Fortunately there was enough of a lag while they painted two coats of bottom paint on the parts that had been resting on blocks the rest of the week that I was able to wax the rest of the hull in panic mode. I kept thinking that I would try to just get the next three feet done, then the next three feet. In the end, I got the entire surface of the boat below the rubrail done about a minute before she went in the water. I had no power tools so I had to do it Karate Kid style. Oof!
Once I got back to the dock at our marina, I found A LOT of water in the starboard bilge. It turns out that when I serviced the engine water seacock, I hadn't quite got one of the gaskets aligned properly when I reinstalled it. I was worried about taking on more water getting the boat to a lift so I decided to fix it there. Most of the repair I did with one hand while the other was over the 1 1/2" hole in the bottom of the boat. There was a period of about 10 seconds when I needed both hands for the assembly and had to let the water gush in. A 1 1/2" hole lets in a lot of water really fast and it's difficult to remain calm knowing the boat is sinking. I got the thing back together correctly (nothing like pressure!) and now it's completely dry. I went outside to look at the waterline before I pumped the bilge and the boat was 4" lower.
Since then, I've been busy with a million little chores that there's never enough time for, getting the boat ready to go. Last night I went to bed and slept 9 1/2 hours without so much as rolling over, I think. I finally feel ready to go, though. We just have a few small jobs and provisioning to do and then it's just a matter of getting a good weather window.
I saw my first northbound cruiser today during my run and was happy to think that in a few weeks, instead of watching them all go by, I would finally be joining in.
2 comments:
Kyle,
I could just imagine the silence on the other end of the telephone when you called Maryanne if the boat had sunk. "Honey I sunk the boat" Lucky you got the leak fixed and all is OK (and you get to live another day). I certainly would not want to be the one to tell Maryanne if I sunk the boat. After all the years of saving for that lovely boat, I don't even think being pissed would not even begin to describe how upset she would be.
I asked Meg about this, She just gave me the look (you know the one). So, judging by the look I got from her, I would be joining Jimmy Hoffa or have to escape death by leaving the country. Does the UK accept American Immigrants that accidentally sunk their Gemini's ?
Kyle, I can see all of it--the rushing to finish waxing, the frantic work on the gasket while the boat is sinking--I can see the expression on your face, the elbows and kneecaps--is it okay now that I laugh? I mean, is it all over, no danger, all's well and safe? Okay, NOW I'll laugh!
Hope you'll post Maryanne's travel and ETA plans so I know in which country to worry about her too. How is the hearing issue?
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