It's a nice marina in the (very small) town - village really - of Erieau
It was a tight fit in the lift bay, but the team managed just fine
We had the usual list of routine maintenance to deal with: oil changes, adding antifouling paint layers, wax the hulls, tune up the engines, etc. Then there was all of the repairs we have been deferring until we were out of the water and there were no longer any more appealing distractions from local scenery: One saildrive (transmission) needed to be dismantled to replace a failed seal, One engine needed a new fuel pump and the other needed a new fuel filter assembly. Then, of course, there was the matter of fixing our Webasto heater so it would work in the springtime, preferably sooner. It was finally time to replace our entire wardrobe of sails and Maryanne had lots of sewing projects to do, the most challenging of which was probably fixing a few chafed areas on the Bimini. The repair itself wasn’t too involved, but getting the Bimini off and the solar panels disconnected took half a day.
On a variation of the lesson we learned at The Boat Works, when we hired a container to hold our extraneous stuff, out of the way of other projects, this time we removed ourselves to an AirBnB just a few blocks away. This allowed us to leave the boat in a right state, walk away and go to a clean house for the night, where we could cook and sleep without having to make some space beforehand. Maryanne also ended up with a giant space to sew that didn’t conflict with the piles of tools and parts strewn throughout the boat.
Then there was the winterization itself. Since Begonia was going to be stored for the first time ever in below-freezing conditions, we needed to make sure every drop of water in the boat was removed and replaced with antifreeze. Also, to protect from mildew, all textiles and anything else with a porous surface needed to be sealed in plastic and kept clear of any source of condensation. Maryanne did most of that job, which was basically like packing for a big move and then putting it all back again.
Of course, almost none of the work went as smoothly as planned. Our source of electricity and water was not as reliable as hoped, so I ended up doing almost all of the sanding and waxing by hand. Every time we realized we had the wrong tool or part, Maryanne was usually the one who had to interrupt her flow to make the half-hour drive to the nearest real town of Chatham to get the right ones.
For me, every day was worse than the one before it. Every morning, we would show up to the boat during the last few minutes of night, feel our way aboard and then start working through our respective lists. Then we would work without anything except bathroom breaks until it got too dark to see. We would then go back to the house, struggle to stay awake for dinner, which was also often breakfast, and then fall fast asleep.
Oh, it felt so good to be in a nice, flat bed. The problem was that after an initial couple hours of sleep, we would each wake up too sore from the previous day and too busy going over everything that needed to be done next in our heads to fall back to sleep. When the alarm finally went off, we only felt marginally better, starting the next day off feeling more worn out than the last. We were under a constant threat of running out of good weather, which kept us going all-out day after day to beat it.
So many jobs, including installing a new martingale (the wire that goes at the front from beam to beam) - it was a full time effort, and despite delayed parts and paints, we just made it before our allocated 2 weeks were up!
The cycle repeated itself until I finally made it to the task of removing our Webasto heater. With heavy rain and bitter cold forecast to be setting in by midnight, I was determined to finish every outstanding job that would require me to poke my head out into the weather.
it was already dark when I tidied up the last engine and started in on the Webasto. It has been in its current location in the port engine compartment since it was installed eleven years earlier. This is the first time that I learned that it it not possible to see and touch the mounting bolts at the same time. The nuts could only be removed by feel (while supporting my weight on all of the most pointy, uncomfortable parts of the engine) and then only a sixteenth of a turn at a time. The hose clamps for the fuel and exhaust were in an even worse position and then it turned out the exhaust hose had fused with the flange and had to be cut free, all while hanging upside down with the radiator cap digging into my shoulder.
By then, I was exhausted and frustrated almost to the point of tears. When Maryanne offered to help or suggested that I call it a day and have a fresh go at it in the morning, I opined that maybe her time would most efficiently be spent at the house. It’s possible that the dipstick in my neck made my tone a little strained.
I finally extracted the thing after both of my headlamp batteries went flat and my shop light fell to where It was both out of reach and not shining where I wanted it. I was triumphant, but barely had the strength to extricate myself. I set it on the salon table amongst a pile of tools and started limping back to the house. Maryanne offered to pick me up in the car, but I told her I would rather have her heat up dinner instead so that we could get to bed sooner.
Everything hurt. Not only were my muscles and joints sore, but almost all of my skin was covered in little cuts, abrasions and burns that made it hurt to touch anything. By the time I had finished the five-minute walk to the house, which took twenty, I felt like I had walked ten miles on burning feet. Maryanne had to help me up the four steps from the street to the house.
That turned out to be the worst day. The following day, in the rain, my only two remaining jobs were to fix and install the heater and to winterize the plumbing.
I was able to disassemble, repair and reassemble the Webasto (heater unit) while sitting comfortably at our salon table. My main fear was that there would be no way to tell if the repair worked without reinstalling the whole unit and then no way to correct the problem without doing the entire job over again. I went through each step very carefully, checking myself twice before proceeding to the next. I reconnected it and after a few tense moments when it wouldn’t light (which is normal until the air in the fuel feed lines is purged) we finally had heat for the first time in weeks. WOO HOO!
Maryanne only got to enjoy it for a few minutes before running off to Chatham for some last-minute errands. While she was gone, I winterized what I could, which was actually a lot easier than I had thought it would be for a change. She helped me finish the job off when she got back, then we decided to keep going until the daylight was gone.
We returned to the house, packed our bags for the winter and then returned everything to the boat that would be staying with her for the winter. Our last task was to remove the hodgepodge of crates and pallets that had been our boarding method for the last two weeks, hunching ourselves over to protect from the rain.
And once complete - were were able to enjoy our final day in Erieau with a pleasant amble under blue skies!
We were done a whole day ahead of schedule. We turned off the 5am alarm that had been tormenting us since arriving in Erieau, slept in and then went for a walk along the shore in the opposite direction from the boat. The we had a lovely meal out, made a quick pass to make sure our home was okay, and then headed back to our rental house for an early night. We both remarked to each other that we were actually feeling better, physically, than the day before. The night was going to be a short one, but I couldn’t wait to have nothing to do all day but drive west towards family.
A few days after we left, Dave (the owner) sent us pictures of Begonia fully shrink wrapped for the winter. We are expecting a lot of rain, some snow even, and temperatures may well reach -25°C (-13°F)
Anchorage location >> On google maps
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