2022-08-28 Haul the boat - two steps forward and one sore back.

We moved to Worton Creek, and anchored just outside the marina.  Did a few more things to get the boat ready to haul.  Had a big storm with dumping rain come through, and we actually drug anchor for the first time in two years.   When we hauled the anchor up, found the bottom was just goopy mud, and we had a black plastic bag wrapped on anchor - so don't feel too bad.   We did not do anything as we drug, as we had room, and were moving pretty slow.  When storm stopped, we re-anchored and got a good nights sleep.

Last time our boat was hauled we had a little green frog that got on the boat, that we gently took off and put back in the marsh area near the boat.

Our visitor in September of 2020, when we last hauled boat.

This time the frog visiting us looked much older and wiser - much like us - the older part anyway.

We took this little guy to shore near the water as well.

We took the boat into the dock Tuesday morning and the yard started the process of pulling the mast.  We were not allowed on the boat while they worked (for insurance purposes), so we had to coach from the sidelines a couple of times, but all went well, except for a few scratches on the mast the yard will fix.

    Pulling the mast

Boat looks naked without mast

We were scheduled to be hauled the following day, but the yard decided to go ahead and haul us right after the mast was off.  Good thing we were ready.

Coming out of the water

High and dry

Now the work begins.  One project was to change the seals on our sail drives.  The sail drives are the underwater units our propellers attach to.  Kris wanted to get right to work on this, as it was her first time doing the seals, and wanted to make sure if anything went wrong, there would be time to fix.

Working on the sail drives.

She must have had a premonition, because as we started working we did find something wrong - and not a little something.  Looks like we have a corrosion issue.  Galvanic corrosion is something we protect for on boats, but we lost a protective zinc while in the Bahamas, and it could have been gone for almost two months.  Looks like more than two months damage, but not sure how fast it can corrode.

 

Left and right should look the same.   Left is missing some material.

We also found some corrosion on the sail drive casing.  The corrosion made it hard to get the work done, as things stuck together more than they should, so a two hour project, became a 6 hour project.  After corrosion noticed, Kris decided a call to an experienced person would be in order.  Called a local Volvo Penta dealer, and they will be out Monday to help with fixing our issues.  

Dean worked hard on getting the boat cleaned.  First step was to remove the staining.

It is easy to see where he has and hasn't cleaned.   

Had some issues cleaning the hull, as it took a lot more work than we planned, and the wax we used last time was not stripping off well and ran out of stripper.  So, more on order, but we need to finish that before we work on the painted part of the hull. 

We also need the shop to remove the two thru hulls that we suspect are leaking, and they start that project tomorrow.

With work on our two main projects  (hull and sail drives) at a standstill, we moved onto other projects. 

We ran new wires in our mast and installed our new antenna, and halyard guide to reduce chafe.  The mast is in the upper yard, and the boat in the lower yard.  It is a short walk up the hill, but feels like longer with the heat.    Also working on polishing all the stainless on the rigging.

New wire whip antenna on mast, and future wire for cell router.

Dean worked on maintenance on the dink engine.  Nice to be doing it on land standing, versus open water leaning backwards over the engine.

And we started the project of cleaning up our visors. We needed to remove all the old dirty sealant from around our visors, sand and paint them, and then decided if we want to reseal or not.  Also decided to paint our bimini top.

The old sealant did not do well - and got mildew that would not scrub out.

Scraping out old sealant was a pain

Visors, taped off, and first coat of new paint on

Also painting the bimini top, one half at a time.  

Port half done, now have to move all the stuff to the other side and finish the starboard half.

Good thing we worked on the bimini, as we found a hinge broken on the hatch - so one more thing to fix.

We also worked on painting our helm seat.

Looking good, but complete fail, as paint is rubbing off.

The Krylon paint - that adheres to plastic - isn't sticking, so back to the drawing board on this project.

So for being out of the water for 4 days, we have got quite a bit done, but still have a good ways to go.  In addition, Kris took a tumble the other day, no major damage, but just a very sore butt (what she landed on), and stiff neck and back from the fall.  Should also mention all the work being done in high heat (over 85), with high humidity, with a feels like temperature of the mid 90's.   We both shower fully clothed each night, just to rinse the sweat out of our clothes - icky.

Here are some views of our home for now.

Tucked in close to a couple of large shops, for wood working and painting.  Old wood Vietnamese PT boat next to us, slowly rotting away.

View from the bow.