Kaimusailing

I had been thinking of having a TV on board and what better time to get one than for the Super Bowl. At Walmart there was a 32" flat screen for $98 and I also picked up a digital antenna for about $25. I couldn't wait to test out the set in our pizza enclave in the boatyard's breezeway. It worked but didn't pick up the local station that would carry the game. I was thinking I could have a Sunday Super Bowl pizza night and have the game on for everyone to see. Because the game is latish and I'd like to row out to Kaimu before dark, I began to think maybe I wouldn't see the game this year. Then I tested the set out back on a long extension cord, at the edge of the marsh. I could pick up just about all of the Jacksonville channels. I decided to bring the set and antenna out to Kaimu, where it was going eventually anyway and watch the game on board.
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Carpenter Ron had a small flat screen in the woodshop that had been donated. No remote. He didn't know if it worked or not. I brought the antenna to the shop and got his set working. The show was a kids show, cartoons.
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I have been waiting for about a year to be hauled out and the stumbling block this time was a large Katana catamaran. After weeks of delays I went on deck this morning surprised to see it dangling from the crane and in the launching process. When I came ashore a short time later the boat was back on the hard, blocked up. Apparently they had leaking from through hulls. I hope they can achieve a quick repair.
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After our last pizza party I was cleaning up the mess the next day and found there was a good amount of salad left over. I had been helping Capn Jane with some of her boat projects and she would cook something for me, an excellent cook. I asked her if she'd like to help consume the salad and we went to her boat because it was warmer than the chilly breezeway. We had herring in sour cream and the salad, which was partly frozen. The fridge was not regulating properly.
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It was getting colder and darker and I had to be off to row to Kaimu. As I headed for the breezeway to collect the ingredients for breakfast I saw a bunch of people who I recognized from last night's pizza party. What were they all there for, and then I saw the cake, it was a surprise birthday party, and I was surprised. As I ate ice cream I was shivering. Later I texted a friend about this and they replied "Cruel Bastards".
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Finally the way was clear for us to be hauled by the crane. I decided to raise the anchors the day prior to the haulout and standby on one remaining anchor. I was shocked to have the windlass stall out. I was snagged on something. I thought this might happen, as we hadn't dragged at all through some very strong winds over the past few weeks. I could see a red buoy under the surface of the water. It was high tide, the time chosen when the tidal current would be least.
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Low tide would be at noon the next day. I enjoyed a breakfast of leftover pizza and then got to work. With Kaimu about 6 feet lower than my previous attempt to haul anchors, the red buoy and a clump of anchors, chain, lines, and all that goes into a well made mooring came up. What a mess. I jumped into the leaky dinghy and began trying to untangle the mess. After a while I had the main mooring line free but the buoy lines were impossible to free. After 2 hours of struggle I called the boatyard and told them of my situation. Then I returned and began cutting the buoy lines. I loaded the dinghy with the buoys (one main red one and two smaller white ones on a light pendant). The light pendant could be easily replaced, but the main mooring line was separate and would be expensive to replace, also if I dropped that line the mooring would drop to the bottom. Mooring owner would not be happy.
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The tide began filling in and soon I was unable to work on the snag. It would have to wait. There was a gale warning, and tornado warning, and work was impossible for the next couple of days as a front came through. It was just as well. I was pooped from the strenuous hauling and heaving on what looked like a giant ball of yarn.
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When the weather cleared a bit I resumed and got to the point where I might have to cut chain or shackles. The plywood dinghy was leaking more and more badly, about a gallon a minute now. It was rapidly getting worse. I hadn't made any progress on the RIB conversion to hard dinghy because I wouldn't need it, I was hauling out, but now I needed it to finish the mooring work so I COULD haul out. Then Ron the Carpenter said someone was selling a dinghy for $75 and he thought it was leaning against the chain link fence near the boatyard's parking area. I went over to it and saw it was a Sumner dinghy.
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The Sumner dinghies are peculiar in that they have seats that run fore and aft, filled with flotation, and a longitudinal space running fore and aft between them. A separate seat is placed across the longitudinal seats and adjusted for optimum trim. I had one of these dinghies about 25 years ago and it rowed well and could be rigged for sailing. This one in the boatyard was in bad shape, but all it needed was gunwales, some minor fiberglass repair, and a small plank replaced on the transom. I contacted the seller and we agreed to a transaction at Pizza Night.
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The photo is of the big Katana catamaran launching, the boat's name is Tool Box.