Thursday, March 27, 2008

So Very Tired

[Kyle] Well, quite unlike the haulout, the boatyard was ready to go at first light on the appointed day to put me back in the water. I had assumed that I would have two or three hours before they got around to anything based on my previous experience. They all came charging over eager to get me in the water just after I had applied wax to one side of one hull.

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:

Lou and Meg SV *Starrider* said...

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 ?

Anonymous said...

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?