Marine Forecast issued for Lake Ontario. Issued: 3.00 AM EDT Friday 5 October 2007 for the period ending at 3.00 AM Saturday with an outlook for the following 24 hours.
Forecast: Wind light and variable becoming east 10 knots this afternoon. Mist and fog mainly over western sections dissipating near noon then fair. Waves less than 1 metre. Outlook..Light and variable becoming westerlies then veering to northeasterlies.

It is a fogy morning today with a fine forecast for the rest of the day With a little luck I will get to go sailing today on Chenoa. At least all the hours and cat insurance has a fun side. I feel like a celebration after having secured a old winter job at a call center back. One more time I will go indoors and do technical support in a call center. Due to confidentiality the Blogs will reflect nothing that happens during those at work hours. It's not exciting in any case, just me and a computer solving thirty to fourty calls a day and dealing with the occasional distraught customer.

The most important thing is that it meets the need of cash flow as my primary goal is to get Defiance moved to its winter location and get set up before I start the new job. Then it is all about earning more money to feed the beast. If a buyer comes along so much the good. But this is no fire sale and I can keep the boat and lifestyle afloat for a long time with this job.

Terry arrived and we were off the dock in record time. After a month on the hard feeling a moving deck beneath my feet was bliss. This is a "Sea Trial" and the day is perfect with light wind and flat seas.

The engine worked perfectly with the vapor lock solved and appears to have a 200F thermostat. There is a miss match between the new transmission ratio (final drive)and the propeller as the M30 Volvo has an operating range of 2,200 RPM to 3,200 RPM. at 3,000 RPM Chenoa only made 4.5 knots with 4 knots feeling comfortable. Not good for all the trouble and expense as even changing the propeller is not going to be enough to get the boat up to hull speed within operating parameters.

The new reefing was a complete success. We effectively put in all three reefs from the cockpit with nary a snag. The mass of lines can be quite a game to sort out but once they are through the stoppers the entire process is straightforward. The wind was too light to tune the rig, but I doubt we will get much sailing in before haul out.

October, Saturday 6 & Sunday 7

Saturday arrived with far more promise than the Weather Service had given us hope for. Then a little present floated through the door in the form of Chris calling to offer to help Saturday at 08:30 EDT. By the time I got there and we picked up the material for his winter cover it was mid afternoon before we made it back to the boat.

More help and we have finished another ten feet of finished and inspected keel welds, third, sometimes fourth pass. But, this is working far better than the commercial welder. We, both of us do a better job and are more critical than he was and I own all the equipment. I can see why the prior owner panicked as when I was paying out $60.00 (cash) paying someone to take the time to go over the seam inch by inch if financially terrifying.

I can see the writing on the wall and am settling in for a long winters work. On the other hand this is very good for Defiance as I am now well past my fear of doing my own welding which makes everything possible. The little MIG 10 quite happily welds the quarter inch steel we are mostly working on, without topping out the power settings.

I got the call Saturday as Chris was able to spare some time to help with the welding. The more often we do the weekend work parties the more I enjoy the company. The weather was a bit moist, but warm and we tented the boat and worked until we ran out of wire. This will be the last of his help as I expect it will be at least a couple of months as Chris is off on a cruise to Trinidad on a Catalina 42.

As often happens other than feeding the feral cats who are doing well, it was another weekend under Defiance. Diane Gets a bit of studying done and is a big help tossing in to help clean the place up. All a bonus.

Monday, October 8 (Canadian)Thanksgiving

Another foggy morning in the wabbit. This time with a group of amature photographers waiting on the government dock for a sunrise photo. Needless to say the spectacular sunrises featured on this web site on a regular basis will not be part of their photo collection. In fact someone should have told them fog pictures are all about depth of field, and foreground objects.

I have no idea what will happen to the Blogs as my life is about to become that of a shift worker in a tech support call center. One more time the big boat dollar pit wins out and it is time to go and earn some money with no risks. Things are moving along with the planned winter spot looking good providing one gets the rudder and stern areas finished before the snow. Once it rains hard or snow melts the aft half of Defiance will be a sea with all the wash down from the weed beds and excess fill between me and the orange building.

Now that I have figured out what I am going to do for at least the winter and the bottom is finding its own level of progress it is time I decide what I do about living through the cold. Up here on the hard there is 50% more surface area exposed to the cold VS being in the water. Whatever type of oil heating device I use this winter I better figure on burning up to 19 liters a day if I attempt staying aboard. That's almost $20 per day if you toss in the lamp oil & propane.Then again you are only pushing the furnace to those costs for three months. My commuting fuel costs will be the better part of $250.00. No. I think that it will be a good idea to get some winter digs close to work and put Defiance to sleep for at least the coldest months.