Kerm here. The list is of things to do on the boat is getting shorter although unplanned and iceberg projects seem to pop up on a regular basis. Iceberg projects are those that seem small but grow bigger as you get into them. This week the water system developed a leak and I ended up replacing all the plumbing between the pump and the pipe going to the cabin. The irony of the situation is that the old way it was plumbed was almost identical as the system I put on the Gypsy Tart and I was always chasing leaks on that system and was going to be replaced if I kept the boat.
I also replaced the fresh water pump on the engine as the coupling was going bad and according to the internet this was a weak point when they marineized the engine. The original design was also going obsolete so replaced with a unit that did not have the coupling design flaw. Mo money.
Had to also replace the anchor light along with the wiring as the salt air pretty much rotted it out. With the exception of general maintenance and some cosmetics the work is almost done. The new windlass, chain and rode will be here this week so will have to install that along with a new haws pipe to the chain locker plus the wiring. I have not figured out the haws pipe yet and struggle between doing it on the cheap or yacht quality. The answer is somewhere in between. Now if I had a TIG welder...
Harry the SeaRay and the Nissan 240SX are advertised for sale. When they are gone we probably have no need to stay in Florida. When that happens we will have the Belle pulled for new bottom paint and away we go. It looks like the boat yard will need about a week to do the job. They will blast the old paint off, put on 2 to 5 coats of epoxy and then 2 coats of bottom paint. At the same time they will replace all zincs. We may have to put on 2 types because we will split our time between salt and fresh water.
Chris thought we would have more time to sit around (and nap) while waiting to clear out. My slave driving is starting to wear on her but I keep telling her that if we do everything now (and the right way) we'll stay out of the pits during our trip. PLUS at 7 to 8 kts there will be more than enough afternoon blanket time.
I'm happy that you are taking this time to check out the guts of the boat and fix her up. Your blog is great. It has increase my nautical-parts vocabulary. Cheers to the Belle crew!
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