Life in a DIY Boatyard

White Pepper made it to the travel lift safely and was hauled and blocked in the work yard of Green Cove Springs Marina. This marina is DIY (do it yourself) boatyard and one of the few such in Florida. We were able to stay aboard and work on the boat. We caught a break with the weather as an unseasonable spell of cool and dry air made for pleasant working conditions. Usually at this time of year northern Florida is a misery. .Living aboard was pleasant enough with cool nights. The days were always busy with noisy activity everywhere. The only aggravation was having to climb down the ladder to go to the head.

Jan varnished the bright work to perfection. She also waxed the metal stanchions and winches. She completely cleaned the interior with vinegar and furniture wax. I compounded and waxed the hull which took four days. We installed an oil lamp on the port bulkhead.

Also I cleaned and greased all of the winches. I have posted previously about the amazing Barient 726's which are White Pepper's primary winches. What I did not post was that I had lost the low gear on the port side to corrosion last fall. We no longer need low gear as we no longer have to grind in a large genoa in a breeze. But still I felt responsible. These old winches are museum pieces—relics of an older and perhaps better era of sailing in the 1960's and 70's. I took the rusted piece and soaked it overnight in acetone and ATF fluid. I bought a propane torch and heated it. Marvelous flames of burning ATF came out of the gear. Finally, I took that most delicate of tools, the ball peen hammer, and whacked it hard 4 or 5 times. It moved! Ten more whacks and the pieces were freed. Then I sanded and cleaned the gear for hours. I had purchased new paws for the gears. Despite the promise of a universal fit, the paws were too fat and too short for the ancient gear. New springs and new high tech Teflon grease finally got the paws to work again. Originally, I had imagined that if I succeeded in reviving the gear my joy would be unbounded. However, with success I felt more relief and anxiety than joy. The gear had failed more because of lack of use than anything else. I would have to deliberately exercise the winch regularly from now on.

Other chores included replacing a failed battery selector switch. We negotiated a deal with Yanmar to purchase a new motor. This will hopefully happen in 3 or 4 weeks. We ordered new lifelines from Julian at Sparcraft.  Both of the upper life lines had parted on the cruise.

We changed the zincs on the keel cooler of the FrigiBoat refrigerator. I serviced the anchor windlass.  It was frozen and also needed the ball peen hammer treatment.  I exchanged the primary and secondary chains on the bow.  Also I shortened the secondary chain from 100 feet to 40 feet.  This will remove 100 pounds from the bow.  In October I will ask Julian to redo the chain to rope splice.

Finally, we have run out of time and have to leave for Texas. Many more chores remain to be done. Re bedding the windows to prevent leaks which should take about a week, re bedding the mast step, replacing the rudder which is leaking, and replacing the potty with a composting head. The hot water heater was damaged with the overheating and needs service. Of course the bottom needs to be sanded and painted with antifoulant. We will do these chores in October before heading out again for another adventure