Publish Date: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Location: Beaufort, South Carolina
Coordinates: 32° 25.675′ N 80° 41.000′ W
Intriguing title, eh? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint those of you who are looking for something a bit more risqué. “Swingin'” refers to our current mooring situation: we’ve moved off the dock and are now anchored near Beufort, SC. “Swinging on a hook” is a common phrase for being at anchor, and it’s even more apropos here because the tidal current changes direction twice daily — the boat is definitely swinging around. We’re anchored about a quarter mile downstream from the marina, and it’s a beautiful setting right near some of the low-country marsh.
“Single” refers to my current crew situation: Kathryn and Ayla flew to Boulder this morning for a visit, so I’m on my own for a few days. As you might expect, I have several projects queued up that I hope to complete while they’re away. After taking the girls to the Savannah airport this morning (we rented a car for the day) I visited Home Depot and West Marine to gather materials. I’m sure I will miss Kathryn and Ayla in a couple of days, but today I was having too much fun to miss them yet. Here are the projects I have lined up:
- Replace most of the 120v outlets on the boat. The ones that came with the boat look fine, but they don’t hold the plug prongs very tightly, so chargers and transformers are always falling out of them. I’m replacing them with nice traditional outlets with a tight grip. Also, several of of the outlets are on a white background (the kickboard in the salon and pilothouse is white laminate), but the current outlets are black, so I’ll be replacing them with white outlets so they fade into the background
- Replace the anchor light and steaming light. The current one is a combination anchor/steaming light, and it has been a source of frustration ever since we bought the boat. The bulbs burn out very easily, and the replacements are difficult to find. I’ve checked the voltage and the integrity of the wires, and everything seems fine. I think the bulbs fail because they’re hard to install (very tight), and I am probably damaging them in the process — they are the double-ended bayonet bulbs, and they’re quite fragile. For awhile I was also using the wrong bulb, and they were overheating in the housing. Once I began using the correct bulb I thought the problem would go away, but it hasn’t. I’m replacing the whole thing with a more industrial strength solution (befitting our Nordhavn), and I’m seperating the anchor light from the steaming light so I can use an LED anchor light. I like this project a lot.
- Install small fans in the master stateroom. Ayla’s forward stateroom gets lots of natural ventilation from all directions: there are two hatches, two portholes, and two dorade vents. Our stateroom, on the other hand, is amidships, and it has only two portholes on one side, and a porthole in the head. In very warm and still weather it can get a little stuffy. Of course, we haven’t had much warm still weather since we’ve lived on the boat, but since we’re headed for the tropics we better get prepared for it.
So that’s the lineup for the next few days. I’ve got lots of beer and chips, and the iPod is belting out the tunes. As one of my friends says, it’s going to be a “mantastic adventure!”
Sounds like a lot of fun. This is where we lost our Kayak, so keep and eye out for a kayak with Ohio tags. The current and wind really rips through there, so it could be anywhere. As a side note, we were there on Veteran’s day last year and they had a great parade. If you are there, it is worth attending. Enjoy your maintenance.
Careful what you write here. We’re reading it from Colorado. 🙂 We are enjoying 2 feet of fresh snow here in the Rockies, along with our first night night spent on land in over a year. Have fun and don’t forget to clean the strainers. 🙂
Dave, Were you installing the bulbs with bare hands? If so some bulbs are very sensitive to the oils on our hands which they don’t like and will shorten its life.
We may see you later this week. We are now in Hickory NC, headed in your direction. As I said before, I will call when we get nearer.
Art
I see the ladies are about 1500 miles away, but you are still gettting the “Yadda, yadda, yadda”.
How do you handle it when they are with you, daily, on that bucket? LOL
I love that Kathyrn and Ayla commented on your blog!! I always enjoyed the first few days when Bernardo had to travel. The whole place to myself to do my things without getting pulled away, but it gets old real fast. Good luck on all of your projects!!
great talking to you this a.m. Luv, me
Read where Kathryn and Ayla had two feet of snow in Colorado now thats something I can relate to. Tom
[…] second project was to install a new anchor/steaming light. As I described in a previous blog, our old light has given me problems ever since we owned the boat. My goals for this project were […]
besides not touching the bulbs w/ bare fingers, try “grease”
i found that i was blowing the bow light bulb all the time and when i mentioned it while buying a new bulb (at an auto parts store) the clerk mentioned using a “bulb grease” made to deal w/ the wet conditions found on a boat.
i applied it to the bulb end and then installed it and it has been fine for a few years now. keep an eye out for it it may help.
and like many i too enjoy reading your blog. thanks for all the info.