Sunday, March 28th, 2010

Makes me sad to see the boat sitting at the dock week after week, but there are so many things to do getting ready for the delivery and race that get in the way. Fortunately Ric & Marie Lucia, Caroline, my slip neighbor Tom  and Ann (with friends) showed up last weekend in one of those rare windows of opportunity between working on the motor and working on the mast. We had a great day out in the ocean. Now it is back to the old grind.

OK. This is a quiz. How many of you know what the next photo is. Right! It is an inflated PFD (Personal Flotation Device) being tested to make sure that it doesn't leak. Normally you blow into the fill tube (visible in the photo) to inflate the device for this test but we had an old CO2 cartridge so we (Ric and I) decided to pull the cord and let it blow itself up. It worked fine.

Then with another old cartridge and an old automatic release pill we decided to pour some water on it to see if the automatic inflation would still work. It worked fine again. In fact it even worked a third time when I made a mistake assembling the unit and accidentally set off a good new cartridge. In the photo note the strobe light and whistle fastened to the inflation tube. This PFD also carries two small rocket flares and a signal mirror. It has a couple stripes of reflecting tape and the name of the owner and the name of the boat are written on it. Most of these details are necessary to meet the requirements of the OSR (as quoted below).

5.01	Lifejacket
5.01.1	Each crew member shall have a lifejacket as follows:-
	a) equipped with a whistle
	b) fitted with marine grade retro-reflective material (OSR 4.18)
	c) compatible with the wearer's safety harness
	d) if inflatable, regularly checked for air retention
	e) clearly marked with the yacht's or wearer's name
5.01.2	A lifejacket shall have:
	a) at least 150N buoyancy, arranged to securely suspend an unconscious man face upwards at approximately 45 degrees to the water surface - in accordance with ISO 12402 - 3 (level 150) or equivalent (for persons of larger than average build the ISO 12402 – 2 (level 275) jacket should be considered);
	b) a crotch strap or thigh straps;
	US SAILING prescribes that OSR 5.01.2 b) shall not apply but recommends that lifejackets have a crotch strap or thigh straps.
	c) a lifejacket light in accordance with SOLAS LSA code 2.2.3 (white, >0.75 candelas, >8 hours);
	d) if inflatable have a compressed gas inflation system.
	It is strongly recommended that a lifejacket has:
	e) a splashguard/sprayhood See ISO 12402 - 8;
	f) A PLB unit (as with other types of EPIRB, should be properly registered with the appropriate authority)
	US SAILING prescribes that for Categories 0, 1, 2, 3 either a Type 1 U.S. Coast Guard approved floatation device or an inflatable personal floatation device meeting the definition in the above paragraph and manufactured to either British national or European Community standards. A light should be fitted and a crotch strap is recommended on each lifejacket. Each inflatable device should be inflated and inspected annually. Service dates shall be marked on the floatation devices. This inflatable device may be integrated with a safety harness (see OSR 5.02).
	US SAILING prescribes that all personnel on deck shall wear personal floatation while starting and finishing without exception, and at all other times except when the Captain of the boat directs that it may be set aside.
	US SAILING note: As is true of all of these regulations, the prescriptions above do not necessarily replace the requirements of other governing authorities. One of the things keeping us from sailing is the need to clear up the "Recommendations" that the (previously mentioned) surveyor made. One of those Recommendations concerned the Mast Step that needed to be "cleaned up, painted and preserved". As you can see from the photo this area of the boat is now beautiful and shiny. You could do surgery here. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but it sure looks a lot better. It turns out that the really big projects are up the mast. The webbing ladder is a really big help. Some boat workers go up and down masts with a simple "bos'n" chair. I have never been happy with that  arrangement (above the first spreader). For some people the ladder is enough. I like to have someone tending a safety line as well. It is a long way down. The two worn U bolts at the masthead were tough to remove but a special BH tool finally did the job. There is no standard place to buy things like this so new ones will have to be fabricated. "Moo's Machine Shop" They will probably cost less than if they were made of gold. Now I'm working on the upper spreader brackets. It turns out that (evil design) they can't be removed like you would expect with the removal of 8 pop rivets. Nope! Their removal requires the removal of the running back stays, the lower diagonal shrouds, the mounting plates for the shrouds and the compression sleeve bolt assembly inside the mast that normally holds the mounting brackets. Ridiculous!!!!