Freezing in North Carolina

Here we are, back in Grand Haven, looking back on our trip to work on the boat. I wanted to write this Friday, but had an extensive sinus remodel (on purpose this time, unlike October in St John) and spent mid-day unconscious and the afternoon and evening in a drug-induced stupor. Much better now, thanks.

In the meantime, the gray gray gray Grand Haven we left has been replaced with sunny skies and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. So nice! Perhaps the region made a new year's resolution to be less depressed... or depressing. Note: this does not mean the snow is gone: these giant piles will probably be here until spring.

But back to North Carolina: we had planned to drive down, fix up the boat for a few days, then sail to St John and fly back to MI. Well, they say that if you want to make God laugh, make plans. First thing, Cynthia came down with the flu as we drove south... meaning that she was unavailable to help on the boat and that I would probably be on the disabled list partway through out ten-day ocean passage: NOT good. Then the materials and inspections we wanted to get were delayed. Next, the forecast said that, if we left when we needed to, we would be sailing right into that nasty storm, Grayson, with high winds and cold temperatures... and in a boat that I, at least, had come to doubt. I had scheduled a rigger to make sure of the strength of our masts and stays, but he would not come out in the snow and cold and the mechanic was willing to maybe consider checking my engine before D-day. Then we found out more: by departure day a skim of ice had formed

and the local experts told us it would strip off our paint and gel coat within a couple hundred yards.... 

What could we do? When everything says "don't go", only a stubborn fool would still go (AND we were told that the marina was too shallow for us to escape except in special conditions occurring once every couple months!). In complete defeat and frustration we decided to rent a hotel for the cold snap and spend our evenings in a hot tub, our days working on the boat. Then I got a note on Facebook saying someone named Byph wanted to be my friend, but I already told that story that (HERE). 

The ice grew thicker by the day:

The locals told us they had never seen such ice and claimed we had brought it with us from Michigan: after four or five days I could actually walk around the boat without a sign of any cracking... allowing me to finally get a good look at her hull.

but I held onto a line just in case the ice broke as I understand it is next to impossible to pull yourself out otherwise.

And check out the flaky appearance of the ice! Beautiful!

The rigger climbed the masts and found four rotten spots on the mizzen mast (the smaller mast), so I need to replace it or pull and repair it. Good thing I'm a carpenter! He graded the main mast as being mostly sound, but I found a rotten spot when I climbed it, so we will pull and repair both of them. *sigh*. 

The mechanic came over and he and his assistant spent a good deal of time fixing leaks, changing oil and coolant, replacing filters that had probably not been changed in four or five years, and pulling apart hand-tightened, no-thread-sealant plumbing and putting it back right. They also pointed out an installation defect of the sort that often leads to engine destruction and suggested that I might have them fix it or do it myself, so that is on my list for the next trip.

Once the ice melted off the boat, Cynthia and I replaced the four little solar panels (maybe 250 watts) with two far larger and more efficient ones (530watts total), ones that not only will max out our power quickly and give us enough on bad days, but are installed in such a way that they strengthen the roof instead of warping it. Fun and satisfying. 

I think, however, that Cynthia is getting tired of this: after all, she only got to see Dorado after I had owned her for a year and had everything working to my satisfaction... and SHE wants to go sailing, catching mahi mahi, hunting lionfish, and having adventures... and sitting sick and cold on a messy, unfinished, uninsulated boat does not appeal, especially when she is so short on vacation time and works so many hours. 

That is why I fly back alone on Feb 1 and will work to get that boat ready: I have a huge list, starting with pulling and repairing the masts, insulating the aft stateroom ceiling and pantry, and dealing with the exhaust air lock. I am raring at the bit, ready and eager to get to work on these jobs I've never tackled before....but I sure hope the boat will not be so cold this time.

A final note: on our drive back to MI, we got bad news: the crew removing our sweet old boat from the beach snapped off the keel, so we had an hour to get what we want off of her... and we are not in the area and phones don't work. *sigh*. Oh, well. Bye, bye, Dorado. Sad: we had a lot of stuff still aboard that I could have removed in October, but had no place to store. Ah, well: we have the memories and the stuff is replaceable.