Sewing On Boats

We're itching to get back to Mystic, (the town in Connecticut), and Mystic, (our Alberg 35), on the hard in Avondale, Rhode Island. We've kept busy during the Covid-19 shutdown, completing all the woodworking projects on our list. Dave keeps coming up with new projects, while I've moved on to my sewing list.

I belong to a Facebook group called SOB or Sewing On Boats. Many of the members live aboard so their only choice is to sew on boats. I'm more of a "sew for boats" kind of gal but I enjoy the support and creativity of the group.

I also belong to the Facebook Sailrite Users group.  We purchased a Sailrite LSZ-1 heavy duty sewing machine, The Big Blue Monster, a couple of years back. This brought my collection of sewing machines to FIVE, if you count the little mini machine we carry on board. I use the Sailrite for boat projects. It plows through layers of Sunbrella, sail cloth, leather, etc. like a warm knife through butter. I love working with it.

The Big Blue Monster
set up by our cozy fireplace

We found this little Sew & Sew on the free table at a Marina. 
It is only for light projects but has come in handy.

Dave went back to work in April which allowed me to focus on sewing. I approached my long list of boat projects with sleeves rolled up. Dave asked for wrench organizers, a flat storage system for his tools. I created a pattern that holds a full set. I included a flap that folds down before rolling it into a burrito shape. It is secured with ties for storage. I made two rolls, one for each of his wrench sets, standard and metric. Storing wrenches this way takes up much less room on the boat and finding the correct wrench is easier as they are in order, each in their own pocket.

Wrench Roll

Wrench roll curled up like a burrito

Next on my list was designing a custom cover for our newly refinished swim ladder. I wanted something that was easy to attach so I created a bag that could be loaded from the bottom of the ladder upward. Using material from an old sail, I pieced together sailcloth scraps, giving the fabric a textured, artistic pattern. I came up with a custom fit, (not too tight), with a flap that comes over the top of the ladder and is zipped into place on each side. A velcro tab holds the flap closed at the bottom. Our ladder hangs off the lifelines on hooks which peek out the top of the zipper. To finish off the project, I added a soft nylon lining. It turned out great and will protect the varnish from the weather.

Swim ladder

Custom swim ladder bag

Side view, zippers start at middle and
zip up to top right and top left

Back view, lifeline hooks peak out of zipper
to hang freely

The swim ladder bag was a lot of work. It took me a couple of days to complete. My next project was a lot easier. I made a bag to hold our backup tiller using colorful nylon fabric that we salvaged from a trade show. I wrapped the tiller in bubble wrap before placing it in the bag. It will be protected during storage aboard Mystic. I also made a lined sailcloth cover for our working tiller. It will go on the tiller at the end of each day to protect those 10 coats of varnish we just added. The cover has ties to tether it to the base bracket when it in use.

Tiller bag on left, tiller cover on right

Backup tiller on left, working tiller on right

The final project on my list, the biggest of all, was repairing our sun awning. Without a dodger or bimini, this sun awning has been a godsend, especially in the Florida heat. It is used often, and has taken a beating while on the Loop, which is evident by the several areas that are worn through. The tarp goes over our boom and is held flat above us with three poles that run across the boom and slip into pockets on the underside of the tarp. We've lost a few of the poles overboard when they slipped out of the pocket during rough weather. I reinforced and replaced all grommet areas with vinyl and added vinal loops to hold each pole in place at five points across the width of the tarp. We've tried several different methods of securing these poles. I'm hoping my current design with extra loops will do the trick.

Mystic with sun awning in place

Underside of sun tarp with white vinyl
reinforcement and added pole loops

After repairing the sun tarp, I sewed a new rain tarp out of eight yards of light marine fabric we found on clearance. Originally, the thought was that we would double the blue tarp by attaching the lighter fabric to it. We planned to put the lighter side facing up to reflect some of the suns heat. Our plan included zip-on side panels that could be added during a rain storm. After much consideration, we decided to keep things simple by making a separate rain tarp instead. It's two feet bigger than our sun tarp and will hang low over our lifelines, protecting us in the cockpit. We should be able to leave our main hatch open during a rain shower as well. Sometimes, keeping things simple is the best way to go.

Working with large fabric cuts is tricky. After creating the middle seam by joining two 10' by 5' sections together, I added seam binding to all four edges of the tarp. I used sail cloth binding on each side, (port and starboard), while the front and back was made with vinyl. We will wait to add grommets until we return to Mystic so we get them exactly where we need them.

10' x 10' rain tarp
Ready for grommets

Sailcloth lined sides, vinyl front and back
with vinyl reinforced corners

The new tarp is a lovely light marine grade fabric. As I worked on this project, I began to think about the winter cover I want to make for Mystic. This fabric would be perfect for that project. And maybe I should make a storage bag for each tarp. Alas, like Dave, I am coming up with new sewing projects...SOB is truly a labor of love!

Perspective

PERSPECTIVE; a particular attitude toward or a way of regarding something; a point of view.

M. C. Escher ~  Relativity

One day, many years ago, our seven year old daughter, Brielle, called to me excitedly, "Mom, come quick! This is my favorite commercial." I was surprised to see that she was referring to the provocative ad which had been dubbed The Diet Coke Break.

I was curious to hear what she loved about this rather "grown up" ad which capitalized on the law of human attraction. It showed several women who were excited to go on their coffee break. They made their way over to the high rise office windows and looked down where a gorgeous, ripped construction worker was stripping off his shirt. He reached over and grabbed an ice cold Diet Coke. As the camera zooms in, he flips the tab and takes a long slow swig of his drink! The song, "I just want to make love to you", plays in the background. Watching intently, Brielle said, "Ok, watch...do you see those ladies?"  The women were straining their necks to get a good look. "Yes," I responded. "Well", she continued in a know-it-all tone, "those ladies REALLY want that guy's Diet Coke, isn't that funny!"

Diet Coke Break - on YouTube

Bewildered, I took stock of her perspective then said, "You know, Brie; some people think those ladies want the guy." She looked at the TV, then back at me and responded confidently, "Oh no mom, they want that diet coke!"

Our Little Miss Brielle

This delightful memory came to me as I contemplated the different interpretations folks have of Covid-19 and the shutting down of America. People feel passionate about their own viewpoint and strongly reject anything outside of it. Some of my "friends" post nasty memes directed at opposing opinions. Others use every news report to promote their own personal political agenda. Like me watching the Diet Coke commercial with Brie, we all have access to the same data; we've watched the same government updates and have read the same national perspectives played out in the news. Yet we don't all see them the same way. This is no surprise to me...it's a human response!

The lack of tolerance bothers me. There are those who want Americans to "stay the course", remain shut down with social distancing and mask wearing firmly in place. And then there are those that want a careful, well thought out return to work and re-opening up of our economy. I've found that people are quick to say that any perspective that differs from their own is "wrong", or "uninformed", and choosing to not wear a mask is "selfish". There are those who feel they have the right to judge, reprimand, accuse, and/or ridicule anyone who sees this difficult situation through a different lens from themselves. As my mom would say to us when we were being bossy kids..."Who died and left you boss?" When we open up America in a mindful manner, which will eventually have to happen; you may still feel unsafe. YOU stay home, YOU continue social distancing, YOU do what makes YOU feel safe. I for one won't be judging you! I'll be making my way back to the new normal with my face mask on, but only where it's required! 

You Can't Keep a Good Craftsman Down

Our plan was to be in Rhode Island by April 1st to prepare our Alberg 35, Mystic, for cruising. Instead, we find ourselves in Minnesota; waiting and hoping for things to change for the better. The lockdown of America and the recommendation for social distancing has been in effect for over a month now. Covid-19 still has us firmly in it's grip.

We remain healthy and busy; very busy, working on house and boat projects which we've begun referring to as Covid-19 distractions. The truth is, if not for the pandemic, we wouldn't have accomplished as much as we have. With nowhere to be, we have all the time we need to knock things off our many 'to do' lists. 

We started filling our isolation time by working in our two upstairs bedrooms; the front room and the blue room. The front room needed a full paint job plus floor refinishing. It turned out gorgeous and is ready for guests!

Front room, refinished floors and new paint

Celebrating a job well done with Liftbridge Milk Stout

Front room finished and refurnished

The Blue Room needed caulking and painting. I made new curtains for both bedrooms, using old white hand-me-downs with lovely antique lace along the bottom. Sailing vessel Mystic has the same curtains which gives me the feeling of tying our two homes together. The Blue Room floor needs to be leveled and refinished but that job will have to wait. It's part of a bigger remodel which includes the upstairs bathroom. It will be a huge job!

The Blue Room
Our varnish room for now

Corner cabinet showcasing Brielle's Pottery

In between the sewing and the waiting for paint to dry, I spent countless hours organizing the thousands of photos and negatives that we collected from the 1980's to 2009 when we switched to digital photography. We enjoyed reliving our life through the photos and joked that after all the work we did putting them in chronological order by year, our kids had better take the time to look at them when we're gone.

Metal cases full of photos and negatives

One of many hidden treasures found,
Dave & Beth 1984

Once we finished the bedrooms, we focused on the huge list of boat projects which we brought home with us last fall. We'd forgotten just how long that list was. It includes numerous woodworking and sewing projects. We started with the woodworking tasks. Dave is a talented and experienced craftsman.  He can make pretty much anything with wood. He built laminated spreaders and a laminated backup tiller. He refinished our salon table with a mahogany veneer. Together, we sanded out our working tiller, swim ladder and hatch board screens. We were able to get 10 coats of varnish on everything. Dave replaced the screens and built a new forward hatch cover to slip over that screen during squalls.

Salon table with formica finish

Applying the veneer

Looking so pretty with 10 coats of varnish

Spreaders and tillers at varnishing station, hanging to dry.

Dave's varnish coat tracker

Swim ladder sanded and ready for varnish

Shiny new finish

Hatch screens, ready for another season

In addition to all the woodworking, I've been baking almost daily; experimenting with making my own sourdough starter. It takes five days of "feeding" to get a sourdough starter active, then you toss out half of the batter each day until you are ready to use it in a recipe. I found the tossing out difficult to do. There are countless recipes available for starter discard so I tried several, including sourdough bread, Irish soda bread, sourdough pizza dough, pancakes, biscuits, crackers and peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies. Each day is a new science experiment and with each new recipe Dave says, "We can make this on the boat!"

Sourdough Loaves

Irish Soda Bread

Herb spiced crackers

Peanut Butter Cookies

May is right around the corner now. We hope to get back to our boat by June which gives me a chunk of time to get into my sewing projects. Mystic is waiting patiently for our return to Rhode Island where the pandemic shutdown is tight. When we finally get there, we'd like to complete teak work before heading back out but we may not have the time to do so. Everything is tied to the end of the shutdown.

The Erie Canal 'Notice to Mariners' is on our watch list. At this point it looks like the opening could be delayed as late as July. It's possible that it will only be opened in segments. This would stop us from making it back into the Great Lakes this year. We are disappointed by how this impacts our cruising plan to complete our Loop in 2020. Instead, Plan B may take us back south for another season on the Atlantic. We're thinking that the Chesapeake might be a nice spot to salvage this cruising season! In spite of the challenges, our cup remains, at least, half full.

Hurricane Gloria 1985

The world is consumed with Covid-19. Nothing is, as it was. We move from our morning coffee to our evening cocktails and, at times, forget what day it is. We'd prefer to be aboard our Alberg 35, Mystic, but we follow protocol and stay here in Minnesota; waiting for things to change for the better.

We have a lot of time to think, which leads us to remembering other times of crisis that we've survived over the years. Some of the worst to cross our path were personal, rather than challenges impacting the greater whole like Covid-19 does. Although we've been through a lot of trials over the years, we have managed to survive and understand fully that "Everybody's Got Something"! 

We're keeping ourselves busy during this shutdown. One of our Covid-19 projects is organizing all the photos and accompanying negatives that we took from the 1980's to 2009 when we bought our first digital camera. I came across pictures we took during Hurricane Gloria in September of 1985. We were living in Noank, Connecticut, a village which sits along the Mystic River. Along with hundreds of thousands of people living on the east coast, from North Carolina to Maine, we were evacuated from our home. Before we were forced to leave, we walked down to the harbor and took photos of the pre-storm activity. We were not sure how bad things would get but we were eager to document the before and after.

Boiling water, increased wave action in Noank

A lot of boats were moored, not many survived the storm

On our way out of town, we drove through downtown Mystic. Boats were moving up river and rafting together on the dock outside of Steamboat Wharf; hoping to be safe away from the coast. The shop windows along Main Street were shored up with crossed tape and plywood. Everyone was pulling together to prepare to weather out the storm.

Boats rafted up along the Mystic River looking south

Taped windows on Main Street, Mystic

Main Street, Mystic

Argia allowing boats to raft up during the storm

During the evacuation, our friends Kevin and Kate Geary graciously invited us to join them and their daughters in North Stonington which is about ten miles from the coast. I don't remember a lot about how we occupied our time but the Geary's had small children to distract us. They lived in an old house that creaked and groaned as the wind grew. When the eye of the hurricane went over us, the house quieted and someone got the crazy idea of going out into the wind. We ventured out the front door to see the damage on the street. Trees and power lines were down and we still had the second half of the storm to endure. We made our way to the backyard to see if we could lean forward at a 45 degree angle and let the wind magically hold us up. Standing in a circle we took turns trying to float on air. Suddenly, we heard a loud noise and watched as a huge piece of slate came flying off the roof landing in the middle of our circle. The chimney cap had been lifted and tossed by the wind like a beach ball. It cut deep into the ground in front of us, miraculously missing everyone but scaring the crap out of us! It was a reminder not to mess with Mother Nature. We were in awe of the power of Gloria.

Beth holding Eileen Geary (photo by Kate Geary)

Dave with Kevin Geary - Hurricane Damage in background
(Photo by Kate Geary)

Dave standing next to chimney cap section (photo by Kate Geary)

We survived the rest of the storm and returned to Noank in the morning. With camera in hand we found the entry to our house partially blocked by a huge tree limb. Walking through Noank, we were astonished by the damage to our beloved little village. The boating community took a hard hit with boats scattered everywhere, some lifted and redeposited miles away. The train tracks in Mystic were littered with boats and gear. People were wandering around in shock. I remember the look on their faces as we all took in the mass destruction. People were crying and attempting to salvage what they could. Our 23 foot Coronado, Keewatin, fared well on her trailer in the back yard. We were lucky!

Tree limbs littered yards

Dave in front of our house

Tree down near Noank Town Dock

Beebe Cove and Train Tracks

City of Groton, Baker's Cove

My friend, Jody Farrington, lived next door to us. Dave got to know Jody's dad, Don, when he remodeled their home. Don was also a sailor and had sailed for years, along with his family, aboard their Tartan 27, Apogee. Before we evacuated we took a photo of Apogee straining on her mooring. When we returned, we found her, in pieces, alongside the train tracks. She was a total loss! Only her stern with the name Apogee was visible above the water. We told Don that we had both before and after photos to share with him. With deep sadness he said he wasn't ready to look at them. I haven't shared these photos with many people until now. It brings me back to the emotions and challenges we all faced after Hurricane Gloria. I'm glad I found them at this particular time. It reminds me that, "This too shall pass".

Apogee on her mooring before the storm

Hurricane Gloria was described as the "storm of the century". It caused the worst power outage related to a natural disaster, in Connecticut history and led to schools closing for a week. Damages in the state were estimated at $91 million. There were 14 deaths related to the storm. It took months for the hardest hit areas to recover.

Sometimes it's hard to find the positive in tragedy but one thing we'll never forget about Gloria is that our cat snuck out just before the storm. We were worried about her safety but she fared well out in the elements. She found a friend to hunker down with and came home to us with a surprise. Soon after the storm she gave birth to five adorable kittens. We found homes for three but kept an orange tabby named Pumpkin and a beautiful calico with mirror image markings of her mother. Dave named her Ditto. Funnily enough none of the kittens were named Gloria!

Nikta and her kittens

Hurricane Gloria surprise

Nikta and her kitten, Ditto!

Covid 19 is a life-changing event. It has had an impact on every aspect of our finances, family and freedom. We must remain optimistic for our future. One day, we will look back on this time and see it in a different light; from the perspective of survivors! For now, we'll continue to ride out the storm.