6/1/2013
As i sit in front of the gym waiting for them to open this
morning, I am starting today's blog. It will be a busy day and this is the best
way to do a brain drain prior to actually starting things.
Today is the day where Lil Provo heads down to her summer home
sitting on the water in Keyport Harbor.
She is all clean in and out, has the basic required gear on board, and
is packaged up and ready for the trip east.
I have to pick up my salty dog buddy Blue and bring him back to verify
the tail lights are working and just in case there are any issues on the trip,
it will be nice to have someone who can help or share the pain.
Need to verify we have the right ball on the hitch as we tow a
few different trailers. Check the lights
and make sure they are working properly. Run over the tie downs and load straps
making sure they are secured and tight. Throw a couple extra ropes on the mast
just to make sure it doesn't go anyplace. Make sure we have gas and oil in the
back of the truck, a case of bottled water, and tools.
In looking at the boat the other day I noticed the boat was
not all the way forward to the stop by the winch. Nothing I can do about this at this point,
she must have slide back an inch or so on the trip home. We'll just make sure we
have her secured pretty good.
It may be a challenge to find a home for her at the boat yard as
it was still packed with boats last week with very little available room. If there are people working on their boats,
the little space available will be used for parked cars. We have to get there
early to beat this possibility. Then take off the tie downs, remove the ropes,
get the boom out of the cabin, and make sure they have everything they need out
and ready to raise the mast with the hoist on top of the building. Then she can be placed on her mooring which
is about 100 yards off the KYC dock.
Over the next couple weeks as I come down to take her out, I
will bring more of the summer supplies down.
Things like the fishing tackle, snorkel or dive gear, portable radio,
DVD player, cooler, change of clothes,
and whatever else I remember.
It is now time to pick up
Blue and start this mornings adventure.
First thing is to hook up the trailer to the truck and inspect
everything TWICE. I back up to the hitch
and make sure we have the right size ball and plug in the wiring. No tail lights! Time to now see where the problem is. I pull
out the back up wire from the back of the truck and change to a new trailer
wire hookup. Ahhhh, some lights are working. Time to check bulbs. Another 5 minutes and all seems fine with the
lights. Time to jump in and take our
time towing the boat to the bay. No
rush!
The ride is uneventful. Thank goodness. We pull in and look for a place to park the
boat. Blue gets out and helps with
directions as I try backing her in and getting her in a safe spot. Sometimes leaving her in the way makes them
put you in right away. Hmmmm, should we?
I back her in and then take a walk to the office to confirm she is fine
where she is and John tells me that is fine.
I have Blue grab a nearby ladder and I climb on board to remove
all the lines I have holding the mast in place. Blue removes the tie downs and
load straps. I go into the cabin and bring out stage boom which I leave in the
cockpit along with a baggy of Clevis pins and round cotter pins I case they
need an extra. Next we get the rudder
attached to the back and are pretty much done at this point. We undo the hitch and I move the truck up a
little to we can load the truck with items taken off the boat. I then walk
around the boat and take my annual pictures of boat as dropped off. This is a good practice to get into!
Instead of lea ing we take a walk down to the ramp and notice
there are now about 20 boats in the mooring field and KYC dock is finished and
the launch is an horde right off the dock.
This means the mooring field will begin to fill over the next week or
so. I take a few pictures out into the harbor and we return to the truck and
boat. Blue puts a cinder block under the
front of the trailer so we don't have to reply on the crackdown wheel. I go the fridge in the back of the truck and
pull out a couple nice cold waters for Blue and I. We head on back and detour along the Keyport
water front which is very active. We
notice that Pedersen's has put in a bunch of new docks on the old pilings and
still adding more.
Another successful beginning to another season. We head home.
Next project is to finish the dinghy. She's pretty much ready, but I want to
replace the wheels on the transom with new wheels and relocate them so we don't
have to turn her upside down like we have for years. The idea is to set the wheels up so we can
just pull her up the ramp with everything still inside. Previously, we would unload her and turn her
over and pull her up the ramp. I began
to think how inconsiderate this was for others waiting to use the ramp. So I
plan to change that this year. It will
require some major work on the transom and rear bench seat, but it will be
worth it.
First thing to due is turn her over and cut some holes in the
front face of the bench seat so I can use bolts and not self tapping
screws. This will also allow me to back
it with an aluminum plate to add strength. When done I can fill with foam.
This method will allow me to turn the boat upside down when I
get her up to the spot I store her in the boat yard.
No comments:
Post a Comment