It has been a trying month

After we pumped out the basement, threw out all the junk that got wet and cleaned out work, we were able to get down to the boat. Before I get that far I need to say that Lil Provo came through fine up on land. No problems that I am aware of. When I called the boat yard and asked how things were going I was told that Lil Provo was sitting on her mooring. WHAT! What about the leak on the lower tiller bracket? The other end of the phone lite up with him calling himself dumb and stupid, etc. I assume after I hung up he went right out to bring Lil Provo back to shore to repair the leak. A couple weeks have gone by and I went down to check on her only to find her on the mooring. When I opened the companionway, the cabin had about 3" of water sloshing around the floor. I immediately went to the cockpit locker to open it up to see if there was water in the rear bilge from the lose tiller bracket. It was bone dry. Stupid me, I opened the floor inspection cover and more water came pushing into the cabin. I thought maybe the battery had died due to Tropical Storm Lee dumping so much rain on us. I pulled the battery from the dinghy and replaced the one in the cockpit compartment. I then went into the cabin and pulled the bilge pump from her stand down in the bilge. When I turned it on, it was barely moving. I came to the conclusion that the pump was shot. I pumped her dry with the hand pump and took a ride to West Marine where I picked up another pump. I got back to the yard and back out to Lil Provo where I changed the pump. It wasn't much fun laying on my stomach to get to the terminal strip under the cockpit. I did lay down some life jackets, but still got soaked. The test went fine and the pump was working well. I had killed most of my sailing time. The water was loaded with debri anyway, so I decided to sit it out and clean up the boat. Hopefully everything will remain in good shape until by return from China.

Ending August with Hurricane Irene

August went out with a bang here in Jersey, thanks to hurricane Irene.

We went sailing a few times the week before and had a great time sailing and fishing. The weather was warm and the fishing was pretty good. On August 26th I went down to take a sail and hopefully pull the boat out before the storm, but the boat yard had already taken her out and had her on dry land. Being I couldn't sail, I hung around the yard for a while and this is where I met Keith. The boat yard was full of boats on land and room was becoming a scarce thing. The harbor was like glass and there was virtually no wind. This was exactly what I picture when you hear the calm before the storm. As I looked out upon the bay I saw this boat moving around that looked like it belonged in a story book someplace. I have admired this cute little boat every time I pass her on the way out. Well I finally got a good look at her and met the owner. The boat took a long turn through the mooring field and headed right for the boat yard's ramp. I stood up on the bulk head about ten feet above the water and watched. Keith brought the boat in and tied her up while he got his truck and trailer ready to receive her. Putting a sailboat on a trailer can be tough sometimes when doing it by yourself. He backed the trailer into the water and the boat was drifting to the side as tides were changing. I jumped down to the cat walk along the bulkhead and gave him a hand pushing the boat sideways with my feet so he could winch her onto the trailer. With the little help I gave he was able to get her on the trailer. However, he couldn't pull her up the ramp as it was slippery from the changing tide. He eventually had to have the boat yard truck come over and pull his truck and boat up the ramp.

I now had a chance to look over Lil Provo to see how the bottom was. She was pretty clean with the exception of the slim coating the bottom. I now looked to see where we were taking on water as I have been looking for a leak for weeks. Well I finally found it. The bottom tiller bracket was loose allowing the water to seep in along side of the bolts. I brought the yard owner over to show him and ask if it could be repaired before putting her back in the water. He assured me that would not be a problem. I left the boat yard feeling comfortable the boat would be safe during the storm and that the leak I had been dealing with would be fixed. No I could go home and deal with preparing for the hurricane.

I won't bore you with the flooding that attacked my home home and business, requiring days of cleaning, sorting, and getting rid of so much stuff. I finally had a chance to call the boat yard to check on the boat and how they did with the hurricane. I called and was told that they made out okay and Lil Provo was on her mooring. I immediately questioned the repair of the leak and John had forgotten. Easily understood based on all the things he had to take care of. He said he would take care of it. On Saturday I took a ride down to the boat yard with a fresh battery for the bilge pump. I found Lil Provo sitting on her mooring and her water line was sitting high. We took a trip out with the dinghy to replace the battery and found the tiller bracket was fixed and that the rear bilge was bone dry. There was a little water on the cabin floor which I mopped up so I could see if she was still leaking on my next visit. We left with a feeling that everything was okay and went home to deal with more of the flood damage at work and at home.