Compare and Contrast

For grins and giggles, I put together a contrast of our Catalina 27 vs the Freedom 39:

Compared to our previous boat Kitty Cat, Spartan is:
half again longer
half again wider
3x as heavy
2x the spars
divide by zero error on stays and shrouds.  Spartan doesn't have any.
2.5x the sail area
1/3rd the number of winches
4x the horsepower
10x the tankage, except holding which is only 2x.
3x the batteries
Sleeps the same number of people
same age
10x the price

Sailing!

On our way from St. Helens to Martin Island this afternoon we hoisted the main and SAILED for the first time since we slipped the dock lines on April 1.  Made about 4.5 knots with a shifty 10-15 knt wind on the stern.  Got passed by the stern wheeler Queen of the West on the way.  Got the anchor set and everything buttoned up just before the rains started.  Dinner of London Broil with Washington asparagus, mushrooms, and potatoes.

Picture problems

As you can see to the right, I've got pictures working to our Flickr account.  However, I have not figured out yet how to get it to not show pictures from our sailing sabbatical in 2009.  So until I get it worked out, please enjoy some more sailing content.

can see a little light at the end of the project list

We got a day in February to play when Doug's nephew Kyle and wife Shannon, that live near the previous owner delivered us the second set of sails.  Good time but NO wind.  lol  Tried for the next with Widmer's but I woke up with sore throat and all mutually decided not to share it.  Turns out that sore throat was not ill but reaction to mold in the cabin we sleep in.  Lots of it.  
  
Maintenance never truly ends but will lighten up eventually.  Currently just seems to continue growing.  We actually did get a foot of snow here too then it melted into our nice warm boat and turned to mold.  Found it Thursday night and Friday gutted the vberth to the deck, dock, cockpit and cabin to thoroughly clean all.  Thank God we found it in time for the only non raining day and it was truly GORGEOUS.  Tea Tree oil in rubbing alcohol and lots of sunshine followed by time and more air circulation should solve all.  Now for all the other pockets of the boat. 


Got that all cleaned up and kept on plodding along.  Every project has morphed but also shown us the blessing that it is happening now, not when we are out to sea.  We are feeling pretty comfortable that we know all the systems on the boat quite well.  If anything breaks we know the workings and can thus fix it.  Honestly most have become 'new' since December.  Good thing we financially budgeted accordingly cause time wise we were WAAAAAY off.  lol. 

Did get another day to play.  Sam and Jaimie and Chloe joined us.  Started out at the fuel dock.  Grateful to have extra hands launching and landing the boat.  A little adventure is good but .... Weather and winds were variable.  Raised the sails during the sunny moments but didn't really provide power.   Then the rains came and Doug and Sam continued to play. Jaimie and I escaped to the warm interior.  

We finally left Jantzen Beach on Tuesday, April 1! We went to Martin Island to anchor in log pond....to complete projects n tasks, play and regain experience and generally get some regrouping and relax time.  Not much of the last two yet but can see where it is coming.  Lots of alone space with calm current and modified winds.  We practiced cookies left and right, backing left and right, a small dock here even enabled us to practice docking.  Very good for the comfort zone to experience and then talk out the differences...

We have been burning the candle at both ends and working our tails off...  yesterday was physically hard racing the weather so we planned an easier one today.  Good thing too.  I get to address the blog so all you friends who want to can follow our adventures and Doug started with 3 clients needing him...  still going.   

Have a turnover in the house at 23rd this week.  Tenant received an offer too good to pass up...  coworkers mother has a downstairs for rent.  2 bedroom for $450 and will babysit too.  Was going to look for a property management company...  But another God blessing popped in.  Current tenant beside mom in the duplex recommended his brother.  Not much better than a super great tenant recommending another, especially to be neighbors.  I will be running to FG to assess and do paperwork and gather all the stuff we are having sent to moms address.  lol  Then we will likely head towards Tongue Point / Astoria. Need marine store and a few other errands and more wind and current to play in before waiting for the perfect window to cross the bar.

Moved Aboard

Took longer than planned of course….

We moved aboard January 29 but still needing return trips to Lebanon to finish clearing out stuff and prepping house for rental and many trips to Forest Gove to set up business secretarial services and prepping moms rental.  Feb 2, Doug went back to Lebanon leaving me with kitties for a 3 day trip…  the stress of the last few years has left us vulnerable to illnesses we haven’t had for years before and he got a doozie of a bug.  Then the snows (12+ inches) came before he could get healthy.  Freezing rain programmed next and of course a customer situation that is best dealt with Monday after the roads thaw.  He is beginning to feel human as I write this Saturday evening.  So 10 days later (total) he is expected to return to our new home so I can turn and burn to take my turn and finish up.

Good thing new tenant (Lori) is friend, very flexible and good natured.  She has already given her notice and is moving in the back doors as we move out the front.  The new tenant to her place is scheduled to move right behind her.  lol

Cindy, Squishy and Maui Boy

 

 

S/V Spartan, a 39 foot Schooner

Start laughing now, as I did cause tizzy fits and whining are unbecoming.  Lol

Cats got off to a great start of exploring the boat together before they decided this is cozy, where will you live?  They take turns sleeping across the mouth of the V-berth telling the other to go away, or who can get next to mommy first, and of course the little brother tries to attack her every time she uses the litter box.  At least we bought new ‘soft’ toys so when the play cup hockey we don’t hear every move.

Credit where we can… we had Royal Flush come pump us out before Doug left me so I did not have THAT emergency to deal with!  Didn’t want to unsettle the cats so soon and have been warned the pump out is is awkward to get to.  St Helens is easy! 

Wednesday night as I finish up the dishes the water tanks start to gurgle.  Really 200 gallons?  Where did they all go?  Obviously something we have to get a handle on.  In the meantime water is turned off at the docks so pipes don’t freeze…  I still had some drinking water left and time to plan…  Thursday morning I called the office to ask about other water sources…  left message…  3 hours later she calls back to say they were closing up to get home before weather.  Clearly not one to actually listen to messages.  I had already given up and placed order for Safeways to deliver provisions.  Expensive but first delivery is free and if I was to be without transportation for another 5 days…  I needed water and food stuffs…  only thing is you have to order $49 worth.  So I begin figuring what I can order that won’t go bad and won’t cause 20 trips across the docks and up the ramp leaving cats alone.  Simple, order all necessities and enough wine to meet the minimum.   ; ) 

BTW I think I forgot to mention we sold the Corolla cause we only needed one car to finish up and drove here together knowing we would not leave the cats alone so the person here did not need a car…  and the Vibe hauls the most crap!  Neighbor across the street owns his own dealership and gladly added it to his lot!  Saved us a bundle of time and know we are all getting a fair deal.  Love dealing with people of pure integrity. 

Back to Safeways…  Old addresses and lots of confusion, finally got straightened out for delivery…  then they called and reported don’t deliver in inclimate weather.  Translation, threat of inclimate weather…  next plan.  I went walking and found a water faucet she never told me about.  Food stuffs are adequate, though pretty unique so I don’t have to wash many dishes, and I really did not need the wine anyway…  Come back to boat and Maui is begging to go out and play.  Squishy is mad I left….  I am afraid Maui would jump to dock and GO PLAY.  Keeping him locked up, so he finds his own play, in the litter box throwing it in all directions.  Really!!!  How does one punish a cat for playing in the box without him fearing the box????  Removed and redirected.  Just like a 2 year old.  He is 4 btw.  May never grow up. 

Shortly after finishing the Safeways fiasco the internet went wonky.  I really don’t get it n Doug is still to sick to figure it out from a distance.  Thus my computer does get email, mostly won’t send and has been days since it can focus long enough to connect to a web site.  Anyways that means I have plenty of time to spoil the cats and type things up for later use in our blog.

Heater is the leak we are not sure we have fully found yet…  but still works.  Had left Doug a message letting him know one water tank was dry and asking how to switch it but knowing not urgent as I had just checked the heater overflow tank.  Two hours later it is dry.  Must add antifreeze which says to mix with water.  Doug sleeping through phone so I called Lori to go wake him up.   We figure that out and I find a leak in doing so.  Hose from overflow to pressure tank are held on with cable ties….  Uh???  Replace with hose clamp and problem goes away.   Doug reminds me to clean the closet well so Maui doesn’t play in it and clean himself.  Hmmm we still have no water beyond the gallon I carry one at a time.., I think I’ll keep the door closed.  Lol  Poor guy was still so sick.   (48 hours later I had to add more antifreeze.  Seems like still another leak but oooooh so much better than before.)

Anyway it is at least mostly fixed and has proved AWESOME.  OK so I, the warm weather friend, have been comfortable if not too warm in this weather of mid teens to mid 20’s ice n snow.  Having a hard time learning to choose the right temp to regulate to and not about to go cold.  Cats hate the noise but have finally learned that is where the warms come from.  Deal with it or get cold!  by their standards.  Not fair that they have the fur coats and complain the loudest.  They are also hyper alert to any noise here, of which there are many. 

I love the rock of the boat.  All 21000 pounds were rocking and creaking for several days. Frozen ice n snow melting and thudding on the deck or docks, voices on the docks, even pulling a tissue from the box.  We are at Hayden Island so technically still the Gorge.  I have never seen the Columbia move as fast, even has white caps.  Note we usually sail near Scappoose/St Helens, which is our short term goal.  We will get into a quiet log pond and play around, dock, back, etc to learn our new boat and renew our / my sailing skills.  Seems like Doug never forgets anything he learns and if I don’t use it regularly I definitely loose it.  We sold our last boat several years ago and it was many before that since we actually got to sail her much. 

The year we sailed to the San Juans and back to test our dreams for reality was the last year of active use… thus I have forgotten most everything.  Except how to relax even in the face of adversity!

2/11/2014  Switching of the guards today.  Woohoo!!!

So the truth of the matter is some pipes at the dock broke during the freeze so we still don’t have water.  So anxious to get a real shower!  I will finish up the Lebanon house and we will have one less project on our hands.  Really looking forward to the day we are here together…

Last night I had longer periods of internet cooperation and this morning seems great!  Oops spoke too soon.  I am sure it has something to do with all the ice n snow are gone….  Another thank you God moment.  All that ice n snow was weighing down lines of all kinds…  this morning the cabin lights worked but house batteries did not have the strength for anything else.  Go out on the dock and find the plug had wriggled loose.  No big deal today but for the last many that would have been a necessary but very dangerous position to get into…  kneeling over the cold river from snow n ice covered dock. 

The beginning...

For those of you that did not follow our previous adventures…  Doug and I take turns writing as the time allows or whim motivates us.  You will find very different styles and focusses.  No editing on mine or you would never get it.  I write as my thoughts flow.  Lol  We hope you enjoy our adventures with us.

Sorry it has taken so long to get started but we will try to fill in some of the past. 

Doug & Cindy

How it came about…

Many of you know this part but many don’t so pardon the repetition or jump down till you find new info.

One day Dougs’s dad asked him when we were moving back to Forest Grove.   Had not planned to, no place to move to, all places rented...  Dad is doing quite well, doesn't seem to need us under his feet and definitely does not want us hovering over him. The wheels began turning in the brain and more God timing abounded. 

The boat concept pops back into our brains.  Has always been our dream to GO!  We couldn't afford boat and moorage fees if we were still living in a house, need to rent it to cover our other costs, friend and neighbor Lori lets us know she will be looking to move to gain a back yard for her two dogs, if she leaves the neighborhood it would be a serious detriment.  Suddenly we can see how this can work, but what to do with all our stuff???

We continued looking at boats online and start letting our minds wander.  November 17th my mom  came home from vacation and was disappointed with what is on the rental market, on the 19th a tenant in our duplex lets me know she will be moving out by Dec. 19^th.  Of course we could have taken this as “now we have a place to move to.”  But noooo, I call mom to see if she wants it and say we were planning on talking about the rest of this tomorrow (when I would see her anyway) but... don't buy anything... you can have, use, store any or all of our furniture and household goods- just let us know what you want, the 20th we made a whirlwind trip to PDX and FG for a ton of delayed/neglected business stops and to check out a boat, the top runner. We continued to look at others on line and they all paled in comparison. So we placed an offer and took possession December 30.

The working plan was to clean and do required repairs while she was in Portland since the slip rent was already paid for. Then early February we and the cats move aboard and sail river, getting used to her and our getting our sailing skills back. She is a very different boat, but we love the differences. From my point of view central heating, a separate shower, a pilothouse for total creature comforts. Doug's of course would be much more technical, things like unstayed masts, self tacking sails,  the ability to reef from the cockpit, an inboard engine, and good galley layout.  Ultimately cross the bar at Astoria and turn left for coastal cruising, until a parent needs us or it's no longer fun.  It will be nice to be able to duck into ports and visit with the many California family and friends that we have not had much time with in the last many years.  We can continue with the computer and the real estate biz as long as we stay in cell phone range.

We have gone on major purge mode of throwing out, recycling, give away.  Sister brought the horse trailer to haul stuff for mom, Teen Challenge took at least as much away, neighborhood has received a fair share and the paper recycling has been full weekly!  Major progress with much more to go.  Feels very freeing!

The survey showed a few big ones based on age of boat and last services.  Lots of others we want based on last experience where older and unused systems all break down at the worst times…  Diesel engine had no safety shut down system, does now.  We also added CO and fire alarms and extinguishers.  Several leaks in fluid systems, at least one we are still in search of, most systems out of date and needed service if not replacement. Doug has made many trips here to do much of the work.  Admittedly most were one person jobs and a second on the boat only adds the unneeded rock at the worst moment.  Ie dropped screws, etc.  But I still felt guilty that he was doing all that. 

Lori and I made a trip here to clean.  Boy were we impressed.  She did not need much.  All surfaces wiped down but most white rags came back white!  Almost unheard of. 

I will get more jobs as we go and consider most more fun than not.  Will replace 20 year old radar, add a wireless cell phone booster to the mast, and change the anchor lights to new led’s.  That’s when Doug gets to haul be up the mast using the sail halyards, winch and his muscles.  I love it up there besides I could never hoist him.  : )