Odalisque - April 12, 2006 Log

Log 2006 - April 12, 13 & 14

All the work that got done before launching

April 12th, 2006

More prep work

Taxes are due this year on the 18th due to an unusual confluence of holidays and like taxes and death, we were scheduled to launch Odalisque on the 15th. There were no scheduled launchings on the 16th , Easter Sunday in a nod to the Christian empire. Today was warmer than the past few and I wanted to get another coat of bottom paint on Odalisque in preparation for her impending launch.
I had spent an afternoon or two preparing her hull with minor hand sanding and a few small epoxy patches here and there and I had already put one coat of paint on her. When I got to the NBC boat yard at 12:30 I was told that the yard electricity was off for about a half an hour. I made use of my time by replacing the old rotor, inside the distributor cap with a new one I had just received from Moyer Marine. I replaced the damned drain plug screw and gasket on the water pump and uttered many oaths and curses in the process. Working in the starboard engine compartment on a Tartan 27 is not much fun. Not to mention that the gasket is so thin and difficult to get in place behind the front plate while putting the four screws back into it.
Next I mixed some West System epoxy to repair the MDO Sumlog propeller and miscellaneous toe rail projects. I got lunch and ate in my car at 1345 and admired what sunshine was left on the silvery gray river. I volunteered to help Larry D. drop 2 mushroom anchors he needed to drop. There was more wind on the river then was evident from shore so I was glad I brought a light foul weather jacket. Since the current and wind were running together up river, he opted to dump the mushrooms about 10 feet South and then set them into the mud pulling from the South. Larry manhandled the anchors over and it worked out fine. I was glad for the break in my hull painting duties and a chance to get out on the river.
I had prepped the hull by light hand sanding and then rubbing it all down with Inerlux @202 solvent to clean it off. Back on land again I mixed the paint and set about putting on a second coat on top of yesterdays first. The hull looked great with the second coat and I had only just opened the 2nd gallon when I had finished. I hope that the West Marine CPP ablative paint I bought (2gals = $170) will do better than the more expensive VC17M (1 qt. = $40) did last year. I also hope that by epoxying the propeller and painting it that it will help persuade the barnacles from settling there. Supposedly the ablative paint will wear off the propeller and you should put down an epoxy barrier coat first before applying a hard paint. We shall see.
Matt arrived as I was cleaning up and ready to depart at 1730. He had been to Haverstraw and bought a new soft mooring ball for our ground tackle. I had been feeling a little underwhelmed by the help that had been offered my by my partners until Matt set up the new ball on the mooring chain. I regained my urgency for scheduled Saturday launch and we bid farewell to Odalisque in order to drop her mooring mushroom anchor.
It was my second trip out onto the Hudson that day and I had already practiced the maneuvers of dropping the mooring anchor and chain etc. It was fun but we needed to have a couple of foul weather jackets and extra PFDs before heading out with the cow in tow. It was fun to drop our own anchor and help a few other members at the same time. The club was a good place to keep our boat off season for many reasons.

April 13th, 2006

2 days until launch

There had been a forecast for rain today but it turned out to be a warm , sunny, perfect spring day so I headed back up to Nyack to get some more pre-launch work done. I had in mind to try a third coat of the ablative paint on the bottom as we had nearly a full gallon left. After speaking to one the boatyard denizens I decided that 2 coats would do for now so I stripped off the blue masking tape from around the waterline. A few people commented on how good her newly painted hull looked. Her shape is callipygian. Indeed, on of her tribe is named Callipygian (web-site link) for good reason. She has a curvaceous bottom with no angular or abrupt fin keel with her centerboard tucked in below.
I finished sanding and epoxying the VDO Sumlog propeller and thought about what to do next. I decided to remove the boom as it would need to be down for the crane’s cradle straps to get under her. I played with the buffing machine and boat wax on the freeboard for a while but decided that this was of little use as the hairline fractured gelcoat really needs to be redone or painted over. I did wax the top of the doghouse and part of the cockpit though.
There is a lot to be done but I feel that we will manage somehow.

April 14th, 2006
“Last minute prep and cleaning”

I had decided to spend the night up at Nyack so I could be near Odalisque for the Saturday morning launch. When I got to Nyack there was still some light so we cleaned the galley and the PFDs and crammed what cushions there were into the cabin. The next task was to put all the cushions in there right places which was no easy task as the boom was in the cabin too. We worked nicely together as a team getting the gear onto the boat before it got soaked in the rain. Once the cushions were properly aligned we stowed what other gear we had brought and Matt began cleaning the galley and cabin with the “green” cleaner. I was enjoying a beer in the cockpit and watched him lovingly clean his and my boat. I was inspired to swab the decks with a sponge in the light rain and tried to get some of the dirt and dust off of her.
There are certain items that are unnecessary on a boat, like a guitar and violin, but Matt wanted to remove as much stuff as could. I, on the other hand , like having plenty of stuff on board that might prove useful: spare parts, tools, wood, even carpet remnants that could prove useful for plugging a devastated thru hull. One tool we lack is a boltsmasher for cutting up the rigging in the event of a dismasting. I do not enjoy thinking negative thoughts but with rotted out wood in our chainplate knees I believe that this kind of thinking is more practical than negative. I would also like some “U” bolts and hardware aboard for to enable us to fashion a makeshift rudder should the occasion arise. I even keep a 9x 12 canvas aboard which could be used to fother up the hull should she be stove in.
Our light faded and we had done all that we could barring a long list of nuisance tasks. We departed Odalisque and had a nice dinner then stratagised about our boating season ahead. Tomorrow would require a rigorous amount of energy.

— Caleb Davison