SS Pacifica

by Coleinger, Ronnie

  As we approached the docks, the two men who helped Becky build the Pacifica were there to lend a hand. They quickly tossed us ropes, which we tied to the rings welded on our hull. Within ten minutes time, our friends hauled the Pacifica-Two into the boathouse and securely tied her in place. As we climbed down onto the portable ladder that Jim and Fred moved into position, we felt our unsteady legs trembling under us. I looked at Becky and she said, “It feels nice to stand on something that does not continually move under me.” I took her hand in mine and we climbed down to greet our guests and family.

  As we stood talking, we both heard the sound of feet running on the concrete floor, and then we spotted Charlie running full speed across the boathouse to greet us. As he ran up to me, I picked him up in my arms and hugged him. He squeezed my neck so hard that I thought I might have to tell him to stop, but he finally released his grip. Becky stepped up to him and began kissing his cheeks. He quickly wiped the kisses away, but the smile remained firmly planted on his face. I heard him say, “Aunt Becky, your new boat is great. Can I go with you to New York?”

  I watched my wife struggle with her emotions. I put Charlie down on the floor as Becky kneeled down and said, “Charlie, the voyage to New York will take Stanley and me over a year to complete. I am afraid that you would miss too much school to make such a long trip with us. However, we will take a trip out to sea with your mother.” I saw a smile form on Charlie’s face and he hugged Becky around the neck. When he let go, he stepped back, and headed up the ladder to look out over the deck of the Pacifica-Two. When I looked at Charlie’s Mother, she laughed and said, “I don’t think it matters where you take him, it only matters to him that he is with you two on this incredible boat. His life seems to revolve around the ocean. I take him to the library every Saturday and he brings home stacks of books about the oceans and the creatures that live there. He is memorizing the names of all the fish he finds in the books and has learned many of the nautical names for the parts of a sailing vessel. I fear he has inherited this family’s love for the sea.” Becky stepped up close to Susanne so Charlie could not hear and asked, “May I invite Charlie to stay with us for a couple of weeks while we work on the Pacifica-Two? We have a lot to do to get this vessel ready for our next adventure, but having Charlie with us will be exciting. We need to make a shopping trip to the marina and to the sporting goods store. I think he will enjoy visiting both places.”

  Susanne explained that she had made a doctor and dentist appointment for Charlie next week, but she could arrange for him to spend two weeks right after that. When Becky turned to me for reassurance, I smiled and said, “The boy can stay here right up until the time we head out towards the Panama Canal.” Becky smiled and said, “Call me when Charlie is ready to stay with us. I will keep you informed about a trip in the Pacifica-Two once we have it outfitted and seaworthy.”

  Chapter 25 – Outfitting the SS Pacifica-Two

  When I woke up the following morning, it was just getting daylight. I perked some coffee and filled two cups with the aromatic liquid. I carried both cups towards Becky’s bedroom and quietly opened her door. As I stepped inside, I heard her say, “Good morning lover boy. Do I smell coffee?” I sat one of the cups on the nightstand beside her while she sat up a put a pillow between her back and the headboard. I sat down on the other side of the queen size bed and began sipping my coffee. She giggled at me and said, “You are up early this morning and I thank you for the coffee. I seemed to have overslept. I think you wore me out in the pool last night, and maybe I drank one too many beers with our friends.” I told Becky that were in the build mode and she had explained the rules to me once before. We needed to be in the kitchen at five o’clock each morning except on Sunday. Becky giggled and said, “Build mode does not start until tomorrow morning. I thought you understood.” I laughed at her and explained that I must have missed her instructions while we made love in the pool.

  I giggled over her words and then turned the conversation around to the Pacifica-Two. She listened to my plans for the day, and said, “Husband, you can tell me the rest of your story while I pee. I am about to burst.” As she pushed the blankets off her and stood up, I said, “Do you always sleep in the nude?” She turned around and said, “It is something that my lover taught me and I have learned to love the feeling of the sheets against my bare skin.” As she sat down on the toilet and I could hear her peeing, I asked, “Do you always wake up with such hard erect nipples?” I heard her giggle and then continue to pee. When she returned to the edge of the bed, she said, “My nipples are this erect because my lover kissed them very intently last night and they have not come down from the high as of yet.”

  We took our coffee cups with us down to the kitchen and fixed breakfast. As we ate, we both seemed to talk at once. Becky said, “I am the captain and it is my turn to talk.” I made a gesture with my fingers to indicate that I had zipped my lips and would allow her to talk. She looked me in the eyes and said, “I talked to Fred last night to see if he could do the woodwork for our new vessel and get it done within two weeks time. He said that he could do the project on schedule, but he would need some help. He said that he could hire another professional engineer who specializes in marine carpentry to help him. Now we need to make a decision if we want to use Fred or the people at the marina. I say we use Fred, but I wanted to get your thoughts on the matter.” I thought about the work I had seen on the original Pacifica and remembered that it was high quality craftsmanship throughout. I told Becky that Fred’s work was more than acceptable and would probably be of higher quality than the marina.

  Then Becky said, “Since you have so graciously allowed me to have the floor, I have more to discuss with you. I did some research a few months ago and realized that we need to plan our trip to New York carefully. We must outfit the Pacifica-Two around winter weather. We will need to prepare the vessel so that when we do encounter cold weather, we are prepared to heat the vessel and also have proper warm weather clothing and cold water survival gear for those times we need to be on deck.”

  As we talked, we both understood that the weather in the North Atlantic could be brutal and deadly if we are not properly prepared. We discussed our choices for fuel for the generators, camp stoves, lanterns, and now maybe even a heater inside the cabin of the vessel. I said, “There are not many fuels that we can use that will not kill us if used inside of the sealed cabin. I think we need to do some serious research on heating systems that will work within our guidelines. The generators require diesel fuel to operate and we cannot change that fact. Besides, diesel is available in every marina around the world. However, the camping equipment we purchased works with either gasoline, or white gas. Besides, the white gas does not smell if we manage to spill some. We may have to work around some form of electric heating system, although, I cannot decide on what would work in our vessel.”

  Becky said, “I am going out to the boathouse and begin moving everything out of the cabin and stack it along one wall. We will need to have the interior cleaned out if the guys are going to begin building our furniture and cabinetry.” I said, “I will do up the dishes and then begin researching heating methods that will work inside the Pacifica-Two. I will join you as soon as I have a definitive answer over the cabin heaters.”

  When I entered the boathouse with a steaming pot of coffee and two clean cups, Becky laughed and said, “Husband, how did you know I needed more coffee? I was just about to stop my important work, walk all the way to the house, wash the coffee pot and perk another pot. Then you walk in and make my day brighter.” I had stopped walking when Becky began her little dialogue and now stood wondering where the woman was going with this discussion. I finally walked over to the workbench and poured two cups of coffee. As I handed one to my wife, she said, “I am so excited about this build, I can hardly stand myself.” I chuckled over her words, but the explanation did answer my questions about her words when I first entered the boathouse.

  As we sipped our coffee,
I began explaining the pros and cons of different type of heating systems for the cabin. I finally got to the point and told her that I had found a twelve-volt electric heater system that would work perfectly. Then I explained that the only drawback was that we would have to run the generator occasionally to keep the batteries charged. Becky thought about my research and asked, “Would we need a heater at each end of the cabin or would one heater do the job?” I explained that the heater came with two small hot air tubes that we could run anywhere in the cabin where we needed the heat. I handed her the literature I had printed out and let her read for a few minutes. The pricing was also on the documents so she could make an educated decision on what she wanted.

  As I sat my empty coffee cup down on the workbench, she handed me the literature and said, “Will you do the size calculations and then get the heater ordered. Two spare heating elements might also prove cost effective when your wife is freezing her ass off in the North Atlantic.” As I headed back to the house to place the order, she grabbed hold of my arm and turned me around, then kissed me hard on the lips. She said, “If I boss you around too much, I give you permission to spank me.” I must have smiled a little too long, because she quickly retracted the words and said, “Maybe I should not have said those words. I am not certain I would like to be spanked.” I chuckled and said, “How would you know until you have let me do it once.”

  As I exited the boathouse, I turned back around to close the door and saw Becky still staring at me. I suspect she was considering my words, but little did she know that spanking my wife was not high on my wish list. No doubt, I fantasized about her cute butt, but I had no desire to see any red marks on it, other than the birthmark she was born with.

  When I returned, I placed the receipt for the heater and elements into the proper storage box. We always kept a copy of our purchases so we could find a part number and phone number if we should have an equipment failure while out at sea. Sometimes, a simple phone call could get a replacement part sent to some remote part of the world within a day or two.

  Becky was working hard to get everything moved out of the cabin. I spoke to her and said that I would carry the totes up from the cabin, if she would carry them down the ladder to where she was storing them; she quickly agreed. Once I managed to muscle a first full tote up the ladder and onto the deck, I realized why the girl was so tired. When she got back up onto the deck to get the next tote, I said, “We could lift an empty pallet up here with the overhead hoist and then lower the full pallet down to the floor. From there the fork truck could do the heavy lifting.” I saw a smile appear on Becky’s face as she headed down the stairs to find a wooden pallet. While she worked on getting things organized to lift an empty pallet up to me, I returned to the cabin and continued to move things up to the deck.

  By the time the last of the totes were properly stored away, Becky laughed and said, “Now I remember why I love you so much. You can figure ways to make hard jobs much simpler.” She stood on the deck beside me and said, “Fred and his helper will be here in an hour to look over the job and make a material list. They plan to begin work around noon tomorrow. Are you happy with my layout for the cabinets, beds, head, and the electrical cabinets? Changes are easy now if you need anything done different. How about places behind the woodwork for wiring. Do you need accessible places in case we need to add wiring later on?” I thought about her questions and said, “Yes. Could we spend some time in your office to make two changes before the guys get here?” Becky slid her arm around my waist and said, “Show me what you want and I will get them drawn up and printed while you make us a sandwich. Okay?” I pulled her close as we walked and said, “You are much too easy to work with. I spent years working in large engineering offices where every change was a battle. You make engineering a delight.”

  By the time Fred and his helper, Robert, walked into the boathouse, we were ready for them. Becky still had half of her chicken sandwich sitting on the bench, but Fred insisted she sit back down and finish eating. Then he looked at me and said, “I know how she gets when she is bitten by the Pacifica bug. She will not eat or sleep unless she is exhausted and cranky.” I began to laugh and said, “Those words, my friend, fit Mrs. Becky to a tee.” I heard the sound of air moving before I felt the punch to my shoulder. I had tried to turn, but the punch hit me squarely on the shoulder muscle. I did not flinch, at least not externally. When I turned back around, she had her fists up in front of her and began backing away. I suspect she thought I might return the punch, instead, I just laughed at her and began gathering up the drawings.

  As I walked, I heard footsteps as she ran to catch up with me. I quickly turned back around; expecting another punch to the shoulder, instead, I saw tears. I asked the reason for the tears and she said, “I am sorry. I don’t know why I punched you. I did not mean to hurt you.” I turned back around and continued towards the portable stairs leading up to the deck. I knew she was behind me, but I did not acknowledge her presence. When I got to the top of the stairs and stepped out onto the deck, I saw Fred and Robert start walking towards us. I looked at Becky and she quickly wiped away a tear and composed herself. When she walked past me to climb down the ladder into the cabin, she said, “Again, I apologize for hitting my best friend,” and then patted me on the shoulder where she had punched.

  Once the guys had completed their material list, they headed to a lumberyard thirty miles away. They had a truck large enough to carry all the lumber they would need in one trip. I hoped they could find all the special lumber they needed on such short notice. As Becky and I walked towards the house for a cold beer, she brought up the subject of punching me. She explained that my words pissed her off instantly and she had hit me before she thought. I said, “Then I apologize for the words I spoke,” and continued walking. When we entered the kitchen, I could tell that she was not going to let this go. I finally turned to her and said, “You have apologized, now let it be.”

  She walked out of the kitchen and I knew she was upset, but I really didn’t care. She needed to learn not to hit so damn hard, or learn not to hit at all. I took my beer and headed to the pool for a quick swim. I planned to cook our supper on the grill and then begin work on the electrical systems. I needed to make my own material list. We had decided to double the battery capacity so we would have a longer run time when submerged. If we ran into cold and stormy weather in the Atlantic, we would need to keep the cabin closed up. That meant we would need to run lights longer and quite likely the new heater. It was then that I decided I should spend some time doing load calculations. I needed to insure we would have enough battery capacity, even with the extra batteries we had planned to install. I had also devised a plan to allow us to change out a failed propulsion motor by simply removing four bolts and then unplugging two connections. The one time I changed out a motor on the Pacifica, it took me two hours. I realized that if we were in an emergency situation, we might not have two hours to spare. With the new plugs on the electrical connections, I should be able to change a motor within fifteen minutes, especially if the motor couplings were already in place and preset.

  It took me the better part of two hours before I had completed the electrical load calculation to my satisfaction. I now was positive that with the additional batteries, we would have ample reserve power and that one generator could run the entire vessel with power to spare. It would give me some security knowing that if one generator failed, the other one could run the entire vessel.

  As I finished the documentation, Becky stepped up beside me. She put her hand on my shoulder and said, “You have a bruise where I hit you.” She rubbed the spot with her fingers and I could tell she was sorry for the punch. I put my arm around her waist and said, “I am badly injured. You may have to cook the steaks tonight. I am not certain I can lift the spatula with my injured arm.” I heard her giggle, but she quickly thought up a comeback and said, “I guess you will have to just lie on your back while we make love tonight. I realize now that you could not p
ossibly support your body over mine with the injury to your shoulder.” I rubbed her butt with my hand and said, “I guess we will just have to make due.”

  She picked up the pages containing the load calculations and asked, “Will the additional batteries be enough to power the vessel?” I showed her the final numbers and explained how one generator could handle the load if the other failed. Then showed her how much extra capacity we had in the battery system with the additional cells. She slid the pages into my folder and said, “Shall we get supper ready. There is a good movie at the theatre down the road if you are interested in getting away for a couple hours. I will buy the popcorn.”

  As we walked to the house, she said, “I finished printing out a material list for the Pacifica-Two. It was a wonderful thing that we spent the additional time creating a detailed list of everything we purchased for the original Pacifica. All I had to do was update the list with the items I knew had changed and then print it. Maybe we can spend some time with the list in the morning and then begin our purchases. I would love to begin laying out everything in the boathouse that we will need to put into the Pacifica-Two when the woodwork is complete.”

  Chapter 26 – The Shopping List

  I could not sleep that night, somehow the excitement of this build had settled into my soul. Around two in the morning, I finally gave up and went to the kitchen. I fixed a pot of coffee and carried it out the boathouse with me. I left the yard lights turned off, hoping not to disturb my wife. As I stepped up to the boathouse door to press the security code, I realized we must have left the lights on when we left yesterday. I pressed the buttons and heard the latch retract so I could push the door open. When I stepped inside, I heard sounds coming from the other side of the Pacifica-Two. It was then that I decided someone had broken into the boathouse and that person was still here. I quietly stepped to the safe about ten feet down the wall and turned the dial to the right to the number six. I tried the door and it opened. I reached inside, retrieved one of the revolvers and checked the chamber. The gun was fully loaded. I quietly walked around the Pacifica-Two to confront the intruder. I could see the person messing around under the workbench, so I slowly walked in that direction. I held the pistol in the air beside my head and said, “What the hell do you think you are doing.” The person quickly turned to face me. I lowered the pistol to my side and stood there dumbfounded. The intruder was my wife.