Wednesday, March 26, 2014

My head is spinning...

How can my head be spinning without a conference call to blame?  Email is a powerful tool, designed to evoke feelings of madness, loss of control and paranoia.

Such was the state of affairs today.  It all began with an email sent by yours truly to Tom at Kadey Krogen, the ever-patient, long-suffering principal, builder of dreams at 11:27 pm on Tuesday night.  This followed the call with Betty to discuss anchors.  Exciting life I lead, right?

So we discussed the virtues of Rocna anchors, including the idea that the Rocna might be the anchor du jour and not necessarily what we all need.  Since I really don't know what I might need at this juncture, I'm going with the Delta anchor we had on Serenity, which as I mentioned, did a great job for us.  For some misguided reason, I thought we also had a Super Max anchor on that wonderful girl, but alas, my mind deceived me.  So, since the 55' begs for 2 anchors, it'll be the Super Max and Delta.  End of story and discussion.  If the time comes that my travels require something different than what I have, I'll address that issue then.  Right now, my main concern is leaving the dock without drama.

With that in mind, we also discussed the communications dome(s).   I clearly remember having this discussion with my Tom and think I remember it going like this:  the satellite TV will be housed in a KVH dome.  We were thinking of adding a 2nd dome for aesthetic purposes since we knew we wouldn't be needing a satellite phone.  Heck, I'm just getting the hang of my iPhone 5S!  After going through what I actually need - and with the realization that no matter how many domes are on the mast, they will all occasionally be challenged "seeing through" the mast - I decided on one dome well placed on the mast.  Since no radar arch on this boat, no need for symmetrical domes.  Easy.  Done.  Sounds like I just blasted through these decisions, right?  Not right.  I spent quite a bit of time at work this morning reading about anchors.  Luckily, no one needed to come to me then 'cause it would have been hard to pretend the anchors on the screen somehow related to placing temporary nurses!

So at the mid-week mark, I've decided on most of the electronics, the anchors, the number of mast domes and various and other sundry items.  Not bad for 3 days of conversation and ensuing decisions - all while at work.

I'm not sure if you remember, but prior to September 17th, Tom and I had already made decisions on the "guts" of the boat:  bow thruster (yes), stern thruster (no), stabilizers (yes), generator, 1 vs 2, (1),  Reverso oil change system (yes), engine room and back up cameras (yes), engine room freezer (no).  There will be staples on the swim platform; right now I'm considering what to put on the swim platform to protect it from "mistakes".  We had a thru-hull placed for a future water maker.  Much more cost-effective to put the thru-hull in place now, rather than having to haul the boat to do it later.  The water maker won't be added until I have a Bahamas trip planned to minimize maintenance chores.

It's amazing reading over what was decided today that it took many, many emails and a phone call to get through everything.  I was reassured that even seasoned owners have extensive questions, especially about the electronics components.  Last night I dreamed that I didn't have a standard Richie compass mounted on the helm, so that when the data feed failed, I had no idea where I was.  You know that was my first question emailed to Tom B. while still in my pjs!  And yes of course, I do have that compass mounted exactly where I thought it was.  So much for visions of sugar plums!

I think next up are the helm chairs and maybe the salon table.   I know the granite and back splash questions are on the horizon (no pun intended), so I need to get a tile store worked into my extensive weekend plans.  I actually enjoy seeing the reactions of shop personnel when they hear what I'm planning to do with the granite and/or tile I'm considering.  I live in a boating community, so I can't imagine how folks in the landlocked areas react.

At this point, I don't know what will be discussed, if anything, tomorrow.  I have a 9:30 am conference call with my accountant to finalize my tax returns, so I may not be in the mood to discuss anything other than a move to outer space to avoid more taxes.  If I do wind up making even one decision, I'll be sure to share with you, don't worry.

Thanks for your continued interest.  Would love and appreciate more comments.

2 comments:

  1. Bunnie, my thoughts and prayers go out to you on the loss of your beloved husband. God bless you for continuing on with the new boat! You are an inspiration to women everywhere! Glad you are back blogging - I totally enjoy reading your blog!

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  2. Really glad to have you back online. You are making great progress and will have a great boat.

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