Messing About At the Dock
23 September 2007 | Whortonsville, NC
Lane Kendall
The main objective for this trip was to be sure the boat was ready for the Octoberfest race. We had some other possibilities in mind but we learned a long time ago that boating plans are seldom carried out as expected.
Friday September 21, 2007
We left the high country as usual, after work and drove to Raleigh just in time for the last parts of rush hour. We stopped for dinner at a decent barbeque place and had a relaxing meal. We arrived at about 10 pm and it was cool enough that the air conditioner was not needed. We turned in hoping for a good night's sleep. It had been a long hard week.
Saturday September 22, 2007
Out intention was to make sure the boat was ready for Octoberfest and then either go sailing or take a long dingy ride. I checked the engine's oil and did a visual inspection. I cranked and ran it for a while to be as sure as I could that there were no problems. The next step was to deploy the dingy. Charlie Gibson was lounging in the cockpit when we rousted him out and inflated him. As soon as he was inflated, we had a chore to do. Since I put the new shiny finish on the boats topsides last spring, I have noticed that we get a lot of smoky diesel grime on the transom. I don't think the diesel is smoking excessively, at least it's not noticeable. I think that the new finish allows the exhaust particles to stick to the surface, then when it gets wet, ugly spots appear. I used the dingy as a work platform and applied a cleaner to the transom that removed the shiny finish as well as the diesel grime. I figured I was better off with a little less shine and a lot less grime. Now if the grime re-appears, I will need to look elsewhere for a cause.
The weather proved to be unsettled to say the least. We had a serious downpour that lasted half an hour. There could have been more based on how the sky looked. To make matters worse, there was absolutely no wind. It was looking more and more like a dingy ride was going to be the afternoon activity. We put the outboard on the boat and I took it for a spin to make sure the engine was working. Wouldn't you know it... I'm no mechanic. I have proven that several times but I could tell that the engine was not up to par. It was difficult to start and ran ok at low speeds but at high speed it acted as if it wasn't getting enough fuel. The owner's manual was no help so I spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out what was wrong. This outboard is one of those tiny Japanese models that usually work fine. Not only that it is only two years old. I did everything I was comfortable doing at the dock and finally relented and reassembled it to take home. Maybe brother Jack will have some words of wisdom.
The weather was very hot for late September. After I cut my losses with the outboard, I went below to rest for a while in the air conditioning. Joey expressed an interest in my newly acquired cast net technique. I showed him what John (another dock mate) showed me two weeks ago. Joey caught about a dozen shrimp and a good many bait fish. He agreed with me that using John's method was the only way either of us had ever made a decent cast.
Earlier in the afternoon, Tish had invited us to dinner. We ate in the cockpit, a screened room where we can gather to socialize. It has tables, chairs and a gas grill. Dinner proved to be the high part of the weekend. We enjoyed the meal and the company of several other dock mates. We turned in much later than our usual bed time.
Sunday September 23, 2007
We slept late on Sunday, taking advantage of the air-conditioned boat. We woke to bright sunshine and almost oppressive heat. Breakfast was coffee and oatmeal then we did some minor calking of two windows and along the wall of the head (bathroom). If anyone ever tells you that he owns a sailboat that does not leak, please let me know. I would like to find out how he does it. I think they all leak! This was a nice weekend. Hopefully it will be cooler for Octoberfest, but we are ready in any case.