SV Panta Rhei Retirement Trip

We've hauled out to do repairs and update the bottom paint. It is not just the boatyard technicians that are working on Panta Rhei. The crew is hard at work, too. We've repaired the deck switch for the windlass and changed out all the filters in the fresh water system (and repaired an occluded hot water line). Our rudder is repaired now. Work on the swim step begins today. Karen was up at 5:30 am today working on varnish in and around the galley. I have to get the defunct fresh water pump out of deep storage on the boat and get a repair process started. This will involve shipping the motor somewhere. The local chandlery (Cater marine) gets this done for us. Nice. And when we take things in to them, they give us Magnum ice cream bars. I can hardly wait to buy more things from Cater Marine. We are having the side stays re-bedded. They leaked during the storm...only a little....but that was a little too much. Of course the bottom repair is a little more involved that we hoped. There will be some work on the lead keel. And in the process of placing the boat in the cradle some damage was done to the gel coat on the stern. That will be repaired. How long will all this take? No one knows. We want to be back in the water by Dec 1. Hope springs eternal.

While we are hauled out, our friends on SV Gypsea Heart are hosting us aboard their boat. It is a 47 foot catamaran. We are in the starboard hull. Those of you who have not stayed aboard a catamaran may not appreciate how really nice this is. The vessel has sightlines from the galley and salon that give good view of the water. We are near the ferry dock so we have a pretty unrestricted view off the back deck, too. The catamaran is 10 feet wider than SV Panta Rhei. It's like living in a small apartment. GRAND. The food's spectacular, too.

Everything takes time and we are constantly working to keep things moving through their work process. Some things are starting to "come back" to us. That is the good part. The bad part is that we have to figure out how to actually solve problems. We have lots of uncertainty and concern while we work on things. Many things don't have repairmen. If they are to be fixed, the owner has to figure out how to get it done. Direct replacements are a dream not frequently realized. The boat is now 12 years old and industry has "moved on". All this creates "angst". Relief comes when you splash. So we are looking forward to being back in the water.