I don’t like to drive to the coast when I have to arrive late at night because our little electric cabin heater cannot produce enough heat to make sleeping comfortable. I made an exception this time because the weather was downright balmy for mid December. Also we bought a small cabinet model propane heater that pumps out a tremendous amount of heat in a short time. I know what you are thinking and you are correct that a propane heater in the cabin of a sailboat is an exceedingly bad idea. I promise we will never sleep with the heater on and the propane canisters will be stored on deck when the heater is not in use.

I had a couple of things to do and Judy was tied up with other activities. I took Friday as a vacation day and left after work on Thursday with plans to return on Friday afternoon.

Thursday December 15, 2011
The trip to the coast was not pleasant. There was an accident near Raleigh and the traffic was generally heavier than usual. I arrived without incident and unloaded. The weather was still very pleasant. One of my tasks was to check the bolts and nuts on the engine mounts. The engine was never aligned with the new shaft at the boatyard. Tom agreed to send someone out to align it but he was concerned that the engine mount bolts were too corroded to adjust. I agreed to inspect the bolts and try to loosen them and report back to Tom. My first order of business was to apply penetrating oil on each of the engine mount bolts. My next order of business was to go to bed.

Friday December 16, 2011
I was up early for coffee and cereal. I rummaged through my tool box to find a wrench that was big enough to fit the 7/8” nuts on the engine mounts. I did not remember that they were that big. I did find an adjustable wrench that would fit but it was very short and did not allow enough leverage to do any good. I decided to proceed to the next task and maybe I would see Nick and hopefully borrow a bigger wrench.

I removed two of our windows so I could take them home for re-glazing. Nick did stop by to remind me that I had missed the Spirit of Christmas celebration by a week. He did have a wrench and it was not much bigger than mine but I borrowed and the extra 2” of handle length was enough to make the difference. I was able to loosen the nuts on the two starboard side mounts with a little effort. This tells me that a professional with the proper tools should have no trouble making the adjustment.

I was getting packed up when I heard my friend Richard call from the dock above. He and Francis were down for their own boat check. I had not seen them for some time and was glad to get caught up. We had a nice chat and wished each other a happy holiday. I had a bite of lunch and left a little after noon. I had promised Matthew I would stop by Raleigh and help him with a bill of materials for his garage / workshop refit.

The weather was great at the coast but by the time I got to Raleigh it was raining a cold wintertime rain. The trip home from Raleigh was less than enjoyable but I stopped in Siler City for some Eastern NC Barbeque to break up the trip.