First Week of Boat Ownership Repair Experience

Feb 12-Feb 20

Drive Out Feb 12 to Feb 13th

It is a long drive 14 hours made even longer due to late start.  Saturday we had a standard Parkinson Disease Self Alumni group meeting then had to wait for a new group to finish and explain to them the importance of continued practices and support.  So started out at 3:00.  Had Fried chicken in the car for dinner and kept driving so could arrive there Sunday and have limited Covid exposure.  

During the drive had snow, rain and then air tires pressure problems.   Around 10pm we found a hotel and went to sleep. 

Sunday was an early start and we finally arrived in Wilmington Comfort Inn at 4:30 after a brunch so, with better weather we made good time.  Had a Valentine day dinner at Outback and off to bed exhausted.

Monday  Feb 14

Met with Jay the salesman for the boat at 9:30 and discussed the title change and next steps there.  Also explained the problems we had been having in getting the boat work complete.  

Took the title to the title location and changed it over to us.  

Then went to see the boat, she looked great with new paint.  No upholstery yet.  In addition the final part had not arrived yet and it was suggested that cleaning interior painting would be easier with the boat on stocks so launch date should be pushed back to Friday rather than Monday.  We agreed and made our plans to clean and work on interior finish.

After reviewing the work to be done, made a trip to Ace Hardware for cleaning supplies and headed out in the afternoon to clean.  On first cleaning most of the stains on the walls came out.  I am feeling much better about the work given the good success.  

Back to hotel early and quick dinner at the bar and grill next door.  Dinner was much cheaper than Outback.

Tuesday  Feb. 15th

Back at work bright and early started work on the  wood work.  More cleaning all morning and afternoon.  The staining under the windows kept returning so I started to tighten the windows.  This is tedious as it must be done slowly and snugging up opposite bolts as done of big flanges or for a car head.  Then came the sanding of the wood to freshen the wood surface and  remove stains in the wood.  Some how after working really late we managed to put on first coat of epoxy.  It looked good all smooth with good gloss and  epoxy gaining viscosity so we assumed it was setting.  So we went back to the hotel and had a second meal at the bar grill next door, as it was close and had good food.  

Wednesday  Feb. 16

What a disappointment morning the epoxy did not set.  The cause of this problem being the cold last night. This set us back a day requiring a lot more sanding and cleaning.  Then off to get some new (low) temperature epoxy and retried our epoxy coating. 

During the cleaning there was a need to empty the boat of stuff like dishes bedding, grill and other stuff.  Dianne is real cut throat at this.  If she did not want something it went to goodwill, no amount of discussion would sway her.  This is a tiny space and we must make room for all our stuff she would say.  Therefore we made four trips to goodwill over the last two days. After the last trip today we stopped and bought a tiny space heater to make sure the epoxy did set this time.  After installing the heater and turning it on, it was time for dinner. 

We choice  a fish spot called Mike’s Seafood close to boat yard.  I had fresh oysters and tuna Dianne had some pasta with shrimp and all of it was great.  After dinner I did quick check of the boat before returning to hotel.  I checked the heater was still working and stuff was setting fast this time.  

Now we had good food, a warm interior due to the heater, so feeling content back to the hotel we went and off to sleep.  

Thursday Feb. 17

The epoxy worked and we added 3 coats of Varnish over it to seal the wood completely and prevent UV damage.  Between coats of urethane we rescrubbed the walls, cleaning cupboards and further checks for water seeping in around the windows and sunlights.  At 5:00 called it a day and off to hotel stopping for some minor supplies to fix some weather stripping and duct tape to seal a broken lip around the anchor hatch.  

Dinner today was take home Chinese.

Friday Feb 18

Launch day time put the boat in the water and move it to our berth in Waterfronte Villa and Yacht club.  On our way to the boat the mechanic called and said due to bad weather the launch would be delayed.  But they said no problem everything would be ready at 4.  Arrived at noon and the boat was in the water. However now they found that engine coolant reservoir had  a hole a new one was ordered would arrive at 2:30 pm.  More cleaning, applying teak oil to the walls and puttering about on small jobs refining stuff looking at gear and packing stuff in.  At four they arrived install the new reservoir ready to start things up.  As soon as the generator was started for a test run it threw a belt.  After playing with that for 1 hour they finally gave up and said wrong belt boat will not be ready till Monday.  

Hotel again disappointed but hopeful.

Saturday and Sunday Feb. 19th and 20th

Decided to continue with the plan so we spend day fixing bumpers and moving our gear onto the boat.  

The table was. not centered when the boat was build and one person was crowded when using it.  We therefore took it apart and shifted 2 inches making the space much more comfortable.  

We were told to drive the boat and practice docking so that is what we did.  The first practice was terrifying.  Somehow the autopilot got turned on and we could not turn the boat.  Just went forward and backwards.  I am sure I heard people laughing, getting beer and a chairs out to watch us amateurs. Finally using only the thrusters I managed to get back to dock and the boat tied off.  Then while crying on back of boat at dock I heard the rudder move.  Bingo, I figured it out the auto pilot must be on so then I shut it off.  Then restarted the boat and had good test drive.

Put a car carrier on top of the boat Sunday Morning and moved a lot of stuff up there to make space inside.  That was a half day trial, aligning the bolts with holes in carrier with rack on the boat, then tighten all correctly while sitting on a roof.  It all fitted and now we have a lot more storage space in the boat.  During this process we found about 100 pounds of old rope on the boat in different compartments. Found extra rope in every locker some in fair shape some worn and lot it damp and moldy due to storage area drains being plug. To ensure space for our stuff we kept a few ropes but with our new ropes most of these ropes were donated to the boat yard.  Ug, what a busy week but the practice went well and docking is improving.

The plan was to have the upholstery installed on Monday morning while the new belt was being installed and then to move aboard for first night sleeping in the boat.  Then Sunday Night at dinner the upholstery guy texts me he can’t come Monday.  We went to bed disappointed and had my first beer of the trip! Drinking sometimes helps!