Eddie Offermann's Blog (32)

Hi, everyone!

I know I've been away and keep saying I'll be on with updates but so much has been happening and so much if it has only peripherally been related to So Nice.

I started a business last year that's been evolving. It was keeping me extremely busy but was going in directions I wasn't enjoying so I took a break and slowed down and am pointing in in a different direction that *does* suit me better - at least partially because it'll be a lot more focused on being on…

Just a quick check-in to let everybody know I'm still alive and kicking! Its been a busy year - not a lot of boat work or terribly much sailing, unfortunately.

I'll write more soon to update on what we *have* been doing, with So Nice and otherwise, soon. I'm in the throes of a terrible chest cold right now though, so more detailed info will have to wait.

Our marina Bar Harbor is closing for construction so we're getting ready to move the boat into a new marina by end of the month. This weekend and next week we'll be checking out the others - I've called several to verify that they have slips available for us. Contrary to years past when getting into a marina in Marina Del Rey required being on a waiting list often for years, there's nothing like that now.

We've been surprised to discover that getting liveaboard slips isn't even…

Started a big project that I've been planning for a while: converting the forepeak into "official" storage: Shelves in a similar style to those found in the cabin. Since we're intending to cruise (and the V-berth is the least comfortable area to sleep in underway) and since I'm 6'2" and can't even come close to sitting up in there, I had decided quite some time ago that the forepeak would be storage only. We've been stowing things there, but it gets messy easily. Adding some shelves and…

Spent the weekend demolishing and building. Cockpit remodel is underway.

After some changes in schedule a couple weeks ago when hatches I ordered were damaged in shipping, I decided this weekend that I needed to get my tablesaw and compound miter saw OFF the boat. The original plan was to do the stove mount, then the cockpit - both projects for which I wanted a couple of my larger tools at the boat. Then when my hatches were damaged in shipping, I shifted gears since I have enough…

Thought I would share this listing: Ebay - it matches the wire halyard winches on the Newporters I've seen.

This listing is for UNUSED ones that were never installed. I can't vouch for the seller or anything, just ran across the listing and thought someone else might like them.

Got the rest of my supplies for the color-changing LED strips. I built a few 12v regulators for them last weekend - while the LEDs themselves can handle some variation in voltage, but I'm concerned that spikes could damage the electronic controller/IR receiver. I repackaged the controllers inside of larger project boxes and added a 12v regulator chip (L78S12CV) which does a nice job of stabilizing the voltage.

Hoping to do the interior before the weekend so I can focus on the cockpit.…

Borrowed Muff's mule (fisherman) sail. The lady and I have been fiddling with it today - which made me suddenly realize (after seeing Muff's rigging on MISTRI) what this doohickey in my rigging locker is for. Gerald was also able to confirm for me that the odd forward-facing bracket on the mizzen was for: it's where you attach the fisherman to!

One thing is for certain: the mule PULLS - with what seemed like light wind on deck (she was barely moving in the air close to the deck), she…

We've continued to be super busy getting ready for summer and planning for the Big Sail which, while still two years out, feels like it's approaching rapidly.

There's been a lot of refinishing on the exterior wood - deeper than usual. Took the starboard side down to bare wood and it looks gorgeous. We'll do the other side eventually but for now are focusing on maintaining it - this was motivated by a mishap with fog rolling in unexpectedly and severely mangling an in-progress epoxy…

Boat Show

Went to the LA boat show in Marina Del Rey a couple weekends ago to check out current doodads and gewgaws on recent boats. Love the newer pushbutton locker latches that pop out and become handles when unlocked. So Nice is getting some of those!

Also pleased to see that some of my 'original' ideas for handling airflow in storage lockers and such have been embraced on a few the boats we saw.

Was amused at how…

So we have a friend visiting from Seattle for a bit under two weeks, having something of a working vacation. Our best choice for a day to go sailing, between her arrival and departure, my work schedule and her activities while in town was this last Saturday.

We had watched the weather predictions and it looked like it was going to be a brisk day - 10-15 kts through the afternoon. I was excited about the prospect of a good strong blow to carry us along... but as the weather picked up…

Drawing up the cockpit redesign.



I'd mused on it before and have since mused extensively, measuring and remeasuring and laying down, pretending it's already there, imagining the repositioning and enlarging of storage, visualizing where the support structures need to be inside, figuring where the hatches should be... Basically, joining the side benches in the cockpit all the way back to the Cleopatra, making them slightly deeper (and trapezoidal - tapering towards…

Thanks for all the personal, non-sailing support folks! Knowing people are rooting for me and that others have gone before me (thanks for sharing that, Paul - the words I've gotten from friends and acquaintances, sometimes people that I have known personally but never knew their story, have been some of the most encouraging even when it's "Yep. Happened to me. I'm ok. You'll be ok, too.")



I'm halfway through my radiotherapy now, so far side effects have been manageable (some nausea,…

A few weeks ago, I woke up sick. I didn't know quite what was wrong - abdominal pain... maybe I ate something that disagreed with me. By the next morning, I knew I needed to get to a doctor as it had localized and was very severe.

So I went to the ER. There were some tests to determine if it was something demanding emergency surgery. A sonogram indicated one testicle was apparently enlarged and had an internal mass of some sort. So, I was referred to a urologist. I was told that I…

Between the lazzerette deck blocking post and this one about cockpit layout I've been obsessing over a cockpit remodel. I noticed, for the first time, that the side benches on mine aren't the same height. The portside bench is roughly an inch taller: nobody notices it until I…

Functionally repaired (finally) the step down into the cabin. The bulkhead had been modified for the new engine and I've had a temporary fix in place for a while. Tore out the temp fix and rebuilt it to be more sturdy and permanent. I have some of the new cosmetic face for it finished, hopefully will be able to finish that next Saturday. Soon... New floors. Not sure exactly when I'll tackle that. But soon!

Waiting on some parts for the RGB LED strip lighting. They should be in this…

So I've been working on refinishing the exterior wood. It's looking good - I have another weekend worth of work and a few mornings during the week of laying up lacquer, then a day of touching up the paint and that will be finished. Since I work full time, I have to squeeze it in where I can so it could be a few weeks before that gets finished.

One thing that I can do in the evenings is work on the lighting. I've been installing RGB LED strips in recesses and behind coves. You…

We had a great sail on Memorial Day. Ended up having exactly a dozen, as predicted - plenty of room for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves. Considering that most weren't experienced sailors, I think having only two people get ill was a pretty good record.

The weather was really perfect - warm, good breeze all day, calm seas (2 ft wind waves, 2-4 ft swells, long period)... We sailed North for a few hours, then south for a few, then back in. Nothing special.…