Two and One-Half Week Work Party 9/17/06

Up on the parking lot and scurrying like headless chickens. Bill made a work of art from the chaos we created and was kind enough to sign the keel for us. His apprentice Tom was a fiberglass sanding dervish. In parallel Dave installed six bilge pumps (and Nathan helped, too). The bilge pumps were a lot of work, effort and ingenuity. Dave modified and came up with clever solutions. Chris and I ran the wires (all twelve of them). We certainly learned about the nooks and crannies of the boat (lots of storage spots) as well as where wire chases are located. The snake was invaluable – no, we do not have a new pet. It is a tool that is tied with a string and run through the route you want to run the wire. Once the snake has completed the job – the wire is attached to the string and you pull the string – voila – wire has been strung from point A to point B. After all the work installing the bilge pumps with individual alarms at the helm – may the lights never turn red and the alarm never sound.

The bright spot of every week has become the Thursday night dock parties. Dock residents thoughtfully included us even though we were not in the water. It was always potluck and became the most amazing collection of tastes – Lou’s appetizer calzone or dessert fruit pizza, Sue’s meatballs or chicken wings, Tana's bagel bites, Richard’s cheese plate extraordinaire (Matthew and Ali helped, too), Louise’s crab dip, Tom’s franks and beans…it was always a full meal and tons of fun.  And of course Bruce's canon was fired at sunset - very ritualistic and festive!

After our stay in the land of misfit toys (aka the parking lot) we were ready to be moved back into the water. Daily showers to get rid of fiberglass dust has lost its appeal. We have made many friends in the yard and are grateful for their professionalism and good humor. The move is quite a feat and requires a 150 ton travel lift. It is a bit unsettling to watch but the excitement of returning to the water was too much so here are some photos.

Back into the water and the level of activity has really sped up. We hope to head out in a week or so after splashing but we will see how our progress goes. Another big project we hoped to do was sew an awning for the foredeck (front of the boat). This sewing project is no small endeavor because the boat is 22 feet wide and we will go about half-way back the 44 foot long boat. We started by making a template out of plastic and duct tape (on a windless day up on the parking lot) - no Frank, this is not an attempt at a green house. After looking at the template in place for awhile we cut it down and moved the operation into the third building – not very full since boats have not yet started to be pulled for winter storage. Now it was up to Chris, me and my birthday present (industrial sewing machine that will come aboard with us). After watching the instructional video of how to thread the machine and wind the bobbin we were off to the races. I sewed on the floor and Chris stood and helped feed the fabric by pulling it forward. It was definitely a team effort. We finished at 7pm and headed to a local Thai place for a celebratory dinner before collapsing in bed. The next morning just about every muscle in our bodies made itself known…but the awning was done!

Stowage – yikes – where will everything go?! Several trips back and forth to Boston and finally all items were physically on the boat. Due to our desire to get out of Dodge, we got some items into drawers, cupboards, etc. but mostly we placed things into big plastic tubs that we piled in the spare berths – hurriedly labeled of contents.

The day has come and we are finally tossing the lines. Chris has gotten a cold in the last day or so, so his senses are a bit dulled. Regardless, we both feel pretty good! So much planning and so much reading and so many boat projects – now to put it to use. We left Barrington, Rhode Island, at 1:00pm on Tuesday, September 19, 2006!!  The logs will now continue in the 2006 section - we made it!! 

Looking forward to seeing many old friends on the waters South - we could not have made it without the comraderie and the support from A Dock.  Thank you, sincerely, for everything.