Seacocks

Last year I created a leak in the boat, after sawing through a hose. The valve that was supposed to be closed, preventing water from coming into the boat, was open. The handle was in the closed position, but the valve was frozen open. So I replaced the bad valve, and checked on the others. Damn, they are all bad, all of them! I need to replace them all this year. Now, for the non-boaters out there, a thru-hull is a hole in your boat, with some plumbing attached to it. Things like the sink drain, the engine cooling water, the cockpit drains, and so on, all go through the hull, and into the water. The thru-hulls that are below the waterline, or under the water, need a seacock. No, that's not a floating rooster, a sailing gigolo, or whatever your warped mind is thinking, that's a valve that can close, and seal off the water from coming into the boat, and the water always wants to come into the boat. This is a seacock. Now, we have to replace all of our seacocks, as they are pretty much non-functional. So after inspection last weekend, I realized that we have metal seacocks threaded onto plastic thru-hulls. Not sure if this is the right thing to do, so I'm switching over to all plastic seacocks. What's the harm? Well, some people say, if you have a fire, they will melt. I have had a fire on a boat, but mostly the curtains, and the hair on my arm melted. If a fire on the boat was hot (180 Deg.) enough to melt the seacocks, and thru-hulls, then I do not want to be on-board. I've been working in plastics all my adult life, and I can tell you they are plenty strong enough. Now metal, on the other hand appears stronger, but it can corrode, just like the valves I have in there now, and if I get hit with lightning, they could melt when the extreme current flow passes through them to the water. I should re-phrase that. If I get hit by lightning, nothing will happen to the thru-hulls. My fillings and the can of beer I was holding would melt, but the thru-hulls will be ok. If the boat gets hit by lightning, they could melt, and the boat would sink. I'm thinking plastic is the way to go. What we have on Alert is not a traditional seacock, it is a ball valve, threaded onto the thru-hull. Like this. A lot of people freak out over this, because there is no flange, and if something hits it, it could break, but I'm not drilling any new holes through the hull. I may consider switching to a flange bolted seacock, and screw it to a thick backing plate instead, but right now I need to replace all the ball valves to get her floating. I can re-use the ball valves later, when I install the flanges. I got the pics from here, where there are great articles on boat projects done right. Un-related to sailing, my daughter bought a dog. Must have been getting lonely in Texas, as we have a new family member. Mo is eerily similar to our previous dog. Murf reincarnate? I'm pretty sure that Kelly will now call and ask me why I did not post a picture of Chewy, her cat. Cats are weird Kell, but I suppose to be fair, I will post a pic of the cat as well, if you can get a cute picture of that thing :)

More Snow and Rain

I have to add another entry here, before any more of my relatives think the last post was real. I did not burn down ten boats, Deb did not leave me, and more importantly, I did not eat bacon. Oops, I guess Deb not leaving me would be more important than the bacon. I do, on occasion, get caught playing air guitar to VanHalen, Led Zep, Genesis, etc. That's the first April fools joke I played in a while, and it got the people I thought it would...sorry Mom. Sis, you should have known better, but thanks for the concern :) It's snowing again! Damn it. Guess I'll work on the dirt dwelling instead of the boat. My fire systems has been delivered. My Mom will be happy about that. All my new ball valves got here too. Maybe tomorrow I'll install a few. I'm alone at home today, Deb is keeping the economy rolling. Might be time for a little air guitar. I'll go back to my youth, and one of my favorite bands. Yea, Rock on! And here, all the way from Australia, to keep you rockin', The Easybeats

Last Entry - Good Bye

Well, that's it. It's been a fun ride, but all is lost at this point. Most of my friends have heard, but I'll post here anyway. We are out of sailing. Our lovely new boat will have to find new owners, once the soot is washed off her. All this is my fault. We had a fire in the boatyard. Kelly Nicole was spared, but some of the other boats around me are completely gone. In fact, ten of them are completely lost. Will Deb ever forgive me?

I took the day off to get some work done on the boat, and decided to make some lunch. Being the only one out there, I thought I would put on some tunes and do some cooking. The propane bottles were still on the boat, and were still full, and the grill was still there, so I went to the grocery and bought a few items. As you know, I have been a vegetarian for many years now. Well, sometimes, I get...I get, these cravings for meat you know, it's hard to go this long without it, and this time I broke down and fried up some bacon. I feel like a total shit, but it's the one meat I miss the most, and I just thought I would have a little to take the edge off. Bacon and eggs just seemed like the right thing at the time.

Deb was still working through the day, so I figured, why not. What I didn't figure on, was Deb taking a half day. She surprised me on the boat, while I had a piece of bacon in my mouth, air guitaring to VanHalen's running with the devil. I was so startled I jumped, and in my haste to cover up the porky evidence, I tipped the pan of grease on the hot grill top. The flames shot higher and higher and the oil splattered like napalm as I frantically looked for an extinguisher, but they were all stowed away for the winter, and the water at the marina wasn't turned on yet! I couldn't let it burn the deck, and Deb yelled get it off the boat, so I did. Problem is, it landed on the boat next to me, and their tarp caught fire. There was a lot of grease, as I consumed two whole packages. Their tarp roared like haedes, and shot to the heavens. I tried to cut off their tarp, but the flames kept us away. Soon another one shot up, then another. The crackling of the wood suppport frames was was so loud it drowned out Deb's crying. 
Thank God the wind was in our favor.

We made it away from the boats unharmed, but all ten are lost, just like my life from here on out. After the fire department put out the blaze, and we sat there stunned, Deb announced that she couldn't live with a pig eater anymore, and was staying with her mom for a while. I feel so so sad. All this loss...for a pigs ass. Goodbye to all of my loyal readers, all three of you. This Day, April First 2009