We got in (Nov. 14) after 3 days of driving 1300 miles from New Hampshire to Florida via West Chester, PA to visit Drew's siblings and a stop in Baltimore atop a 26 story condo on the Baltimore Harbor to visit our friends Molli and Reuben Mezrich (IP 380 "Priority"). What a view from that height over the entire city!
Shawnee was put in the water ten days ago.
At the slip. You can see the stern ladder is missing. The dingy is lying on the bow deck. The jib and staysil will be hauled up this trip.
Not all the projects were completed, and we have work to do for the few days we're here before returning to NH for family Thanksgiving. Unfortunately as much as we love Fort Pierce and Whitaker Boat Yard they didn't meet all 3 of my quality factors:
1. not done on time - we're waiting for the ladder and finishing the teak work - the first guy couldn't do the ladder to Drew's specs so he had to find another person.
They did do most of the teak, painted the bottom, and added a new propane regulator, new solenoid, replaced propane hoses,
put on rings around the exhaust pipe to protect the dinghy when we haul it up to the davits.
The circles around the holes on the stern:
Whitaker refinished small floor space in fore cabin, made and installed a
deflector plate near the rudder to keep off lobster pot lines from
getting entangled. This was installed between the keel and rudder. As the boat moves forward if it hits a line in the water (left side of picture) it will be deflected and not get caught in the rudder (right side of picture) or the propeller.
They put on new props for the bow thruster and painted on prop speed to keep off most barnacles. Note the unusual shape of the blades. It is supposed to be quieter and have more thrust.
2. They did meet the budget.
3. The work was well done
But here are some of the weird findings as the projects unfolded.
The redesign of the stern ladder : We don't want it to hit the dinghy and it must allow for us to get into the dinghy. It is taking longer than we thought it would. It's been so problematic that I frequently must climb over the life lines and swing into the dinghy from the davits when the dinghy is clipped on the stern.
Danny is the guy who is doing the ladder now: (Love that his wife is president of the company.)
The day he was supposed to try out the ladder it wasn't ready. Next trip we'll try again.
We are putting up the sails after the hurricane: The jib and staysail. Mainsail stays in the mast.
The jib rolled up on the deck. It's a truly calm day that's good for putting on sails. Drew getting the lines ready.
The lines for the propane tank that fuels the stove were replaced by Whitaker and in so doing the stove stopped working. I don't understand how repairmen walk away from a job with the item not working. Drew investigated over several days and fixed faulty electrical connections. "There was not enough current across the coil even though I could hear the solenoid moving", explained Drew. Here's the stove sign that shows the age of the stove, 1999. We like this stove and it's no longer made (Practical Sailor Magazine's top choice) so Drew's restoring instead of replacing.
Another long time problem was a leak with an unfindable source. We often had water in the bins under the galley and the salon closet. Frequently I had to bail them out.
Well, Drew found the leak behind a wall where the propane locker sits. The propane locker is only accessible from the outside deck. He found the water pouring in after removing a panel (not easily). It came in from the hinge screws for the propane locker - he never thought that would happen. The picture shows how much water came in after a rainstorm. All the areas are now finally drying out. He rebedded the screws in the locker door and watched nothing leak in during another storm. We've had to wash out all the bins and take out all the supplies that were in those lockers and clean or replace the items. What a mess.
The dinghy sat on the deck since July for storage. We are now putting it back into the water onto the davits even though the stern ladder isn't on yet.
As we walked down to the Fort Pierce Farmers Market we picked up a brochure on "Freedom Boat Club." "No maintenance concern. No repair worries. Just boating at its best!" Seems more like what I'd be up for. These constant never ending "improvements, repairs and maintenance" are interesting. All the people we meet trade fix-it stories and tales of how it happened. Oh, well.
Mazu and I frequently take walks on the beach.
Here she is tired from a good run earlier.
