Launched!

We have launch.

As usual, it didn't go perfectly. More about that shortly.

I am nowhere near finished everything I hope to do, but I have done most of the essentials, especially what had to be done while it was out of the water. I haven't gotten to the fiberglass and gelcoat work yet--partly due to time and partly because the days I did have were too cool, except for the one very warm weekend. The gouges on the bow are the most important; I'll have to see whether I can reach the area now that the boat is in the water.

Here is a list of what I have done so far. I figure I have spent at least 40 hours on it so far, probably more.

• Removed tarps
• Complete visual check
• Pumped out water
• Cleaned interior
• Fumigated
• Fixed scupper hose
• Prepared foul weather gear
• Scrubbed exterior
• Taped for boottop painting
• Painted boottop
• Checked stanchions
• Laundered and rehung curtains
• Checked anchor and line
• Taped around handrails
• Sanding
• Fixed engine compartment door
• Varnished port handrail
• Taped for bottom paint
• Painted bottom
• Checked dinghy
• Cleaned gas tank
• Arranged for outboard motor service
• Checked rigging
• Changed batteries in handheld instruments
• Tested hand electronics
• Charged house battery
• Organized what to take
• Varnished starboard handrail
• Checked all electrics
• Installed house battery
• Installed fenders on finger pier
• Checked refrigerator
• Installed plaque
• Fixed boottop paint
• Checked bilge pumps
• Installed registration sticker
• Polished hull
• Installed all cushions
• Organized trip
• Stowed navigation equipment
• Bought gas, added oil
• Installed thermometer
• Attached boom
• Washed dinghy
• Prepared dock lines
• Finished bottom paint
• Launched boat
• Installed motor
• Installed kill switch

Still more repairs and varnishing to do. But she's seaworthy now.

So, the launch was today. I headed up to the marina yesterday. If the weather had been decent, I might have been able to do some work yesterday afternoon. But the weather was terrible yesterday and early this morning. Windy and rainy. I didn't even walk downtown for dinner or breakfast, which is usual.

The rain did end after 9 am or so this morning and by, oh, 11 am it was starting to get sunny. The wind remained pretty serious, though. I did get a few things done and then prepared the needed materials for painting the bottom. (By the way, painting the bottom may not be nearly as much fun as some of you might be imagining.) They came for her at about noon and, after some persuasion, left her handing in the slings while they went to lunch. I discovered that the second quart of bottom paint was a slightly different blue from the first. As one of the guys doing the launching pointed out, though, only the fish will see it.

Launching was uneventful. I took some video, so I'll see if I can get something coherent out of it. I keep hoping to take some video as I motor around to my slip. but there is just too much to do.

As usual, I had motor trouble. I had asked them to do basic service/maintenance on the outboard, but it was still very dusty, so I'm not persuaded that they did anything. I'd better check the manual to see what I should be doing. Anyway, we found another kill switch to replace the one lost overboard last October. (I have extras now!!!) and got the motor running. It stalled leaving the dock and again halfway out to the river. I think I figured it out, though: I was running it from the internal gas tank, not the external one. I tied up briefly at a vacant slip while figuring this out and getting it started again.

When I started out again, the motor ran extremely well, not even stalling at slow RPMs. The wind was still high, and when I motored out into the river, leaving the shadow of the boathouse, it pushed me hard to port, even heeling me way over. Somehow I managed to get into my slip even considering the wind, without hitting anything. No new dings or gouges!

I finished a few more chores but decided to leave bending on the sails until next time. The wind would have made them pretty much unmanageable. Accuweather is promising some better weather ahead (except for Saturday). Sailing should happen soon.