The continuing adventures of Koinonia

[Bob23]

THAT'S IT! IV'E HAD ALL I CAN TAKE!
   I've taken over Bob23's computer and I will not give it back until he finishes my projects and sets me free to sail! I swear, if he spent half the time fixing me up that he spends on this forum, I'd have been in the water 2 months ago. So...
   You will not hear from him until I'm in the water with my new sails up. Sure, I'm all cleaned up, varnished and lookin' spiffy. But I'm not giving in this time.  I'm not lettin' him near this computer until I get launched.  I may check in from time to time out of shear boredom.
"Koinonia"

[Bob23]

GOOD NEWS!
   Koinoina has been launched! I can sure identify with Shawn about too many projects and I didn't do anything major. But as they say, "this too will pass" and as I perservered, through all the interior varnishing, keel repair, wrestling match with the bilge pump, teak removal, refinishing and installation and a host of other excuses, finally I reached the point where I pronounced the boat good enough to launch.
   I realized 2 things: First, we are never really done with "the list". Second, as Mungo Jerry so brilliantly wrote all those many years ago: "Life's for living". And sailboats are for sailin'. Thanks Mungo! I needed that. Sure, I could spend another month putting on her makeup and making sure everything is just so. Rather, let's hoist those new sails and set course on a wonderful beam reach on a sunny day in NJ, cold beer close at hand. Oops- not supposed to drink and sail...better wait till I drop anchor.
   Hope to see you out there...I monitior channel 16 while sailing. Here are a few photos of the old girl, all prettied up but without her sails on yet:





Bob23...back on the scene!

[Shawn]

Bob,

Congratulations on the launch, looking good.

Have fun!

Shawn

[Billy]

She sure is a looker!

[Bob23]

Thanks, Gents but she's kinda dirty right now. Did you catch the bird poop on the bow pulpit? Yeah, I should've removed it before the photo. When I refinished the pulpit originally, I inlaid strips of white oak....to mimick the teak and holly cabin floor.
First sail tomorrow...yeee-haw!!!!
Bob23

[jthatcher]

hi Bob,
   it has been a while since you posted here..  of course, i saw your other post about getting the boat in the water..  have you been out recently?   it looks like the weather is going to be agreeable this weekend so we will be headed down on friday night..    i think that we may have some friends visiting on sat. but we are going to try to make it to waretown on sat night.   

any interest in an early breakfast on sunday morning?   we would be happy to come down your way..   

I expect that we will be on the water on saturday, but i don't know how far out in the bay we will make it..  we will have to gauge how much our friends actually like to sail!    jt

[Bob23]

JT:
   Due to some recent and unexpected family issues, I won't be sailing north this weekend. Eventually, we'll get together and gab over a cold one or two.
   Wednesday after work I went out for a glorious sunset sail. My brother has an O'Day Mariner which he keeps near "Koinoina" and when we sail together, there is always an informal race and water cannon battle. He wins the race almost every time. Our 23's aren't built for speed.
   Wednesday was hot, and after working all day in it, I was dying for a sail. The wind was flukey, from the west and blowing anywhere from 10 to 20 knts so after work, I rowed out, did my usual set up and sailed off my mooring. Although I have a wonderful 1988 8 hp Nissan 2 stroke, I prefer to sail off and onto my mooring whenever safe and possible...builds up my skill.
   My brother went in early and I had the entire Manahawkin bay to myself while watching the wind subside and the sun begin her retreat toward her western home. There is something magic, something just right about ending a day that way. It feels like home-sweet-home.
   Have a great weekend...
Bob23
(ps: Love to do a Sunday breakfast sometime...this Sunday won't work. But thanks for asking)

[jthatcher]

sorry to hear that you are tied up this weekend..  but no problem -  i know that i will be making another trip down in a couple of weeks..  and then, sad to say, it may be time to put the boat away for the season..  i am really conflicted about that, but  once school starts, it may be just too much of a distraction to have it in the water and to be dying to  spend one more weekend down there!   see you soon.  jt

[Bob23]

DON'T DO IT!!! LEAVE HER IN THE WATER!! We'll make a point of getting together the weekend you're down.
bob23

[jthatcher]

hey Bob,  thanks for the heads up on the boat show in toms river..  we actually planned the trip down this weekend around it.  we visited the museum earlier in the summer and put the date of the show on our calendar..   it is kind of late now, so i will update the adagio page tomorrow.. bottom line - the weather was beautiful, and we had a great weekend!  jt

[Bob23]

   The heat wave finally ended here in NJ around Sunday. We had some nice wind yesterday so I issued a judicial decree: Forget this crazy work thing and go sailing! Wind and weather too nice and the boat was calling.
  As I was setting up, I noticed an attractive young girl on her standup paddle board paddling over toward my boat. "Must be my stunning physique or my debonair silver grey hair or my one of a kind Tilley hat that attracts all these ladies", I thought to myself. "Nice sailboat" she says. "Uh, yeah, thanks...that's a nice paddleboard". We kibitzed for a bit about standup paddleboarding- something I never have tried, the weather and the wonderfulness of being on the water in general:
  This is one more thing I like about my 23: It really is an attractive boat. The boat is proportionally correct (even if her skipper is far from it) with just the right amount of teak. I know if I sailed a Clorox bottle that girl might have said: "Man, that is one ugly boat! The two of you go well together." Ok, so I need a boat to keep my ego from being crushed...what's so bad about that? Some geezers drive Corvettes for the same reason.
  Actually, I ditched my ego a long time ago...haven't seen it since. Life's a lot more fun without it!
Bob23

[Tim Gardner]

Hmm - No Ego, ergo erratic errata emoted by an erstwhile eminent erector. 

tg

[Bob23]

Yeah, Tim- That just about says it all!! Once I deciphered it.
Turns out she was an attractive young lady.
Bob23

[jthatcher]

Hi bob,
  it looks like i will be coming down to the boat on monday of next week .. coming back on thursday.    if you happen to be sailing and would like someone to crew, give me a call..  I can be very flexible..   jt

[Bob23]

Here are a few Koinonia trivia facts:
Official Beer: Pabst Blue Ribbon in bottles. An American classic since 1882 and a Gold Medal winner at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival:

Official Beach Chair. A good old wood frame and canvas one. Found a pair of them in the trash last year. One stays on the boat and one in the truck as a lunch chair. Very retro!

Official Mascot and Chief navigator. Yup..a good old yellow rubber duckie. I don't remember where I found him! We never get lost:

Official Tequila: Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia. This is the Cuervo family's finest Tequila, extra anejo (ultra aged) in barrels in the familys private cellars. Each bottle is numbered and dated. I bought this while in Caba San Lucas around Christmas 2009. Enjoy in moderation, my friends!

Aside from these few unique features, she's just a plain old, well cared-for 1985 23/2. With a few upgrades and modifications by yours truly:


Bob23