Here's more of getting ready for the haul out. Part 2

Once we got everything stowed that I brought back, we started in on getting things off the decks. We started with the main sail. We unfastened it from the mast and the end of the boom and slid it off the boom making sure that it was well tied around itself. Once off the boom, we laid it across the deck(we're still out on the mooring ball) and slowly flaked it into a manageable pile to fit in the sail bag.

While I was gone, Tracy had pulled the life raft off the stern rail and stowed it temporarily in the cockpit. It's now settled safely on the floor of the main cabin under the table. The cooler(storage box) that we keep on the stern rail was stowed in the forward cabin on one of the berths. Off came the forestaysail which was flaked and bagged and put below. The deck was getting empty.

We decided to spend Friday in the marina getting the last things pulled off the deck and getting Zephyr washed of all the dirt she had acquired during her time on the coast of the Baja.

We pulled in early in the morning and started in again. Off came the big genoa sail at the bow. It's on a roller system so it can just be pulled out for use. Well, we undid the line that holds it at the top of the mast and pulled it down and off it's track. We aligned it along the port side of the deck(not enough room in the deck at the marina)and slowly folded it in to nice neat pile. Into the bag it went and down below it went for storage.

The big thing that is stressed when putting your boat into storage, especially in a HOT climate, it get as much off the deck as possible and take all your sails off as they degrade in sunlight, especially in the intensity of the Mexico coast. Even if they are covered, the Suns rays will get on them and can ruin a good sail. You want as much off the deck so the teak can breathe and no be affected by what is on top of it. Even though we had planned on having Zephyr totally cover, we wanted as much as we could stored. Less things available for a thief is one should make his(or her) way aboard.

As to the inside, every can with a pull top--like cat food, cokes and beers, needs to be taken off as they might explode in the heat. All aerosol cans also must go as they could explode with all the pressure that is inside them. It can get well over 120 degrees inside! It's nasty down there. Especially if the Sun is allowed to hit the boat. With a dark blue hull, it can be even worse as it absorbs the rays also. We found it strange that there were very few boats with covers in the yard. A few had canvas across the decks, but none with covers like Zephyr that covered a great deal of the side as well as the deck.

So we pulled clothes out to come back to Denver as well as food that would spoil or cans that would explode off the boat. All electronics had to be disconnected from power sources and any antennas had to be disconnected as well(lightening). Water in the tanks has to be treated with Microdyne to stop algae growth and an additive is added to the diesel fuel to keep the bugs that can grow in it to a minimum.

We had the engine flushed when we were in the yard so all salt water was washed from the system. Four months with salt water just sitting in the pipes is not a good thing. Since we had never done it, we hired a service to do it. Boy were we dumb. The through hull intake is covered with a metal screen that protrudes from the hull by about an inch. The workmen got a clorox bottle and cut the top off where it goes down to the straight sides and fed the hose through the hole at the top(wrapping plastic wrap around it to make a seal) and turned on the hose while one guy held it to the hull and the other tasted the water(YUCK)as it came out the stern exhaust pipe. No OSHA in Mexico folks. Once he no longer tasted salt in the exhaust water, I shut off the engine. Boy, was that high tech or what?!?

We had the hull pressure washed to get rid of all the barnacles that had grown on out $240 a GALLON paint that we applied in Port Townsend. I'd scrubbed it several times during our trip so it wasn't horrible. The water pressure they used was far less than what we were used to back in the states. The tank of water sits on the front of a forklift and a hose is fed into the tank. Then a small pump pressurizes the tank and out comes the water from a second "high" pressure hose. They have no dedicated place for washing the boat(to collect the chemical laced water so it doesn't pollute the environment) so it is just done on the dirt storage lot in the work area. What didn't come off in the wash was scrapped off by a trowel(also into the dirt under the boat). Oh, the fun the US(and state)government would have had if it had been done the same way in the states.

Tracy had cleaned out the frig/freezer and had put what was left in a cooler I had brought from home. We moved into "Gringo Pete's Condo and Hotel" that is between the marina and the work yard. We got a room that included a kitchen so we could store what left over food we had in the refrigerator. We moved in early Saturday morning with the kids(Snowshoe and Blue going over later in the day. They were quite lost in suddenly having a new "home" with lots more room to roam around in. Blue kept having a snit fit every time Snowshoe came near her. Making matters worse was that Snowshoe wanted to play and chased her around the condo with her hissing and meowing all the time. We continually made trips back and forth unloading the poor Mazda with the things we had stripped off Zephyr. We figured we'd be there Saturday and Sunday night and on the road Monday. As it turned out, we spent Monday night there also. Nice place to stay and at $45.00 a night, not to expensive. A simple hotel room was $35.00.

By Sunday night, we had just about everything out of her and started fitting the tarp to Zephyr. We ran the spinnaker pole from the mast forward to the bow and tied it to the bow pulpit. With the tarp 50 feet long and Zephyr only 46 feet, we knew we had enough material. We measured from the back of the mast forward to the bow and then cut the tarp to that measurement. We laid the tarp in the dirt beside Zephyr and marked out the cut line. Zip with the scissors and the cut was made. I'd ordered in some brass grommets to attach to the tarp and so we doubled the material along the cut and attached the grommets every 18 inches as the Sun slowly set in the West. We then stowed the tarp on deck for the night and headed back for Gringo Pete's. It had been a long day.

Monday, we headed back to Zephyr just after 0600 to get started in the cool of the morning. We had a big tarp to fit and a time of 1300 when the yard was going to haul us back into the secure storage area.

Out went the tarp over the forward pole and then stretched toward the stern. Once the tarp was on the bow section, we used zip ties through the grommets to secure the edges and more zip ties to hold it to the pole under the tarp. Over the sides it went and the job of tying it down got underway. We'd cleared out everything from inside so we didn't need to go inside again. It looked strange having the decks all cleared of equipment. We'd bought a large ball of line to tie the tarp down from side to side with the lines passing under the hull. Once we had the sides done, we started in on the bow and closed it off with more zip ties through the fabric of the tarp. There were lines going all over the place making sure that the tarp moved as little as possible. We finished almost exactly at 1300. Right on schedule for the move. We then found out that our time had been mover to 1500 to 1600. OK, that gave us time for lunch(boy were we hungry). We returned to the yard and waited and waited. At 1530, I walked over to the office only to find that our move had been postponed to Tuesday at 0900. With it being that early, we could still get a good start for Tucson.

Tuesday, we were up early again as there was some laundry Tracy wanted to do before we set off. I dropped her off at the laundry/cantina and went back to the yard at 0800 to make sure we were still set for 0900. The office verified the time--no problem. I happened to look in the yard and there was the trailer in front of Zephyr being backed in to move her. So much for 0900. An hour early was fine with me. In went the trailer under Zephyr and up went Zephyr on the hydraulic arms on the trailer. All the lines held fine. Off we went for the yard. As they back Zephyr in, I looked around the yard and found very few spaces left for other boats. We were lucky that we had made or reservations a month ago.

Once in her space(wedged between two other boats, she was lowered onto her stands and the trailer rolled out. With four stands on a side plus one at each end, she was in place nice and safe. Well as safe as she can be. There was a huge flood last year through the yard with a few boats falling over in the wake of the water. Let's all hope it doesn't happen again.

I returned to the laundry and picked up Tracy and told her what had happened. Luckily, I had the camera with me and I took several pictures of the event so she could see them. I'll be posting them in the blog in a few days.

We headed for Gringo Pete's and loaded up and took off for Tucson. I've gone on long enough so there will be more posts. Stayed tuned for more post and pictures.