... weekend, that is. (Think on it, some of you are sure to get it.) It rained like crazy yesterday and last night. Kind of an "ops check" for the port we bedded last weekend. Turns out we got the screen / seal in backwards so it leaked. But it was an easy fix.
The V-drive isn't going to be as easy, but now there is some hope it will not be a complete disaster. Pulling the drive yesterday took less than an hour. Which suggests either, a) I am a pretty good mechanic or, b) I have way too much practice with getting the V-drive out of a Tartan 42. ("B" is probably it.) My assessment, echoed by Walter Machine guru Don, is that the V-drive itself is undamaged. Don described some hardware to me that didn't sound like what we used the first time around. So we are going to get some and, along with replacing the coupling on the prop shaft, (part still to be determined) put it back together and see what we see. Likely a couple of weeks yet, but not the disaster it could have been.
The weekend is short because needs have me back in the city tomorrow and probably stuck there until next Friday. It is also short because, after the V-drive got pulled, the incessant rain has put a damper on my mojo ... boat work slowed to a stop. I did lend a hand pumping out a half-dozen or so boats that were in danger of sinking due to the rain. Everything on a boat needs constant maintenance including, clearly, the cockpit scuppers. On some boats a full cockpit oozes water into the hull through a variety of built in leaks. (Hard to imagine how the designers missed such an obvious threat to the boat. Oh wait, no it isn't.) Sink drains go under, then gunnel's, followed shortly by the whole boat. One of the nicest, best kept boats in the marina suffered some similar chain of events (details yet to be determined) and was found this morning with the cabin full up to the tops of the settees. An industrial sized, gas-engine-driven pump was deployed to keep her off the bottom. She is a dirty mess, but will soon be the toast of the fleet once again.
The moral of the story? Best be near one's boat when it's raining like stink. That way you'll know if she's starting to sink.
You're welcome.
The V-drive isn't going to be as easy, but now there is some hope it will not be a complete disaster. Pulling the drive yesterday took less than an hour. Which suggests either, a) I am a pretty good mechanic or, b) I have way too much practice with getting the V-drive out of a Tartan 42. ("B" is probably it.) My assessment, echoed by Walter Machine guru Don, is that the V-drive itself is undamaged. Don described some hardware to me that didn't sound like what we used the first time around. So we are going to get some and, along with replacing the coupling on the prop shaft, (part still to be determined) put it back together and see what we see. Likely a couple of weeks yet, but not the disaster it could have been.
The weekend is short because needs have me back in the city tomorrow and probably stuck there until next Friday. It is also short because, after the V-drive got pulled, the incessant rain has put a damper on my mojo ... boat work slowed to a stop. I did lend a hand pumping out a half-dozen or so boats that were in danger of sinking due to the rain. Everything on a boat needs constant maintenance including, clearly, the cockpit scuppers. On some boats a full cockpit oozes water into the hull through a variety of built in leaks. (Hard to imagine how the designers missed such an obvious threat to the boat. Oh wait, no it isn't.) Sink drains go under, then gunnel's, followed shortly by the whole boat. One of the nicest, best kept boats in the marina suffered some similar chain of events (details yet to be determined) and was found this morning with the cabin full up to the tops of the settees. An industrial sized, gas-engine-driven pump was deployed to keep her off the bottom. She is a dirty mess, but will soon be the toast of the fleet once again.
The moral of the story? Best be near one's boat when it's raining like stink. That way you'll know if she's starting to sink.
You're welcome.
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