Tuesday 10 Nov HHN, boat winterizing day 41:
Such a beautifully day. I need to get some etching primer for the satellite base, and decide to cycle to the hardware shop rather than use Ray’s car. It’s one of those days that make you truly happy to be alive. Blue sky, warm, no wind, and stunning autumn colours in the trees. Maryland and the counties around the Chesapeake really do have a beauty about them. But today is the last such weather day according to the forecast. My last day of outside jobs.
Priority is to get the satellite dome base spray painted, and throughout the day I build up layer on layer, waiting 15 minutes between coats. First etching primer, then normal white primer, and finally the matte white topcoat. By the end of the day it looks really good. Perfect to display itself on Ebay. Also today, I receive a new handset lead from AST in UK. The current one’s outer layer has disintegrated over the last years. Now the whole system will look very presentable. Anyone want a good looking, and fully operational, Sailor 250 Fleet Broadband system? It would just need a coax cable from transceiver to antenna. Early bird catches the worm system!
Early afternoon I decide to change the cutlass bearing. This is a rubber-inside-brass bushing that centers the propeller shaft as it exits the boat. Or in our case, where the shaft goes through the P-bracket. This will be the 3rd time we have changed it. Last time was 2018. It wears faster than expected and always on the lower side only. That’s where the weight of the propeller shaft exerts most pressure on the rubber. But still, given we have mostly been in clear water (not silty), I’m surprised by this.
When we first replaced the cutlass it was rock-solid and we could not move it. So in Lanzarote we had a special tool made up to push it out. It takes a bit of setting up but works really well. Basically, it’s a tube that you force into the slot between shaft and P-bracket, forcing the cutlass out the other side. And I’m happy to report the operation went very smoothly without any surprises or holdups. Another job off the list.
All this time, I’m entertained by the 2 guys who are shrink wrapping the neighboring yacht. Their banter is hilarious. Classic men’s talk and all in very red-neck verbiage. Oana and I had experienced the exact same pair this time last year. I can’t help but tell them they are in the wrong business – they should be stand-up comedians. They both look at me with a “Dude, what are you talking about?” look on their faces. Clearly this chatter is all totally normal for them.
Late in the afternoon, Ray turns up with 2 fellow Weaver Boat workers and the 4 of us manhandle the boom, turning it around and setting on trestles right next to the mast, making it all neat and tidy, using the minimum amount of trestles, when I leave. We then insert the outhaul piston back into the boom and secure the boom end fitting. And, hopefully for the final time, I re-cover the mast and boom, happy that I’ve achieved everything that I wanted to do on them, and more. There is nothing left to service on them. When we put it all back together it will be like having a new rig …. to go with the new sails 😊
On that note, “Trophy Corner” on the aft deck is now overflowing. There is no room for anything else there! I’m really looking forward to the pleasurable task of putting all these systems back on the rig once I have all the spares purchased…. if Selden will ever give me that option, that is. If not, I’ll just have to buy what I can off the internet and use local machine shops for specialist metal items.
2 comments
The Trophy Corner looks cool. There’s a lot of work behind them. You are quite active, Glen.
Yes, its been a busy few weeks. Back to Bucharest this week for a rest! And pampering 🙂
Comments are closed.