Masts and standing rigging
Singing in the wind like distant whistling tea kettles.
Sheets and halyards haphazardly drum along,
Keeping their own beat.
The wind fervently wrinkles the water
Invoking the rhythm of movement,
Of forward progress.
But it is we who are stationary,
These boats tucked in their slips,
Their poles ranging no lost coasts.
And the wind that sails past
Is like time
Moving through us, seeping through the cracks, hiding nothing,
Calling up the sirens.
-TW
Janis and I just returned from our summer vacations: I joined my father as a volunteer marshal at the US Open golf tournament at Pebble Beach, California; while Janis rafted the Rogue River in Oregon celebrating the birthday of our friend Katherine Luscher, whom we met while rafting the Colorado River in 2008 (that movie is still in progress). There has been quite a lot of work done on Kuani in the past three weeks, from removing two 80-gallon steel fuel tanks and rebuilding a battery box to cleaning and painting the lazarette. My father Ken (we call him Junior) and Stewart (Kuani’s first bonafide deckhand) actually moved aboard for a spell to crank out the work and cross items off the list. I will be posting a vlog or two showing some of the demolition and the finished product later this week, so stay tuned for those. Until then, here is the list from earlier this month:
Main engine fuel supply troubleshooting (clogged upstream of Racor filter) – polishing fuel tank this week
Rebuild battery box
Flush main engine cooling system
Troubleshoot the stern light
Drill and fill fore deck (2′x2′area)
Galley sink through hull fitting needs to be replaced (the handle is really flexible!)
Find and fix aft port water tank leak
Cut out two steel fuel tanks
Rebuild aft deck
Complete bottom job
New electrical panel
New main engine control
New sails!
Ahh, the lists. A new user on wingandwing.net remarked “the enjoyment comes from the doing”. We have much to do. This Friday we move to the Napa Valley boat yard!
Q
ps – The US Open returns to Pebble Beach in 2019. Maybe Kuani will be in Stillwater Cove that week?
Hole #7 at Pebble Beach
I have been warned, on more than one occasion, that all boat projects, regardless the size, take at least three times as long as you plan, and cost at least that much more than you budgeted. These clichés are tied to boats like pesky dock fenders, trying to protect you from harmful financial impacts while at the same time detracting from the boat’s overall allure. You know the clichés: “BOAT stands for Bring On Another Thousand” or “the definition of a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money.” Yet despite this cynical warning, people still fall in love with boats.
Over the last week, we have embarked on troubleshooting some engine problems, removed a non-functional toilet and prepared the pedestal for a brand new head, replaced a rotten battery box, and cleaned out and inventoried a cockpit locker that I could fit into twice. Each time we started one of these projects, we invariably uncovered a bigger project or problem that needs attention. This, of course, usually means a trip to the chandlery or hardware store…and that takes time. So I begin to see how the legend of boat-project-time works. A friend told me he refers to these undertakings as “trippers.” If he starts a project and he recognizes early on that might not have everything he needs, he’ll realize he’s gotten involved with a “three-tripper” or “four-tripper” to acknowledge how many trips he’ll have to make to the store to successfully accomplish the project. Suffice it to say, we are starting to lose track of how many trips we’re up to, but I think our record so far is a “five-tripper.” We’re thankful that the hardware store is only two miles away.
-JJ
Ken makes a "three-tripper" project out of replacing this leaking cooling line.
Captain Ken discusses the raw water cooling system on Kuani.
As promised, a few items from the lists for the refit of Kuani:
Main engine fuel supply troubleshooting (clogged upstream of Racor filter)
Rebuild battery box
Flush main engine cooling system
Troubleshoot the stern light
Drill and fill fore deck (2′x2′area)
Galley sink through hull fitting need to be replaced (the handle is really flexible!)
Find and fix Aft port water tank leak
Cut out two steel fuel tanks
Rebuild aft deck
Complete bottom job
New electrical panel
New main engine control
New sails!
And, fortunately, the list of items crossed off is growing:
Replaced the head
Repaired Fwd port water tank
Repaired cabin sole hatch ledger
Replaced bilge pump hose and fixed float switch
Cleaned out most of the compartments
Replaced raw water cooling lines and zincs
If you have materials or time you are willing to donate to the refit effort, please let me know, as we are looking for ample supplies of both!
I am sure I have missed a few items, but we’ll be documenting the progress in the months to come. I am working on the next vlog starting… now.
Q
On Saturday of this long Memorial Day weekend, we held an open boat party to welcome our friends aboard and get some advice from other sailors we know. Each project on our lists has more than one solution, and I find value in consulting as many people as possible before I tear into wood, wire or fiberglass. So over the course of a beautiful, warm day in the ‘Richmond Riviera’, we hosted a few dozen people aboard Kuani.
Janis and Ken aboard Kuani, ready to receive party guests
The slip next door is always vacant, and is designated as a guest slip, which was a plus for our friends from the Gold Country Yacht Club who sailed over in three different boats: Don and Katie aboard Valhalla spent the night Friday and grilled up some meat on the stern pulpit, Bruce, Jean and Schooner stopped by Saturday morning aboard Willow and Dudley, Teresa, David, Susan and Chip took the slip for the duration of the party on Saturday and spent the night aboard Kia Orana.
The long weekend is over, but the work has just begun! Up next, I’ll outline the problems we’ve had thus far and the lists we have yet to address.
Q
