On the Hard by the First Mate

We hauled the boat out of the water on Monday because we had water coming into the boat via the prop shaft. So Mike ordered the seal from Denmark thinking that this was the problem. You can’t know until you pull the propeller and shaft to check it out which means an expensive haul out. Anyone who has experienced a haul out knows that it is not only expensive but also a very tense time; after all, you are taking your 60 thousand pound boat, or in our case our home, and suspending it in the air with two straps while being at the mercy of the lift operator with whom you must place all trust. This entails getting the straps into the correct position and placing 4x4 blocks under the rub rail to prevent them from breaking off and making sure that the straps are not over the small window under the boat as well as placing them so that the boat will be steady and not slide and crash to the ground.

Now, in the USA once the straps have been set, the crew must leave the vessel for obvious reasons. Here in Trinidad as well in Antigua the crew stays on the vessel and gets a topside view as the lift cruises through the yard. Once they find your spot they place struts to hold the boat upright. It always amazes me that eight stands can hold a boat upright. Finally they give you a 12 foot ladder so that you can get on and off the boat.

At this juncture everyone is a little testy. It is very hot here as I have stressed before. Being on the hard means that we have limited power (battery power which has to last throughout our stay) and we can’t open the fridge because it must stay cold for the duration of our stay without being able to re-cool it. Everyone is parched and anxious about the work ahead. Mike becomes a maniac mechanic so that we can get back in the water ASAP. Being in the yard is difficult because it is very dirty and dusty and when it rains muddy. So without a hose to wash things down we have to be careful to keep the dirt to a minimum on the boat. Personally my favorite part of being in the yard is climbing up and down the 12 foot ladder or perhaps the intense heat in the boat, or wait, it could be the mosquitoes. I just can’t decide due to delirium.

Mike began having problems almost immediately. This job was not going to be easy because to get to the seal you have to either take apart the prop (not really a great option) or drop the rudder. So the pounding began to try to remove the foot. It took two days…and guess what? In the end the rubber seal was still in good condition. The real problem was the packing; it had disintegrated inside the packing gland. Fortunately, they carry the correct sized packing here whereas we couldn’t get that in the US which is most likely why this happened in the first place. Now that we had taken apart the boat both inside and out (the access to the shaft is under the floorboards and under our bunk) we had to put everything back together. Since we had every tool that we have aboard out, the carpets and floorboards removed, mosquito nets, tarps and bedding on deck, incredibly smelly laundry piled high, cluttered counters, gritty floors from the dust, and a cranky crew, we had our work cut out for us to be able to get it together so that we could be put back in the water. First you have to get on the schedule for the lift which is a feat in itself. So Mike went to the office to be put on the list. He returned almost running to the boat and said, “We have a half hour or we will not go in today.” Well, you should see how one sentence like that can motivate the crew. Staying in the “heat hole” for one more night was not an option! Mobilized we divvied up the tasks and went to work. Phil and I painted the foot and places that had been missed in our last haul out. Mike finished putting things together inside while Doug cleaned everything off the top deck and ran to get tools that Mike hollered for. Andrew was sent on an errand to find a screw that was stripped… Mike was replacing the last screw when the lift arrived. The boat was still a wreck, but that could be taken care of when we got in a slip with electricity, air-conditioning and water.

It was a good thing that we hurried to be put in the water because we were the only one’s to be moved that day. They had to” work” on the lift. (A comforting thought after being suspended 20 feet in the air before the “work” was done.)

We are now comfortably in a slip and our view isn't too shabby either:

Air-conditioning is on. Laundry is going. Cabin is cleaned. Deck is washed. Counters are cleared. Life is GOOD! Only a couple of chores left and just in the nick of time for Omi and Opa’s visit.