Motel coffee and Hotel breakfasts, a few weeks grueling weeks until launch. Living out of backpacks was rougher than it was when we were young, without kiddo, without cat, without back pain.
Wiggers Yachts once again gracefully hosted our vessel and work.
Our sandblaster/painter had sprayed the initial coats of Amerlock Sealer, and Amerlock 400 on the hull and deck. Over these few weeks 4 more coats were added as well as top coats (PPG Pitthane) and deck paint/non skid and eventually anti-fouling. A new waterline was found and marked using the water level method.
And now to launch. Again a flurry of helpful family and friends surrounded us in the final days of panic and prep. Their support is what moved us forward at this point. Stress and exhaustion had enveloped us and work continued to mount… But alas, we launched.
Next was the final check on all my math. Did the boat float? Did she float on her ? Did the new rig fit?
fit.
And it did both.. the rig I painstakingly drew fit, and the ballast I placed, and lines I painted were correct. This isn’t to say I’m better than I am, it is to say that if you do the same drawing and math problem 100 times, 10 different ways over 6 years, you have a reasonable shot.
With the mast hanging from the crane, Wayne gave us a little while to cut the wires hanging from the mast and attach the sta-lok fittings on their ends.
Whew… now the simple task of moving our young family aboard a boat with no connected stove, water tanks, running engine or toilet.
A few more crazy days on the dock introduced a functional toilet, and an engine that ran in forward and neutral… which meany we could leave Port Darlington for Cobourg Harbour
Sailing Vessel Eleanor Tarr 