Odalisque - October 27 & 28, 2004 Logs

Log 2004 – October 27th & 28th

Tuesday October 27, 2004 – “Thinking About Organization”

What I began to realize is that the best order for winterizing the engine is to top off the fuel tank, add the fuel stabilizer, and then flush the cooling system and then do the oil with the water pump being one of the last details. I had not had a gas can last Monday when I started the job so I had begun with flushing the cooling system. There was no harm done though as I would flush the raw water system again tomorrow.

I took both sails off of Odalisque. The roller furled jib came off more easily than the main which has all manner of extra gear to handle (Dutchmen lines, reef lines, full battens, sail cover etc.). Lesson learned: sometimes a job you think is going to be difficult turns out to be easy and sometimes a job you think is going to be easy turns out to be difficult. You wont know until you try.

I spent the night at Sea Cliff as I wanted to get a bunch of things done the next day.

Wednesday October 28, 2004 – “Pretending to be Organized”

I had everything I needed to treat the fuel but a gas can. The auto parts store had only a 2 gallon can and I wanted a 5 gallon can so I bought some oil and then dropped by a hardware store where they had a 5 gallon can that I wanted. It would have taken 4 trips to the gas station with a 2 gallon can instead of 2 with a 5 gallon can; I needed about 7 gallons of fuel to top off the tank. Whatever gas was left over I poured into my poor neglected car. The only trouble with my actions so far was that I had topped off the tank and still needed to put 8 ounces of fuel stabilizer into the tank but there was not enough room. So I needed to run the engine for a little bit so I added 2 more quarts of oil to the engine and gathered my bucket with 5 gallons of water and my 2 gallons of marine antifreeze. Speaking of antifreeze, I had purchased a 3 liter bottle of Georgi vodka which I intended for use in our fresh water tank. I had to uncouple the hose to the sink and drain out the lion’s share of the water into the bilge first. I had to pump the sink many times before I smelled the vodka in the water.
With the engine cooling water set up and some stabilizer in the tank I started up the engine and added more stabilizer as the tank lowered a few ounces. When the water ran out I topped off the tank with a little extra stabilizer. The next job was to drain the raw water pump, which I thought would be easy since it was replaced in early summer. I tried, unsuccessfully, to loosen the four screws of the backing plate but found it too awkward to gain mechanical advantage. I discovered a drain plug underneath the impeller chamber and had at with a variety of tools, of which the vice grip worked best. The water pump was drained. Next the boat cushions flew off the boat and onto my car. I stowed the cushions on the third floor of my mother’s house nearby. My hands still smell a little oily at this writing.

I would still like to: wash our lines, re-pack our stuffing box, tighten the backstay, build a tent over the cockpit to keep the winter out, and remove the tools that were still aboard. Yet these unglamorous tasks would get done at some point or another.

— Caleb Davison