3-10-07

We made a quick trip to the boat today. On the way down we stopped at the boatyard and set up plans to haul the boat out on March 22. We got to the boat and found it in good shape. The water level was normal and we were able to get on and off the boat with little trouble. No water in the bilge and the motor started right up and I ran it for a good 30 minutes. I brought a piece of plywood down that I had cut at home to check the fit for a new table and it fit fine but has a bad bow in the wood so I will take it back home and try to get the bow out of it then I will Formica the top and bottom. We loaded back up and headed for home but its crawfish season so we stopped at Joe's Restaurant and sat out on the dock watching the boats and eating crawfish, woo haw I gar-on-teee it was dat dare some hot spicy crawfish but it sure-nuff was good!

Haul Out March 22 work list

HULL

1 paint bottom
2 new burgundy stripes
3 new rub rail
4 graphics and name on stern
5 new anodes


ENGINE

1 exhaust pipe and hose
2 shaft packing


MAST

1 antenna and coax
2 running/anchor light and wires
3 steaming/deck light and wires
4 new turnbuckles
5 turnbuckle covers
6 new halyards
7 mount wind vane and wires
8 Windex ?? maybe

3-24-07

Margie and I got to the boat about noon. The water level was good, just above normal so we could get on and off the boat easily. I brought the pressure washer, soap, and lots of cleaning supplies. I had intended to clean the deck last weekend but was sick so we had to change our haul out date to the 29th . I started washing the deck and couldn't believe how dirty it had gotten since September when we did this last time. It was going very very slowly but the boat was getting white again. I had to adjust the stream down to a small point to get enough pressure power to blast the black grunge off. It was like using a pencil eraser to do the entire deck. After 5 hours I finally finished up the entire top of the boat. I had great plans of compounding and waxing after I got it washed but I was beat and my back was killing me. I ran the engine for about 20 minutes and then I had to haul the pressure washer back up to the car and get it back in the trunk. Whew! it sure was heavy. We got everything loaded back up and headed for home. Margie had to drive since I was dead tired and needed a nap.

Haul Out date changed to March 29, 2007

3-29-07

We got to the boat about 7 am. I mounted the electronics on the new swing arm and got the boat ready. The motor fired right up and I left the dock about 8 am. Margie drove the car over while I navigated the channel across Clear Lake. The new swing arm is great and was perfect to navigate with. I had no trouble finding the channel and the weather was good with just a light breeze. I arrived at the boat yard about 8:45 with Margie waving her arms from shore showing me where the ramp was, since I couldn't see it in the mass of boats and marina docks. I pull up into the ramp area and Jose (my boat painter) tells me they cant get my boat out today but maybe tomorrow. I find out there are 8 boats ahead of me and there is not even any dock space so I have to raft up next to another boat. So we decide to just hang out at the boat yard and see what goes on. We were right next to the boat lift crane and we watched as they lifted all kinds of boats, from 40 foot sailboats to 22 foot bay boats. Some were quick hauls to inspect the bottom and to some  with real problems like a missing rudder. I worked on the boat some by getting the boom down and tying up the halyards in preparation to pull the mast off. It was very interesting watching all the stuff going on around the yard and just how busy they were. I don't think the lift operator stopped moving all day except for lunch time. I secured the boat as best I could rafted up next to the other boat and we packed up and headed home. 

Alma Del Viento

3-30-07

We got to the boat yard about noon since we knew they wouldn't be getting to our boat early. We find out they are not going to get to it at all today. They are really backed up and some boats are not finished on time or need extra work so there's no place in the yard to put my boat and all the others waiting. We talked about pulling the mast and get started working on that but find out the cherry picker used to lift the mast is broken and wont be fixed until tomorrow. Another wasted day. We hang around watching the work going on. I installed a  new GPS antenna and mount on the back rail and ran the wire back through the aft bulkhead and engine compartment to the swing arm. It was getting late and we didn't feel like driving home so we got out bunks ready to spend the night on the boat. It was a nice evening with a nice cool breeze but about 3 in the morning it started raining and lightning and thundering. We left the sliding hatch open and before we could get it shut we were wet but not too bad.

Waiting and waiting!

3-31-07

It continued raining all morning and there was lots of lightning so the boat yard was shut down. The lift crane is not safe to use if its lightning and most of the workers were sent home. Another wasted day! We spent the morning cleaning the inside of the boat. The mold was trying to come back in several spots so we got the bleach out and started scrubbing the interior of the boat. It stopped raining around noon and Jose showed up about 1pm and said we could probably pull the mast after they get finished using the cherry picker to pull a giant diesel motor out of a cruiser. I said great and started checking to make sure everything was ready to pull the mast and find that the mast has a screw in the very bottom. I tried and tried to get that screw out but it wouldn't budge and finally stripped the head so I had to cut it off and drill it out which took several hours and I missed the time to get the mast pulled. Before Jose went home he told me since they are not open on Sunday it would be Monday before I will get the boat hauled out. Great... We packed up and went home. 

Drilling out screw in bottom of mast.