Mystic’s mad scientist is at work again
Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011
Strange noises have emanated from our basement ever since we moved in 20 years ago. I’ll hear high-pitched whines, odd buzzings and whirrings, or assorted and unexpected hums, whistles, and alarms. Sometimes an unusual noise is followed by a string of foul language “that would make a sailor blush,” as Henry Higgins said. These noises should concern me, I know, but I worry just as much when it’s quiet down there.
When she was very young, Jerry’s daughter taught him a thing or two about the workings of a young brain. When she was out of sight, he worried most when she was very quiet. One day when the quiet had gone on too long, he asked, “Jessie, what are you doing in there?” Her innocent and honest reply said it all, and we still quote her frequently and fondly: “If I tell you, then you’ll know.”
Right. So the real question about the work of the mad scientist in my basement, now that the noises coming from two floors below are primarily whirring, occasional thuds, and clanking chains is, how much do I want to know?
For many years, Jerry and I have been afraid of the excessive strength and mutilating power of a windlass. (I won’t deny it, perhaps we were also being cheap.) But, as we hope to continue sailing even as we age, we’ve succumbed. After a great deal of research, Jerry bought a small, but powerful, Lewmar windlass. As long as he’ll be modifying the bow to accommodate it, that led to another age-related modification that we’ve put off as long as possible: the addition of roller furling for the jib. As I write this in April, I anticipate that it’s going to be a busy spring for Mystic’s chief engineer.
Our sailing season on the most northern of the Great Lakes is notorious for being brief. Spring comes reluctantly. Fall comes all too soon. You wouldn’t want to spend too much of your time during the months of April and May (also known as spring launch season) working on extensive modifications to the boat. If you do, you’ll look up and it will be midsummer before your boat is launched and finally sailing. As Captain Jack Aubrey said, “There’s not a moment to be lost.”
Thus the noises in the basement. As well as organizing the wiring and belowdecks reinforcements required for a proper windlass installation, Jerry has built a plywood mockup of Mystic’s bow and has spent part of the winter months getting the angles right for the launch and retrieval of two anchors (yes, you read that correctly). We’ve spent time splicing 8-Brait line to chain. In addition, Jerry has spent hours testing the new system . . . and testing, and testing.
I hope he doesn’t wear it out before he gets it mounted on the boat.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
