One lock and one bridge astern

We have put the Wilson Pigott bridge and Franklin Lock astern.   We got lucky with the lock and arrived promptly for the 09:00 opening simply by chance.  The next opening is noon.  Guess we just made a withdrawal from our karma bank.  We did check with the lock master and all the other inland locks run "on demand".  The outer locks Franklin on the west and St. Luice on the east are currently running on a three hour (06, 09, 12, 15,18) schedule.

Eastward across Florida

Anchors aweigh and full steam ahead.  We will be spending the entire day today headed east up the Calusahatchee River through central Florida.  Goodbye condos and hello cattle.  We hope to make Moore Haven along the western edge of Lake Okeechobee by this evening.  Before us is sixty miles of river/canal, four drawbridge, and two locks.  Here we go!

Great sailing in the Gulf

Our leap from Naples to Ft. Myers passed in record time as we averaged over 6 knots on a broad reach with Otto at the helm.

Short hop to Naples

We made a short hop from Marco Island to Naples on Monday.  The image included is of C'est la Vie on a mooring ball at Naples City Marina.

Other project that has taken much more time than expected...

Here is an image of my progress on C'est la Vie's companionway steps

 Like so many boat projects this one has taken much longer than expected.  Most of the time has gone to multiple coats of Bristol Finish in search of perfection. I did add non skid to the treads. The only remaining part of this project is to install the new mounting hardware used to attach the steps to the interior of the boat.

Nearing completion on mast repairs for SV Mag, NCOBS' Drascomb Gig

Thanks to a great deal of effort from Trish Haitz, we are nearing the end of mast repairs for SV Mag, NCOBS' 25' Drascomb Gig.  The two piece sitka spruce spar  partially split along a seam when, due to metal fatigue, the starboard pad eye used for the shroud failed.  


Before...

This image was taken after I used a dremel tool to expose the seam, remove old adhesive, and create a slight v taper as to aid in applying new epoxy.


The damage to the mast was limited to a 15' section along one side of the spar.  To prevent the split from expanding, I placed a clamp at each end of the damaged section.  We did debate the pros and cons of splitting apart the mast and gluing the entire length of the seam, but in the end we choose to attempt to repair only the damaged section.  


If the spar splits again or in another area then we can move on to more invasive repairs.












After...  

Once the repair was completed we moved the spar onto the dock for refinishing.  The dock provided a more bug free work area.  The image above was taken after applying 9 coats of Bristol Finish.
































The Drascomb is ketch rigged.  Unsure of the maintenance history of the Mag beyond the last 8 years we also stripped down the mizzen spars and refinished them at the same time.  How is this for a well ventilated, bug free work space...

Notice that along with the Mag spars is a collection of C'est la Vie projects including my ongoing rebuild of the companionway stairs.  

A day off devoted to boat projects

I managed to take a day off today.  I split my time between the companionway steps and projects on the Mag, NCOBS' 25' Drascomb Gig.  The Mag has a wooden mast that split at a seam when one of the shroud chain plates broke.  Trish focused her energies on repairing the Mag's manual bilge pump, I installed new chainplates, and we pooled out efforts on repairs to the mast.

Here is an image of the split after we cleaned it up and prepped it for gluing.

Here is an image of the seam glued and filled...

On the surface the repair looks good.  Time will tell if it is sound.

Here is an image of my progress on the companionway steps.

Progress on the repairs to the companionway steps

I've been able to steal away a few hours and make some progress on the repairs to the companionway steps.  I believe the existing steps were original to C'est la Vie and after 43 years the runs were cracking and the entire assembly was growing shaky.  The risers appeared to be in good shape so I purchased some teak to create new runs.  Here are a couple before images.

When we purchased C'est la Vie in 2005 she had been flooded on the hard in Titusville, FL during the infamous 2004 hurricane season.  The water mark visible on the lower leg of the steps above is among the last remaining evidence of the flooding.  

The image below is of work in progress.  I have completed all the carpentry work.  The next step is to begin sanding.

Note I added some cut out hand holds along the top of the ladder.  If you are interested in more images and description of the process.  Here is a link to a photo album - Companionway Steps Project - spring 2011