The Saga So Far
For background information, read my last post.
I moved the boat from Wormley Creek as soon as I could. I found a spot at Seaford Yacht Club. I had arranged to take the boat on the 18th to Cobb’s Marina. But the weather report was looking pretty crappy. The next time the Marina could take it was yesterday.
To make this work on a weekday, I wanted to start early enough that I’d be done by noon and be able to put in at least half a day.
The tides didn’t look good. Low tide was at 6:30 am, just about the time I’d want to leave. And Back Creek is pretty shallow at that time. So my husband, Erik, and I went by last weekend at low tide to check how bad it really was. My handheld depth meter read 5.5′, so I had a foot under the boat. Not ideal, since I draw 4.5′, but at least I wasn’t sitting in the mud.
Thursday night didn’t go well. I’d shut my eyes and doze for about an hour, then wake up. I tried taking Melatonin and it didn’t seem to help the situation. I didn’t want to take anything stronger and risk not waking up at all.
Finally, at 5 am, I got up and headed to the marina. The boat was low in the water, that’s for sure! And most of the fenders I’d attached to the docks weren’t doing much good; they were guarding the lifelines.
I pulled everything in. I unattached the power, avoiding getting bitten by a couple of hornets who’d made the box their home. I rolled up the lines on the fenders, but threw the other lines in the cockpit to deal with on the ride over.
It stays pretty shallow in Back Creek for a bit. So shallow that Navionics has this red and black warning line on the route for the first 1/2 mile. But I got through that ok. This is still the Poquoson Flats though, so it was still about another 45 mintues before I could safely crank the engine and stop watching the depth so closely.
My autopilot, which has been going bad for awhile now, is now not working at all. I’d put it on, it would steer to port, then scream at me because it wasn’t going where it knew I wanted to be heading. So I gave up on it, locking the wheel for short periods if I needed to step away for a bit, or using my foot to steer.
Predict Wind said I could expect winds between 10 and 15 kts when I got to the bay. And, of course, I was near the shipping lanes. So it was a bit choppy. And without a sail (remember: my mast is still off) it was hard to smooth it out. But it wasn’t anything too terrible most of the time. Just a bit uncomfortable when said ships were passing.
I made it in good time, showing up at Cobb’s Marina at 11:35, which was good: the yard crew takes off for lunch at noon. I left the keys with them and caught myself a Lyft home.
Next task: get the bottom paint done while it’s out of the water.
Relocating
“Why don’t you come to the pool? It’s quite comfortable.”
“I’m not a pool person. How’s your boat?”
“I think you should hire me as your project manager when I retire.”
“You need to leave. You don’t like the work we do and now you tell me that you we don’t manage well. I think it’s time you need to leave.”
There was, of course, more. But that day, my grandkids and I were thrown out of the pool and I was told to leave the marina before 30 August, one month away.
Problem is, my boat is dismasted. As part of the plan to have all the major work done before I retire, I was having the rigging replace. So I not only had to move my boat, but I had to find a way to move the mast.
Phone calls started. Text messages started.
First I had to find a place for the mast. I wasn’t leaving the marina without it. I had work planned for the middle of August at another marina. So I called them first. They were able to move things around to be able to take my mast and store it until I showed up for the other work I had scheduled. They could also handle stepping my mast.
It was suggested that, like when one goes down the Great Loop, I put the mast on the boat with a framework.
This was the least expensive option. But it involved getting a frame constructed. And I didn’t want to, didn’t have the time to, do that.
See, part of the problem is that my daughter is getting married next weekend. I wanted to have this all taken care of before family started arriving. And I do have a real job that helps pay for my expensive habit. I didn’t want to take a lot of days off of work to take care of this.
A friend I texted suggested a moving company that handles unusual moves. I called them. They reconnaissanced at both the marina the mast was currently and the marina where the mast would be moving to. They said they could move it for $600, which I thought was quite reasonable. << shout out to Seaford Transfer!
I also had a text message going with friends I thought might be able to help me move the mast onto the trailer. See, the marina owner also told me that, not only could we not use the pool, they would not help me move the mast. Sigh!
I checked online to figure out what my mast would weigh. 600 lbs! But the friend who’d suggested the moving company also said that seemed a bit high. His estimate was 2-300 lbs.
I had 5 friends who said they could help with the move.
Two of them, Jodi and Steve, arrived early to help get some moving blankets wrapped around the mast and wrap the entire mast with rope to hold up the rigging.
We got it onto the truck and headed out.
I drove towards the new marina. On the way, I got a phone call from them. Because it was so hot (heat index > 100 degrees), they were going to try to let their crew off an hour early. No problem. We were on our way. Next issue: they took lunch between noon and 1 pm. I was arriving at the new marina at noon. The truck was behind me. So I called Seaford Transfer and told them to wait before heading over.
I went to Cobb’s Marina and filled out paperwork. I then went down the street for lunch, figuring to come back at 1 pm to watch the unloading and to grab my friend’s blankets.
When I got back to Cobb’s, the truck and trailer were there. The driver said he’d gone back to the yard and added more straps to the mast. With the traffic starting to back up, he ended up getting to Cobb’s just after 1 pm.
I watched them unload the mast. Much easier with a crane than when we did it by hand.
The mast was taken care of. Now to take care of the boat. I had 2 weeks between now and my appointment to bring it to Cobb’s. I could go the Dockwa route. But that was expensive for just 2 weeks. I check with the marinas near me. Seaford Yacht Club had a couple of transient slips. I could get into one of those for $5/night plus $5/day for power. Deal! So Sunday, barring the storms that look to be brewing, I will be taking the boat to Seaford Yacht Club.
[Top]Spring Fever
I have been in the doldrums for the past several months. Well, not literally, but figuratively. I couldn’t figure out why. I had plenty of projects to pique my interest, enough ‘fun’ books to read. Then the weather started warming up and I started making the list of what I wanted to accomplish before spring. All the suddent, my mood improved, there was a spring in my step again and the world looked like a more cheery place!
Hmm…. not addicted to sailing, am I?
So, what’s on the list? Let’s see:
- Replace the handholds, both of which decided to crack after I started cleaning and oiling them. I wonder, if I’d left them alone, if they still would have cracked.
- Replace the wood in the galley that started splitting from all the water gushing in from the hole on the deck
- Paint topside and deck, repairing any more holes as I do
- Replace the outboard with an inboard electric engine
- Step the mast and install the antenna for the new satellite radio. Put the FM antenna up there while they’re at it (will have the marina do that for me)
- Have the rigging checked while the mast is down
- Get a new jib
- Replace the knotmeter
Well, we’ll see how the budget holds out. I’m going to try to be smart about the budget. Well, I’m gonna try! 🙂
I did finally finish the repair to the deck hardware for the pump out. It required more epoxy for the soft spot, and an interminable wait for the stuff to harden. The directions say to not use when the temperature is less than 50 degrees. So I had to wait awhile for a few days where the high was at least in the 50’s. Then I figured I’d better wait another long while for it to set up.
I picked up some cork gasket material at the auto supply place and cut it to fit under the fitting. I’m trying my darndest to make sure no more moisture gets through this thing.
[Top]Sticker Shock
Well, repairs are underway and I’m having sticker shock!
There were certain things that needed to be taken care of that I didn’t think I was quite ready to handle, so I’m having them done before I take the boat out. The general repairs were about what I expected. But that soft spot on the deck was more extensive that we originally thought and that’s going to be a killer to cover!
Sorry Megan and Lissa – not only will I have to sell my firstborn, but my second born, too, to pay for it.
Not really. But, well, I did know I was buying a sink hole.
🙁
It’ll all be worth it!
Good news was that the steering column isn’t as bad as we thought. That is, the fiberglass around it is sound, so that will just require replacing the backing plate, not repairing the deck as well.
It’ll be a week or two before the plumbing and electrical work is done. In the meantime, I’ll see if I can get a better price on the fiberglass (deck) work.
I did get some pics of the boat before the work started. I’ll add to it as things are getting done:
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