I'm sure even those of you who don't live in the recently water logged northeast heard of our biblical rains yesterday. It poured with a roaring sound for at least 12 hours straight. Places that were thought impervious to mud slides had mud slides. Things that are not supposed to float, floated - including some of those Smart Cars. Anyhoo, the reason I'm here tonight is because the golf course decided to close and thus protect itself from us early season golfers (and the resulting divots). You may have even heard the collective groan from tonight's league players. My foursome is a resilient bunch though; no golf, well then, how about dinner? Dinner it was. No sense wasting a perfectly good night (without rain) and finally warm temps.
Today's phone conversation with the Krogen bunch was an eclectic one - we discussed in this order: tiles, granite, backsplashes, wall angles, EPIRBs and life rafts. See, I told you it was eclectic. The call was actually generated by a 10 pm text message to Tom B. I was reading the Sunday Times (finally got to it) and came across the story about the family who took their 2 young daughters to sea in a sailboat. The youngest child fell ill and the family had to be rescued. The article mentioned the safety items aboard the boat, one being the EPIRB. Holy cannoli (we Italians always exclaim in terms of food), I hadn't even thought of the EPIRB so busy was I with granite and tile! So being my impulsive self, I immediately texted Mr. B. Method to my madness - now someone besides myself would have this item on the radar.
True to form, I received a rather long and very detailed email message discussing EPIRBs along with a list of suppliers and their websites. Now I'm not totally unfamiliar with these life-saving devices. We had one on Serenity. It was a category 1, automatic hydrostatic release (see, I really do know something), mounted in a nice case on the starboard side of the pilot house, above the propane locker. Through some quick research done during lunch, I discovered that the best of these devices contain an integral GPS and digital readout so that one can see what is going on with the device. They retail for just under $900 but there are promotions around the time of boat shows, so I'm going to wait until the fall to get one. No sense having one before it's needed since they do require battery checks, etc. During my reading, I decided it's also wise to purchase the less expensive, but no less necessary category 2 model and keep it in the ditch bag. I bought a ditch bag at the 2011 Newport Boat Show when I wasn't even sure what a ditch bag was. Though it's still empty, I have a list that goes on for at least a mile with all that should be in that bag. Another good thing about the Krogen folks, everyone is happy to share their findings, ideas, and what they've found to be practical, necessary and downright fun to have.
That conversation segued into life rafts. We had one on Serenity, mounted on top of the pilot house. It was my job to crawl over the flybridge coaming to check the hydrostatic tag since we could never remember the date it needed to be re-checked. Turns out we were a year too early, but better to be safe than sorry. Since I won't be doing any offshore runs at first (expect for the trips north and south), I'll probably rent a life raft for the trip north next summer so that we can go offshore to make up time; same for the trip south in the fall. Then I'll reassess my options and plans for using the boat. There is just too much to think about right now and if something can be rented rather than purchased, then that's fine for the time being.
Since none of our recent conversations seems to be complete without a discussion of granite and tile, this one was no exception. While the yard sends its person to photograph the slabs of my 2 color choices, I'm going to keep visiting tile stores here for ideas. Thanks to the many pictures of boats Kadey Krogen maintains, I'm able to see tons of examples of how folks have used tile. I seem to be leaning towards stone in a neutral shade that will complement the cherry walls and granite counter tops. I like the natural look of stone as opposed to shiny tiles that show all sorts of cooking errors. I'm also thinking of perhaps using a few accent tiles to add interest and lay the stone in a pattern to further add a bit of style. That's as far as I've gotten, but considering all that goes on in my day, it's pretty good.
I'm amazed at the level of detail we get into regarding backsplashes. Should there be a backsplash? Yes! A backsplash will protect the cherry walls since the cherry will extend down to the counter top. How high should it be? 2 inches, 3, 4???? Where should it start and end? Since this galley has a unique shape, care must be taken to be sure there aren't a lot of things going on where the walls meet: backsplash, outlets, etc. Dave, the esteemed naval architect whose drawings make these boats the masterpieces they are, is very detail-oriented and doesn't miss a trick. His attention to the most minute detail is astounding! He is very quiet and unassuming, so when he mentions something, everyone's ears go up. I for one, am thrilled to have him on my team.
Tom B. is going back to Taiwan next week. I hope the pictures he sends show greater detail and progress. Though I'm excited about the build process and enjoy all that goes into it, I am getting impatient for this girl to be finished and make her way here. With that said, I had better get on the stick with a name, hadn't I? Yes I do have a favorite selected and say it out loud when I think no one is listening (it seems someone is always listening when I'm on the phone), but it's a huge decision and it must have meaning. Nothing cute or whimsical for this girl. Though I did say I welcomed suggestions, no one has come forward with any. How about it?
Well folks, that's all for this week - I think. It's entirely possible that another topic will come up for discussion tomorrow. If it does, I'll be back, though maybe not til Saturday. I have a very full dance card tomorrow night. Dinner with my daughter and a Colgate mentor, then off to an awards dinner the barn has at this time every year. The riders with the top scores from the previous show season are recognized. I'm donating a trophy to the Rider of the Year in honor of my horse Wiggles and want to be there when it's presented. The awards are a surprise; it's wonderful to see the excitement on each winner's face as the awards are announced. So no blog tomorrow. If I'm not back til next week, it just means we have everything in hand and can rest our minds until the next round of decisions are required.
Have a great weekend!
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