Happy New Year

Well, here it is 2008. The year of the RAT by eastern beliefs. Also this has been the coldest winter I can remember in "sunny" California (what a joke, this season). Could this be because of Global Warming? I certainly do not know. All and all doing much better and getting better as well. Before X-mas we took off to the island (Catalina) and had a very interesting 5 day 4 night odyssey. Very rough at times and absolutely beautiful at others. The wind generator had a work-out like never before. Next time Catalina Harbor where we'll be. Talked to the harbor master and he did say that is was windy but no swells... so there you have it.

Cat Harbor versus Isthmus, it is really hard to tell by these pictures how rough it was but let me tell you if it wasn't for Darlene who said: "I do not like Cat Harbor on the back side" we would have gone over to the back and enjoy the winds only. I love Cat Harbor and I like the back side, period...

accident

please remember me as i am. Had a great time in our first time out and cannot wait for the next.

the worst possible thing

After dinner on the way home... how much I wish to be busy again and back to normal busy... as it is right now, 3 weeks of absolute horror, but I am getting better. Paul was right behind me so that is how I got the pictures. I completely blocked out so don't remember how I got over this... I do remember this car just appear out of nowhere in the same lane as I was. Turns out that he was making an illegal turn on Sunset while I had the green light. My bike is ruinned on the front. I spend most of my days in the appartement "going crazy". Still can not drive or
just even tie my shoe laces.

"back to our spot for now"

After almost 6 months of being down for "remodel" I am glad that we are back to the "island". The boat stays cleaner, galvanic corrosion is not as severe and cleaning is easier... better view of the basin all of these are making the move an exciting experience. Plus I was paying $400 more each month for some lousy electricity and water and just a convenience. The electricity is third world (blew the circuits all the time). Water around the boat was filthy beyond belief, making cleaning the bottom very hard. Marine growths was so accelerated that it was hard to keep up with it. Good things: so much easier to remove items from the boat... accessibility to the bathrooms, no need to take a dinghy every time you have to get some materials... over all it was worth it I think. The county is trying to fix the whole dock because it really needs fixing but they have been coming to plan the work for 5 months now... still nothing. My confidence in the County is zero. They'll never do it. I'd like to get an end tie as soon as possible. When the new docks open up (when ever that'll be) there is talk that the Marina will have a lot of spots available. It is going to be nice when we have a proper dock instead of a third world make shift docking, which did come with the boat. I am going to get busy with talking to the various dock masters so we could get a new spot.

first trip to Catalina

everything was just superb.... started out MDR to Emerald to Isthmus to Avalon to Emerald and back to SEAMARK in Marina Del Rey.

yet another video

The next one will be the boat running but I'd like to finish the bottom first so it'll look good also. The bottom not being done makes everything real not finished and it is hard to tell what was done...IMHO.

trial run to Malibu

First time out. Paradise cove 14.6 NM from the marina. Everything worked out fine but on the way back right before the Jetty one of the plugs came loose from the starboard starter and spilled oil into the bilge. I have taken this starter back to the shop (Dynatrans in LB) 4 times. The owner thinks that I am out of my mind and do not know what I am doing... I had to keep on taking the starter back to them because it had all kinds of problems... mainly oil leaking out of it. However the trip was a good one. There was some oil spilage from the starboard V-drives but it was only caused by old gaskets. Still work to be done: bottom paint and the bootstripe. Have the paint and just want to find a good haul out place, probably in Long Beach.

proper routing

I am very proud of this because of it's simplicity... I used simple plumbing supplies because the deck pipe I needed for our set up is so large ( the shackle is so huge) that I couldn't buy it in the store. I built this one and it'll be a good test as to how long it'll stay.

new location

battery box has been made and relocated to it's final spot in the galley also serving as a bench or night stand... it was previously in the engine room making work very difficult especially in the rear and adding unneccesary weight to the rear which is a real big NO, NO!

getting rid of the blue

slowly but surely we are painting the ugliest blue out of our existence... note brass window frame for the wheel house has 80 screw holes ... that is 320 holes to be plugged with epoxy and wood, since there are 4 of these puppies. See hatches waiting for the new plexi to be installed. Aluminium rings to follow for sure.

safe and ready for expansion

This is the new AC panel with the associated new plugs and new wiring for the AC side of our boat... all very neat and safe and protected from surges and spikes. Still have to make a panel for it because the box I made early on is not what Pete (the electrician) had in mind. Oh, well it'll be a great little medicine cabinet for the guest bath. All plugs are GCFI protected by the way. We have no electricity on our floating dock but that'll change soon. The galvanic isolator has been on my list of things to install for a year and so.

the electrician is a keeper

AC side is going to be done hopefully by Monday. Pete the electrician is doing a superb job... I am impressed and like what I see. But I knew this about him the very first time we met. New wiring through out the boat for the AC circuitry and also we got a new AC-Panel. I built a box for the AC panel but we are not going to use it because Pete had something else in his mind. I think the box can be used for a medicine cabinet for the guest bathroom... Also we have removed the hatches completely and all the rain gutters, cleaned them and primed all of them with this special primer ($20/each, 6 was used and I need one more can from the ship store) so they will be ready to be painted on Monday. Got the new inner lining for the one window which had to be removed because the termite people broke it. I would like to rebuild all the windows... which I am doing anyway but some I am just painting around because we have to get moving. Fixing the framing (around all the removed trimming, and now exposed outer skin) with epoxy... plugging holes with mahogany plugs and every screw hole need to be addressed because of water leakage or just plain rot. Built a battery box and a platform under it so I could still get to a bulkhead valve and the floor boards remain removable. I wanted to get inside of the engine room but it just did not happen. Starting Monday that is where I'll be, reconnecting, addressing, rewiring, removing, replacing and still running the project. Keeping Ephrain busy is a real challenge... he has learned a lot but can not leave him alone for long because he will do things on his own (which I encourage, since we are doing the sama thing all over all through out the boat) a sometimes they don't work. He will get bored and that is when things have to be revisited after my inspection. He does not get it that I only want to do it once if I can help it. Anyway we are chugging along. The project overwhelmes me and Darlene's disloyalty bothers me. I want to change that because I do not want to give her the power to affect me this way... she really knows how to take the wind out of my sails... also she knows how to put them back too. It only the balancing part which I have to figure out. She is very annoyed why we are not done with everything yet and why we are not somewhere out by the islands. I can understand this. I look at the water in the marina and just want to be skippering the BAGARRE again and want to go places. Next week will be very busy but every week is. Darlene is coming back from her vacation next Sunday. Also I will not work on Saturdays and Sundays... I need my time away from the BAGARRE. I do lot of the matterial gathering anyway on the weekend.

looking forward to...

This is what is going to happen on Wednesday and all wireing will be laid out and installed but we'll have to wait for the panel which will be custom made. Inverter/charger pricey but it is worth it. All week next week I'll be in the engine room hooking things back up and finalizing the engine room project.

more prep work

Hatches being prepped and the frames being looked at. It is all in need of TLC. Glass will have to be replaced.

aft deck

floorboards are in place and I am still varnishing the doors... corner seats are going to be enlarged.

interlux

on both sides... can I do the boot top ... that is the Q?

brass

all polished up and sealed with allgrip... this guy bicycled from Argentina to the USA and now he is going to sail back to his home in Buenos Aires. He does not know anything about sailing or the life of a mariner... here is his website:
www.fugaz.ciudad.com.ar

transom 6 coat

ready for the art work. Will Sarrah be able to do the work?... By the way... I had to fix the dinghy first because the neighbors were using it because I let them of course.

painted engine room

Just in time for the mechanic and I to work and start reconnecting everything

Yesterday's aerial

Please remember to click on the photo to make the picture bigger and this holds true for all the pictures on this site, by the way.
1. Us, the BAGARRE
2. SEAMARK (Ruben, Thomas, Mark, Junior, Ephrain, Mario, John and "the new kid".
3. The floating dock. This is where we are usually. The county is coming next week to fix it because the dock has been terrorized by boaters of the third kind.
4. MAUI this is where the 1956 Criscraft used to be, now it sleeps with the rest of the garbage, what a shame... so much good mahogany.
5. Lily and Allie ( Lily used to be a real good mechanic but was going by the name Ralph and I was told that she was very miserable all the time... now she is very nice, always smiles has a great attitude... her friend Allie, I helped one day starting her car and now we chat every day (almost) about stuff. I am invited over to their boat for dinner. Lily is a very good cook. I can tell because one day she was preparing dinner and the smell coming out from their boat was real fine.
6. Al and Sherry, they are moving and Al used to have a million dollars but now??? Sherry has the oldest profession in the world... they were real worried because of the eviction but I think they found a better spot over by Palowan Way with a pool and better everything.
7. Ernesto, just bought his boat after going through some divorce and this is what he ended up with from all the way from Florida. I am getting to know him because yesterday I was invited to see his boat for the first time. He is an electrical engineer from PERU and knows couple of the cheerleaders from the Raiders through a friend of his. Real nice guy.
8. Top 3 floors belong to the CIA and the rooftop has cameras all over it. We are under surveillance 24/7. These two buildings can be seen from all over. Anyone asks I just tell them that we are between these two buildings.
9. Dave, the only black guy in the area, very nice and smart. He used to live on one of the houseboats belonging to Noel (father of Melony Griffith, producer of the Exorcist, married at one point to Tippi Hedren and now he is a landlord) which almost sank had it not been to Dave who called the sheriff and the fire department, so they were able to save the house boat (to Ruben's dismay I am sure. As I understand the boat has sank 3 times already and Ruben with the help of Junior has to fix it every time and deal with it whenever there is a problem). 80% of Dave's stuff got ruined. I guess Noel felt so bad (the whole story was published in the local paper because it was the dock which exploded and started dragging the boat down, so now we get the county to fix some of the crappy docking we have been dealing with all these years.) that he gave a real good deal on an other houseboat hoping that Dave will not sue. Anyway I like Dave.
10. Chinese JUNK, Sarrah and Dave. The boat has been in a couple of surfing movies and it is the second oldest boat around after our "old girl". The previous owner used to smash right into them almost every time he took the boat out and so they were very happy to see us get the Bagarre. I get all my bottom paint (SEALIFE, which I think is the best bottom paint in the world, he is a distributor for them). Sarrah is on artist and she is going to paint the logo on the back of the boat next time we get hauled out which will have to be at Long Beach City Marina).
11. Koonie, destroyed my dinghy and never even bothered to offer to fix it... I spent 4 hours fixing it and does not know if it'll hold at all.
12. Joseph, comes out every day and is looking for a fight with somebody (he is being kicked out for not paying rent to Noel) so that he could start a lawsuit. He doesn't bother me but I do not trust him.
13. Rachel, pretty funny girl now lives in the fixed up house boat (this is the one which almost sank to the bottom. Dave the guy who works for Armond Hammer Foundation used to live on this boat. Junior did a superior job fixing it up... it was such a mess after the fire department went through it you would not believe it).

electrician

Well, Darlene got one and he is very knowledgeable, very organized and has great communicating skills. Spent most of Tuesday with him. He was very thorough and is trying to come back around the 15th of August (this must really piss Darlene off).

more people

Tomorrow we are meeting an electrician who is going to do what is on the list from Edson... no big deal but he'll be interesting to watch... I'll say that he'll want to rewire and will not be able to deal with just by fixing what is already there... because that is what's needed... She (Darlene the owner because it is her boat and nobody else's) wants to bring in a professional because she is not happy how slow everything is going and feels that this guy sounds so great on the phone so he must be great. Also we'll be dealing with a mechanic (don't know why we need one?) who is returning from CAMBODIA... It is rather hard for me to deal with this at this juncture but I spent last week getting myself unattached... each day it becomes easier and easier. I stopped pushing so hard and let things develop on their own. I let go and I think the boat let go of me... and it is good. No hard feelings but this is life in LA and in the USA. What does a Hungarian do with all his beliefs and loyalty when it is just swepped aside... hey don't be surprised... everyone is in a hurry. Also this could turn out to be OK. Only I wish that we were looking for professionals in the beginning but I was under the impression that we could not afford them.

yet an other death

So much great wood and this is what happens... especially in MDR, CA There is a rumor that they want to get rid of all wooden boats in the Harbor... that is very hard to believe but you never know in this wretched place. All that great mahogany... to replace it would cost a fortune... it pains me to see such waste. It took the yard 3 and a half days to kill and demolish a 1956 Cris craft.

prepping the transom

After sanding it and bleaching it getting ready to stain the mahogany based on some mirror we have on the boat.

sanding=dust=aftdeck

More sanding in the aft deck area... discovering some rotted areas and basically just prepping for the paint. Also removing paint from all brass and bronze. Darlene was right when she said that it seems that the whole boat was dipped in this light blue paint and she added but at least it was preserved. I guess that is one way of looking at it. Anyway we are swimming in dust again for the twentieth time. The floor boards got a treatment of nonskid and the white stripe was started. The hull got the final treatment of blue after some nasty wind storm blowing crap all over the freshly painted area. It was rather discouraging and made me very upset to the point where I yelled at Ephrain and that was totally wrong. It got cleared up but still this whole week was a little... how should I say? Rocky?

detroit green by POR-15

Finishing the paint job for the pair of DETROITS, just did the back side and touched up the front... Looks pretty good and I think I just have to do a little touch up when the paint arrives... I like this paint very much but they only sell it in a pint which is total BS. I have used 5 pints total and still have to finish the starter and the air boxes... I have more paint coming because I am out... floorboards have been painted for the aft deck area 3 coats for the back side (white) and one coat for the topside with the non skid and nothing for the stripe... as of now. Tomorrow SEAMARK is going to be inspected by the county and everything has to be off the dock.

barnacle love

Took Paul and I 3 hours of finishing up what we started yesterday... there was so much growth and this time not just filth but barnacle galore everywhere where the bottom paint has already wore off. Can not believe that it only lasted a year. This time around it'll be SEALIFE all around. Got the paint already and really looking forward to it. I know now where it really have to go on thick and many coats will be needed plus the blocks have to get moved because the paint comes right off where the boat is blocked off or rather supported when laying up.

non skid

have you ever dealt with trying to remove the glue from a crappy tape... I have no idea how it got to be used but when we removed it, there was so much glue that I spent 3-4 hours cleaning up and didn't even had the time to paint because it got so cold.... it was rather frustrating of course. The non-skid looks pretty good and let's see if it'll work with the amount of activity we do and of course nobody ever washes their feet when boarding, except me. Both Darlene and Paul love to bring mud on board. It usually starts out in the dinghy and continues unto the boat. This will be an excellent test.

more bronze and brass

hope the sealer works this time, I am planning on putting on several coats of it. I believe this system is being fazed out. There are stores which will carrie it though.

2nd coat

applied and sand between the spots where the uncured epoxy was found remain as open wounds... I do not want to keep on digging because I'd like to finish the port side and turn the boat around. The red looks good I think and this is what I have been seeing while kayaking. Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary that we got the boat.

nonskid

first coat applied... found more uncured epoxy... not happy about it. So much work and the haul is not perfect but I made a decision that is was good enough because we need to get going and now when I look at my work I can not feel satisfied... this is the most f....d up part about this project ...

have to deal with this

this has to be plugged... can not get a proper cover for the chain locker... went to the SHIPSTORE and they could not get a big enough unit and my connecting links will not fit through this... The door for the chain locker has to be rigged so I won't need a separate opening...

sapphire blue

This paint dries so quickly that I screwed up the back by not thinning the paint out more as the solvent was evaporating... also I had an audience and he just went on and on and I could not concentrate.... oh yeah just because you are painting it must look like that you can just chat away ... so have to redo the back part for sure. Also Ephrain leaves at 4:30 so had to continue by myself.