[Public-List] PRINCESS book

[Robert Alley]

Mowatt was a genius of written humor.  I would pay good money to have 
someone pour 3 fingers of bourbon over his grave annually in tribute.

Best to all,

Rob

On 3/13/2012 3:36 PM, dan walker wrote:
> re read princess and mowattsboat who would not float every winter. i know sad pathetic creature, but it does take my mind off my lot of being where winter occurs
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>   From: Gordon Laco<mainstay at csolve.net>
> To: Jonathan Adams<laughing_gull at verizon.net>; Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all<public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 9:54 AM
> Subject: Re: [Public-List] Bilges and Hull Painting
>
> Hello Jonathan -
>
> Your description of digging down while wondering how far you were going to
> have to go reminds me of one of my favourite passages in a book titled
> 'Princess' by Joe Richards.  Richards had just bought Princess (she was a
> Friendship sloop; he bought her in the mid 1930's)  using every penny he
> could scrape together, and after concluding the sale decided to clean out
> the forepeak where the anchor chain was coiled.  He dug through sand and
> sludge that had accumulated over the years, reaching in through the small
> access port... Digging, digging, the handfuls of soft black crud never
> seemed to end.  Finally he found he was reaching into what seemed like an
> empty space with his arm in up to the shoulder... And his fingers felt
> warm.... And he realized he'd dug right through the rotten oak stem and his
> hand was extended into the air, the warmth he was feeling was the sun.
>
> He described the next moments... "I grabbed a claw hammer and went after the
> bum who had my money, but he got away".
>
> Here's a thought on your bilge.  Our boats have encapsulated ballast, which
> means the iron pig is laid into the glass keel.  If your keel is damaged in
> a grounding, water can get past the iron and up into the boat.  Sealing off
> the ballast with epoxy and cloth or whatever is probably a good idea.
>
> Gord #426 Surprise
>
>
> On 12/03/12 8:48 PM, "Jonathan Adams"<laughing_gull at verizon.net>  wrote:
>
>> First of all thanks for all the comments on hull painting. I read them all.
>> However,  no sooner had I started sanding the hull, and committed to a hull
>> job, then I discovered a new feature of the old boat!
>>
>> The engine is currently out, and I had cleaned the bilge to what I thought was
>> the floor of the bilge. This involved about 2 inches of sludge and many pieces
>> of hardware. However, it was not drying, so I dug further. I ripped up the
>> board that (I now know) separates the ballast from the bilge. Beneath this
>> board was another 2 + inches of oil drenched sludge. I kept digging, and was
>> seriously concerned that I was going to just keep going. However, I got to a
>> baton running fore and aft, and below that it seemed to be wet, but clean.
>>
>> So ... put a fan on it, threw kitty litter down to soak up water, and put a
>> 60w bulb down. It seems to be drying out. My question is - any advice for a)
>> making it as dry as possible; and b) sealing this back up?
>>
>> I had thought about putting a few plastic boards down there, and pouring resin
>> with some filler around them to build the bilge back up to where it was. Then
>> I thought about just making a sludge of kitty litter and resin - what have
>> other folks done?
>>
>>
>> Looking forward to your comments.
>>
>> Jonathan
>> Laughing Gull 197
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