The Plover Project -- Life in the Boat Yard (part 3)

Life goes on at the boatyard. We've had a lot of rain and have purchased rubber boots for slogging around in the mud. Lots of rain means no sanding, no varnishing, no working outside. Plus, we can't work inside because we are trying to live in there at the same time. We have gone to the movies several times, read lots of books, and basically hibernated for several weeks.

 

The mud got worse after this picture. It was so depressing I didn't bother taking a picture of it. The mud got so bad that one day I remarked that I had seen cleaner pig sty's when I was a kid in 4H club.

 

 

Major enjoyed laying around inside while it rained.

 

 

 

It finally stopped raining and we had a forecast of 10 clear days. Look at that beautiful blue sky! Directv must have figured out that we don't have a tv anymore. I think they were trying to bring service to us :)

 



 

 

Our friend John Goodman came down to help put the fiberglass socks on the masts. He has been a big help to us and we really appreciate what he does. I am mostly unskilled labor so it is good to have someone around to help who knows what he is doing.

 

After fiberglassing, the masts will be sanded and varnished. I want the wood look for the masts so I am hoping they will look good with varnish on them. If not, I will have to paint them. They were painted originally.

 

 

We needed to bend some wood for the cap rail so we rigged up a steamer. We put the wood into a section of pvc pipe, filled the pressure cooker with water and brought it to a boil over our camp stove. The little hose leading from the pressure cooker to the pvc pipe fed steam into the pipe.

 

After a couple of hours, we took the wood out. I would like to say our steaming project was a success but it wasn't. We were, however, able to get the cap rail bent and attached without splitting. So maybe it helped (some).

 

 

 

 

 



The Plover Project -- Life in the Boat Yard (part 2)

We are still living in our little tree house here at the boat yard. The song by the Eagles, Life in the Fast Lane, is stuck in my head, but I'm singing:

Life in the Boat Yard, Surely makes you lose your mind.
Life in the Boat Yard, .........

Here are a few pictures showing what we've been working on:

Fastening fiberglassed panels to the bottom:

Measuring so we can install the sliders for the companionway hatch:

Major likes the new hatch cover for the propane locker on the aft deck. There are about a dozen coats of varnish on it, all for his lounging pleasure.

Lots of scraping, sanding and varnishing to be done.

Newly varnished bowsprit, stripped and sanded masts.

The Plover Project -- Life in the Boat Yard (part 1)

After returning from our Arkansas River Trip, we were rejuvenated and ready to put "full steam ahead" on getting Plover back into the water so we could continue our travels. We packed our clothes and cooking gear into grey plastic tubs and moved them to the boatyard.

This is the way Plover looked the day we moved in. The first job is to remove the sunshade we had put up in July as the weather is much milder now and it is in the way.

Our flatbed trailer with tools and supplies:

This is the 3 burner propane stove with oven that we got from the Boater's Resale Shop for less than $100. It needs some cleaning, new knobs and one of the burners doesn't work but I'm sure we'll get it going. I'm already dreaming of fresh baked bread!

Sink to the left of the stove. This is the original sink that came with the boat. The bronze faucets were given to us by my Dad. There is one for fresh water, connected to our 20 gallon water tank, and one for salt water, connected to the unlimited supply of ocean water. Behind the sink and stove is an area for dishes and pots and pans. Under the dish shelf is a vented storage area for potatoes. There is a lift up panel for storage of dish towels and soap under the (small) counter area.

This is our new engine cover/steps that Chris made. I did the painting and varnish work. You can see our temporary toilet: a bucket filled with peat moss. It is only for "solids" as "liquids" have to go into a separate container. Our marine toilet has been ordered but has not yet arrived.

The forward interior is still a bit rough. I have lots of scraping, sanding and painting to do. For now, we are sleeping on our air mattresses and sleeping bags. There is a worrisome wasp nest that I need to deal with before I can start sanding. I love the way the varnished wood and bronze port lights look.

The Plover Project -- Overview

In May of 2010, Chris and I found Plover on the internet. A 1966 24 ft. custom Atkins ketch, she was located in Dana Point, California. We immediately put down a small deposit and Chris flew to California to look at her. We decided to buy her and made arrangements to have her shipped to Galveston. We both went to Dana Point to get her ready for shipment and took a brief sail in the Pacific Ocean.

When you look at these pictures, you are probably thinking, "What a cool boat. Perfect in every way." Unfortunately, what we found was that Lin Pardey was right when she advised, "Paint hides rot." And, of course, there is the point that this boat is almost 50 years old, a long time for a plywood boat to survive if not cared for properly.

One small project led to another until we were beyond the point of no return and a total renovation was the only answer. Fortunately, Chris has a good working knowledge of boat building and repair so we have been able to do all the work ourselves. With his good supply of salvaged materials from previous boat projects, we have been able to reduce some of the cost.

Our boat is now "on the hard" in San Leon, Texas. We are close enough to the water to hear the work boats chugging up and down the channel and, if we listen closely, a whistle buoy on Galveston Bay. There is a pack of coyotes who sing to us at night and cause us to keep a close watch on Major as they sometimes come quite near.

This is Plover while in Dana Point, California:

The Interior:

 

 

 

 

Arkansas River Trip -- Notes About the Trip

These are things we used many times, every day, on the trip:

Our friends, Stan & Bride, gave us this great set of binoculars as a wedding gift. They were invaluable for checking mile markers, searching out anchorage coves, eagle watching, checking to see which direction a tug was headed, etc.

We referred to this cruising guide daily. Not only does it have information about possible anchorage and details about side trips, it gives all the historical information about the area you are going through.

Arkansas River Cruise Guide, A Wilderness Adventure

by Bruce and Joyce Johnson

ISBN: 0-9651508-0-1

Contact: Paradox Press, 1220 S. Norwood, Tulsa, OK 74112 {918-243-7751}

This is a picture of our chart book. It is available online from the Corp of Engineers. I printed out all the charts on 11 X 17 paper and put them in a notebook. Yes, those are onions hanging to the right in the picture.

OTHER NOTES:

1. NOAA doesn't lie.

2. Keep clean set of going to shore clothes set aside for onshore visits.

3. Lighters always break, have spares and matches. (I did.)

4. Bring Frontline flea and tick preventative for dogs. Major got ticks every time he went ashore.

5. We used about 1-1/2 gallons of water per day. We washed dishes with river water.

Arkansas River Trip -- Days 29-30 -- Pine Bluff Marina

Day 29: For some reason, we are both ready to get back to Kemah and finish our work on Plover. We had both figured it would be this way. We've had a great time on this river trip, but cruising on Plover beckons. We motored all day today and, except for another eagle sighting, it was an uneventful day. The eagle was swooping low over the water, looking for fish, and on the 3rd try was able to snag a good lunch. What a remarkable feat to witness !!

We anchored late in the day at mile marker 91.3 near Tar Camp Park. It looks like a pretty nice park with restrooms and showers but we didn't go over there.

Day 30: This was our last day on the river as we were 20 miles from Pine Bluff, our take-out point. We got an early start but got behind a barge at the lock. Knowing that we were in for a 2 hour wait, we pulled ashore, got out our chairs and books, and relaxed on shore. We have perfected the art of relaxing on this trip :)

Major doing something besides sleep:

All that activity wore the little guy out. Some pictures should not be taken, but here it is:

After we got through the lock, the wind picked up and we had some great sailing. We started out with full sail and mizzen, then the mizzen alone, and then a 2nd reef in the main and the mizzen. What a great way to end the trip!

Mile Marker 71.3
Entrance to Pine Bluff Marina

Arkansas River Trip -- Day 28 -- Little Rock

Sunrise, Little Rock Style:

I will add more later today. I wanted to go ahead and post this picture now, while I'm drinking coffee, before we go on our city hiking tour. Major will stay in the boat due to his dislike for hiking when there are no holes to dig or squirrels to chase.
*****
After breakfast, we rowed over to the submarine museum and tied up to the wharf. We didn't know the park was closed on Monday so when we entered the building we surprised the staff who were there to prepare for an upcoming fundraiser.  They were only going to be there until early afternoon but said we could leave the Sherpa there while we went on our city tour.

There are 2 bridges designated for pedestrian traffic and we walked across to the Riverfront Park. After walking around for awhile,we ate lunch at a food court and then visited the sculpture gardens.

After our city tour, we picked up Sherpa, rowed out to Caprice, and left Little Rock in the late afternoon. We motored to Willow Beach Park at mile marker 110 where Chris had a hot shower but mine was cold !!

*****

One thing I might add at this point is that Chris and I are looking rather homeless ourselves. Our clothes are dirty, we are dirty, and the office crowd at the food court glanced at us the way I used to glance at the homeless in downtown Houston on my lunch hour. Note to self: Keep a nice set of going to shore clothes set aside for times like these.