Sabrina Sail Loft - Headsail Repair, Cushion Covers and Machine Repair

October 30, 2014
Conditions living aboard and cruising are brutal on everything.  By conditions, I am referring to heat, humidity, salt air, salt spray, and their friends, corrosion, rust, mold, mildew.  These partners in crimes against boats cause, fading, fatigue and failures.

Headsail repair

Headsail repair - again.  The sacrificial Sunbrella on our headsail is doing its job....sacrificing.  More specifically the thread it.  Sheesh.  Yes, I am using UV thread.  No, I am not using the Tenara  I use 9 the next one down from Tenara.  I think it's 92V.  Tenara is super expensive and the machine doesn't like it that much.  Too slick.

Nav station seat cushion and seat back cover

Nav seat cushion cover and back - good quality marine vinyl that I happened to have onboard AND there happened to be just enough fabric to cover.  How lucky is that!  

Cockpit cushion for Paul on s/v Sonic Boom.  Accent pillows for fun and a touch of elegance!  

s/v Sonic Boom's new cockpit cushion with accent pillows

Mosquito net for front windshield of our cockpit enclosure.  This allows us to get some breeze while keeping the mozzies at bay.....somewhat.  

New front windshield screen - easy to slap in and take out

Relocation of zipper on one of the enclosure panels.  After a full year of living with the enclosure and swearing a blue streak every time we had to use this one zipper, it now zips easily.  Amazing what 3/4 an inch did to make life so much easier in regards to the enclosure.  

Sewing machine repair man is now on the resume

Sailrite machine repair.  Tom oiled and sprayed T9 Boeshield on our machine last time I used it.  However.......wow, here is still signs of slight rust and such.  Additionally a few things have gotten out of align. One of my greatest fears is the Sailrite machine breaking down and becoming nothing more than a heavy object onboard with the capability of decapitating someone should it ever get free.  There are three Sailrite machines on our dock alone.  This past week all three have been drug out for various projects.  All three have had various issues, challenges and repairs.  We have struggled through, helping each other by looking at each other's machines and getting advice.  Rumor has it there is a fellow cruiser that is a certified sewing machine repair person.  A valuable thing to have on your resume!  However this cruiser isn't due back in Trinidad until November 5th.  So, Tom has learned more about sewing machines than he ever wanted to know.  Me too.  We learned things we will do more or different in the future.  1.)  Use sewing machine oil liberally.  This oil is to a Sailrite machine (or any other sewing machine for that matter) like rum is to a sailor.  Liberally!  2.)  Place bobbin case, gib hook, and retaining ring in a plastic bag and oil liberally.  3.)  Oil pressure foot and plate.  4.)  Oil super wheel.  5.)  Oil underside of the machine - liberally!  6.)  Oil or dw-30 mental on handle and metal locks on the case.  Get extra(s) of the thin plate that sits on top the gib hook. 

 **Our Sailrite machine needs a James Bond name, no?

Prepping for the season

Drying the head sail for storage below

Since arriving back in Chaguaramas we have been putting the boat back together and prepping her for the coming season.

Putting the boat back together?  Yes, we stripped her down and did several other things prior to leaving her in the water.  

Enclosure panels stored flat with towels in between each panel to protect isinglass 

Salon cushions turned up on end to prevent mildew

DEPARTURE ITEMS
Dinghy stored upside down on the deck with the cover over it.

Headsail off

Dodger, Bimini, enclosure cleaned, pulled off and carefully stored below

Enclosure panels stored flat (not as easy task to find a large enough space below for this) with towels in between each panel to protect the isinglass.  

Small outboard stored in cockpit locker, large outboard locked on rail and covered.

Helm chart plotters unplugged and connections slathered with dielectric grease.

Helm mic cleaned and stored below

SSB mic off for repairs.

Solar panels removed and stored below - one was left up and plugged in for basic charging while we were gone.

Jerry jugs empty and stored below.

All surfaces below wipe down with vinegar

Fridge and freezer empty, cleaned and left open

95% of food store removed from boat.  Remaining was bagged and then stored in plastic seal tight containers.  Boric acid powder was put down in all the lockers.

Ant and roach traps put down in boat

Laundry cleaned and stored with the exception of last sheets we slept on and last work clothes

Thru hull shut with exception of engine - we keep it open in case the boat needs to be started.  It doesn't take long to ruin an impeller and wreck havoc when an engine is started in a hurry and the thru hull hasn't been opened.  

Oil changed

Salon (saloon) cushions stood up on end for air circulation

Our mattress propped up slightly with 3 grates under for air circulation *the enclosure was piled high on top of that and thus we slept in the saloon (salon) 2 night prior to departing and four nights once we returned

Pickle water maker

THINGS LEARNED - to do next time

Mold and mildew are wicked competitors 

Bag clothes, towels and sheets in space bags with dryer sheets to keep them from getting that "boat" smell

Put any books you want to safe guard in a Rubbermaid bin.  Water somehow got in through a portlight and soaked 1/2 a bookshelf.  The books molded and must be tossed.  These were mainly our knot and splicing books, a weather book or two and one of the Pardey books.  All reference books that will be missed and will in some fashion need to be replaced.  Don't be surprised if a "Buy Us A Book" button shows up on this blog somewhere.  *Floy, you warned me about books onboard.  **Willy told me she put books on a shelf in their boat and they got a leak and ruined the books.  Mark fixed the leak so she put new books on the shelf and they still had a leak.  Now she doesn't put books there.  Hum.

Bringing bamboo you found ashore back to the boat means bringing termites back as well.  D-oh!  

Bugs are part of the tropics.  Luckily ours are only microscopic ants - about 1/8 the size of tiny grease ants.  Only -ugh I despise bugs.  I sprayed all our dock lines prior to leaving but it is the rainy season so I imagine that lasted 1/2 a day.  I had roach and ant traps down but I suspect these traps seem like gigantic ant McMansions to this little buggers and thus they are intimidated to go in - in other words.....the ant traps didn't do squat to get rid of them.  On the plus side, we are not over run with these microscopic antis and I have not seen any roaches.  The 20+ cats in this boat yard and marina seem to have kept the mouse/rat population to near non-existent numbers.  

Luggage, backpacks, and bags stored should be treated with vinegar wipe down to prevent/slow mold.  

All zippers on anything should be treated before they freeze up - our portable cooler zippers are completely frozen opening and so are the side pockets on a couple of my Columbia shorts. 

  

Tom after 3 fuel runs - BIG savings!

RETURN - basic putting the boat back together

Polish stainless steel arch and cockpit stainless

Put up solar panels

Dodger, Bimini and enclosure treated with 303 and all zippers treated with zipper lube and then put back up

Headsail installed

All areas wiped clean with vinegar to remove light surface mold.  YES - I did this prior to leaving but mold is aggressive

Fridge and freezer started again 

Winches cleaned

Top up with diesel fuel via jerry jugs (the only way) and numerous trips to save BIG $$

Fuel polished to remove water we got in last season
Restock the boat

Polish interior fixtures
Polish the remaining stainless steel
Basically the reverse of all the things listed under Departure Items

Re-Installing the windlass

Motor wrapped in grease tape - Thanks Eric for that tip and the tape!

Remember how salt encrusted it was before?

FIX

Re-install repaired windlass

Re-stitch sacrificial on the headsail

Cockpit enclosure panel zipper
And all the other things that pop up daily

New galley handhold - no more flying chef

NEW

Install additional handhold in galley

Install new 250 solar panel

Wind generator blades

Galley seawater pump installed

Canvas projects - dodger front windshield screen, dinghy chaps

Tom and Paul off s/v Sonic Boom secure the new panel

Yeah baby!  Sun power!

Chikunguyna Update

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and kind words during this past week.  With each day my aches and pains got less and less.  By Thursday I moved into the itchy rash phase.  At first it was ok.  By Saturday it was terrible.  I busted out the Benadryl and kept a stead diet of those pills.  Saturday night I dug out the prescription strength cortisone cream but nothing seem to work.  My skin felt like it was on fire.  Sleeping was tough.  I thrashed about trying to keep myself from scratching my skin raw.  Finally Monday morning it subsided.  

Chick G is not fun.  I cannot recommend it at all.  I never suffered from the high fever or headaches that some people get.   However I will never forget the pain of that first night.  WOW!

HUGE thank you to my wonderful husband for taking care of me and putting up with me.  I know I was not fun to be around and that is putting it very mildly!