Haul Out 2006 is Officially FINISHED! (well, mostly)
Yes, yes, congratulations are in order and graciously accepted.
We splashed Wednesday...fairly uneventful. The test of the new prop was satisfactory. We got 5.5 knots easily...it was incredibly foggy and with everyone waiting at the dock to take lines we didn't want to take forever. We are at a dock for the first time since March 2005. We get 2 days gratis from the marina after splashing. Will pay the $10 for Sat. so we can fuel, water, prep, clean the decks with endless water, etc.
We got docked, sat down to take a breather and a quick snack.
"Nothing looks different from here but it feels like home again." Heather said.
I grinned from ear to ear. I love hearing her say things like that...and I agreed. We hadn't cleaned anything yet, there was no wind, no motion to the boat...but somehow the energy had changed. Simply being back on the water we're both more relaxed, both smiling and joking more...we're both happier afloat.
We can use our own fridge (raw water cooling for the compressor so was useless out of water...no more living out of a cooler with ice!), our own head (no more waiting in line to use the yard heads), and our own shower (no more shower shoes, no more wondering "What's that on the wall?"
The Harken MKIII roller furling unit has been installed, huzzah! About 12 hours start to finish. Fairly straightforward, not overly traumatic, good directions, and good help from friends. The unit is in place and sail ready to be hoisted. But (there's always one of those...) we've a north wind which is blowing us onto the dock...I don't really want to hoist the sail and increase the pressure. Also the rigging needs tightened/re-tuned so I want to finish that first. There are a few bits & pieces on the dock to clean up and tools to put away...otherwise we can sit back, take a deep breath, turn up the music, and mess about on the boat. Life can return to its normal pace. Sunday we will do a sea trial and test the furling unit then be back at anchor, ahhhh, then we'll truly be King and Queen! Holding Pattern will once again be a floating Republic.
Monday, if the weather is right, if the tide is right, if the mood is right, and the dense foggy mornings are done, then we may head away from Green Cove Springs. I'm not saying this loudly... If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.
Haulout 2006 consisted of:
Prep of hull for painting
Awl Grip paint job on the hull (2 coats + 1 on transom from Love Bug Love-In)
Bottom repair of minor blisters
Bottom paint 3 coats, 4 on waterline
Installed 2 Lifeline AGM batteries (125+ lbs each)
Removed 2 old Lifeline AGM batteries (just as heavy as the others)
Varnished misc.
Re-rigged davits
Changed props (using fixed prop from storage, working on the Hydralign)
Engine maintenance
Interior and exterior zinc anode change
Bottom paint on dinghy
Dinghy repair
Roller furling unit changed out, the other has been non-functional since June or so
I'm sure there's more but...
We did every bit of work ourselves. Not one job was hired out. Paid a few friends with a beer, tea, coffee, or water and a handshake for help with a few "many hands make light work" jobs, but otherwise we wore every hat and quite successfully, I might add. (That was a champion run-on sentence) We're proud of ourselves, there is a sense of accomplishment with doing the work yourself.
I can't wait to get underway once again! Soon we'll be watching sunset from a new horizon.
Written, not proofed. | 