Do we need a cow?

When asked what he would like to tell everyone on the Blog, Finn said, “I want to tell everyone that I have been drinking milk.” It’s more like, what has he been ingesting other than milk? I know every kid goes through a non-eating stage but other than an occasional yearning for yogurt and pizza, Finn’s only request is for milk.

We have been trying to figure out how to deal with this milk addiction, knowing that soon, we won’t be able to run over to Aldi on a dime for the freshest stuff short of owning a cow.  (Yes, in my professional opinion, Aldi absolutely has the best and freshest milk.)  We have been trying different types of powder milk, rice milk and UHT milk while we still have a car. I had avoided dairy for a few months when Anna was an infant and really don’t like soy milk but had settled at that time for rice milk.  We had perceived that dry milk was cheap but quickly learned that it is even more expensive than fluid milk.  So, on each shopping trip I would bring home an alternative for a family opinion and evaluation.

I started with what I assumed would be the most affordable place to buy dry milk, Aldi. A box there was close to $8 which I quickly back calculated to about $6 per gallon. I now realize this is the least costly alternative but still far above what I had anticipated.  I didn’t give up and hunted down the dry milk at Wal-Mart, not my favorite place but it has certainly proved useful in provisioning, stocking and searching for odd and useful items.  Wal-mart sells powdered milk in single batch packets (1 quart), versus loose in a large box covered with waxed paper, which seemed very useful to me for use in a damp environment. Anna mixed up a batch for a family trial. Finn drank it without complaining, Bob and Anna deemed it “not bad” and I decided if Finn drank it without complaining, I would manage a few months without the good stuff.

Again at Wal-Mart, I searched for UHT milk, milk that has been heat treated to allow a shelf life without refrigeration. I had tried it years ago at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin and had seen it while travelling in other countries but I wasn’t sure if it was really main-stream here in the U.S. or not. I had looked in the vicinity of the powdered milk and didn’t see anything. I even went and found a friendly Wal-Mart employee, who called and asked. We went to another part of the store and found individual serving-size, organic UHT milk. Although expensive, pack of six for over $6, it would be a better than no-milk alternative in a pinch. So I held my breath and added the pricey item to my cart; knowing this wouldn’t be the most expensive special item for the trip. I stopped for a haircut on the way back from the shopping expedition and the familiar, “I want Milk!” chant started from the back seat.  I dug through the bags and pulled out a carton and Finn sucked it down, no complaints, a big smile on his face.  A big light bulb lit up over my head, this stuff is great and saved my @#$ before we even got home from the store. It is definitely worth having a few on-hand, for any milk-drinking family.

After returning home, I did a little internet search and realized that Wal-Mart does stock a traditional (non-organic) UHT milk item in a more reasonable unit (Parmalat quart, about $12/gallon). It was October in a location from which a significant number of cruisers depart for points south, apparently the More Head City store had been sold out.  

I did a lot of pondering over the next few days on what the best choice would be. The rice milk was tried and ended up in a pie; and was crossed off the list. Finn actually asked if we could bring a cow, and as much as I would have enjoyed owning a cow again, we are too space-limited for an additional passenger. I finally decided that with limited water capacity, the UHT milk would be a better decision as long as we could find space.

Now that I had made a decision I went to the internet and started a true search, eventually settling on Amazon. As the boxes rolled in, the folks at the boat yard finally, just had to ask,

      “What are you buying?”

     “Milk, of course!”  

We have now finally found space for all the cartons, three cases of 32 oz. Parmalat and four cases of 8 oz. Horizon Organics Best, under floor boards, inside pots and tucked between the crackers and cheerios. Of course, we ended up buying bins for all the milk to keep it in secondary containment in case of a breach. So the cost per cup has been increased considerably. The good news though is, with each cup consumed, our waterline will come a little closer back towards normal.

 

Launch Day - November 20

We had been aiming for a November 15 launch date but were still pleased to be almost ready on the 15th with just a few items remaining on our to do list. Anna posted on her page about our launch yesterday. Check it out! The day before we had the engine aligned and the propeller installed. The wind has been quite crazy here since hurricane Sandy with only a few calm days so we had waited to get the dinghy onto the boat and finally did it with the help of our new friends Artie and Stein. Our wonderful new friends Stein and Virgina went into the water just a few hours before us and we were sad to see them go; but looking forward to meeting them again someday.

Installation of the dinghy onboard

 

Stein and Virginia shoving off on the Anna Rose.

We had a lot of helping hands for the launch, Finn was headed out onto the launch pad with the rest of the guys, I had to chase him down. The atmosphere was festive and all our helpers seemed genuinely excited for us (or happy to see us go :)

Anna documented the day on Mark C's video camera. Thanks Mark!

Although we had to wake Finn for the launch, he was his cheery self by the time the boat splashed and was thrilled to see the boat floating. Our boatyard-neighbor Greg taught Finn how to neatly stow the dock line and Finn was given his first permanent deck-hand-assignment. Thanks Greg!

Our new boat yard friends Keenan and Patrick. These guys keep this place running and still have time for a little game of catch with the kids. We will miss them!

We just had word that we will be heading to our first onboard destination, Morehead City, NC, on Monday morning. Hooray! Happy Thanksgiving!

One Year Since We First Glimpsed Midwatch

One year to-the-date from the day we first glimpsed Midwatch and five weeks from first arriving with the kids to move onto the boat, we put on the second coat of bottom paint and are discussing a real launch date. It has been a very interesting five weeks, and for that matter, year. We have definitely had some real ups and downs but I have a feeling they will be small hills and valleys compared to what we are about to experience.

The past five weeks has been very educational and a lot of hard work. We lost at least a week of work to Hurricane Sandy and Bob has managed two consulting trips in that period as well. Whether we could have managed the task a lot faster had it been warmer, dryer or without the kids is a moot point but we still ponder it. We also hold no regrets, and quite a bit of relief, that we were safely stowed, on land, for the big storm.

In the past five weeks we (mostly Bob) have spent a considerable amount of time preparing the bottom for bottom paint, that specialized paint that keeps the critters from growing on your boat and making it look like one of those sailors on The Flying Dutchman in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. During the June/July boat-work trip with Bob’s Dad, the two of them had good luck in that a professional paint-removal company was working on an adjacent boat and we snagged a great deal on a bottom blast. This left the bottom stripped to a lower ‘barrier coat’ and revealed all her scars and strengths.

Bob has painstakingly drilled out all the little dings, bumps and cracks, filled, epoxied, sanded, epoxied, sanded, epoxied and sanded, and sanded, and sanded. The kids’ questions kept it all in perspective,

     “Why is Daddy making holes?”

     “So he can fill them back in again.”

The second project that demanded time and a whole heck of a lot of mental energy was replacement of a cutlass bearing. Due to the age of the boat, the threads in the shaft tube were somewhat stripped which prevented installing the new bearing housing, correctly. The last installation had been altered to make it work leaving a lot of corrosion and stripped threads. After much panic, consultation with the multitudes and consideration of the problem, Bob tackled it with more confidence than I could have mustered and he is nearly done the repair and installation; and left it so that it may be done considerably easier next time.

In the five weeks since we have been here we have actually had a lot of rainy, windy and cold weather. I was told by several people that we were having January weather. The time spent inside, however, has not been wasted. If you think of the boat as both your car and house, AND that you need to be able to fix, or at least Jerry-rig, anything that breaks while at sea, becoming thoroughly acquainted with the boat’s ‘systems’ is a must before departure. Considering I call myself a ‘Systems’ engineer, I am very slow at catching on compared to Bob, who is on his hands and knees crawling through the nether-regions regularly. This hound-dogging has been fruitful and turned up both positive and negative surprises. Probably the most labor-intensive system modification we have undertaken is the wastewater system, which, fortunately for me, I understand a little better than the electrical system. Bob started, with a lot of help from his Dad, by removing the 35 gallon, aluminum holding tank, designed to hold toilet waste and flush water composed of seawater. Seawater combined with urine makes for a nasty mix and by the time we finished looking at all the hoses, valves, fittings and a through-hull, we realized the only reusable part of the system was the $200 toilet. We debated for weeks but finally decided we were willing to try a composting toilet which did the following for us.

1.       We were able to use the system immediately, while the boat was on land, no flush water required;

2.       the space where the holding tank sits becomes available for storage, something that is invaluable when four people are living on a 35-foot boat AND need to bring along things like guitars, fishing rods and sewing machines; and 

3.       we avoid the long-term cost of pump-outs.

I realize there are negatives, removing the ‘compost’, emptying the urine bottle regularly and the pure size of the unit which is about four times the size of the traditional unit it replaced but so far we are thrilled with our choice and are learning a lot about its operation, all while still on land. These things we have learned include:

1.       Check for condensation in the vent hose regularly, the mass in the solids unit starts getting a little sticky if there is nowhere for the water to go; 

2.       The kids had NO problem adjusting to its use and frankly, we are 10,000 times better off than when we had to climb up the companionway, through the cock pit, over the rail, down the ladder, down the stairs, across the parking lot and into the bathroom and reverse… every time Finn says he has to go poopy. Of course, you repeat the whole process four times before he actually goes!

3.       DON’T try and buy coir (dry matter for solids composting) from Amazon!!

We have now made it to the engine and fuel system, where neither of us feel comfortable, but had the good fortune of having the guy next to us have fuel ‘cleaners’ here yesterday and they took a look at the fuel for us and hauled it away and cleaned out the tank as best they could. At least this will give us a clean start on one of the most notorious methods for engine failure, bad fuel.

Given the one-year-milestone we just hit, I asked each family member two questions including what have we accomplished in the past year and where will we be one year from now. The responses were lackluster but telling of personality. Finn’s response to where will we be in one year…”We’ll be Super heroes!” That, of course was followed up by a loud rendition of the John Williams 1978 Superman theme. Gotta love it!