Uproar has launched. More importantly, she if floating! While all boats float, there is always that question when launching, especially after a long stay “on the hard.”

Nolan painted the scratched up, dark gray boot stripe a muted teal to match the rest of Uproar’s color scheme. Looks great. We were both amazed how clean Uproar looked inside and out from being in the dusty Carriacou Marine Yard.

There were butterflies in both my and Lisa’s stomachs. We were about to end our five months as dirt dwellers and join the ranks of floating homeless. Would we and our puppy, Pearl adapt?

Uproar’s diesel engine fired right up and cooling water was exiting the exhaust as it should. I checked the anchor windlass, dead! OK, we will have to drop the anchor manually and see to fixing the windlass. We anchored in a safe spot after a bit of hassle getting the chain out of the locker. Unlocking the windlass refused to just let the anchor fall. Looks like bigger problems.

We had a quiet evening and a light meal, we launched right before five and it is pretty dark by six. Next day would be getting Uproar’s systems operating.

Solar panels were working well. I put them back up the first day we worked on the boat. After three days, batteries were fully charged. But the alternator was not charging the batteries. OK, I brought two rebuilt alternators back with me, no problem.

Installing the rebuilt alternator is not that difficult but cramped spaces and 80+ heat made it more of a chore. The fact that it was till not charging the batteries, even after a few tries with different wiring and voltage regulators added to the sweat.

I decided to get the freezer/fridge running. Well, it was making noise but not cooling. Add refrigerant, remove refrigerant, twiddle, still not working! Oh, instruments tripped the breaker off when turned on too. We anchored without any instruments such as depth. No problem, we know Tyrrel Bay pretty well.

A walk on shore with a coke break helped break my building tension. Several rums and dinner had me in bed by Seven. Then came mosquitos! OK, not a good start to life afloat!

I have written before that one of the most difficult aspects of cruising is keeping all the delicate systems working. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get this right. Lisa does not put pressure on me about this. She knows the stress it causes me. I didn’t sleep that well.

This morning, I got the alternator working! It was a few stupid mistakes on my part that caused it not to work. The freezer is still wheezing away. The machinery is working properly. I just need to get the refrigerant charge right. There is another cruiser in the anchorage who is an expert. I may ask for his help or to borrow his gauges. We fired up the watermaker, working fine. Things are looking up.

Living on a boat full time, our systems are always in use. But sitting on the hard, in a salt environment takes its toll. I’ll continue to work at it and eventually we will have success. Just wish I could not let it get to me so much. As promised, I’ll tell the good and the bad about cruising.

I’m feeling better now, I even shaved.