Adventures of Luck of a Fool: January 5-11, 2015 GA Haul out

We spent Monday getting the boat ready to haul out on Tuesday. We also had to pack bags in case the boat has to stay out to be worked on. We didn’t know if the repair would take one day or 2-4 weeks. So it was strange to pack. We had lunch at Willie’s Wee-Nee Wagon, an old establishment in Brunswick. They had a large assortment of hotdogs, but also had hamburgers and their famous pork chop sandwich. We had a couple different dogs, but may have to go back.

By 8:00am on Tuesday, we had the boat out of the slip and over to the end of the dock for a pump out. Then we took the boat down the channel to the boat yard by 9:00 for our scheduled haul out. The boatyard had to change a filter in their lift, so we had to wait about an hour for them. It’s always scary watching them haul out your boat, but fascinating, too.

Once the boat was out, the propeller mechanic did several tests to see where our vibration was coming from. He didn’t see any damage to the prop or the shaft. But Dave convinced them to reset the prop, because we didn’t trust the work that had been done by the marina that put this prop on for us. Dave was in communication with the Maxprop company during the process. It definitely needed resetting. From the way it was set, the company didn’t know how we could have even moved the boat. He said “it’s not supposed to work at that setting.”

We’re still deciding on whether we are sold on the Max Prop. There are advantages when it is in use, like less “prop walk” in reverse, where the boat tends to go to port in reverse. And the blades can feather back when we are sailing and produce less resistance. But mechanics don’t like working on them. There are more parts and more grease involved when working on it. We hung on to the prop that came with the boat, so we can always go back to that one.

Again, our zincs were gone. So we still have an electrolysis issue. The prop mechanic recommended a great marine electrician in the area to look at our boat. We think it would be good to get his opinion on what else we can do.

So after the prop was reset, we were able to put the boat back in the water!!!! Finally, a boat repair that went as it should and didn’t drag on for months!!

It was about 2:00 by the time we had the boat back in the slip. We decided to go out for lunch and spend at least one night in a hotel, since we had a car and were all packed.

On Wednesday, since we had the rental car, I checked out St Simon’s Island and bought groceries while Dave put the boat back in order. Had to move things away from the engine in case the mechanics needed to work in that area. St Simon’s has potential for a family reunion. Small town atmosphere, not condos and resorts.

Another luxury when you have a car is going to a movie theater. We went to The Hobbit. We thought that would be worth seeing on a big screen.

We found out that there was an excellent eye clinic hear in Brunswick. So we called and made Dave an appointment here for Jan 20. We aren’t waiting any longer for the VA. Since the boat is ready, we are anxious to go to the Bahamas.

Saturday and Sunday were spent watching football. Our laundry facility had a little lounge with a TV. So we had pizza delivered Saturday. Another boater joined us. We had a great time exchanging boat information and asking him questions about the Caribbean-he had a boat there for 12 years. Sunday, we went to the Yacht club to watch the games.
I enjoyed singing with the choir again on Sunday morning.