SailingKnitter

***Note: Knitting Content is Below****

After our last trip to Catalina a couple of weeks ago, we came home with a long list of repairs and upgrades for the boat - and, of course, other stuff to buy. Now, we are ready to leave for Catalina again next Sunday! It has been a lot of work getting us ready for another sea adventure:

First order of business, was to upgrade the fuel filtering system on the generator because it too was clogged and shut off on the way home.

This is a picture of our new generator fuel filter system that Jones designed and installed. Note the BLUE hoses and the orange-topped filter. This filter is much larger and should help the generator run longer - even with contaminated fuel.

The next upgrade was to the main engine. Again, the filters clogged up on our way home.

Here's a picture of the solution to clogged fuel filters!!! For the main engine ("Big Blue"), Jones bought this duel filter system and designed all the plumbing to supply fuel to it. This system includes a primer pump that Jones added to make it easier for us to change the filters while at sea - we don't have to pump diesel into buckets and funnel it into the filter while the boat rocks back and forth.

The system also has a pressure gauge so that we will know when the filters are becoming clogged with crud. You know, like when your straw gets clogged up with stuff and you have to suck real hard? Well this gauge will measure the "suck". Anyway, we can switch the filter from the clogged one to the fresh filter and still keep on running.

We also had to call in the mast-climbing guy, Ray, to go back up and install a new "steaming" white light on the mast. Ours quit sometime on the trip so we had to put up a flashlight on the mast as we motored the 1.5 hours in San Diego Harbor. Ray also put up a new deck illumination light, and a new flag halyard to properly display our Baja Haha 2006 flag (Jones has been reading the big Chapman Piloting & Seamanship book and discovered that we weren't following proper protocol on our flag displays).

Other projects:

• Installed 2 new bilge pumps
• Repaired Aft Shower sump pump (I can shower in the boat now!)
• Repaired wiring so that the water heater, air conditioning, and battery charger can run simultaniously off the generator when we are anchored or at a mooring
• Installed new wind turbine mounting system.
• Replaced engine coolant hoses and inspected coolant pump (it's OK)
• Investigated the AutoPilot system, and found the "electronic compass". A friendly dinner with our electrical systems guy and a discussion of the problem led us to look for this "electronic compass" to ensure that no metal was near it. Well, it was mounted in the galley - and there was a large COFFEE CAN leaning right on it! Jones also moved some tool boxes away - hopefully that fixes the problem.
• Installed additional dinghy cleat and new pulleys to lift the dinghy engine more easily.

I knit. I did laundry, cooked, shopped, made beaded stitch markers, and offered moral support. Generally, I stayed out of the way. I'm getting really good at that.

But, I did really WORK at my knitting. I designed some bookmark patterns for a LYS - see pics. These are just simple projects using yarn from the shop. With the holiday gift-giving season approaching, little projects become more popular.

I also found "Principles of Knitting" by June Hiatt, and "Knitting Lace" by Susanna Lewis at our local library (thanks Tania for the tip! - I'll return them soon so you can check them out again!) What a score!!! So I have been studying these treasures.

And I started a round baby blanket based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's PI Shawl concept. Just a quick, pink, lacy thing for my son's roommate (wife & hubby are both roommates).

Knitting on...