Throughout this amazingly unhinged election cycle I've had the thought in the back of my head that if my fellow Americans proved dumb enough to elect a certain cheeto-faced stark raving lunatic to the highest office in the land, having a boat to bug out for saner shores would be a good "trump card." Well. they did...and we do! Almost. Some assembly required, or rather reassembly. But work is finally proceeding at a steadyish clip. This week one crew sanded and painted Windbird's bottom, and another went to work removing the stem iron and chainplates. The stem iron actually proved to be remarkably easy to remove, but the chainplates are going to require more interior surgery than I expected. The cabinets behind the settees will have to be partially disassembled. A carpenter came by the boat today to look at it and declared it perfectly doable - it just takes money and time, like anything else. So that'll be going on the next couple days. And then the machine shop will make new chainplates, and then the yard will put them back in, and then the riggers can see about getting the stick back up. I'll consider us lucky if the bottom's wet by December 1st.
That said, we've made a decision that'll make the timing a bit less critical. We're going to give up the idea of going back up to Myrtle Beach this year, and get the electronics work done down in Charleston instead. The boatyard manager recommended a company that he said is really good, I met with the owner today, and he said it's a fairly small job and they have time to do it. So it'll be done concurrently with the other work, and if it's not done by the time we're back in the water they can finish up at a local marina. I tried calling Lightkeeper's Marina to give up our slip today but wasn't able to reach the dockmaster; I'll try again tomorrow. I also have to let our original electronics guy know we won't be coming his way anymore.
The three of us are going separate ways for a few days. I traded my work schedule around, so tomorrow I head to Atlanta to fly a 4-day trip that gets back late on Sunday (that'll have me off until the 22nd). Dawn is driving her Jetta all the way to North Dakota, where she'll be giving it to her brother. And Piper is headed to a local DogVacay, which he always loves. This one is nearby so he'll get to continue his daily beach time. He sure does love running his little heart out and jumping through the waves. Still hasn't quite figured out not to drink the saltwater, though. We're likely going to rent another apartment in this complex when I come back, as the boat isn't really in any condition to live in just now. One more transitional period in a season full of them....
That said, we've made a decision that'll make the timing a bit less critical. We're going to give up the idea of going back up to Myrtle Beach this year, and get the electronics work done down in Charleston instead. The boatyard manager recommended a company that he said is really good, I met with the owner today, and he said it's a fairly small job and they have time to do it. So it'll be done concurrently with the other work, and if it's not done by the time we're back in the water they can finish up at a local marina. I tried calling Lightkeeper's Marina to give up our slip today but wasn't able to reach the dockmaster; I'll try again tomorrow. I also have to let our original electronics guy know we won't be coming his way anymore.
The three of us are going separate ways for a few days. I traded my work schedule around, so tomorrow I head to Atlanta to fly a 4-day trip that gets back late on Sunday (that'll have me off until the 22nd). Dawn is driving her Jetta all the way to North Dakota, where she'll be giving it to her brother. And Piper is headed to a local DogVacay, which he always loves. This one is nearby so he'll get to continue his daily beach time. He sure does love running his little heart out and jumping through the waves. Still hasn't quite figured out not to drink the saltwater, though. We're likely going to rent another apartment in this complex when I come back, as the boat isn't really in any condition to live in just now. One more transitional period in a season full of them....
Sucks when politics gets brought into a blog I might normally have been interested in. It's your blog, so if you want to chase away half the country, have at it. It's just a shame.
ReplyDeleteSee ya.