Day 95 The Karate Kid comes to Port Townsend

Wax on--Wax off.  That was our day today.  With the mast off Zephyr, we went to work cleaning the mast and bringing it back to its beautiful blue color.  Out came the rubbing compound.  We bought an electric buffer/polisher at the local hardware store.  Of course we found it cheaper at West Marine later in the day when we stopped there to get some more stuff.  Figures doesn't it.  I figured that since it was a marine store, it would be more expensive.  Can't win them all.

We used a 3M rubbing compound and took the mast in sections starting at the top.  Down 8 feet and then the other side.  Back and forth down the mast.  With it on sawhorses, it made the job real easy.  I applied the compound with the buffer then changed the cloth to a polishing cloth and did it again.  Tracy then followed up with a manual buffing and the mast looks a lot better then she did.  The oxidized finish was gone and the blue was back.

Tomorrow, out comes a special wax I bought called Collinite.  According to Practical Sailor, it's the longest lasting wax on the market.  Let's hope so as I expect it to be quite a while before the mast is horizontal again.

Brion, our rigger, is putting together a list of suggestions as to what we need to do to our rigging.  Most of what we have seen so far--the worst is replacing the mast head unit.  That is where all the lines and rigging attach and come out of the top of the mast.  It's not in good shape.  There is a  section torn off in the metal where the forestay comes off the top.  The last thing you want is for it to come loose.  A vertical mast is better than a horizontal mast.  There will be new sheaves(wheels the lines past over), wire, hardware and lights.  There is no steaming light on Zephyr.  Not sure why as it has been code for at least 25 years.  There is a light that shines down on the decks--burned out we think, but no steaming light.  This is supposed to be lit when you are motoring and not sailing.  Coast Guard rules.  It is how other boats can tell that you are not under sail but motoring.  Different rules apply when a power boat meets a sailboat under sail than when a power boat meets a sailboat under power.  We will get one on order on Monday.

We're at the local ice cream parlor--not partaking--and heading back for a delightful dinner of cheese, crackers and wine.  Oh, how continental.  

With our concern for power conservation, we will also be ordering conversion kits to change as many of the lights on Zephyr to LEDs.  They require much less energy to run and will cut down on our consumption of power when we are out there.  We will also be changing out the lights on the mast to LED's for the same reason.  The less power we use, the less power we have to make while out sailing.  Typically, the engine has to be run at least an hour a day while sailing to keep the batteries charged.  The new DuoGen wind and water power maker will help, but if it's not blowing or we're not moving, it won't do us any good.  We are also thinking of adding solar panels to the mix.  The less we have to run the engine the better.  Diesels on boats are primarily used to move the boat and not charge the batteries.  They don't take well to being run for hours on end at idle.