You Asked & We’re Answering

This picture really has nothing to do with this week - except for the fact that I have to remind myself that everywhere isn’t rainy or snowy or cold.

Staying inside with our toasty, warm & dirty fire! 😂 (We do sweep up….weekly.)

So it snowed here in Santa Cruz this last week. -Just for a few hours but still…. So crazy! Did we go down to the beach & check it out? Hell no! Do you know how cold it has to be for it to snow? I’m definitely not bundling up in all the clothes I own & go outside in that weather at 8 am unless there is skiing involved. We had a fire going & I can live vicariously through my daring friends’ posts of it on Facebook & Instagram.

Matt actually found this for me online! -So that I can shutup about being cold when I go outside. 😂 Here is the link if you’re interested: utwpods.com/products/walkingpod-pro?pr_prod_strat=copurchase&pr_rec_id=7644538a7&pr_rec_pid=4414920654959&pr_ref_pid=1440908771439&pr_seq=uniform

Today we had a hailstorm. Doesn’t capture well on video but it does motivate me to continue to hustle in getting things done to get down to Mexico later this year.

This has been our world the last week.

We went to the boat this weekend during the few hours that the sun did come out. Matt checked on a ton of stuff & I scrubbed mildew out of the v-berth. Cleaning: -houses are over-rated, find a boat to clean instead.

Speaking of cleaning, I feel like we are finally making a dent in getting stuff out of our house. Need something? Just ask. We might be getting rid of it.

A lovely few hours in the afternoon in the Santa Cruz Harbor.

Finding tiny leaks & fighting tiny mildew.

Cleaning session photo shoot! Okay, yes, our dog is the super photogenic one but he doesn’t have opposable thumbs so I would have to photoshop that in & we are dedicated to keeping this real!

And not sure what this guys is doing but he says he’s working on something.

And now for your questions. We’ve consolidated them into more general ones but hopefully they’ll give you the answers you wanted.

What are our biggest projects for the boat right now?

Boat projects can easily be put into 2 categories: The stuff you need to do & The stuff you’d like to do to make life on your boat more comfortable.

Stuff we need to do right now: Get our battery & solar issues figured out. Figure out the most efficient, cost effective way to have access to WiFi as much as possible so we can work while away. Make a bimini. -This might be more on the stuff we’d like to do list but we think it’s imperative if we’re going to be sailing in intense, Mexican sun. Plus, if there is a torrential downpour while sailing, it will help out with that. And get a back-up autopilot.

Stuff we want to do to make life on our boat more comfortable: Going along with the bimini, it would be nice to have some removable side, isinglass paneling so protect the skipper from the cold at night. -And for the person sleeping in the cockpit. Change out the annoying fluorescent bulbs in the galley & over the table to warmer LED bulbs. Attach an extendable shower head to the sink so we can take a nice warm shower here & there. Oh & I would love a watermaker but not sure if we have the room or the budget for that at this time.

Do you have an itinerary planned out for getting to Mexico?

For the most part, yes. But with sailing that means we have an outline but things are most likely going to change around here & there. We will be doing the same stops as we did last year but instead of going back to Malibu after being in Catalina we will go to Dana Point. Then we’ll make our way down to Chula Vista to do the Baja HaHa at the end of October. After getting to Cabo with the other boats, we will cross over to the mainland of Mexico & stop first in Mazatlan. After this our plan is to make our way down the coast, stopping in different places, & ending up in Puerto Vallarta. This should put us in that area around the holidays. after celebrating the holidays there we’ll slowly make our way back up the Sea of Cortez until we get to Puerto Penasco. This is where will we put our boat on the hard until autumn of 2024 & get back to Santa Cruz by the end of March.

How did you guys know that Zephyr would like sailing?

We didn’t. We just got really, really lucky! It’s definitely not easy, even though he does seem happy out on the water. We have to bring him on & off the boat - so it’s nice that he’s small. We have to bring him inside the cabin & outside the cabin - the stairs are too awkward for him.

He does like to bark a lot. -At birds, at paddle-boarders or kayakers, strangers, noises, etc. We do have a bark collar that just lets off a sound when he barks. We put that on him when his barking gets ridiculous. He is our protector. It’s in his nature. So we don’t want to really punish him for that.

It took him a while to get used to doing his business on the boat & in the right places. There’s no magical thing that works. You just have to keep trying to get him to go potty on the grass & eventually he will. It might take a year but don’t give up.

Our boy also has separation anxiety so leaving him on the boat isn’t much of an option. We got a backpack to carry him around when we have an agenda. -He loves to stop & smell absolutely everything. I mean, he takes stopping to smell the roses literally. And this might mean every 5 feet if it’s somewhere new. But sometimes we need to get stuff done. Plus, back in October in Santa Barbara, there was a day when we were walking around all day & he got way too exhausted. It is a bit snug in the v-berth for the 3 of us but that’s what we get for having such a cute guy that we can’t say no to.

There are a few other things, like not being allowed in museums or grocery stores that ban dogs from entering. -Which makes being spontaneous a little harder. -Or going inside somewhere together.

Furthermore, flying anywhere is a gnarly conundrum since we refuse to put him in cargo.

But we adore him & we don’t mind too much having to adjust our lifestyle a little bit to have him with us. He’s definitely worth it!

He even likes wearing his life jacket! -Yet he still hates his walking harness. 🙄

If I’m thinking about getting a boat, what should I do beforehand?

Ask yourself these questions: Do I love sailing? Do I get seasick? Do I know how to sail? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to make this work? What do I love about the idea of owning a boat? Do I like to relax much? Can I work on the boat myself or do I have enough money to get things fixed all the time on the boat? Would climbing up a mast bother me? The basic answer to these questions is that you have to make your boat one of the highest priorities in your life. Otherwise, it’s going to be more of a headache & money-pit in your life. Try to go on a few, or a lot, of day sails with someone you know who has a boat. Or you could try crewing for someone who doesn’t need to be experienced. If you like that, take a sailing class. If you love that, then take a second sailing class. Then, just try to sail as much as you can. Don’t go out in just perfect conditions. Go out when the wind is over 20 knots. Go out when there is no wind. Read a ton of books involving sailing. Watch a ton of videos involving sailing. -Not just the ones where people are cruising around the world having fun. And if you haven’t been deterred by any of that, then think about getting a boat.

Matt took this photo at the top of our mast. I would love to go to the top of the mast but I have no idea to do any of the stuff that necessitates going up. It would be more of a ride for me. I like heights! -Within reason. I’m not going to tightrope across the Grand Canyon or anything.

Matt, how did you get so good at fixing stuff on the boat?

You all are so kind to ask. The simple answer is that I've had a lot of practice at making all kinds of repairs. In fact, fixing stuff has been my main gig for over 30 years now. I was one of those kids who would take apart things just to see what was inside and as an adult I've worked on many bicycles, motorcycles, cars and houses. Many of the same tools and methods cross over to boating repairs. Having said that, the boat has many unique systems that are not found in houses and therefore quite foreign to me. Even so, I take the time to learn each new system and do the repairs myself so that we can remain as self-sufficient as possible. We might break down far from mechanics, parts, etc.. and I want to know the boat systems as much as I can. Thankfully, we have YouTube and Google and a large, helpful community of Catalina 30 owners in various forums on the Interwebnets to learn from. Above all else is what I learned from my dad. He was (and still is) always fixing something. He built a house from the ground up over 45 years ago (had lots of help but still . . . damn!) Some of the jobs he's had and done: TV/radio and appliance repair as a high schooler, assembling the pipe organ for a church, fixed machines for factories making paper, corrective fluids, heat seeking missiles and floppy disks and gears. He also built multi-axis test tables for a small micro-fabrication outfit.

Aww! Such fond memories of that/those projects from last year!

We’ll definitely answer more questions later. But always feel free to put questions in the comments below or message us. We are happy to help others. Even with all the information out there, sometimes it’s hard to find the answers you’re looking for. If we don’t know the answer to something, we probably know who does.

Okay guys, now I’m reading to do some boat cleaning.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for the questions! If you want to be sure not to miss a blog then sign up for svMerSea Weekly below. -We will only bother you once a week. 😁