November 6th
Well Eleanor has an engine once again. Still a bunch of work to do with the installation, but I’m hoping to be under way in about a week. I can’t wait to hear her roar to life for the first time!
My friend Darryl (manning the engine) is building a new centek exhaust system, and is re-welding and re-designing the air intake manifold. It didn’t fit with the new exhaust manifold/heat exchanger/and coolant tank combo I bought in England. However in the end, I think I’ll have the nicest 4.236 around. My engine, transmission, drive train, prop, and cutlass bearing are all top notch. Add some clean air and fuel, and she should run forever and a day (knock on wood)!
I delivered a little ensign sailboat to a marina about 5 miles down the river. They told me they recorded 84 knots of wind during the storm the other night. Believe it or not I’m still shaken up by it. I feel like I’ve lost my mojo, it was an event that I hope not to repeat anytime soon. I experienced 104 knots during hurricane Isabel but it didn’t oppose the 2 knot current of the Hudson which made it an easier ride by far! This was the worst wind event I have ever endured and it doesn’t even have a name. When I tell people on the land about it they are somewhat oblivious to it, as the worst wind was over night when everyone was asleep in their homes. It also shows me how connected to the television people are. If the weather channel had been going on for a week about hurricane force winds everyone would have been out buying generators, propane, fuel, and water. But because this storm wasn’t publicized it didn’t get much attention except from the boating community that saw the damage first hand. Also the wind on the rive is much higher than on land as it comes barreling down the river.
We have another gale warning tonight and I find myself walking around town not wanting to return to the boat. It’s very unlike me, I usually want to be on the boat no matter what. I suppose it all boils down to control, and right now I don’t have it. The engine, rig, hull, and ground tackle are paramount. I don’t have a motor or windlass and I’m not comfortable with my rig. So as a result I’m super-stressed and working my ass off to put Eleanor in order. Once my hand has gone over every inch of Eleanor, this kind of weather doesn’t frighten me as I will have confidence, control, and options (redundancy).
I’ll be really happy to be down in Norfolk, VA. I’ll be in protected water until I’m in warmer climates, I’ll have my wife, and by then I’ll have broken in the motor and hopefully have bonded with Eleanor a bit more.
November 8th
I just got a call from my friend who is also my mechanic and we will be dry-fitting the new exhaust system today, and will work all day Sunday to hopefully get the motor running. If this is the case I plan on leaving here by the 15th for Norfolk VA where I plan to collect my wife and make way for Charleston where I hope to have a reunion with my sister, Momma D, and some close friends. Carla will stay with me for 3 weeks or so, then I will continue my path for Ft. Lauderdale where I will spend some time with my brother and his family before heading for the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Panama.
Every day over the past weeks I have been questioning my path. I’ve been unprepared and have had to deal with two very violent storms. Everything here is so super expensive it boggles my mind, people on the river (working on boats) all want to make $90-$110 an hour. I know it’s all relative as the cost of living here is so high, but it is very foreign to me.
I have however made some important friends here, and friends I hope to keep for a long time which is worth more to me than a boat, frozen toes, or spending time away from my home in Paradise. I have to say my trip here has been wildly successful, although more than hard at times.
I still need to install navigation lights, do some sort of repair to the hawsepipes that were damaged in the storm, straighten the bow roller which is going to be tricky as it is welded to the bowsprit, figure out my fuel system, go through the rig and figure out my reefing system, along with a handful of other small projects. All things coincidered I’m only two weeks behind “schedule” at this point.
I’m also out of money (can’t believe I’ve made it this far) so I’ll be looking for crew that wants to pitch in for fuel. I figure every day (24 hours) of burning fuel is roughly $130. Days on the ICW are 1/2 days (12 hours) so will cost $65ish. I’m planning on burning 1.5 GPH?
My plan is to pick up Carla in Norfolk and see some of my family. Then take the ICW to Cape Fear where I will go offshore for Charleston. If weather is bad, or I have crew to help with fuel, I’ll continue on the ditch (ICW) as it is so beautiful this time of year. After Charleston I’ll go off shore and sail for Jacksonville or ports South depending on weather.
The Trinka is turning out to be the nice little work boat, eah? :)
Once again I have to thank all of you who have pitched in and hit the donate button.
It has been hard for me to finish my 3rd film “The Minimalist Sailor” and now the reason has become clear. I needed a more minimalist boat. I have been dreaming of a West Sail 42 for over a decade, and have had a vision in my head of it with a 10′ trinka (sailing dinghy) laying behind her. Funny how it all works out!
For those of you who were interested in crewing, the time is getting closer so let’s touch base soon.
Peace, love, and coconuts.
-alex
Published in Alex Dorsey
A boat named Elanor with a new engine painted Ford Blue!! That is just the picture of awesomeness!!
Alex and Carla,
I feel your pain, literally I feel everything you are going through. I don’t know if you remember me but I’m the Coast Guard guy that helped out a little when you had engine trouble with Splendid in Jamaica and shipping you some stuff in the past. Anyway, I am retired now but in 2012 I was stationed in Ketchikan, Alaska and wanted to start my cruising life so my wife and I went down and bought a 50′ sailboat in Seattle, Washington. My story runs just like your adventure now. Engine troubles, almost lost the boat when my shaft packing gave out so we had to put her on the hard and it just sucked up money and time which I didn’t have in abundance. It took us about two and a half months of commuting back and forth between Alaska and Salts Spring Island in British Columbia to finally get the boat up the Inside Passage to Ketchikan. What a trip! One that I won’t ever forget but the storms, dragging anchor, crazy 6 knot currents and everything in between costing a thousand dollars every time something went wrong drained me. When you wrote about not wanting to return to Eleanor because you don’t feel in control was exactly how I felt during my time getting my boat up the Inside Passage. Once the boat was in good shape the trip was beautiful with limited drama. I couldn’t have done it without my loving hard working wife (deckhand)!
Once we got up to Alaska and started living on the boat we had this massive unnamed storm come through with winds gusting over a hundred miles per hour and six foot waves hitting me on the bow, at the dock. Parted three lines and almost lost control of the boat until fellow sailors helped me get an anchor chain around the floating pier’s stanchion pipe. Let’s just say it was only one of many storms. It was an adventure but the boat was too big for us so we sold her to couple in Wrangell and now I’m looking for a much smaller sailboat and a warmer adventure. Good luck with this project and understand I know exactly what you’re going through with the long hours, crazy yard managers, expensive repairs, storms and praying it will all work out. I am currently living in the Philippines, still following your blog since the beginning, and looking for another boat to take me south into the Caribbean and further but I’ll do it with much more experience and an understanding on how much you need loving people to help along the way. If I was in the states I would help you all the way but I don’t return until the middle of December, if you still require help after that I’m your man! I never get sea sick, thank God, and have an apperception for the long hours involved to get just one little done. Take care Alex and Carla and know there are a lot of people cheering for you two.
Sent from my iPad
I do remember you. We were talking about boats a lot, I think you ended up buying a cement one right?
Boats can be tough for sure, and control is everything, otherwise the weather puts you where it wants to, not fun. I’m really praying that I’ll be mobile by the end of this week, it’s really time for me to move on before the ice comes which you can smell in the air.
Let me know when you get back and we we can make it work lets coordinate some crew time :)
My buddy just finished the hull graphics for Eleanor and Halyna (the trinka). He made a nice video on how he made them:
http://youtu.be/erXGdUlAgnQ
Yeah, I bought a Ferro cement boat that is like a house, which is nice to live on but way to big to control. I’ll continue to watch your progress and if you haven’t got Eleanor back home after the New Years we can set up some crew time. Take care and good luck! BTW love the decals.