By Rich
Our summer home has been delivered! Seb is safe and sound on her Jamestown mooring, and we’ve come away from the passage with plenty of learning.
Last Thursday evening we departed just before 8 as soaking all-day rains were drying up. We motored through the night into very light northerlies and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise Friday morning as we made our way down the Delaware river.
We’re in a frantic pattern of late night takeout and 7 day weeks but are on target to make our scheduled departure Thursday evening.
We have new life lines and all new cordage. The holding tank and new macerator pump are buttoned up.
In concert with myriad other little mechanical projects, we’ve been testing systems like the stove, fridge, anchor wash-down pump and windlass:
All the while procurement of safety items (informed by our recent attendance of Safety at Sea at the Naval Academy) and provisions have been occurring apace. Continue reading T Minus Two Days
By Rich
Our “revised” departure date for Newport is Thursday after next (that’s right, we missed the original departure date by a mile) and the pace is frantic trying to get all of our projects in. Some have been deferred to Newport entirely.
With time at such a premium a photo essay will have to suffice for today’s long-overdue post. The only color commentary I’ll add is this: working full time and trying to prep for long distance cruising feels like working two (or three) full time jobs. At present it’s pretty brutal but with long awaited rewards just around the corner we’re fueled by dreams of our first sundowner on the mooring in Newport. Continue reading The Mad Dash
Between the brutal temperatures, ice storms (2) and snow storms (2), February turned out to be a total loss for boat projects. With so much time lost it will be a mad dash from here to make our planned mid-April launch target. Fortunately, this weekend the temperatures were up and the spring melt looks to be on, so back to the boat yard I went. Continue reading Winter Projects: The Race is On
I haven’t been posting much because little progress has been made on Seb lately. I’ve been scared right out of the yard back into the shop by the cold to wrap up some car projects. Above is a shot of the Chesapeake Bay taken the day before yesterday, and below are some more scenes from the same day, including two of Lake Ogelton and one of Seb as she hibernates. Colder weather is on the way. I’m not sure when I can resume work but it looks doubtful for this weekend.
By Rich
Holidays. Brutal cold snaps. Rain. Emergent house projects. Deferred auto repairs. Life has been throwing everything it can think of to keep us away from boat projects but we continue to try to fight through and make progress whenever we can.
On cold nights I huddled in the shop and repainted the second set of dorade vents. 
Continue reading Winter Sabre Projects #7
By Rich
There is plenty going on down at the boatyard and in the shop. Much of the salon’s headliner has been taken down to chase a variety of small leaks. 
After this evening we have a whole bunch of parts ready to be re installed in the boat. The aft head floor boards and door have had their sanded edges varnished to guard against moisture intrusion and are ready to be returned to their homes.
By Rich
As I’ve said before, yachting and [especially] yacht repair projects aren’t always glamorous. Today’s mission was to get his little gem out of the forward head and home to the shop so I can rebuild it.
By Rich
The aft head’s floorboards have now been sanded down enough to fit into their spaces with some room to swell without getting jammed into place. Next I need to varnish the sanded surfaces, and then this project can be called done.
I’ve made progress on repainting a second dorade vent too. This is how it started out:
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