Monday, July 1, 2019

Two weeks a Swabbie

Two weeks of swabbing - pressure-hosing, (fellow mariners imply the many spiders spinning many webs are a feature of "this time of year"), scrubbing decks and cabin - and uncovering hidden features of my houseboat.
I've a defunct hot water heater and pump under my berth, a solar panel on the upper deck, no running water aboard, and a head (toilet) not hooked up. The sellers mentioned the water and head in passing and, in a romantic haze, I figured, "easy-enough fixes."
I wasn't too far off the mark. A handy-mariner on another houseboat with a reputation for great work and reasonable prices said, "it's not a big job" - and lowered himself into the water to work between the pontoons. Water is not cold but it is deep and he had to flap his fins to float as he replaced an old and leaky pipe. VoilĂ , cold running water (hot running water is a future fix).
Hooking up the head will require immersion, too. (The marina has restrooms but bladder and bowel shrink as fellow mariners watch one head towards the public head.) I hope the plumbing is done when I return to the boat in three or five days.
Day four this week is July 4th, the most celebrated holiday on the Delta. Mandeville, a local island, is the place for anyone who has a boat. "Like Burning Man on the water," I've been told. (Unlikely I'll attend this year but this drone's-eye view from 2015 gives a sense. Disclaimer: I don't know the drone's remote pilot - or recognize the music. It's You Tube public domain.)
Another discovery: first sleepover in the main berth, I turned off the lamp to discover...many florescent stars glowing on the ceiling. Thank you, sellers, for the lovely surprise.

Sunsets, and a sunrise, too

Let's begin the new year and the new decade with a celebration of the extraordinary.  Sunset from my boat, January 1, 2020. ...