And the gods shine down
31 May 2011 | Seward, Alaska
Mark
It is late Saturday and we've bent on the sails and decided to kick the dock for a shakedown cruise.
As we slip the dock lines, engine running, I put her into gear and we are off. I bank the wheel to the right.........and...........the boat GOES LEFT! I throw the transmission into reverse and try to understand just what is happening. We are out in the channel between F and G dock. Somehow, some way, our new steering cables are doing exactly opposite from what they are supposed to do. Do we try to dock the boat in tight quarters with mucked up steering - or gamble on the fact that I can fix it out in Thumbs Cove? I decide that more sea room is more comforting .........and so we head out of the harbor as I concentrate hard to steer the "wrong" way for every correction. It is hilarious and if it was not raining and cold, I'd be smiling. For the 7-mile trip out, I am trying to solve the puzzle and the only think I can figure is the cables were crossed inside the steering pedestal when we removed them - but could not have seen that. I formulate a plan and we finally drop the hook with plenty of room and hit the sack. This was NOT the impression I wanted to leave with our weekend guests, but it is certainly a shakedown cruise.
First thing in the a.m. I'm tearing into the steering and after a bit of wrangling, I've got the steering cables crossed in the pedestal and the wheel responds in a not bass-ackward way. The sun comes out just in time for a lovely breakfast in the cockpit.
The rest of the weekend was lovely - as it should be. Tons of sun, a nice 10-knot sail out to Bulldog. Otters Dahl porpoises, a humpback, sea lions, white wine, snacks and a quick swim in the chilly clear lake (all four of us) - make for a nice day. We celebrate back in the cockpit with dinner in the "setting sun" at 10:45 pm then laze around on the new cushions in idle chat. Rachel updates the log with her critter count and we crash.
Morning comes too soon and we are awakened by blazing sunshine; a perfect day for sipping coffee n the cockpit. We are relegated to pulling the hook to get going as our friends have an early flight out of Anchorage. Coffee and breakfast along the way and it's a new motor-sail just the same (especially when the boat goes where you point her.)
We're back in Seward by noon and I've got a ride home later with a friend so I can finish up those looming last minute projects on my list. The teak is DRY. Halleluiah. Caulking those edges is a necessity and the gods shone down (finally) - allowing me to clean, mask and apply the black-death calk around the perimeter of the new teak panels. This took much longer than I'd anticipated so I was glad not to be rushed. Last project - clean the cabin sole, sand the cabin sole of the whole boat, clean again, wipe down one more time - and varnish my way right out of the boat. She'll dry now for 4 weeks and with any luck - won't be tacky when we get back. We now have a functional sailboat that is ready for summer.