I moved off KR a day or two after arriving here in Moxie Cove (near Round Pond) on September 7th. This was the view looking out the living room window from the completely stationary and quite lovely land-based dwelling that I moved into. Pretty view, isn't it? Notice how high KR is riding - I must have removed 2000 lbs of gear, clothes, food etc etc before this pic was taken. Cheryl and Glenn and I took her out for a day sail a week or so after my arrival and she felt like a racing boat - relatively speaking that is.
Land based dwelling has much to recommend it. In the last 3 weeks I have not had a single night on anchor watch, have enjoyed long hot showers every day (no quarters required!) and can do laundry at will (no quarters required for that either). There is this magic box that makes warm beer into cold beer (and that keeps vegetables fresh for days), another that washes the dishes and one more that compacts the trash. Cool stuff.
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This is KR's 600lb Westerbeke diesel engine flying like a big red bird through the air. Becky (I named her that when I still thought that Westerbeke was pronounced Wester-beck. It is actually pronounced Wester-beak but by the time I figured that out the name had stuck) needs some somewhat extensive maintenance which is much more easily accomplished out of the boat than in. Plus, I wanted to pull the remainder of the drive train - prop shaft, cutlass bearing, stuffing box etc - for inspection and possible repair/replacement.
So - after removing all the gear and sails while still in Moxie Cove - and effectively turning her into a motorboat, I moved her to a mooring in Round Pond where I spent the better part of two days crawling about disconnecting all the wires, hoses, cables and couplings which made Becky a functional part of KR. This effectively turned my lovely auxiliary powered sailboat into a rather shapely barge. On Friday the 16th, with power provided by a Boston Whaler tied alongside, we maneuvered her the last 200 yards to where the trailer waited to haul her to her winter home.
Now the real work could begin.
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KR is now safely ensconced in her safe, dry home for the winter. That's her on the right. On the left is her friend, Glenn and Cheryl's Cape Dory 31, Evergreen, with whom we cruised to the St. John River this summer. The two boats are well acquainted and will coexist happily in their winter lodging. We are not entirely certain what the result of this casual cohabitation will be. Will there be lots of little baby Cape Seacrafts - or will they be Pacific Dorys? Hard to say, but with such pretty parents the kids are bound to be cute.
This last week has been devoted mostly to the "destruct" phase of the boat projects. The lifelines, stern pulpit and stanchions have all been removed, Becky and all of her oily paraphernalia are gone and her home degreased, and the binnacle has been disassembled in preparation for its rebuild, repaint and rewire.
I am past the early phase when new items are being added to the list at a much faster rate than old ones are completed. The first two days of any boat project period are brutal mentally - there is no end in sight, little tangible progress and tight deadlines loom.
There have been some actual accomplishments. A design weakness in the mainsail furling system has finally been resolved - once and for all, a few leaky areas have been re-bedded, and several pre-launch items completed to help take the load off the springtime to-do list.
This week will be busy also but the list is much less onerous now. There is plenty of time.
Sound like I have only been working? Not!
The fact is that time spent in Moxie Cover with friends Glenn and Cheryl is and always has been fun. Last weekend, I was included in their annual "Water Weekend" with almost 20 people here for a weekend of kayaking, bicycling and eating - not necessarily in that order. All were wonderful people and the weather was beautifully warm and cooperative.
Weekly Pizza Nights, road trips to the "Big City", a first-ever Movie Night and plenty of other pleasant time together help distract us obsessive types from the jobs at hand and the toll being taken on the old body from those jobs. Given time to think about them, the cuts, bruises, sore hands and gouged heads that are part of any boat project could get discouraging.
At the end of every one-year cruise, I have posted the final statistics.
This cruise started in Washington, NC not quite one year ago. We covered approx 5000 miles, including my first long solo passage (the 14 day passage from Beaufort, NC to Guanaja in the Bay Islands of Honduras). The engine log shows 300 hours - which was mostly run up in the second half of the cruise after our return to the States. Becky was blissfully silent most of the first 6 months. We visited 5 foreign countries as well as that always exotic part of our own country, New York City. We traveled inland on two fresh water rivers - through the jungles along the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and on the Saint John River through bucolic Canadian hills, fields and pastures.
Nothing particularly major broke (at least not catastrophically). Although, as with any boat, things were constantly breaking. The old saying "While you are sleeping you're boat is breaking" will always be true - especially for cruising boats.
Otto, KR's Raymarine wheel drive autopilot, actually survived a complete one-year cruise without failing. That is a new and unprecedented record (which probably means that it will fail early in the next cruise). I am not cynical - just very realistic about Raymarine equipment.
This is the last post to this blog until KR is re-launched next spring. Tune in then as KR and I first head north to Nova Scotia and possibly Newfoundland before coming about and heading back to the Caribbean.
Until then, I hope that you enjoy your winter - wherever you spend it - as much as I will enjoy mine in the mountains of Colorado.
Best to all.
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