We have settled back into the routine of day to day boat life in Cartagena. We are making progress on our boat projects but it feels as if they will never be done! Each day as the workers are leaving, Bill will ask them what time they will be on the boat the next day. Inevitably, the response is “In the morning around 9am”. Then, each day, Bill texts them around 11am to get the actual schedule. The good news is that they do eventually show up and do some work. The most inconvenient project we have going is the window replacement. Since July, we have had a few rainstorms here and there. Since the workers removed our old windows, we have had floods that would cause Noah awe. I woke up one morning to find Bill buried in towels with a large igloo cooler full of rainwater that had flooded through the makeshift blockades. Yesterday, the worker placed the finished windows but did not finish the installation so we literally have them taped into place. After adding more tape at midnight last night during a torrential rainstorm, we have been able to replace the cooler with a small cup to catch the water so we are making progress! We are planning that the windows will be completely installed and leakproof by Monday afternoon but it needs to stop raining in order for the windows to be set. From the look of the current sky, I am not hopeful.
The kitchen project is almost done as well. We are putting some last minute touches in place and need to complete the sprucing up of the floor borders. We had an unexpected twist last week. Bill was cooking dinner on the new stove top unit when we noticed a burning smell. Bill looked under the cabinet to find that the cooktop was ablaze! Luckily he was standing right next to it when the fire started so no major damage occurred. When we took the stovetop back to the Home Center (much like Home Depot), we did not need much Spanish to explain the issue. Bill just flipped the stovetop over and showed the worker the burned out stove bottom. Unfortunately, we had the stovetop past the exchange date so it has been sent off to the manufacturer for replacement which will take at least a month. In the meantime, Bill is getting quite handy at preparing meals in the air fryer/convection oven/microwave we have. Project number three is the bowsprit replacement. This project has been ongoing since August. The bowsprit is the structure that attaches to the front of the boat and holds the forestay (furler sail) and the anchors. Our old bowsprit was made of teak and every time Bill stepped on to it, it would creak and make a cracking sound. Bill drew up the plan for the new bowsprit and the search for materials began. We finally settled on a fiberglass construction because the aluminum available was expensive and reportedly was lower grade quality. All the long wires that hold the masts in place are called rigging. It is all connected in an aligned tension so when the sails are carrying a full load, everything stays in place. Evidently the forestay was the anchor for the entire rigging system because when Bill popped it loose, several of the rigging wires sagged. Luckily, we are not sailing right now so no worries! After two months, the new bowsprit was ready for installation and Bill trimmed it to fit and slid it into place. Easy peasy! Now came the time to reattach the forestay. Bill carefully lifted the forestay. Due to the remaining tension on the rigging system, the forestay was about 2 inches shy from reaching its clasp and no amount of pulling was going to make the forestay reach the shackle. Bill then rigged a pulley system with a ratchet strap in order to force the bowsprit into place. He ratcheted and ratcheted but still an inch and half away from the clasp. His next attempt involved something called a ‘come along’ (usually used to pull trucks out of mud) attached to a chain that was wrapped around the mast and connected to the foot of the forestay. I was in charge of standing on the new bowsprit and holding the forestay to keep it from rocking in the wind. Bill cranked the come along and as it moaned under the tension, I foresaw my inevitable death by decapitation. Not able to get the decapitation image out of my head, I mutinied and ran for cover leaving Bill to continue his torture of the forestay. After a valiant effort, Bill admitted defeat and located a rigging specialist to come assist. The rigging guy ended up disassembling the forestay, removing the jib sail, unscrewing about a hundred screws and after a couple of hours, the forestay was securely attached to the clasp once again. Now all that remains to finish the bowsprit project is to have the rest of the rigging re-tensioned, cut the anchor holes in the bowsprit and set the anchors back into place. It has been a difficult project but hopefully the new bowsprit will outlive us! As the rain continues to fall here in Cartagena, I wish you a wonderful week and we will be sure to say hi to Noah for you all!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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