Time seems to just slip on by. I have made some decisions regarding my structural repairs after consulting with the shipwright I mentioned previously and my friend and fellow wooden boat liveaboard (who I've known for going on 50 + years).
The shipwright gave 2 pieces of advice.
1) repair her so as to get her sailing, not necessarily for the next hundred years (use stainless steel bolts instead of silicon bronze) and
2) my initial designed repairs (sister rather than replace) will work for me.
Then, with this in mind, my buddy also suggested that rather than sister the frames, after I remove the rotten wood and fill with marine epoxy putty as I had originally intended, I also add a "gusset" of 3/4" marine plywood on the opposite side of the frame from the floor timbers in the same shape and size as the floor timber, then run my new floor timber to frame to gusset bolts through all three.
Some of these I can repair while in the water and then in October/November 2021 I can haul out, sand the hull, replace the timbers that need the hull screws below the water line removed / replaced, caulk, paint and relaunch. So that's the plan. In the mean time I have plenty to do.
My wind vane at the top of the mast was very old and, I thought needed new sealed bearings, so I went up the mast to remove it. In doing so, I also found that I had an Aqua Signal double bulb light, Anchor on the bottom and Navigation trio on top. It was covered with bird crap and was a mess so I removed it and intended to replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs. When I got down the mast with the wind vane and bulbs replaced, the bulbs didn't light. LEDs can be polarized and with one common ground, I can't rotate them so am going to go back to (new) incandescent bulbs (when I go up to remount the wind vane).
The light lens was terribly scratched/weathered so I cleaned it up with acetone, painted it with West System clear glass resin, and covered the top with carpet tacks set in JB marine Weld epoxy. Go ahead birds, try to crap on my light now! Looks new ( $125 for a new one saved).
I also drilled a hole in the mast at shoulder height (below decks), fished the light cable and wind vane cable through it (they were at ankle height at the mast step) and installed new busses to take all the wiring running down the inside of the mast.
I sent away my wind vane to Signet Marine in Long Beach California and the bad news was, it would have been over $500 to repair it. The good news is, a new one was only about $100 more than the repair so I got a new unit (wind direction vane and wind speed cups) and it is waiting to be installed along with changing out the bulbs again.
So we are in Phoenix, Arizona for a few weeks visiting and will be returning to our boats in California in another week or so in time for the 4th of July. It has been a busy visit with breakfast, lunch and/or dinner with old friends & family. I performed a few times and got to close the show at the Flagstaff Folk Festival patio stage with a 45 min set (instead of the 25 minute set I was allotted) because the performer scheduled before me didn't show. The sound guy was brilliant and I was really happy to have more time after the 2 hour drive to and from Phoenix/Scottsdale to Flagstaff.
As of Jan 1, 2021 New Moon has a new home at Willow Berm Marina, Isleton, CA. The facility is really wonderful with several toilet/shower houses, washing machines & dryers, mown lawns and gated entrance. The Harbormaster Terry couldn't be nicer and lives on the premises with her husband who is always around constructing something. The staff are beyond friendly and respectful, always greeting you as they pass by. Judy and I have both boats here, her liveaboard Bayliner 3870 undercover in a shed and New Moon at a side tie just across the lagoon.
Here is the video from moving New Moon.
New Moon move to Willow Berm Marina
Now for the real news, I have finally found a shipwright who has agreed to consult with me regarding my structural problems and the repair of the same. I am excited now even though I haven't received the expected bad news as to what it will take to effect the necessary repairs to her frame and hull to make her whole again. At least I know I will do it right (aside from the $$ !). So I will enter into correspondence with the shipwright and start to make plans to haul out and repair her for sailing again. I will withhold the shipwright's name for now. It is early days and I don't have permission to reveal that as yet. Yay!
Just a short entry here. Being a sailor means you have a mast to hold your sail or sails so maintenance of your mast is as important as any other part of your boat. Dinghys are easy, you just take the mast down. Deck stepped masts are also easy, you just take the mast down. But a larger boat with a keel stepped mast (a mast that goes through the deck and is fixed/mounted to the keel below the sole (floor)) is another matter. You can, usually during a haul out ("on the hard" - out of the water), use a crane to remove the mast from the boat or, as is more usual, you can climb the mast to inspect or perform repairs. There are several ways to ascend the mast, you can find several videos on Youtube if you are interested but suffice it to say I use a climbing apparatus (ATN Mastclimber) that includes a bosun's chair and foot straps that are connected to fixed climbing ascenders. You inch up the mast by standing, lifting your chair, sitting, lifting your foot straps, etc. This apparatus is connected to a halyard (rope) that runs from the foot to the top of the mast. There is also a safety line fixed to the climber and to a second halyard by way of a Prusik knot. This safety line goes up with you as you use the mastclimber (or any other method) to climb.
So, for the 1st time, I went up 3 times in the last few days to the 1st spreader (1/3 the way up) to repair the 3 lights at that location. One called the Steamer light (to be lit while "steaming" under power). This indicates that your boat is a power boat (a sailboat IS a power boat when running on the engine). The other two are the Spreader lights that shine down and illuminate the deck.
I was concerned that I would fear the height but not so. But the physicality of the climb would have been easier if I was even 20 years younger! I will say that the masthead (top) is a LONG way up. Still contemplating that climb.
