There is always a list. It’s a boat afterall. And the more you use it, the more things wear and break and need to be fixed. Also, the more you don’t use it, the more things freeze up and break and need to be fixed. The second case is what we’re finding now.
So we’re working on the list. We have a hand full of things we’d like to get done this summer before we use the boat. Here are the things we’re working on now:
- Clean The Green!: The boat is SO Green. Our current marina is on the south side of the bay and just doesn’t get sun in the winter. And everything turns green if you’re not paying attention, which we admit we have not been. It’s scrubbing the teak (a lichen actually is growing in the teak, making some pretty harsh cleaners necessary), pulling all the running rigging and bringing it home to wash, and even getting our niece Brittney up the mast to wash the mast and spreaders.
- Laz Hinges: The hinge on the main lazarette in the cockpit has come undone and the wood at the edge is rotting. Time for Rob’s wood shop to come to the rescue.
- Cup Holder: We had a cup holder we bought from West Marine in the cockpit and it didn’t hold up. So again, Rob’s wood shop is saving the day. He has the prototype done and is working on a much more robust cup holder. Oh, and the openings are finally big enough to hold a wine bottle. Because after sail appies in the cockpit have been known to include a little wine.
- AIS Xmit: When we were in Panama in 2008 we installed an AIS receiver. At that time the transmitters were still expensive and we chose to just listen and not transmit. The AIS signals display marine traffic on our radar and are infinitely helpful on passage. By the time we crossed the North Pacific on our way home in 2010, just about everyone had AIX transmit. We heard from a ship on VHF that they were surprised we weren’t transmitting. Now we’ll install the transmitter and be seen and heard. Here is a great website we’ve been using to follow friends transiting the Red Sea this season – it’s fun to dial in and see how much marine traffic is really out there: https://www.vesselfinder.com/
- Faucets: Both our sink and head faucet are worn out and hard to use. They were not expensive marine quality, and this time we’ll upgrade and get ones that will hold up to the conditions and last longer.
- Sewage Tank: Our sewage tank is pathetically small. We also have a huge space under the bunk that’s hard to get to and we don’t need anymore since we have a house and place to store our things (and we won’t bring folding bikes ever again, which is what we had up there before). So Rob is going to move the sewage tank forward and reclaim some space in the main salon that’s better used for things we use regularly.
- Watermaker: Our watermaker has been pickled since we came home in 2010, and it’s time to flush it and put it back in use. Eventually we’ll sell this one and get an engine driven one attached to our new generator (which we don’t have yet, but that’s another list).
So there’s what we’ll be doing for the rest of the spring. We’ve stopped working on the house remodel and yard for now. Time to get Yohelah back into ship shape order.
