Navigation and a sunny spot all-in-one!

This has been a great week. First off, for a few weeks we’ve been away from the dramatics of a soul that we’ve spent way too much time listening to the meandering orations of. For us, this means no more wincing when hearing something not-quite-right and wondering if one has a duty to speak up or if one should just let it slide. It is so peaceful now. And, great to have conversations now with more logical folks who don’t have sensitive personality issues. I didn’t realize how bad it had been until we weren’t exposed to it anymore. We’ve been gone from Pete’s for almost a month now. We are sorry to learn that some of our former slipmates have been having troubles as the old marina owner is finally exercising her rights and giving people the “real” boot. While some folks had lesser motives, some of our neighbors were bravely staying put for what they really believed in. We’re proud of them for sticking to their beliefs but so sorry that they may have been manipulated and poorly advised about how to go about it all. Even so, it seems most are landing well and soon their ordeal will end and they’ll have their own days of rest away from the dramatics. Ill have to update the blog with all the saga–but not now.

This week, I’ve had my fill of information coming in about big picture issues and current affairs while at the same time, we’re getting little tasks around Mahdee done. Our Mahdee list is long–reclean the chain and turn it in the locker after we’ve decided what to do about the mild rusting on the first 100′ that’s mostly been in the water; reorganize and put away things in the forecastle (again!); install a bit more netting for stowage of things while underway; touch up on the brightwork; these last few days David has been installing the Newport bulkhead heater in the main saloon and I’m happy to see it all coming together. My part seems to be finding things for David and varnishing the wood pad for the through deck part. Yes, there’s always a bit of varnish work to do!

The thru-deck pipe and wood pad

The marina down the road from Pete’s where we had the storage trailer is undergoing change and that means we’ve got to find another location for our storage trailer to sit. The price range of spots is quite wide–from $50 to $500 per month! and it is a bit difficult to decide what is best in terms of location. The Bay area is just so huge. We looked at things from Mare Island, Antioch, Hayward, and the South Bay. There’s nothing that’s right adjacent to a good spot to put Mahdee except for Antioch. There’s a nice yard within bike distance of a lovely marina with visitors’ docks–but that’s quite hot in the summertime so we’d have to be careful of what we store there. And, it’s quite far to get to at any other time. Fingers crossed that we’ll have another location pop up that looks good this week or we’ll just have to block and brace things to have the trailer moved out to Antioch at the end of the month.

David thinking about how to route a fuel line for the saloon stove past the Cummins engine under the charthouse sole

Beryl’s antics on deck while watching the seabirds in this fishing harbor are really fun as well. We’ve not been using the wood burning stove for a few days as it’s both warmer and I’m beginning to ration my remaining hardwood supply. A friend mentioned a tree they’ve cut down in their yard last summer and lots of wood to get rid of, so perhaps we’ll be getting a bit more wood supply soon. In the meanwhile, it’s cooking on the Taylors kero and no cakes or baking in the wonderful oven of the woodburning shipmate.