That may sound like a long time but it consisted of only two, single day mad dash visits prior to this one. The first was to retrieve the cockpit cover canvas to have it restitched and repaired. I forgot to take it home in the fall and after having the camper done I knew it needed attention also. The second was to cut off the plastic cover totally and set up my newly repaired canvas. I also took measurements for some modifications and I power washed all I could reach from the ground.
In preparing to leave Friday, gathering everything together I was going to need took a bit longer than expected. I ended up turning in sick to my stomach. In the morning that sick hit the fan and I was whupped from multiple purges. TMI I know but this is my story and it happened and it was significant enough that I wrote about it =P. This wasn't self indulgence either but some pork from big M. Ugh,
Saturday was slow motion city trying to load the car and prep everything. 4:30 before it all got loaded and I was on the road. Just enough tome to sling the extension cord across the road to get some power for the c-pap and I crashed, hard about 9pm after hitting the bathroom. I was so happy it was open this time since it was too early the two previous visits.
The bathroom was left ajar. How lucky I was I wouldn't know until the morning. The morning came and I returned with no particular urgency. Peck in the code since someone had closed it all the way after I had visited and Blah, Red Light! No go ! no poo for you! I was grumpy. Here it is Sunday and no one is around yet. Made it half way to oswego before it was time to stop. The McBoatface pictures were from a trip to the bathroom later that day, the vantage point being just past the bathroom. This was after another kind boater shared the new code with me. Life was good after obtaining that sweet knowledge!
So I suck at buffing. I said it. I am slow and unfocused. I try to do too much at once. I let stuff dry and stick so many times. I finally put some Nu finish on just to be done with trying to fix buildups over and over. Its not beautiful but its protected so I am happy.
I brought four batteries with me to get the party started. I had two in the boat last year and a third for the downriggers which just slid around on the floor in the back. I finally spent the time to decipher where each wire goes and what each one does and how everything works.
Sorting all the battery doing was going great. it was time consuming since I would climb down into the motor compartment and hook up a wire and then get back out and search for what was active. I had a pretty good idea about most of it but one gem I found was the 12 volt fridge fuse had melted the holder last year when I tried to plug the microwave in to an outlet that was stealing from its inverter.
Once all that was done I was close! I started working the hydraulics and checking. Outdrive up and down, Check. Trim tabs, hmmm that doesn't sound right. In climbing down I notice the outdrive is spattered with something. ATF was seeping from my port trim tab ram. Things had been going too well I thought to myself. Argh. Off to the races I went, searching the marina here didn't turn up anything but a few more local visits and I had one in hand with info and warnings to boot. Few more hours and several trips to the shop here to borrow the vise and a few time for re-assurance from the mechanics here followed by some crouching and cramming to refil the pump and I had two flippers again good as new. This was just enough to push the launch back.
If I had my choice of sleeping on the cold water or protected from the wind by other boats in a line and not in the water, well that didn't take much though. Here I sleep on land. No gentle waves but since there is a frost warning here tonight and I am not comfortable with heaters in the cabin, I sit here snuggled a sleeping bag and two super warm blankets. Turns out cpap exhaust when running the humidifier in a cold place will condense the water droplets in the mask and make for some rude awakenings if the seal slips open(cold water in the face.) but I make due,
That is enough for now. More tomorrow after the trial and loading up.
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