Dec 13, 2019 to January 13, 2020 -- YIKES!!! A Whole Month!

And very little in a boating way accomplished. Two dinners with long time boating friends Bennett and Harriet, and one with new boating friends, David and Debra. Their boat is next to mine in the yard at the Huguenot YC and we got to talking. I invited Dave to join my Book Group, thereby finally shedding my rookie status after 27 years. They want to cruise and so he was interested in our experiences, though my local knowledge on the Caribbean is now at least eight years old. The fond memories remain though.
Also, I have finally gotten started (inertia is such a strong force) on writing up a talk on the US Navy Hydrographic Office Charts 1870 to 1950, in the NY Public Library. I cataloged them, over 4000 charts, as a volunteer, during the period 2006 -2013 and have had writer's block about preparing the talk until now. Here is a detail of a tiny section of a 4' x 8'  1878 chart of the coast Newport RI to Beaufort NC. The fragment shows the extent that Manhattan Island was undeveloped at that time. and also says "Fog T." (Fog Tower?) at the north end of what we now call Hart Island.

I did visit the boat twice, but for a total of only four hours of work.
+Pumping the bilge. The water comes in through the top around the mast. I did it manually because the electric bilge pump burned up when I tried to run it with ice in it. Another project.
+Charging up the batteries.
+I'm trying to refurbish the rope clutches on the coach roof because, believe it or not, the friction of the lines they hold has worn down the metal teeth in the bar that, when engaged, holds the lines in place under tension. First step is identifying the manufacturer so I can ask about the process. ILENE's  clutches are unlike those in today's catalogues, an older vintage -- from 1999. For one thing, unlike the current models, the levers lift up at their aft ends. The littlest project take a while and there is a lot of winter left to get this done. One idea I had was to cross the lines so that those used the most would be slotted in clutches that have fresh teeth and those hardly ever used would be where the teeth are worn. Any readers with ideas, please comment. I used the flashlight for lighting.

+The new canvas bag covering the teak table in the cockpit is being fabricated as I write.
+I've measured, and using Pythagoreas' theorem, calculated the length of the hypotenuse to figure out how long the new 1/4" replacement whisker pole uphaul line should be.
+More stainless steel hardware is needed to reattach the MOM-8 life saving module.
+But the biggest project this winter will be getting new and improved fuel tanks to replace the current ones that are 20 year old. One of them has sprung a tiny leak which will stink up the boat if not fixed. Most of the other Saga owners have replaced the tanks by now. The new ones will be made of thicker stronger metal and will last 40 years, at least! In this regard I am very lucky that two other owners have offered me design drawings that I can take to a shop that welds metal tanks.  Less lucky is that to get to the existing tanks so I can measure their dimensions very precisely, I have to remove the cabin sole boards. Alas, my next task, in order to get the largest board up, will be to drill out one stubborn wood screw and then, probably, repair the hole I will end up making in the floor.
And so it goes!