Aboard Astraea

Invest in experiences

January 6, 2013
by Nate

Point Loma to Glorietta Bay, then Home

Sully, Grandpa Ted and Natalie taking a break ashore by Point Loma Marina

Sully, Grandpa Ted and Natalie taking a break ashore by Point Loma Marina

We got underway from Point Loma Marina around midday and motored south to Glorietta Bay to anchor for the night. After we dropped the hook in 15 feet of water, storm clouds started rolling in so we tarped the boat up again and played games in the cabin.

I connected the inverter to the batteries and Ted and Pam enjoyed watching a football game before dinner. That night we weren’t able to run the heater and it got COLD! I lit the stove at 0500 for some heat and kept it burning all morning to heat up the cabin.

When I went to start the engine it wouldn’t run! It turned over, but wouldn’t fire up. I checked the fuel lines and filters and everything checked out OK, but the engine still wouldn’t start. I verified that the solenoid I just replaced wasn’t misbehaving and checked the battery voltage. The voltage was at 12.7 volts so I surmised that may be the problem. I called Chuck from WindWatcher to let him know about our problems and asked him to see if someone could help us come in to the marina.

I launched and secured the dinghy to the starboard side of Astraea for auxiliary propulsion to get us out of Glorietta Bay and had Ted drive the dinghy for us. I hauled up the anchor and Natalie was at the helm while Pam took care of Sully below. We got underway without issue, and I told Ted to give the dinghy some more throttle and the stern dipped far down in the water almost to the top of the transom! Ted was very surprised and thought the dinghy was going to go down. He throttled the engine down and we rearranged the stern line for a better tow and then tested it by going to full power again. No problems this time. We motored down the channel and towards the open bay.

Near the end of the channel a large power boat was entering the channel making some 3ft high wake. I left the helm and started waving my arms to signal to slow down because of the dinghy towing us. They throttled back, but not soon enough to prevent Ted from getting a wild ride in the dinghy. I hauled up all the sails and we turned south out of the channel and started to slowly sail home.

Alex met us in Sweetwater Channel with his family’s dinghy and helped power us down through while Ted continued pushing from the side tie. We maneuvered in to our slip without incident thanks to our neighbors down the dock coming by to lend a hand catching lines. We shared a celebratory Shellback Rum toast from the bottle.

After hauling the anchor up I found an appropriately placed surrender flag. We'll be hanging out at Pier 32 for a while before we venture out again.

After hauling the anchor up I found an appropriately placed surrender flag covered in Glorietta Bay mud. We’ll be hanging out at Pier 32 for a while before we venture out again.

January 5, 2013
by Nate

Replacing Wood Trim

There's a corner of trim that I've been putting off replacing. I broke it off a long time ago when I removed the holding tank.

There’s a corner of trim that I’ve been putting off replacing. I broke it off a long time ago when I removed the holding tank.

First I rough fit the piece to get an idea of how it goes in and to see if there was any other collateral damage. I found that the screws that held it in had sheared off so I had to drill them out to make it fit properly.

First I rough fit the piece to get an idea of how it goes in and to see if there was any other collateral damage. I found that the screws that held it in had sheared off so I had to drill them out to make it fit properly.

Then I stripped the old varnish off with a heat gun and scraper. I then sanded the inside and outside and cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol. After the alcohol evaporated I put teak deck sealer on the inside of the edge piece and screwed it on to the cabin. Next I taped across the top edge of the wood and cabin and applied teak deck sealer over the top edge to keep water from penetrating between the wood and the cabin.

Then I stripped the old varnish off with a heat gun and scraper. I then sanded the inside and outside and cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol. After the alcohol evaporated I put teak deck sealer on the inside of the edge piece and screwed it on to the cabin. Next I taped across the top edge of the wood and cabin and applied teak deck sealer over the top edge to keep water from penetrating between the wood and the cabin.

Finally, I put glue on 3/8" teak plugs and gently tapped them in over the screw holes. When it comes time to varnish I'll use a chisel to cut the plugs off and then will sand it fair with the rest of the wood.

Finally, I put glue on 3/8″ teak plugs and gently tapped them in over the screw holes. When it comes time to varnish I’ll use a chisel to cut the plugs off and then will sand it fair with the rest of the wood.

The entire project took only two hours. I don’t know why I put it off for so long! The rest of the wood has been stripped clean since Mom and Dad came to visit Sully in July!