this project is costing me. So many parts of my life have been sacrificed to the dream of getting this project finished and Epilogue underway by this time next year. Obviously, it's a worthy endeavor for me and is changing me in ways I could have never imagined. But sometimes I just want my life back. I want slow summer evenings outside with a BBQ going. I want three day weekend backpacking trips in the North Cascades with the hope of a mocha shake at the little coffee stand in Cedro Woolley when we come down. I want sailing trips on Augusta, Sundays with nothing to do and more time with
friends.


Of course the boat doesn't demand time from me. She's not a jealous lover. She only takes what I give her and it never seems to be enough. She doesn't care if I don't show up every day. She doesn't care if I don't think about her every second of every day. So it's self imposed, but if I don't do it, nobody will and I'll be at this for years and years. I want it done and I want it done now.

She has an engine!

While it doesn't really feel like it, this weekend was a giant step forward towards a June 2008 sailing date. We were able to tow Epilogue using Dan's beautiful sailboat Augusta, over to the West Wall cargo crane and install the newly rebuilt Perkins 4.236. Everything went off without a hitch and she was back in her slip (without the canopy) safe and sound within an hour. It'll be another month or more before the engine is operational (plumbing, wiring, cabling etc...) but just to have her sitting in the bed is such a relief.

This weekend marks completion of the waste side of the plumbing system. On the water side, I really only have one shower fixture to install and a fresh water supply to the deck washdown. I'd say I'm 95% done with the entire plumbing system.

I'm quite happy with how the holding tank came out. It's sealed up with four coats of industrial strength epoxy sealer, cover gasket and 40 SS fasteners that I drilled and tapped myself, which was yet another learing experience. Theoretically, I should never have to open that tank up again. There is an option to "macerate" it and pump it out of the tank through a thru-hull or suck it out of the tank through a deck fitting at a marina pump-out station. Of course there's also an option to pump waste directly overboard, but that's not legal inside three miles from shore.

Note the 12 gallon water heater just forward of the holding tank. Also, this happens to be located in the bunk boxes directly under the master state-room bunks. I'd hate to wake up to a failed holding tank or water heater.

This week I hope to begin installing the 110V AC wiring with an electrician guy I've hired.

Maddness and Mourning...

Skookum...

There's a term I've heard around Fisherman's Terminal lately that I'm really begining to like..."Skookum". It's Chinook jargon that's used more commonly than I thought in the Pacific Northwest. Generally, it means first-rate, strong or solid. Check out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skookum) for a Wikipedia explanation of the word. I think the real reason I have a growing appreciation for this word, and try to drop it into normal conversation, is because my neighbor on the dock came down for a look at the plumbing work I'm doing and said, "that's skookum man, really clean."...made my day. Every element of this project has a vertical learning curve but once I've cracekd the crux, I tend to move much quicker and more effectively through the rest, kind of like a 5.10c climbing route. Of course a craft is never mastered, but it feels good to have some things working out well. Granted, I haven't filled the tanks and pressurized the water system yet and nobody's used the head - but for now I just put one foot in front of the other and only stop to eat, sleep and drink...

will we be puzzled?

If it is true that the ability to be puzzled is the begining of wisdom, then this truth is a sad commentary on the wisdom of modern man. Whatever the merits of our high degree of literary and universal education, we have lost the gift for being puzzled. Everything is supposed to be known - if not to ourselves then to some specialist whose business it is to know what we do not know. In fact, to be puzzled is embarrassing, a sign of intellectual inferiority. Even children are rarely surprised, or at least they try not to show that they are; and as we grow older we gradually lose the ability to be surprised. To have the right answers seems all-important; to ask the right questions is considered insignificant by comparison.

--Erich Fromm, The Forgotten Language, 1951

never just another day...

It's a day much like any other day. In many ways I am simply moving through the everydayness of life with little regard for what the last two years has brought. Working, paying rent, scheduling meetings, doing laundry...but in just as many ways the everydayness, even with it's often deeply satisfying rituals, will never be the same as it was this day two years ago. And that is why it is not, and never will be, just a day like any other day. It's difficult to see tragedy as turning point and somedays, when it feels like too much to handle, the tragedy feels more like a futility, a sadness for having chosen such a path. In these moments it has little to do with the accident, which feels more like a bump in the long road of this journey. Rather it seems to have more to do with the dream that I have given myself over to, which because of the accident has become even bigger and more meaningful than I could ever imagine. Sometimes it's this weight that keeps me going, keeps me pushing that big old stone up the hill. Some days though I sit, bewildered, on this boat and feel the absence of the true dream, which was never to rebuild a boat but to provide the rich experience of being on the water under sail to people who also want to think through their lives using the powerful metaphors of sailing. So, come hell or high water, Summer 2008 is the goal for these trips on Epilogue and the hope is that the story of this wild dream will only inform the stories that take place when she finally sets sail, with a boat load of dreams.

Busted Stuff...

This is the vessel that ran into my boat early this week. I got a call from the Port of Seattle telling me I should come check out some collision damage on my boat. My stomach dropped to the floor. Surely, they didn't do damage to the 18 months of work I've done. After racing over to check the damage I was relieved to see that it wasn't as bad as I suspected. The man who hit it was backing his boat out of his slip and his throttle/transmission cable failed leaving him drifting towards my boat. Still can't figure out how he made it all the way across and didn't do more damage. Lucky for me he's an honest man and willing to pay for repairs. Unlucky for him, he's uninsured so it's coming out of his pocket. I'm pretty sure we can fix it ourselves and charge him nominally for parts and labor. Just exactly what I wanted, one more project that needs to happen.

This is the damage to the starboard toe-rail on Epilogue. It's about an 8" section that was smushed and will need to be either removed and replaced or bent back into shape. There is a very small amout of paint that was scraped off on impact. No hull or fiberglass damage.

Fisherman's Terminal

There she sits, a sailing yacht among workboats. I think the Fred Sanford canopy gives her more of a commercial appeal among all the hard working fisherman, not usually a fan of sailors. The folks on the dock are some fine people and everybody looks out for each other. I have a neighbor, Rick, who lives on his old wooden Colin Archer designed sailboat. He's also in the midst of a major rebuild so it's nice to share stories and struggles with a neighbor on the dock.

The focus of this winter is fitting out the engine compartment so we can install the engine in the spring. First task is to hang sound-proofing insulation all throughout the engine compartment to keep things quite down below, then pre-plumb and wire for eletricity before the engine drops in.


I'm also working on developing my eletrcial system plans so we can start re-wiring the entire boat. Again, very much over my head but well worth the experience to learn every system of the boat.

a shared dream...

This is a "found photo" somebody sent me just the other day from the launching party back on the 4th of November. Of course my mother would be the honored guest to smash the champagne over Epilogue's bow. The story of this boat would not exist in the form it does today without the support of the people in my life. While there are many days, especially in these cold and dark days of winter, when I'd like to pull the plug on the whole dream, it is because of these people and the now shared dream that I continue, even in the midst of confusion and incompetence. Yes, I've actually begun work on the guts of the boat. The engine, mechanical systems, plumbing and electrical are all on the schedule for this winter. More photos to come as soon as I find my memory card and actually make some progress.