Almost There

to launch date, that is.

The boatyard finished some work for me, taking two weekends. They repaired some damage on the bow, which now looks great! I scrubbed and waxed the entire hull with cleaner wax, but clearly I need to use the two step waxing process to maybe get the whole thing looking like the bow does now. And I want to make sure that I don't hit the dock with the bow this  year!

They also replaced the bow running lights with an LED system. I guess I'm legal now for night sailing, but I still don't think the lights are well positioned. They would be blocked by the bowsprit, sail, etc while underway. I think they should be positioned on the bow pulpit. I'm also not entirely certain which extra light I turn on when I am under power at night. Oh well. one step at at time.

Next, the repaired the manual bilge pump, which is good to have as a backup and installed the new stereo (which sounds good!). There are now new speakers in the cockpit which don't seem to buzz the way the old ones did. I should get the same in my car! They were supposed to repair or replace the water pump for the galley sink, but I haven't been able to test that yet. I need to fill the tank with water and then test it. Come to think of it, I'll also check the invoice to see if that job is on there.

Once I had found the boat and gotten Rick to help me move it close to power and water (his SUV can tow that weight), I was able to scrub and wax the hull. I also cleaned the anchor, rode, and anchor locker, as well as most of the deck. Haven't really gotten to the cockpit yet, since I am in and out of it so much. I finished up down below, which really looks good. And things should work well now, with most of the lockers and drawers much more secure.

I'm trying some new plans for stowing things this year. I'll have or purchase enough plastic containers of various sizes to hold just about everything. If I make a point to stow everything away, then it should be easier to keep the clutter at bay. It might take me longer to find some things than if I just had them loose on the counter or in a locker, but overall that should be outweighed by the ease of finding everything else, because I know exactly where to look.

We'll see.

Launch scheduled for Wednesday. I won't have done any varnishing yet, but perhaps I can spend a weekend or two on that coming up.The good news is that a combination of some mild solvents and a "Magic Eraser" can remove masking tape residue pretty readily. Next up: learn how to remove varnish drips.