Janus

The trailer is rewired and ready to go.  The wiring for the l.e.d. lights runs up inside the trailer guide posts.  There are a couple of places where the wires get pinched and worn through, causing poor connections.  I used nylon cable ties to create a cushion so that maybe I can go through an entire year with tail lights intact.  We'll see.

The outboard is down the street at a friend's house for annual maintenance.  He tells me he'll be working on it today, hopefully it will be ready to go for tomorrow.  The forecast calls for sunny skies, 67 degrees and 12 mph wind out of the southwest.  The monday forecast is even better.  Wouldn't it be nice to sail the last day of January, the first day of February.

I received four bronze barbed thru hulls in the mail.  They will not go through Spartina's hull.  Instead they may be used to drain water from the forward area of Spartina, the bunk flat where I sleep, to the aft cockpit sole.  Typically rain is not a problem when cruising.  But torrential downpours, I can think of three of them over the years, can be an issue.  With enough wind and rain, water collects on the bunk flat to the point that it gets into the bivy, dampening the bivy, sleeping pad, sleeping bag and, of course, me.  The thru hulls should allow that water to drain aft so I won't have to, as Barry aptly described it, sleep in a puddle.  Another benefit would be that when sailing, the spray that comes aboard - and when sailing into a steep chop close hauled, a fair amount of water can build up on the bunk flat - that water will flow back to the cockpit where I can bail and sail at the same time.

It's just an idea right now.  I may not put them in this year, I may not put them in ever.  I will have to think about it.  The thru hulls, marine grade bronze, came from a water supply company in South Carolina for about $8 each.  Had I bought them at a boat store, I believe I would have paid much more.  Not too much of an investment and they could make cruising a little bit easier.

I titled this post for the Roman god of beginnings, transitions and passages.  Should I sail tomorrow or Monday I will not know if it is the ending of this past sailing season or the beginning of the next.  It may feel like a little of each.