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After Ryuho Yamada Sensei , Zen shiatsu teacher and healer, died in 2003, Hollis DeLancy bought his 1986 Toyota Corolla All-Trak, from Ryuho's wife, Mayumi (so she could return to Japan). Since she did not really need another car, she gave it to me. It was a bit of a problem from the beginning because it often failed to start (the car came with a small battery charger), and I went through a series of repairs, replacing the alternator and starter, until one smart mechanic replaced the ignition switch and it worked perfectly. The car served me well, especially during torrential winter rains when I could flip it into four-wheel drive and safely negotiate water and mud.

Moving to Florida, I had to pay more than five hundred dollars to register it! I should have sent it to Pull-A-Part right then, but I had the money and lacked the sense. I used it well for several years until it was stolen and ended up in Kingman, Arizona. Sara Smith rescued it and her Santa Cruz mechanic, Pedro, put it back into shape. Curiously, though, somewhere in its journey, its nice, new, 100 amp-hour battery, got switched to an older, 60 amp-hour model.
Last year, before I sailed off to Fort Meyers, the car failed to start reliably. Sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't, not a desirable behavior in a car. I found that if I could get the battery voltage up to about 12.8 volts (higher than a resting, fully charged battery), it always started, indicating a big resistance in the starting circuit. I attempted to check the cable connection, but there is so much metal back where the starter lives, I could not even see the starter motor. I abandoned the car and sailed away!
Well, now daughter, Lisa, and son-in-law, Andrew, are moving back to Tallahassee, I need a car again as there is no public transportation to the Forgotten Coast. I also had to miss a meeting of the Franklin County Democratic Party Committee because I could not get to Carabelle--I thought about taking the boat, but that would mean six hours on the engine because there is seldom any fair wind in the Waterway, or ride my bike, but that would probably be beyond my ability. And, Tallahassee is just out of reach entirely!

1986 Toyota Corolla Ignition Switch

So, I guessed that the starting problem was once again due to a faulty switch and dove in. It took me hours to remove all the old, junky plastic to get the switch and diagnose it was indeed the problem--I jumped the connection between the hot plug and the starter plug and the engine turned right over, then I had to crawl under the steering column to unscrew it. I took it apart and attempted to clean the connections, but when I put it back together, it would not work at all. So much for repair! An eBay seller had a new switch for $35 and it is on its way.

I finished painting the quarterberth and other places while I was at it. Hopefully, the little flecks of white paint are banished from my cabin. It looks good, too, all clean.


I also decided to add a shelf for my computer, printer, etc, and provide a secure place to store charts. So, I taped off a section (blue in the photo) to provide a foundation for fiberglass. After the new paint dried, I ground off all the old gel-coat and paint right down to the fiberglass of the hull. Then, I fashioned a 1"x3" board to glass in to the hull and provide a ledger to support the shelf. In order to make it conform to the hull shape, I sawed about fifty kerfs across the width of the board, down to about 3/8". I prepared means to hold the board in place and glassed it in.

My shelf job is not perfect, completely due to my inexperience as a "glass-man". Neighbor Mike Young, a real glass-man, advised me, but the technique is tricky. It is necessary to add just the right amount of hardener to the resin--too little will cause the resin to set up slowly, too much will cause the resin to set up too quickly and be brittle, to boot. I did both. The first batch fastened the board to the hull and it set up too quick. The second batch wrapped the wood and fastened to the hull below the board and after two days, it is still tacky. Nevertheless, the shelf looks good.

When the resin finally cures, I can use the last of my cabin paint to touch up, then I get my cabin back! I am so tired of typing on my dining table. But, I believe the result will have been worth the travail: a bright, clean quarterberth, a bright, clean cabin, and a sturdy shelf to keep my laptop secure at sea.