September 12, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

I have waited long enough to start this Log. I'd always intended to finish the boat completely and then start cruising and, only
then, start the Cruising Log. But there was always something - always something in the way of getting the boat finished.

Patience is supposed to be a virtue, but it can also be a hindrance. My friend George worked hard to finish every detail of his
boat, and even left the marina where he'd lived for ten years. He came over to where I am and I helped him do the last detail -
installing a solar panel. The George started getting sick. He got itchy and turned yellow and the first thing you know, he's in
the hospital with Pancreatic Cancer getting Medi-ports and Chemotherapy and all kinds of desperate attentions. For the past
year, he's been undergoing this treatment, on an outpatient basis, and just waiting for a break so he and Kim, his girlfriend,
can start cruising. Three weeks ago, he had a massive heart attack, fell off the boat, and ended up on life support in the ICU.
After ten days with him drugged to insensibility, they moved him to a hospice to die, and said it would be any day. Well, Kim
wasn't ready to accept that, and insisted that all the tubes and drugs be stopped after a few days in the hospice, and bingo -
whadda ya know - George wakes straight up, sits up, and says, "What happened?" As God is my witness. George came
home today. The pancreatic cancer is still on the march and he doesn't have much time left, but he and Kim are going
cruising immediately for whatever time there is.

So, what am I still doing here? I work on other peoples boats and fix them up so they can cruise, while I sit and watch them
go, still trying to finish Falcon.

I have a very few things left to do to be able to drop the lines and leave, and that's what I'm going to do. I can finish the other
stuff as I go. I will tie off the 'Building Falcon' section of the website right now and include any other work in the cruising log.
I've had it. I'm sick to death of being patient.
September 13, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez,
Florida

This is a shot of George and Kim taken about a year ago when
they took a trip to Amsterdam. George has spent his life in the
music industry as an engineer in the recording studios of major
producing companies. Apparently, Amsterdam holds some
attraction for musicians as he'd been there before and wanted to
return before getting too sick. They spent a lot of time in
restaurants and those odd little cafés. I think it was for the
coffee. Or food. Maybe. They took 300 pictures. Other than
losing some weight, George looks the same today. Being
knocked out without food for over two weeks will do that for you.
He's eating well and getting stronger and he and Kim will be
heading for Tarpon Springs by the end of the month. Then the
Bahamas.
For me, after bad weather brought about by hurricanes stampeding past (Fay, Gustav, Hannah, Ike) - no close calls, but just
enough bad weather and high wind to stop boat work - I need to get reorganized and get to doing what needs to be done to
be able to leave the dock.

Right now, I have to finish the construction and installation of the water system, so I can install the cabin sole and build in the
storage beneath the berth.

I have to fiberglass the interior of the holding tank and install the new head and macerator.

The engine fuel filter and fuel feed line need to be reconnected.

And on and on and on. Good grief. No wonder it's not done. I have too much to do. Well, I don't have to finish everything - just
enough to get going.
September 13, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

I got to work on some projects today, but didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. One of my big problems is that I've
accumulated a lot of equipment and material expressly intended for the boat. However, there are vague lines between what is
definitely needed, what might be needed, and what is just extra. When I leave here, it is my intention to sell the car, a 1998
Saturn SC2, sell the truck, a 1994 Ford E350 van with a diesel engine and one ton suspension, and then everything I have
must fit aboard Falcon - in a way that also allows ME to fit aboard, and with enough freedom of access to allow me to
continue to work on the boat.

Today, I worked on sorting through the giant pile of extra line and rode and cordage, and began the process of making and
installing new Kevlar cored double braid for the deadeye lanyards. I'll insert a photo or two tomorrow. Parts of the rigging that
were served with plain braided nylon have also begun to shed. I can't complain - the twine lasted some 20 years out in the
elements and Florida sun. This doesn't absolutely have to be done before I leave, but it allows me time to construct a better
mental picture than I have now of the sequence I need to address to finish the essential work.

I'm aiming for the end of November as a 'cast off' date.
September 16, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

So, there I was, all whipping into the deadeyes and getting stuff done and badda bing badda boom - I had to make two
special tools - again. A couple of pictures will save thousands of words.
These are the deadeyes - the round, white things - and lanyards
- the lines that hold the top deadeyes to the bottom deadeyes
and allow adjustment of the rigging. The close-up shot shows the
rotting twine that I'm replacing. The thing is, it ISN'T critical for
the safety of the rig, but replacement of the lanyards is, so I'm
doing both jobs at once since they are tied together - so to speak.
Twice before I've had to make tools to facilitate the lashing
of the grommets with the deadeye and thimble. They are
so stiff and difficult to compress that something has to be
done to hold the pieces together and squeeze the middle
in while applying the lashing. In 23 years, this is the third
time I've had to make the jig. It takes a couple of hours, but
it's well worth it. This should be the last time. I'm using
tarred Marlin twine this time and it will last.
These are the tools that I slapped together to do the job. They work perfect and reduce to odd hardware and scrap wood
when the job is done.

Last nights sunset was nice. I'm going to try to get into the habit of including more pictures of the surrounding as I go - once I
get going. I know, I know, I know. I'll get there.
September 18, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

I've spent all of the past two days changing the entire look of the website. I suppose it's a good thing I've had time to look at it
for a year or more (counting the previous version) and got over trying to use EVERY color the site tool had available. The
new look is better.

I've also got more done on the deadeyes and lanyards, though the sewing and lashing took such a toll on my hands that I had
to go out and get a pair of heavy leather work gloves. The continual wrapping and then pulling the seizing twine tight has a
tendency to blister the skin, then tear the blisters off. It gets to sting a little by the end of the day. The hands are all healed up
now (pretty much) after two days of computer work.
Here is the beginning of the new deadeye and lanyard system. A certain amount of repair and upgrade. It works well and I
like it. Below left is last nights sunset. Not great but not bad. On the right is tonights.
I spent the day lashing up deadeyes and sewing thimbled eyes into Kevlar core 10MM halyard line. I think I'm approaching
the 25% mark on this project. A long day tomorrow should get me closer to 75%, then I'll get going on something more
relevant to becoming mobile once again and heading south.
September 19, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

I did get a full day in today, though I'd forgotten about one time consuming task that ended up taking most of the day. I still
got a lot done and should get close to finished on this job. It's hard on the hands. I have three out of 12 installed and 4 more
almost ready to be installed. There is also some work completed on the last five.
A new boat has arrived at the marina and I'm going to get some shots of it tomorrow for the log. I hope I can get inside. It's a
74 foot Deerfoot ketch. It's a fabulous boat.
September 21, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Work progresses on the rigging. Various delays include raw hands, visitors, and the Ryders Cup golf tournament.

No luck getting inside 'MAYA' yet. She just came out of the yard, where she had a bottom job and various other work, and the
owners are busy cleaning up the whole boat, inside and out, and finishing up details on the work. I have a few pics of the
outside.
It's a fairly new and very nice boat, and a friend
named Geoff is going to Captain the boat for
charter work. The hull is aluminum and the
boat has EVERY imaginable extra. Except
robots. There are no robots.
September 23, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

After a couple of stormy days and time out for other chores, like laundry and such, I've finally finished making all the
components for this section of the rigging upgrade. All of the first twelve Kevlar lanyards and reserved deadeyes are done
and drying on the line, so to speak. They actually are freshly tarred and drying on the line, like the picture on the 19th, above.
Tomorrow I'll install them, then tighten and adjust them, and see how many I get lashed and whipped. Sounds more brutal
than it is. I'll take a picture. It sort of means 'tied off'.

Still no chance to get inside 'Maya' yet. I did rework the 'LINKS' page in the site. It looks O.K. I'm tired and hungry. Time to eat.
September 24, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Finally! I have the first 12 deadeye/lanyard assemblies done and installed. And it's only 9:53 AM. I would have started
tightening them all and lashing them down, but I have a headache coming on (I get these 'mold' or 'pollen' generated sinus
headaches down here whenever the wind picks up from the inland areas) so I decided to stop and have a cup of coffee and
do some log. I may take half a Benadryl or some aspirin if it continues to grow over the next hour or so. I started getting these
headaches after I'd been in Florida for a few years, so I think I reached some level of 'toxic' overload to allergens. I think they'll
go away when I leave the area.

Once I do a final adjustment on the deadeyes, I'll also set up for doing the last four. Those already have Kevlar line on them,
but I have to inspect the eye splices and rebuild the deadeyes. After that, I'll either move on to the water system and floor
(most likely) or the electrical panel. Or the ratlines. Or time travel.
September 25, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Still contending with a headache, I managed to tighten all 12 shrouds today and have started secondary lashings and
securing the bitter ends. It feels good. The rig is tight and strong and feels very secure. I also got a little done on the ratline
end caps, but it was a beautiful day out here today and I had a number of unexpected visitors who absorbed quite a bit of
time. Still, if I didn't have visitors I'd probably complain about that.

It's 4:11 in the afternoon and the headache is still hanging on. Luckily, it's not bad and I can still function without impairment.
Now that the work is going well again, it becomes easier to line up the jobs and keep going. Much of the work is repetitive
and mundane, which gives me plenty of time to wander through other subjects while my hands remain busy.

With the rigging so much tighter, it's much more secure up on the bottom cross brace over the row of deadeyes at each set of
shrouds. It feels stiff and secure and not at all loosey-goosey, which is a high level Naval term.
September 26, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

After rushing to finish the hand shredding lashing process, I decided late last night that the only way to apply the last two
lashings to each lanyard was to re-attach the block and tackle and get the tail ends loaded to distribute the strain equally on
all three lashings. So, that's what I did today. Now, I have to heat trim the loose ends off each lashing tomorrow and continue
on with the ratlines. Below are a couple of pictures of the lanyard lashings.
I don't know what the origin of the term 'ratline' is, or even if the
correct writing is 'rat line', which I always thought was a line
tattle-tales outside the Principle's office going in to tell on someone.
Nonetheless, ratlines are the ladders tied between shrouds on older
ships that allow easy access to the masthead. They serve the same
purpose on Falcon, but instead of simple rope steps, I am using
pieces of old 5/8" round fiberglass battens from a huge mainsail.
Left is the end of one of the full
battens. I cut the measured
pieces from there, then, with a
3/4" hole saw, cut the little discs
on the right out of black 1/4"
Starboard, which I trimmed,
countersunk, and attached to the
ends of the steps by drilling and
tapping holes into the ends of
them. Next, I wrapped them with
friction tape, then tarred Marlin
twine, then hung them and soaked them good with the rigging tar I made up. The rigging tar is a combination of sieved
roofing tar, Pine tar, linseed oil, and Japan drier. It soaks well into the twine and dries to a nice black finish that affords
excellent grip in all conditions - except when it's coated with ice near the polar ice caps.
There will be one set of ratlines on the Port rear rigging, but not the full length piece pictured above. Those are made exactly
the same way, but they are only there to brace each set of shrouds and serve as lifelines and pinrails. The ratlines will only
cross the two center shrouds. On the foremast, one set of ratlines will be on the starboard side.

I still have to rework the last four backstay deadeyes and lanyards, but I'm going to do them one at a time.
September 27, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

It's Saturday, and even though I started early and made good progress in the early morning, a crowd of visitors soon put an
end to it. I had to do what I could while visiting with people, then patiently wait for a chance to get back to it. When I did get
back to it, I wasn't ten minutes into trimming the loose ends off all the lashings when I actually stuck the tip of my thumb in
front of the torch flame. I now have a nice little section of cooked thumb throbbing away on my right hand. It's white and shiny
and makes me wonder what will happen to it next. Will it blister? Will it harden and fall off? Will it talk to me in my sleep
tonight and ask me what the hell I was thinking?

As much as I am trying to refuse all jobs on other peoples boats, I now have three lined up, though they are all sewing jobs
and all small. Plus, they are for friends. I'm planning on doing them all this coming week.

Today I actually did get a lot done, but it's still rig work and still boring.
Falcon's Log
September 29, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Out on the dock this morning, working on one of the last shrouds and deadeyes, I sharpened a knife and promptly knocked it
into my thumb while wrestling with a heavy fabric piece on deck. Nice cut. Same thumb I burnt the other day. Things like this
happens in three's, so I need to be on the lookout for hammers and other non-thumb-friendly items.

I returned to work immediately after stemming the flow of blood with a few quick wraps of electrical tape. A little wiping up of
what looked more like a beheading than a cut thumb (my blood is so thin it's amazing it doesn't leak out through the bottom of
my feet) and I finished slitting the thread around an ill-conceived doorway air conditioning blocker Randy had me make for
him. The material will now be used to recover a set of cushions for Randy's charter boat "Lil' Toot".

I eventually had to cut a strip of rag to wrap the thumb and use a fresh strip of electrical tape over the cut. It should be fine by
tomorrow. It poured later on, making me seal up the boat and call it a day. Tomorrow, George and Kim are coming over to
visit and to take a ride to Home Depot for plumbing materials for both our boats.
September 30, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

George and Kim came this morning and we went to Home Depot, then Crispers for lunch. Good Stuff. I also got all the details
of George's yesterday doctor's appointments. He seems to be in better shape than we'd thought, and it's time for him to go off
and cruise. This Friday we are scheduled for a short 'shakedown' of sorts. I'll be sure to get some pics.

I made the eyesplice on the second of the two front backstays and rebuilt another deadeye, leaving only one more to do. Two
if I want to have a spare. After assembling the two forward backstays, it took a bit of rough shaking of the rig and tensioning
to true up the forespar. Then I finished the lashings and badda bing, the foremast is done. Only the backstays on the
mainmast left to do. This took about ten days longer to complete than I'd hoped. Oh, wait, it's not done yet.
Last nights completely unimpressive sunset and a final shot of the completed deadeye/lanyard assembly on the foremast.
October 1, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

I'm still here in Cortez. There is a constant situation with mosquitoes and no-see-ums here. Every morning and every evening
is accompanied by swarms of the biting, biting, gnawing, drilling pests. Every day. Year round. No days off. Biting bug season
is from January 1st until December 31st. If the temperature drops to near freezing at night, they wait until about noon to come
out. It is 7 AM and I am constantly slapping them away right now.

The last two deadeyes and the last two lanyards are completed and drying. It's 1 PM and I've been at it for a while. My hands
are very happy to be done with it. Except for the last six lashings when these are installed. Then, I think it's on to the
plumbing system and the floors. Or 'Cabin Soles', as it were. Sounds like a sixties Motown Group.

It is 5:47 PM and I have just finished the last of the deadeye and lanyard work. All 16 sets are reconditioned and greatly
improved as far as ruggedness and strength. My hands are pulp and the next job will be much easier on them. On the other
hand, my arms and shoulders are ripped from long days of full strength lashing and pulling on heavy twines. Twines are like
tweens only instead of being thirteen, they're halfway between sociables and winos. Also, they are heavy strings. Soaked in
tar. Which is why it's called 'tarred marlin twine'. Almost interesting if you care. Not so much if you don't. I'm giddy about being
done.

What day was it that I said, "I'll finish it up tomorrow."? Ahh, I looked back and saw. On the 19th, I thought another day would
bring me in sight of the end. Hmmm. Well, some bad weather, a couple of other obligations, and just a lot of work to finish up
made it last about a good eight days or so longer than expected. Who cares. It's done. And the rig has never been so strong.
October 2, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

The weather is supposed to be good today, so I'm thinking I should do what I can on the three sewing jobs I've taken on. The
first one, all new zippers in Joe's Bimini, should be straightforward, so I'll start there. Randy wants me to make new covers for
three cushions on Lil' Toot. They look like a royal pain in the butt, but I can get most of them done, I think. The last job is a
skirt for Paul's bridge rail. It's something like 16 inches wide and 18 feet long. It shouldn't be hard, but I don't know if he has
the material yet.
So, funny thing. I go outside and start cleaning up and
getting ready to drag out the sewing machine and get
started on the sewing jobs, and RJ and Walt are there,
chewing the fat and warming up to swing into work on RJ's
Mariner 31, so I drink my coffee and gam a bit and next
thing you know, I'm eyeing the ratlines, then the rigging,
then the ratlines, then the balls of tarred Marlin twine. Then
I cut a couple of lengths of twine and tried out the lashings
I'd been mulling over in my head while droning through the
recent days of end tedium.

One led to another and I installed six of the ratlines and
made five more. (There was one extra with the first batch
that I knew I'd be able to fit in somewhere, and sure enough,
it works as the sixth step on the foremast ladder.

Once the lower three were installed on each set, I could
climb up and measure the next three for each. The steps
are spaced wide - 20 inches apart - but I can reach easily
and the fewer the better as far as windage and work. These
will make it infinitely easier to work aloft on the rigging or
lights or antennas.

Pretty soon, I'm going to run out of 5/8" round fiberglass
batten material and will have to come up with another
solution. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Also, there
may be a problem reaching all the way to the masthead with
the shrouds coming together at the top. My feet might not fit
between them near the top. Again, I'll cross that bridge then.

Tomorrow I bring Don and Barb to the airport.
October 4, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Yesterday I brought Don and Barb to the Tampa Airport and they flew off to Vermont. Either that, or they're still stuck there
and have forgotten how to use a cell phone to have me come and pick them up. On the way back from the airport, I stopped
in to see George and got involved with doing his new raw water intake system for the new air conditioner as well as the water
maker. He tried to tell me about it a few times, but never got very far. It was like listening to Charlie Brown's mother talk to
him. Bwaah whah wah waah bwaah, bwa bwa wnah.

I just got there and did the job, asking him what he REALLY wanted, and then showing him how we get there as I went. The
freaky thing - for him, not for me - was when I pulled off the old thru-hull valve (leaving a hole in the bottom of the boat,
straight to the ocean) and installed a new valve. I'd done it before and only allowed about a half-cup of water in. If you're all
set, it isn't a problem. We got as far as we needed to allow the old AC unit to be used for the night. Today, I'm going back to
install the new AC/heater unit.
Gratefully, Paul's canvas job got much smaller. I'm supposed to see Randy today to talk about his job. Frankly, I'm a little
concerned about it. It is a bit tiresome that once again, I am so deep into other people's boat work that I cannot judge when I'll
be able to get back to work on my own boat. I find this irritating and fear it will make me a hermit, but there are ways in which I
cannot get out of it. For some things, however, I have to put my foot down or I'll never get back to the publishing thing. For all
the friendship and concern these people seem to display, in honesty, I cannot see them thinking of me while they are off
cruising and I am still sitting here trying to get going. And it's not like I'm making money at this, because I'm not.
October 5, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Yesterday I went to Regatta Point Marina in Palmetto and completed the installation of George's new air conditioning /
heating system. Today I'm going to continue work on the ratlines during the day, then head back to Regatta Point for the
monthly marina feast, where George usually does a lot of the cooking. I remember one time, they were going to have a pig
roast - yeah, good, but don't wear furs - and they either couldn't find a pig, or someone to wrestle it to the ground and cut it's
throat, or get a permit for such dandy Roman Coliseum type entertainment (I would have paid to see it), so they got a huge
pile of pork roasts and chops and sausages, and it was a great feed, I've got to tell you. But it was funny when they brought
in a shopping cart full of meat and said, "This is the pig."

Today, it's a ham fest. Many big hams, cloves, honey, mustard, no oinking. I have to be there at 6 PM.

George's new heat/cool system has this sweet little controller that requires programming for every day and every hour of the
day. That's what I like - convenience and ease of operation. Who needs an on/off switch and big dial thermostat? That would
be easy and cheap to replace if it ever failed - which they never do. Instead, a nice little computer that commits suicide every
time you walk by it wearing a fuzzy sweater full of static. That's convenience.

RJ and Walt did the non-skid on the deck of the Mariner yesterday while I was gone. It seems okay. I'll get a couple of shots
during the day and post them later.
October 6, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

I got three more ratlines installed and measured for most of the rest, then cut the last of the fiberglass batten stock to length. I
went over to Regatta Point early and stopped at Home Depot on the way to get some more of the plumbing materials I would
need to finish the water system. Talk about sticker shock. Items that cost $4.75 a few months ago are now $7.25. It's a good
thing I already have most of what I need. The things I picked up yesterday are the connections and under-counter valves for
connecting the new Galley sink faucet, which I bought last week, and various bronze T's, nipples, and elbows. I also got a
couple of rolls of friction tape to continue on the ratlines.

The ham feed last night was great. I never saw such a pile of ham. There were four fifteen-pound spiral cut, bone in hams for
about fifty people. I helped carve the meat off the bones to make it easy to serve for the buffet line. I ate mostly ham and rich
chocolate desserts, with a side of fruit salad. Yummy. Except that George mixed up this yellow mustard from powder that he
said was 'spicy' and he should have said, 'makes Mexicans fall down screaming and crying for mercy' because I tried some
and it made my eyes bug out and my nose run and made me think I was breathing acid. Yeah, spicy. I got your 'spicy' right
here.

It is a gray and dismal day - the kind I really like - and I just got a few shots of RJ's Mariner. It still has the tape on it, which I
think makes it look better,  but RJ insists on taking off. There is also a shot of some of the plumbing fittings. I have to go back
this morning and get another batch about as big for the head.