The Adventures of Sylphide

[Wayfarer]

Sooo, that means WE are stuck with both of you?

Condolences

Wifey B: Your story has been wonderful to follow as you've been so open with it all and all your emotions. From when you started thinking, until you saw the boat, and through the purchase process and as you worried and then on the boat with family and the "omg what have I done" and ultimately a lot of pleasure coming your way. Thanks for sharing so honestly and transparently.

Thanks for listening! I'm really glad people enjoy following along. I enjoy writing about all the shenanigans, it helps me organize my brains, and having you all around for support has been absolutely invaluable. I've learned so much here, and you've all done so much to keep me grounded. Hopefully my syphilitic ramblings will be helpful to someone else some day, or at least good for a read.

Wayfarer, I think you will do well and enjoy your new found freedom. If not, I have no doubt the very nice boat you now own, will sell far more easily in the USA. My money is on you adapting nicely to the cruising / work cycle.

BTW, you are expected in Fort Pierce in February!

Ted

Thanks Ted, I appreciate the vote of confidence! I choose to remain optimistic If all goes according to plan, I'll be in the neighborhood in February, and would love to drop in for the festivities. I'll have to remember to bring a lamp shade to wear on my head.

I would find it hard to walk off that boat. I'd have to get awful hungry and ships stores would have to be complete diminished.

How else can you admire her beauty from a distance??

what a nice boat! Nice bright interior,clean. Best of luck with her!

Dave, you've got yerself a fine boat there! Best of luck with her.

Thanks guys! I'm sure I'll need as much luck as I can get.

 

[Wayfarer]

Well, I'm back to work on the big boat for the next four weeks. In the mean time, I'll have to make do with gazing longingly at this webcam footage.

Once I'd gotten Sylphide all laid up at Coeymans, I headed back to central NY to deposit my dad, and to get myself ready to head back to work. I was also in town for my cousin's wedding, which was an absolute blast. We all had a great time. At one point I even found myself wearing the bride's hair extensions. Not sure how that happened.

After the wedding, I didn't have anything at all to do for a couple of days, and I decided that that was probably a good thing. After all of my harried activity for the previous three and a half weeks, it would be good to just be lazy for a couple of days, right?

Well... not so much. It took almost no time at all to find myself slipping into my old bad habits. Staying up stupidly late, sleeping in, eating too much junk food, spending hours and hours on the couch just mindlessly absorbing 'content,' and just generally being a lazy slob. It's a very slippery slope, and at the bottom of that slope is a hole, a bleak, dark, deep hole, that's shaped like a 3XL shirt. A hole in which I've wasted far too much of my time. I realized that I'm really excited to get back to the boat for the next leg of the adventure. More excited than I've been about anything in ages. I don't remember the last time I was excited to see my house.

I know it won't be some kind of magic bullet or miracle cure for what ails me, and I know that there will be many days when I'm frustrated with it, but I do think that living aboard and cruising full time will be good for me in many ways. It's given me purpose, direction, and something to look forward to. It feels good.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Happiness is looking forward to what is next.

 

[Steve]

She really looks great! Congratulations!

 

[Wayfarer]

She really looks great! Congratulations!

Thank you sir! I still have monk 36 envy.

 

[JohnEasley]

Well, I'm back to work on the big boat for the next four weeks. In the mean time, I'll have to make do with gazing longingly at this webcam footage.

Once I'd gotten Sylphide all laid up at Coeymans, I headed back to central NY to deposit my dad, and to get myself ready to head back to work. I was also in town for my cousin's wedding, which was an absolute blast. We all had a great time. At one point I even found myself wearing the bride's hair extensions. Not sure how that happened.

After the wedding, I didn't have anything at all to do for a couple of days, and I decided that that was probably a good thing. After all of my harried activity for the previous three and a half weeks, it would be good to just be lazy for a couple of days, right?

Well... not so much. It took almost no time at all to find myself slipping into my old bad habits. Staying up stupidly late, sleeping in, eating too much junk food, spending hours and hours on the couch just mindlessly absorbing 'content,' and just generally being a lazy slob. It's a very slippery slope, and at the bottom of that slope is a hole, a bleak, dark, deep hole, that's shaped like a 3XL shirt. A hole in which I've wasted far too much of my time. I realized that I'm really excited to get back to the boat for the next leg of the adventure. More excited than I've been about anything in ages. I don't remember the last time I was excited to see my house.

I know it won't be some kind of magic bullet or miracle cure for what ails me, and I know that there will be many days when I'm frustrated with it, but I do think that living aboard and cruising full time will be good for me in many ways. It's given me purpose, direction, and something to look forward to. It feels good.

You do write well, Dave!

The good feeling you get from the purpose and direction is one I share. With only a handful of years to go, I had no idea what I was going to do in retirement. Directionless. Quite literally, rudderless. A few years ago, my wife and I were on an anniversary trip to Key West, walked past some liveaboards in a marina, and everything clicked into place with a clarity rarely experienced. We found our direction. ...and it came with a rudder. Now on our second and final boat, we're less than a year and a half from being on the water full time and we're so excited about the future. Right there with you, brother.

John

 

[Wayfarer]

Well, after something like six weeks away, I finally returned to Sylphide today. It was a busy day right off the bat. I loaded up all the junk I’d ordered while I was at work. I put together my new 65 pound Mantus anchor, removed the old shower valve to size for replacement, removed the old hailing port of Kingston from the transom, and made some new friends.

Tomorrow I attempt to rebuild on today’s destruction. Hopefully I can source and install a new shower valve, place the new hailing port on the stern, remove the old anchor and install the new, and lay in some provisions for the trip south.

I’m one of just a handful of boats still floating around here. Most of the marina is all snuggled up in shrink wrap. The water to the docks is shut off, and the power will be shut off on Monday. I’m hoping to leave Monday morning. It’s going to get down into the 30’s for the next few nights. Thankfully the heat is working beautifully, and I’ve got more blankets than sense.

Looking forward to the adventure!

 

[Miz Trom]

Where are you headed, Dave? South?


BTW, before I logged on, I clicked on the marina webcam to see your boat, and lo and behold, at 8:43 a.m. (eastern time) I saw you walk down the dock and board your boat. Big smile.


Cheers,
Mrs. Trombley

 

[rgano]

Where are you headed, Dave? South?


BTW, before I logged on, I clicked on the marina webcam to see your boat, and lo and behold, at 8:43 a.m. (eastern time) I saw you walk down the dock and board your boat. Big smile.


Cheers,
Mrs. Trombley

Then he is obviously doing everything exactly right!

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: One of three remaining there, until Monday Morning.

 

[O C Diver]

Dave, don't know if you have an inverter or not. As a backup plan, buy an electric blanket (twin size) to act as a comforter under another blanket. You probably will never use it above settings 1 or 2 and the power consumption at those settings is around 20 to 40 watts. They work very nicely off a cheap modified sine wave inverter drawing a few amps when at anchor.

Ted

 

[Wayfarer]

Where are you headed, Dave? South?


BTW, before I logged on, I clicked on the marina webcam to see your boat, and lo and behold, at 8:43 a.m. (eastern time) I saw you walk down the dock and board your boat. Big smile.


Cheers,
Mrs. Trombley

Yes'm, south it is. It's getting too damn cold up here! There's snow in the forecast in a few days, and they're rolling up the sidewalks around here.

Then he is obviously doing everything exactly right!

If only that were the case... lol.

Wifey B: One of three remaining there, until Monday Morning.

The most excellent chap aboard the fine looking Marine Trader to my east will be leaving tomorrow morning. I was hoping to get underway and buddy boat along with him, but it looks like I'll need another day to finish up some projects.

Dave, don't know if you have an inverter or not. As a backup plan, buy an electric blanket (twin size) to act as a comforter under another blanket. You probably will never use it above settings 1 or 2 and the power consumption at those settings is around 20 to 40 watts. They work very nicely off a cheap modified sine wave inverter drawing a few amps when at anchor.

Ted

Excellent idea, sir. I do have a 2500 watt inverter, and this boat is actually better set up for cold weather cruising than hot. The propane forced air furnace is keeping up nicely, even when it's gotten down into the thirties. That's a good solution as a backup though.

 

[Wayfarer]

Today was somehow very productive and frustratingly unproductive. I got the new home port vinyl lettering stuck on, and it came out well. There's some shadowing from the previous stickers, but that'll be there till the next paint job.

I filled up the water tanks, shipped the dinghy back aboard, cleaned and organized a billion and a half things, provisioned, filled the propane tanks, scratch built a custom model of Cutty Sark, and spent about 6 hours making trips back and forth to one hardware store or another trying to get this damned shower valve working. No joy on that unfortunately.

The old valve was one of those thermostatic valves, where you can set the temperature. I took it apart and found that there were some broken bits of plastic inside, and figured it was shot. I bought a new one similar to the old one and after several hours of trying to find the right bits to make it work, it's doing the same damned thing the old one was. For whatever reason, it won't let any hot water through. So I can have a shower at whatever temperature I like, so long as it's colder than my ex wife's heart. I'm going to try a local RV store tomorrow, and if that doesn't work, then I'm just going to give up on showers altogether.

We've gotten lots of heavy rain all across upstate NY over the last week, and there's been lots of flooding. The tides here on the Hudson are probably 3-4' above normal, and the current is running pretty strong. There's lots of big debris in the turd brown water too, which gives me another reason to stick around here till Monday. Hopefully things will settle down a bit by then.

 

[rslifkin]

All of the rain and wind on this side of upstate has been making me just a little bit more ok with my boat being tucked away inside for the winter.

 

[boatbrain]

Congratulations Dave on the great looking boat!
Perhaps the po cut in a shut off valve somewhere along the hot water line to the shower?
(just thinking out loud)

 

[Wayfarer]

Congratulations Dave on the great looking boat!
Perhaps the po cut in a shut off valve somewhere along the hot water line to the shower?
(just thinking out loud)

Thank you! There weren't any shutoff valves for the shower lines, oddly enough. All the rest of the plumbing on the boat has them. I'd eventually like to install some there as well.

 

[Kit_L]

O C Diver wrote:

buy an electric blanket (twin size) to act as a comforter under another blanket

That is a truly excellent idea, and I will do that, for when sitting around reading. I find a sleeping bag and a hoodie enough for sleeping when it's cold (not that it gets that cold around here!).

 

[MRRiley]

Well, he's off. Checked his "former" marina web cam mid morning and he's not there.

Fair winds and following seas!

Looking forward to keeping up with your adventures!

 

[Wayfarer]

Finally heading south! Today has been a good day. I made 60 miles from Coeymans to a cozy bend in the river at Cornwall that is as close to an anchorage as I'm likely to find around here. The river was rife with junk and debris from all the flooding, which made for a zig-zaggy kind of day. I guess I'll be ready if torpedoes ever become a problem, so that's good.

It's been a day of firsts. It was my first day of single handed cruising on this beast, my first time anchoring her, first time this Mantus has gotten wet, and this will be the first time I've anchored overnight on my own. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly nervous about that last bit, but she's holding like a champ so far. She's swinging like a happy dog's tail, but I've got all the room in the world, so let 'er swing, I say.

Another big first for today was a hot shower aboard. You read that right, a hot shower. I finally decided to feed that damnable thermostatic valve to the local swan, and just installed a different unit. It's a cheap RV job, but it works, and even looks good enough that I'm happy to leave it alone until it breaks.

My father has been staying with me for the last few days, and he headed home this morning. He's been super helpful, and I couldn't have gotten it all done without him. The poor guy has been worried sick about this whole adventure. Not that he needs a reason to worry, but now that he has one, he's going at it full force. I know it's a dad's job to worry, but boy, he's in a class of one in that department. I wish I could convince him that I'm not out here trying to get killed or worse, but he'll never believe me.

Anyway, there's a casserole in the oven, the temperature is good, the internet is fast, and I'm content. I've got New York Harbor in my sights for tomorrow. I should probably try to take a picture or two on this trip. In lieu of visual stimulation, I present a piece of today's soundtrack. I'll spare you the 6 hours of Steinbeck's Log from the Sea of Cortez.

 

[O C Diver]

If you're looking for a good place to anchor in the city, there's an anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty. If it's windy, it can be lumpy, but an awesome view of the New York skyline, World Trade center, and the butt of the statue. Entrance is just past the statue going South. Go down the side of the statue and anchor behind. Room for probably 30 boats.

Ted

 

[Jmk2000]

Cool boat! What is it?

 

[O C Diver]

If you need a place to hide before heading down the NJ coast, inside Sandy Hook is the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. There is a breakwater with a mooring field inside. There is room to hide inside the breakwater but just outside of the mooring field. What's your plan for the NJ coast?

Ted

 

[fractalphreak]

this will be the first time I've anchored overnight on my own. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly nervous about that last bit, but she's holding like a champ so far.

Another big first for today was a hot shower aboard. You read that right, a hot shower. I finally decided to feed that damnable thermostatic valve to the local swan, and just installed a different unit. It's a cheap RV job, but it works, and even looks good enough that I'm happy to leave it alone until it breaks.

You make me laugh, a professional mariner nervous about anchoring a tiny little boat?! I get it though, when its all you and its all your world, its somehow different.

The hot shower makes me laugh too, because I too spent the weekend on boat projects, and out of the three I struck out on two and finished one (new galley sink drain hose and fix leaky sink.) It turns out that someone in Taiwan decided to make custom sized stainless sink drains back in the 1980's, and everyone here laughed at me when I tried to find a new one. My final solution when the threads stripped? Epoxy a barb fitting onto the dang thing, epoxy lasts forever! Victory is mine! And now I replaced that dang stinky hose and the boat smells better!

Its the little things. Glad to hear there is showers going on there, that and some fresh fruit and you'll arrive without the scurvy and smelling fresh for the ladies ARRGGHHHH!

 

[koliver]

In case you were kidding about deep 6ing the therma valve, I had the same problem with one the same. Got the manufacturer on the phone and found out that when they said "hot" on the left, they really meant "cold" and vice versa. When I changed the connections so they were backwards, it worked perfectly well, and still does, several years and thousands of hot showers in.

 

[Wayfarer]

If you need a place to hide before heading down the NJ coast, inside Sandy Hook is the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. There is a breakwater with a mooring field inside. There is room to hide inside the breakwater but just outside of the mooring field. What's your plan for the NJ coast?

Ted

I'm aiming for Atlantic Highlands tomorrow night. I was hoping to get at least to Barnegat inlet Wednesday, possibly to Atlantic City, but that might be pushing it. Looks like Wednesday will be a little windy, but out of the West. Thursday will be calmer, but with seas on the beam all day, which doesn't sound great. We'll see how it looks tomorrow I s'pose.

You make me laugh, a professional mariner nervous about anchoring a tiny little boat?! I get it though, when its all you and its all your world, its somehow different.

The hot shower makes me laugh too, because I too spent the weekend on boat projects, and out of the three I struck out on two and finished one (new galley sink drain hose and fix leaky sink.) It turns out that someone in Taiwan decided to make custom sized stainless sink drains back in the 1980's, and everyone here laughed at me when I tried to find a new one. My final solution when the threads stripped? Epoxy a barb fitting onto the dang thing, epoxy lasts forever! Victory is mine! And now I replaced that dang stinky hose and the boat smells better!

Its the little things. Glad to hear there is showers going on there, that and some fresh fruit and you'll arrive without the scurvy and smelling fresh for the ladies ARRGGHHHH!

I'm glad your boat smells better! lol. Yeah, I bought some clementines to stave off the scurvy, and I figured I could just rub them on my armpits if the shower situation didn't pan out.

Also, it's pretty easy to sleep at anchor when there's a mate in the pilothouse knitting and watching the plotter, lol.

In case you were kidding about deep 6ing the therma valve, I had the same problem with one the same. Got the manufacturer on the phone and found out that when they said "hot" on the left, they really meant "cold" and vice versa. When I changed the connections so they were backwards, it worked perfectly well, and still does, several years and thousands of hot showers in.

Honestly, after the second one wasn't working right, I sort of assumed that I was either using it wrong, or had installed it wrong. Either way, I figured it was user error. I decided a simpler setup with manual temperature adjustment would be a safer bet.

 

[Wayfarer]

Dear Diary,

The trip down from Cornwall to the George Washington bridge was calm and smooth. It was a gray, gloomy day, but comfortable enough, and the scenery in the lower Hudson is impressive. It's entirely possible that there's something else out there that looks like the Palisades, but I haven't seen it. Words like loom and sentinel come to mind. They're very imposing, but just like big seas, quite impossible to capture on camera.

I've spent a lot of time in New York City. I lived in the Bronx for four years while I was in college. I have a huge amount of respect for the place. It's really an incredible feat of humanity. It's just so big, so busy, and so alive. Everyone should go there at least once.

The flip side of all that vibrant chaos, is that I find the place overwhelming. It's total sensory overload. I get anxious as soon as I see the skyline, every time. Yesterday was no exception.

By the time I got to Midtown Manhattan, the ferry traffic was biblical. I'm pretty sure that at least on two occasions, their captains steered right on me until the last second to establish dominance. The resulting melee of crossing wakes produced a ride that would have made the laundry inside of a washing machine aboard an Alaskan crab boat weep. The sun peeked out enough to grab a few pictures in between harried bouts of ferocious sawing at the wheel. I think one of my kidneys may have shifted a bit.

I had hoped to make it down to the Atlantic Highlands anchorage, but I'd gotten off to a late start, and by the time Lady Liberty had hove into view I was nearly out of daylight. We dropped the hook behind the statue, admired the view, and continued to roll for a while. Sylphide and I slept well.

 

[Bacchus]

Dave
Great pics
For a pretty neat way to document and share your cruising take s look at BlueBoatLog.com
Here's a link to our 2019 summer cruise on BBL.
https://blueboatlog.com/collection/5d3257941697ea5c54cc5bd5

It turned out to be a great way to keep folks updated as to where you are and how things are going.
Enjoy the adventure.
Don

 

[O C Diver]

I'm not a big fan of NYC, but it's hard not to be awed when motoring through. Think you're mistaken about the ferries, they just wanted to admire Sylphide more closely. Always a good night anchored in the glow of Lady Liberty.

Ted

 

[Kit_L]

Dave, I love your writing; amusing and heartfelt. Make sure you keep all your posts; they will be the backbone of a fine book, one day.

 

[Wayfarer]

Dave
Great pics
For a pretty neat way to document and share your cruising take s look at BlueBoatLog.com
Here's a link to our 2019 summer cruise on BBL.
https://blueboatlog.com/collection/5d3257941697ea5c54cc5bd5

It turned out to be a great way to keep folks updated as to where you are and how things are going.
Enjoy the adventure.
Don

I like the look of that... If I hadn't already signed up for a wordpress page (and paid for a domain name) I'd sign up in a second.

I'm not a big fan of NYC, but it's hard not to be awed when motoring through. Think you're mistaken about the ferries, they just wanted to admire Sylphide more closely. Always a good night anchored in the glow of Lady Liberty.

Ted

I'm glad I did it, but I think I may try to find somewhere quieter next time.

Dave, I love your writing; amusing and heartfelt. Make sure you keep all your posts; they will be the backbone of a fine book, one day.