ATN Topclimber

Ship shape

/ one2travelfar / 2 Comments

Thirteen boat cushions are complete and mostly a success. There were a only few minor glitches.  But they brighten the boat and aren’t ripped.  Hopefully only my eyes will focus on the errors.  Next time I’ll do even better.

IMG_9543Tim got to use my favorite gift for the boat.  I bought it when we were living aboard a boat with a ginormous mast.  As the lighter of the crew, ahem, I was the chosen candidate to be hoisted to the top to do various repairs.  Then I found the ATN topclimber.  Now Tim can climb himself up the mast and I just have to stand by and watch in case he comes tumbling down.  Best purchase ever.

IMG_9545

 

The boat is afloat and my mind turns to the garden and my loom.  I’m planning a dyeing garden, that’s dyeing in the color sense not the end of life.  Who needs food when there is fiber to be dyed?  Actually, I may have bitten off more than I can chew because I’m planning three gardens.  A raised bed mostly for veggies, a flower garden for cutting and dye and a perennial garden to keep the butterflies and hummingbirds happy.

IMG_9567We may be beyond frost but one never knows in the Adirondacks.  The hummingbirds are back at the feeders and I witnessed a near hummicide the other day.  Two birds met at the feeder, flew into one another, held on and spiraled to the ground.  Then one pounded the other for about three minutes.  They both were males so I guess they were staking out the territory.  One pinned the other to the ground, pecked at it, sat on it and covered it with its wings. Very dramatic. Not so sweet after all.

IMG_9561 IMG_9555

 

 
//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js //

Best Sailboat Purchase Ever

/ one2travelfar / 2 Comments
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a long time.  Sailboats have tall masts, ours is about 45 feet above the deck and stuff breaks on them and someone, usually the lighter of the crew, is sent aloft to do the repairs in a bosun’s chair.  This ia a harness attached to the rope at the top of the mast and is hoisted up by the stronger of the pair.  Get the picture.  I am sent to the top while DH hoists me there.  Well at the beginning of the season we did this a couple of times and although I got used to it, I never really liked it and besides the bosun’s chair didn’t seat well with me and I sometimes felt like I would slide out of it.
After some research, I decided to buy an ATN Topclimber to make my job easier.  Well the great news is that there is no hoisting involved so DH tried it.  Basically you use climbing gear to climb up a line attached to the top of the mast.  It took several trips to master it, and anything takes several trips.  We removed and replaced the radar reflector.   Searched for but never really found leaks into the mast and subsequently into the cabin.  Our anchor light stopped working and that took literally about 5 trips up and down with potential purchased replacements.  The best purchase for me has relieved me of the need to go aloft.  It’s even fun for the kids.  When Andre and Sarah visited us, Andre went up the mast for kicks and giggles and took some photos.