S.V. CAMBRIA: March 2014

Sum It Up Sunday: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Sunday, March 30, 2014TheCambrians

It’s been an interesting two weeks around here. And by ‘interesting’ I mean productive at times and completely terrifying at others. But since it’s Sunday, what’s supposed to be a day of relaxation, I’ll start with the positive and work my way up . . . or is it down?

First the good. The headliner project is moving along nicely and David finished the salon area (blog to follow later this week). Like with just about every other boat job we’ve tackled in the past 13 years, it had its share of false starts and there were a few days along the way where David was ready to pull out what’s left of his hair. But we’re both really happy with how it turned out and excited that we finally have red lighting (among other colours) throughout the salon for night passages. Next up – the galley!

The starboard headliner before and after.

And now the bad. One of the things I’ve wanted to do for a while now is replace the sink faucets in the heads and galley, and I recently found what I was looking for at Costco – a sleek, modern tap with a motion sensor for under $100. So I bought two of them and brought them home. Now. In a normal world, changing them out wouldn’t be a problem and something I could do myself. But we live aboard a boat, and not just any boat, a boat built in

England

where absolutely nothing works with US fittings – at least not without some modification. So David spent several days online, at Home Depot and talking to a plumber at Fisheries Supply to source what he needed to install the new faucets. Meanwhile I hid myself in the bilges cleaning mildew pretending I had no idea how difficult it would all be. In my defense, I didn’t. Well . . . I knew he’d have to source new fittings to connect the original plumbing to the new, but I honestly didn’t expect it to be such a big deal (Sorry, honey! But the new taps look GREAT!). Fortunately, the installation went more smoothly and the biggest issue we had was keeping a cranky dog out of the head. It went so well, in fact, that David installed a soap dispenser while he was at it.

Before, during and after.

And now the ugly. Sally’s been doing really well lately and showing signs of improvement: She’s been sleeping better, more alert and her posture was better. But something still wasn’t quite right. By accident, we stumbled upon the answer. Literally. David took her with him to run errands one afternoon and brought her to Poulsbo where we used to winter the boat (she likes the sense of familiarity). They were walking along the dock when she stepped off and straight into the water. He said after that, she seemed more alert and even had a little pep in her step. We put two and two together and concluded her pain medication was making her a little lethargic and loopy.

Feeling a little worse for wear, Sally dries off in the cockpit.

To take her off the Tramadol (a narcotic available only by prescription), we have to wean her from it (yes, it’s that dangerous and addictive), so we started the process and saw an immediate result – she was more and more like herself every day. Long story short, despite the fact that I slowly cut her dosage down, it wasn’t enough and Sally had a seizure around 3 o’clock Friday morning. She’s never had one before and to say it was terrifying is an understatement.

Sally was a little restless that night, but David was still awake when she got up so he kept an eye on her until she settled back down and then came to bed himself. It wasn’t long afterwards that I heard a horrible noise. Sally had fallen again, so I jumped out of bed to help her. When I found her, she was lying on her back with her paws flaying in the air like a june bug. I didn’t realize what was happening so I helped her to her feet, but she fell again when I was trying to get my arms around her, this time in her water bowl. And then she peed on me. I yelled for David, but he must have been halfway out of bed already because he was by my side before I knew it. I had no idea what to do, so I just kept holding her saying that everything was alright and momma was here. Turns out, it was right thing to do.

From that point on, it was a long day. I stayed up with Sally through the night, comforting her and helping her reorient herself. She was confused and couldn’t see very well, but finally laid down and went back to sleep around 6:00 am – more than three hours later. My brain was running the gamut and I was afraid of what this meant until I found the answer online – one of the symptoms of withdrawal from Tramadol in dogs is seizures. FML . . . or Sally’s, rather. If that poor dog survives me, it’s going to be a miracle!

Now back to the good! After a difficult day where she was completely wiped out, Sally’s doing much better and it looks like there won’t be a lasting impact from the seizure.

And that’s us for now. We have another busy week ahead of us, but let’s hope it’s uneventful and boring.

Boat Maintenance Living Aboard a Boat Mildew

Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Cleaning and Preventing Mildew

Friday, March 28, 2014TheCambrians

With record breaking rainfall and lower than average temperatures, Cambria has been wet this winter.

Really wet.

Really, really wet.

And that means one thing – mildew. Or is it mold? Either way, I’m tired of fighting it and have been searching for a more permanent solution to help keep the problem at bay. At this point, I’ll try anything so I started with the causes:

þ moist environment

þ poor lighting

þ poor ventilation

þ place to live (a host)

Short of moving away from the Pacific Northwest or drilling ventilation holes in all of our cabinetry, there’s not a lot more we can do about the causes, so I quickly moved on to removing it.

For years I’ve been using a bleach solution to clean mildew and was happy with the result until David told me that he read an article online that presented a compelling argument against its effectiveness: bleach is unable to penetrate surfaces and kill the roots of mold and mildew, leaving it to grow back. Turns out he was right. Although there are hundreds of people out in cyberspace who think bleach is the cat’s meow for cleaning mildew, the consensus seems to be that it only works well on non-porous (solid) surfaces like tiles, glass and porcelain.

But there are more obvious reasons to avoid bleach – it’s harmful, not only to the material being cleaned, but to yourself. It can damage your skin and the fumes can irritate your lungs and eyes, particularly when using it in places that aren’t well ventilated. Considering our problem occurs in areas of the boat that are difficult to reach and where there’s limited airflow, it was time to try something else:

Borax: Borax isn’t toxic or corrosive, which is a huge plus, but I didn’t find it to be very effective either. After mixing a tablespoon of with a cup of water (one cup per gallon ratio), I tried it out on a section of woodwork along the hull with no result. It did, however, work just as well as anything when it came to cleaning a smooth, painted surface like the bilge.

Vinegar: Vinegar is a natural and safe mild acid so there’s no need to dilute it with water. Unfortunately, it was equally ineffective as borax for removing mildew on woodwork but it did clean painted surfaces.

Tea Tree Oil: Last winter we left Kanberra Gel (a tea tree oil mixture) around the boat to help keep mildew from growing while we were visiting family over the holidays. It’s difficult to say whether they worked or not. We didn’t have a mildew problem when we got back, but we generally don’t whenever we’re not living on the boat. It did, however, smell fresher which was promising; but at $18 for a 2 ounce pot, it’s not cost-efficient. So I decided to give the problem areas a direct hit by mixing one teaspoon of tea tree oil with a cup of water and came up with similar results to the borax solution and vinegar.

It was time to move on to a product a fellow cruiser had recommended:

Mold Control: Concrobium Mold Control claims to get rid of existing mold and prevent re-growth without using harmful chemicals (concrobium is just a name they invented). According to their website, it works by killing the mold spores at their roots, “leaving behind an invisible antimicrobial barrier to prevent future mold growth.” The instructions are easy to follow: apply, dry and re-apply as needed. In some cases (like ours), it may require a little more elbow grease. The Mold Control worked really well on wood (with some rubbing) but not on our vinyl hulliner or surfaces with texture. It was also much gentler on my skin, eyes and lungs than bleach (though I still recommend wearing gloves, protective glasses and a mask for GPs).

Will we use Mold Control again? Yes and no.

When we tied up for the winter in October, I cleaned the entire boat with Mold Control before we left Washington for the holidays, resorting to bleach only on the hulliners (a textured vinyl material). We came home to a very clean, mildew free boat. But, as I’ve already mentioned, that isn’t unusual.

A painted stringer before using Mold Control and after (with the help of a toothbrush).

It’s now two months later and I’m in the process of preparing the boat for the season, which means putting away the piles of clothes, boat bits and toys that I removed to keep things away from the hull (why is it all of our best storage is in the coldest, dampest places?). Unfortunately, this required more cleaning but not as much as previous years even though February and March were colder and wetter than normal. I was also happy to see that re-growth had only occurred in the areas I’d used bleach with the exception of one spot in the v-berth where a squab had been touching the hull. So not only does Mold Control clean well, it appears to live up to its promise to help keep mildew at bay.

All in all, I like the product, so why would I hesitate to buy it again? Simply because the active ingredient in Mold Control is sodium carbonate (0.95% mixed with 99.05% “other ingredients). The next time we’ll just buy the powder at the local hardware store or online, mix it with water, and make it ourselves.

But is Mold Control the only answer?

No. Clearly I didn’t exhaust all of the possibilities and there are a lot more ideas out there about how to clean and prevent mildew, but I’m happy with the result and am going to stick with what works for us. My preference is to get rid of the bleach altogether; but because mildew gets trapped in textured surfaces, it looks like bleach will have remain part of my cleaning regimen. At least now it’s on a limited basis and in areas of the boat that have better ventilation!

After two months, the mildew returned to the hulliner (left).
I gave Mold Control one more try (center) before resorting to bleach (right).

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Monday, March 24, 2014TheCambrians

Boat Maintenance Boat Project Foam Backed Headliner

Headlining a Project: Part I

Friday, March 21, 2014TheCambrians

One of the projects we’re working on this winter is re-adhering the headliner in the salon and galley. It’s a job that started years ago in other areas of the boat, so I thought we needed to provide a little background information before posting a blog about the sections we’re currently working on – the salon and galley.

All things begin somewhere and our problem started seven years ago in

New Zealand

. Foam backed headliners aren’t uncommon on boats; but, over time, the foam and the glue break down leaving behind a sagging eyesore. Removing it is an arduous and messy process that involves sanding the surface, scraping the residue from the hull or cabin top, purchasing new headliner material and gluing it back with a toxic smelling adhesive spray – not something you necessarily want to do, especially if you live aboard. So we had to find another option.

David’s a man who likes to take his time working through a problem before devising a plan, and the headliner was no exception. Glue wasn’t going to do the trick, so we took the easy way out – we propped the headliner up with pillows and cushions and left it for another day.

It wasn’t until we were moored in San Diego a year later that the idea struck him. Dura snaps! The little upholstery buttons that fit over a screw stud to give it a finished look. They were already part of the headliner design, so we would simply extend it. From there, a plan was born. David came up with a measurement for the thickness of the cabin top and laid out a pattern on paper while I sourced the dura snaps.

Once we had all of our ducks in a row, we were able to start work:

Step 1: Prop up the headliner and ignore the problem.

Step 2: David installs screws and cups in a pattern he designed
that follows what already existed on the boat. You can see
the original dura snaps in the photo behind him.

Step 3: Sally checks our work and gives us the 'paws up'.

Step 4: Working forward, David continues the pattern.

Step 5: The project is finished!

Every now and again, the problem shows itself in other areas of the boat (the aft head, the forward head and the aft cabin) and we go through a similar process, but the salon and galley have had us scratching our heads for quite some time. Because the deck hardware comes through the hull in these areas, there are several bolts to work around, and the headliner sags along the uneven surfaces near the edges.

To hide this, David came up with the idea of adding a piece of trim work and installing ambient lighting behind it so everything would look original to the boat. But, like with so many other projects we’ve tackled over the years, it’s been hit and miss. And currently, it’s a miss. Especially this week. We had to take a few steps backwards because the trim we bought turned out not to be wide enough (which means buying more oak ¼-inch pieces, cutting them to length, routing the edges, drilling screw holes and varnishing them) so the project, as a whole, still has a long way to go.

So watch this space!

Sum It Up Sunday

Sum It Up Sunday: Spring Is In The Air!

Sunday, March 16, 2014TheCambrians

The cherry blossoms are in bloom.

It’s that time again – Sum It Up Sunday – where we hash out what we’ve been up to all week . . . assuming we’ve accomplished anything at all.

There’s been a change in the weather and I think it’s safe to say that spring is coming. The Pacific High is battling its way back north to block out the lows that Southeast Alaska sends our way, and we had several days of sunshine last week prompting David and I to get to work on the boat. Funnily enough, we started below decks.

The Pacific High is trying to make its annual return.

Now that the ports and hull aren’t dripping wet with condensation from the cold weather, I started cleaning again and putting things away. With all of the rain we’ve had this winter, Cambria struggled with mildew (or is it mold?) so I set out to cleaning her again, section by section. I’m easily distracted, so I didn’t get that far in the process. But I did manage to start organizing the forward berth, forward head, and behind the salon settee, reinforcing something I’ve known for years . . . we have WAY too much crap aboard (and none of its mine)!

David, who’s feeling much better, continued working on the headliner project. This week he went to a friend’s house to route the edges of the trim work and started reattaching the headliner near the nav station. It’s a painstaking process which requires drilling into the topsides, so he’s being very careful not to make any mistakes. So far. So good.

David attaching a corner of the headliner to get the job under control.

Sally’s doing well. She’s been back on the Senilife (this time at a higher dosage) for two weeks now and we’re starting to see the effects – she even slept in until 8 o’clock this morning (which beats the heck out of Wednesday’s 4 am arousal). But more importantly, some of the things that make Sally “Sally” are beginning to show themselves again.

And that’s us in a nutshell. Have a great week everybody!

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Adding a Low-Voltage Battery Alarm Without Breaking the Budget

Wednesday, March 12, 2014TheCambrians

Living Aboard a Boat Sum It Up Sunday

Sum It Up Sunday – Times Two

Sunday, March 09, 2014TheCambrians

The town of La Conner.

It’s been two weeks since our last blog for one reason and one reason only: not much has happened around here. The weather continues to be miserable, although there’s been a nice break or two along the way, and it’s been a little warmer. The barometer, however, has been all over the place and can’t decide whether to sit at a reasonable 1022 MB or linger around 995 MB, and it’s been pretty windy while it tries to make up its mind.

Whenever we had a nice day, I took Sally on outings to the beach to help keep her stimulated and engaged (thanks to all of my online research I now have nightmares of our pup laying around while her brain turns to complete mush because of boredom). Overall, she doing much better and has been sleeping through the night for the last couple of weeks (sans incident . . . or accident). We still have the occasional bad day, but they’re fewer and farther between.

Our biggest outing was on Wednesday when we all loaded into the truck and took the ferry across Puget Sound to recycle our house batteries. We made the most of the day by driving north to La Conner and Deception Pass State Park to see if we’d be interested in taking the boat through when we head north this May. Everyone we’ve spoken to raves about the area but, as it turns out, it’s not our cup of tea. While La Conner has to be one of the best examples of a Victorian that we’ve seen, it’s still the same old, same old – restaurants, shops, galleries and cafés – and one visit was enough. Deception Pass looks interesting . . . and beautiful. But we’ll probably skip a return visit there as well in favour of the San Juan Islands. Regardless, it was great to get off the boat and blow out the cobwebs.

David and Sally at Deception Pass State Park.

The headliner project is coming along . . . slowly. David finished his plans over a week ago and needs to route the edges of the wood trim to match what’s already on the boat, something I hope he can get around to this coming week. Fortunately, we have a friend who has a wood shop in his garage and is generous with his tools. But unfortunately, David spent the past two days in bed with a rotten head and nausea – it seems the flu bug has finally found its way to Cambria.

While David’s been sleeping, I’ve been working on several things and accomplishing nothing. Well . . . that’s not entirely true. I did manage to finish an article I was working on for a local online magazine – which I sold and will be published next month – so that’s exciting. I also made a list of charts that we’ll need for this season. We still don’t know where exactly we want to go, that all depends on Sally, but we’d like to explore more of northern British Columbia (and possibly Southeast Alaska) so we need to buy a few more charts.

While I was at it, I pulled out the cruising guides to plan for a trip at the end of this month to test the systems . . . and the dog. Our anniversary is the 9^th of April, so we hope to sail down to Tacoma to celebrate and go to the Gray Skies Blues Festival, which is a lot of fun. While we’re in the area, we’ll spend some time in Olympia and a few of the state parks. It won’t be the level of cruising that we’re used to, but we’ll finally make good on our promise to visit the South Sound – assuming it actually happens, it’ll only have taken us five years.

And that sums it up for this Sunday.

Sum It Up Sunday: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Cleaning and Preventing Mildew

Free PDF Weather Books

Headlining a Project: Part I

Sum It Up Sunday: Spring Is In The Air!

Adding a Low-Voltage Battery Alarm Without Breaking the Budget

Sum It Up Sunday – Times Two

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