I spent pretty much all day Saturday (May 26) cleaning the interior of the boat. Top to bottom. It had rained the day before, and I was able to see a few places where the interior was wet, and was able to find several leaks. The port side windows (apparently all of them) were leaking, as well as the port chainplate. Also, the forepeak was wet, as well as the bottom edge of the wall coverings all along the v-berth, especially on the port side. It seemed to me as if the source was the ports/chainplate, as the wall covering was dry higher up. I may try and cut or remove the wall covering so it doesn't connect with the covering below the port, thereby cutting off the source of the water.

I also took the time to install the new reefing line hardware I bought on my birthday. Had a little trouble in that I drilled the tap holes too small, and my new drill/driver was set to deliver too much torque and ripped the head of the screw clean off. Luckily, I had something in my tool box that worked as a replacement, and was able to get the stuff mounted quickly.

It also seemed to me to be a good time to fire up the engine for the first time. This would also be a good test for the battery, as AAA tested it and it failed. However, the batter lit the cabin lights and ran the radio; it also kicked the electric start over easily, and the engine fired up on the first push. It ran (too fast) for about ten seconds, then died. I could not get it restarted. I decided to buy a new fuel line and hoped that would fix the problem.

Off to West Marine, and I picked up some silicone sealant (for the leaks), a new reefing line (the old ones were too short), and a new fuel line. I had to buy a universal line and new fittings for both ends. More expensive than the made model I bought from Defender a couple of years ago, but I had a $50 gift certificate from the kids (happy birthday!), and it was right there.

Back at the boat, the new reefing line was the perfect length (23', a good estimate on my part). I applied the silicone goop everywhere I could. And I put the new fuel line together, but the new fitting that was supposed to attach to the motor just wouldn't fit. I put my old fitting on the new line, attached it to the engine, and voila, instant start. I guess fuel lines just don't last very long anymore.

I didn't expect to go sailing this Memorial Day weekend as it was Dan's Last Hurrah, we needed to buy a new washing machine, and I did get to spend all day on the boat on Saturday. However, Patti surprised me on Monday (May 28) by suggesting that after we buy the washing machine at Sears, we go for lunch in Branford and then to the boat.

So, after a couple of lobster rolls at Lenny's, it was off to Hukilau. Patti was impressed with how clean she was. I think Patti thought we would just motor out and pick up a mooring, but there was a nice breeze and we raised sail in the harbor just past the Mermaids. Once out in the Sound, the breeze picked up nicely, and we had an absolutely gorgeous sail heading out past the Cow and Calf. The sails looked clean and new, the wind was about 12 knots, the seas almost flat. It doesn't get much better than that. We had to turn around as we needed to pick up Lily at school (she had her Math final), so we only got about three miles out before heading back. On the way back, Patti got a little nervous about the heeling, so I dialed back some of the Genny. I wanted to use the new main reefing line, but didn't want to do too much and make Patti more nervous with my futzing around.

Because of where we were, getting back into the harbor would require a number of tacks; so we fired up the engine and furled sail outside of the harbor and motored back to the dock. Docking was uneventful.

For the next sail: bring the cushions, need gas, adhesive hooks so I can hang the chochkies.