So we're here in New Port Richey getting ready to head south. While I was finishing up with Tim & Julie's boat, Bev has been busy cleaning and painting the interior on Walkure. The interior hasn't been painted since the launching 5 years ago, so it was needed.
In the process we've been moving things, uncovering things that haven't been seen in years. Yesterday as I was helping Bev move things in the bedroom I noticed a tiny spot of water. (Oops!) Upon further investigation I discovered a tiny leak. Yep, a leak. We've never had a leak below the waterline before, so this is troubling. With a "WEST" system boat, the wood is protected by epoxy which keeps the wood dry and prevents rot. A leak means the epoxy has failed and the wood is getting wet and thus can start to rot. So...
Next week, instead of heading south to Marathon, we will be stopping at Tarpon Springs for a haulout. We will have to track down the leak, carve it out, dry the wood, patch the epoxy, glass and paint the whole thing. I am hoping this will be a very localized repair, but I won't know till I get the boat out of the water to do a proper inspection.
The trouble seems to be in one of the seams around the port side bilge-board trunk. I knew these trunks were trouble when I first saw the design, but I thought I had compensated by soaking lots and lots of extra epoxy into these seams. If the problem is isolated to this one seam, we should be able to complete the repair in about 5 days and then be on our way.
Once again, the old adage about a boat being "a hole in the water into which you pour money" is proved true. I've also heard that BOAT is really an acronym for "Break Out Another Thousand." I guess that's true too.
As for "Love is All" we didn't get finished all we set out to do, but the boat is now functional. The sleeping area is done, the head works, the clothing lockers are done, etc, so Tim and Julie can at least take weekend cruises. Here's a picture Tim took last week.
