Awakening...

I awakened this morning to the haunting call of a loon here in the marina.

Fall can't be far away.

Awakening...

Project: Window renewal (#2) - Phase I

Back in 2003 we had new windows custom manufactured for Eolian. Unfortunately, even tho I had specifically requested Plexiglas glazing, the manufacturer mistakenly used the more expensive Lexan.

I wanted Plexiglas because the poly(methyl methacrylate) is transparent to UV radiation - that is, the UV passes thru the acrylic without stopping and doing consequent damage. Not so with the polycarbonate - it is opaque to UV, meaning it absorbs it and suffers the consequences.

Now, here we are 7 years later, and the glazing has failed. It is so crazed that it is essentially opaque when the sun shines on it, and further, it is now brown in color. I talked to the manufacturer about this situation, and he offered to reglaze at his cost, but the shipping was so high that this option was untenable. He then offered to supply me with the materials and instructions at his cost - an option that seems fair to me.

Unfortunately, at this point we have already pulled the windows out.

We have covered the openings in the cabin sides with pieces cut out of shower curtains, attached with white duct tape.





Amazingly, the shower curtains have about the same transparency as the aged Lexan, and are not brown - they are actually an improvement. But we do feel like we are outside - the shower curtains do nothing to stop the outside sounds from coming in.  The birds are especially entertaining at first light.


I desperately hope we can get the materials in, the windows reglazed and reinstalled before the fall rains begin in earnest.

Project: Window renewal (#2) - Phase I

An exclusive secret society

Sitting around and talking with others on the dock, I am, once in a very great while, able to step outside life and listen to the conversations flowing around me... How to transit  Deception Pass.  Where to anchor in Friday Harbor.  Threading the needle into Fisherman's Bay on Lopez Island.  Crossing the shelf at Port Ludlow in the fog.

These are actual subjects discussed in very recent conversations here on the dock.  I feel privileged and blessed to have been granted the experience to be a part of these conversations.  It's an exclusive society with very few members compared to the population at large.  In fact, it is largely unknown to the population at large... it is a secret society of the seaworthy, and I feel privileged to be a member.

An exclusive secret society

Stop!

Ken and Erica donated a spare figure 8 to us for use in a boom brake!

Now all I have to do is figure out how I want to do the rigging.

Stop!