Sunday, October 16, 2005

A sad time.

It's mid October, the weather's getting colder. Here in the northeast we just got over 8 straight days of hard rain, over 22 inches worth. The creeks and rivers have all overflowed their banks and many roads are flooded. Pumpkins will be in short supply as many pumpkin patches were flooded.
This is a sad time of year for me because I have to start decommissioning the boat. I made a trip to the marina yesterday. The parking lot was flooded and I had to wade through 6" of water to get to the docks. Once I got to the boat I started unloading items I don't want left there for the winter. A week from Monday is the scheduled haul out.
I'm hauling out a little earlier than I wanted because this is the boat's first season in the water. I want to have time to make a thorough inspection of the hull and rudder. If any work needs to be done on the bottom, I'll have time to get it done, or at least get it planned so I know where to start in the spring.
I'm not expecting any trouble, the bilge is dry so there are no leaks. But since I plan on spending at least a year living on the boat full time, I want to be doubly sure I won't run into trouble after launch next year.
I've also started work on a rigid dingy to use as a tender. The inflatable I bought this summer is too heavy, too cumbersome to use easily. The wooden dingy I'm building will be half the weight of the inflatable and much easier to stow on deck when not in use.

No comments: