2020-09-20 — Galesville Chores

Magnolia has been in her “homeport” of Galesville, MD for about 3 weeks now. As many know my grill is pretty important to me. Though the “Spaceship Grill” had been my all time favorite it just was not holding up in a marine environment. After 3 years and two re-paints it was time to move on. Our latest update is the Charbroil X200 which is a aluminum so hope it holdups better. Of course the new grill, required a new grill platform. I was able to reuse the mounting to Magnolia but the table was custom built for this grill. Came out great.

Of course every grill needs a bag and the Admiral was kind enough to work her magic.

One of the main negatives in the many reviews was a poor regulator control. I was able to add second valve that should take care of that weakness.

While Annette was behind the sewing machine she turned out some sail bags for the Pentagon Sailing Club (PSC) for their annual meeting. The PSC gave us our beginning so we try and pay back at every opportunity we can.

She sure does amazing work IMHO! 🙂

In spite of the “grueling” schedule aboard Magnolia we do make time to relax and enjoy the wonderful scenery here along the West River.

One of the additions to Magnolia was a adjustable/moveable table pedestal. Of course I was not satisfied with is functionality. Disassembly quickly uncovered the short-comings.

Implementation in progress…..

Successful outcome!

The Admiral was brave enough to take on the deck chairs. They need a very thorough cleaning. In past years we used Teak Oil which allowed mildew to form. This year we are trying a product called StarBrite Teak SEALER. We are hoping for a better outcome, standby news at a 11.

During our initial refit in 2017 I got much of the Engine Room painted…it was time to FINALLY wrap that project up. I used BilgeKote on the deck and some White Polyurethane paint on the deck plates.

I am very happy with the outcome…I like having a “clean” engine-room!

Another 2017 Refit Holdover was the mast. The top of mast and spreaders was peeling and really needed a wire brush and some paint. I used a tap to re-do a number of the threads. The mast is aluminum and the fasteners are stainless so a thorough coating of TuffGel will keep from the two metals from ceasing in the future.

Mast looking shiny!!!

Of course geek projects continue. The latest additions are a RS-232 Smart Display and the ability to set some manual statuses in the system.

I added a very small LED Annunciator driven from the RaspberryPi which calls attention to a condition (valve, switch, condition) which is out of norm. Functionality continues to be developed.

Annette has been VERY active in preparing this years Kadey-Krogen Rendezvous. Normally held in person in Solomons Island MD, this year though as a Zoom Meeting.

We recently took the opportunity to host an outside Bar-B-Que with my cousins Dan, George and Cathy. It was a fun afternoon and a small break from the Pandemic craziness!

Lastly, sadly the retired USS Ticonderoga which I served on in the early 1980s was towed from Philadelphia to Brownsville Texas to be recycled this week. She really moved the Navy forward technologically and helped me make some lifelong friends.

Magnolia has another three weeks in Galesville before moving on to Solomons MD. If you are in the area give us a shout!!! About that cigar Kriescher?????????

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