The only really bad thing about rod rigging is that she doesn’t show her age, but we knew, at 30+ years, our original rods were getting up there. If we wanted to sail south next season, a re-rig was in high order. Let the debate begin … rod versus wire. Enjoy!
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Merry Christmas kids! As thanks for your support and encouragement this year … a FREE eCopy of (the still #1 bestseller) Keys to the Kingdom. Shoot me an email between now an NYE and she’s yours! — anniedike@gmail.com.
Also, enjoy this fun outtakes reel over the holiday. Roll that Video Annie footage!
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We’ve got a TON of projects coming up kids, so I wanted to give you a little glimpse of what it is that motivates us when we’re doing all of this scraping, cleaning, sanding and prepping. Enjoy!
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Because sometimes it just does, although our takeaway here was: check your chafe points. But, we were surprised to see our mast (even with a rotten base) stood up to some of the heaviest forces she has ever seen. This was, easily, our worst sail ever on the boat. Lots of lessons to be learned and much to discuss about the standing rigging next time. Enjoy!
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A rotten discovery in the bilge brings us the blues during Blue Angles weekend. Find out what tragedy just made our project list a helluva lot longer and follow along as we knock out these chores and get our boat going south! Don’t forget to subscribe, share, wash behind your ears, floss and enjoy!
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We did! This handrail rebed is for the birds! Never again. But it sure is fun to watch us occasionally FAIL. Thank goodness Bottom-Job Brandon (www.perdidosailor.com) was there to rescue (and make fun of) us. Handrail rebed … take two!
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If we want to get that boat moving south next year, it’s time to get to work. It’s stupid what one “little leak” can do to your boat. Rebed Take One (because, yes, this is worthy of a three-part saga). Enjoy!
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Go Greased Annie! Go Greased Annie! Lost steerage calls for this mate to get down in the grease hole and get our cable back on track! Subscribe, share and enjoy!
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Come along as our good friend Bottom-Job Brandon with Perdido Sailor, Inc. tries to bury the rails, give us some hell and challenge us to sail right into the slip! “What would you do if the engine went out?” Brandon asked. “Tow boat! Tow boat!” Gotta love a friend who pushes you. Enjoy, subscribe, share, and all that jazz!
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Alright STOP, collaborate and lisssten. Our ice trays needed an intervention!
I don’t know about you guys, but we’ve had a mountain of trouble with our vertical ice trays on the boat. While it is awesome that we even have a freezer on the boat, our freezer (and by freezer, I mean a shoebox-sized steel compartment in the corner of the fridge) is not very big.
Most notably, it is too small to house those old flat ice trays from the eighties.
Yeah, those. I miss those.
So we, like many others, used those vertical ice trays that were made (I believe) specifically for boats, or small freezers in general I guess.
Yeah, those. I hate those. [And don’t ask me why they’re showing round little center-hole cubes coming out. Little false advertising there … ]
At least I hated ours. We always seemed to have trouble with them. First, several of the little plastic dividers broke off, making it exceedingly difficult to get those little buggers out:
Then we had one crack right down the middle:
You’ll notice we tried to resolve the problem with packaging tape (which did work by the way). But they kept breaking elsewhere. These things were just not Annie-proof, although not much is. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Was this cracking and breaking caused because we didn’t wait long enough for the ice to melt before we went to yanking the divider out? Of course! But cocktails wait for no one.
The final problem, though, was through no fault of our own. We kept filling them up and putting them in the freezer only to come back and find them completely empty. What gives?! That’s when we discovered a hairline crack in the bottom that was allowing the water to leak out.
We tried to JB Weld it shut. [I swear these guys should sponsor me. I try to weld everything! If anyone from JB weld is listening, I’m available.]
Much like my failed 5,200 fix, this too was an epic failure. Sadly, it seems JB Weld cannot withstand the contraction and constriction of multiple freezes. So, we were once again tray-less. Until … we found these nifty little ice ball makers, and I wanted to share!
We actually found them at J. Crew (of all places), and we bought two packs. I believe they were like $17.00 a piece, but don’t quote me on that. They’re great, though. They sit vertically, fit in our little shoebox freezer and make these nice big racquetball-sized ice cubes─well, balls rather.
They fit nicely in a tumbler and because they’re so big, it takes them forever to melt, so your drink stays chill for hours.
Well, in theory. Our drinks never exist for that long.
Now, they’re not ideal for drinks that work better over crushed or cubed ice (where the slight dilution from the ice enhances the drink), but they are perfect for what we call “sipping drinks”─more potent, crafted cocktails like an old fashioned or straight rum.
Pretty nifty. How about it guys? Any of you having trouble with your vertical ice trays or have you guys already come across these or different “ice ball” makers? Where are you finding them? Sharing is caring people!
In the meantime, throw some extra ice in that drink. Cheers!
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