Ups and Downs

 Ups and downs today.  This morning was gray, chilly and looked like rain was imminent.  But then the sun came out and I could take my jacket off and actually soak up some vitamin D in the cockpit (reading a book).  I managed to remake the 2 queen beds early (After doing 5 beds in Maine I am a wee bit tired of making beds!)  There were so many sucky (vacuum) bags (full of linens, towels and clothes) on the beds it took forever to get everything sorted.  I washed down the pantry shelves and cockpit seats (cushions are back in place).

                                            Yes, there is an overflow of books on my shelves.

And the guys have started the rudder repair.  (When trying to steer with > 8 knots of wind, the steering sticks.)

                        Access to steering cables through the sugar scoops.

Then Paul attempted to fix the 2 leaky toilet valves.  But we left the stubby Phillips screwdriver in Daytona.  So we had to make a trip to Harbor Freight.  For a screwdriver!   When we returned to the boat yard, the crane and slings were positioned under the boat.  Hooray was my first thought.  To find our steering problem the boat needed to be lifted to pull the rudders.  I stayed in the car.  If the boat is being raised I will be on the ground.  Paul came back to the car to tell me they dropped the boat.  Ha!  This  is typical Paul teasing me.  He kept saying it while trying to suppress a smile/laugh.  Only he wasn't kidding.  

                                           I think the kid ran so fast, he left his shoes behind!

Apparently we were so close to the boat on our port side, they could not position the slings correctly and the boat made a swing upon lifting.  One of the guys holding the rudder in place panicked, dropped the rudder before running and the rudder struck the ground causing the fiberglass to crack.  Ugh!  

To access the crack and repair the fiberglass on the starboard side, the bed needed to be raised and the guys have to become pretzels to climb over and behind the engine.  Good thing the bed was empty of bags and could be raised easily.

They immediately began the repairs (Smallest guy draws the short straw) and were very apologetic.  They are hoping we can keep our splash date on Monday.  We left before they began the resin application and fumes flooded the boat.

We picked up our new Starlink (satelitte receiver) at Home Depot.  Yea!!!!  Internet - no problem.  Netflix, Prime - no problem.  Fingers crossed the install goes smoothly tomorrow.

And then another trip to Walmart.  Hopefully we now have enough meals and snacks to get us through a few more days.  And who knew that AAA batteries would be locked up and only a few employees have the key.  And they have a politically correct title.  


Paul made yummy omelets and sausage links for dinner.  A good ending to a strange day.  Ups and downs (literally!)



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