Where's Rover?

So, when I came back to the boat in November, the goal was to again make her ready for a trip to the Bahamas. There were two big-ticket items I wanted to get done in a boatyard: new bottom paint and finally getting the new standing rigging I had purchased just before the pandemic installed. There were also a few other items that needed to be ticked off the repair list. 

 I tried, and failed, to get boatyards near Southport to haul out the boat and get the work done. Eventually I was able to schedule an appointment with Wilmington Marine Center on Jan 9th. So I went back home for the holidays, expecting I would return to take the boat to the yard at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, that boatyard went radio silent and I was unable to confirm the appointment after the holidays. So, figuring that Wilmington Marine apparently didn't want my business, I then scheduled with another yard in New Bern NC. 

It was a 3 day trip to relocate the boat there with the help of some friends in Southport. Unfortunately, the trip was during some of the coldest weather of the season, but the new 3/4 enclosure made the trip far better than our trip down from Virginia in January a few years back after building the hardtop. 

A calm but cool evening...

The boat was hauled two weeks ago last Tuesday after a one day delay due to high winds. It was on the hard for 2 weeks. The bottom fortunately didn't look as bad as I had feared, thanks to a trustworthy diver I found in Southport that took a great deal of time to remove the marine sanctuary that grew there during my absence caused by the pandemic. The bottom was cleaned and new bottom paint was applied. 

Rover out of the water

 I was also able to find a good rigger in New Bern that was willing to install the standing rigging I had purchased just prior to the beginning of the pandemic. On the hard, and using a man-lift, it took about a day and a half to replace the rigging without un-stepping the mast. Other than one set of fittings that were supplied required modification, the rigging kit from Sparcraft contained everything we needed.  The rigger reported during the rigging replacement that the threads in one of the old turnbuckles all but crumbled during disassembly...so it was definitely good that I didn't try to squeeze in one more sail. Finally, after almost 3 years, Rover now has brand new standing rigging. 

New rigging and bottom paint

During the trip up to New Bern, I found that one of the shaft seals was leaking a bit. I also found some wear of the cutlass bearings during my out-of-water inspection. So, I pulled both props, bearings, seals, and prop shafts. The shafts were cleaned, inspected, polished, and reinstalled with new shaft seals and bearings. Both props were cleaned and painted with cold galvanizing compound (the same stuff Petit sells as prop coat...only at 1/3 the price) and reinstalled with new zincs. The motors were then re-aligned with the prop shafts.

While at the yard, I also had the chance to replace the last of the fluorescent fixtures in the cabin with new dimmable LED fixtures. Unfortunately the puck lights I ordered to replace the main cabin lights were a little too large so I donated them to my friends at The Retirement Project. At least the bulbs in the existing fixtures are already LED. The raw water strainers for the air conditioning units that were failing (the baskets were breaking apart and replacements were impossible to find in the US) were also replaced with brand new strainers. 

The boat was splashed last Monday, and after spinning up the motors and checking for leaks, the boat left the yard in much better mechanical condition than when it arrived.  

With all the problems getting reliable marine services and parts in Southport, and the fact that my slip rental was doubling in price with an expected 50% additional increase in a year, I have decided to change the home base for Rover. I was able to find a marina near the boatyard where we were hauled out at the same rate we were initially paying at the old marina before the price increase. The marina doesn't have a pool, but it also doesn't have a ferry blowing its horn at 5:30am or rocking the boat every half hour. Being a bigger town, it is also much easier to find any needed parts and supplies.  The facility is simple but nice with several showers, a boaters lounge, and laundry. The docks are floating with large steel pilings and a wave attenuator that seems to do a really good job of keeping the water inside the marina calm.  The harbormaster and his assistant are really nice folks, are happy to help with anything you need, and they seem to keep up with maintenance.  I'm looking forward to having my boat here. 

And a new home.