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Secret Anchorage Dunedin, Fl |
Settling in for another night at anchor. The boat gently rocks. The full moon, framed by two empty wine
glasses on the bridge deck, dances across the cool night sky. A fish jumps from its prey. A no-see-em calls to its’ mate. Soft jazz wafts from the stereo. The snoring begins.
A Shriek!
“Something fell on my head!” she panics knowing well the
HideAway’s reputation concerning reptilian creatures of the night.
“Is it moving?” Queried the sleepy capts mind. “How many legs does it have?”
“I don’t know --- I
don’t care --- Where is it?!!!”
“Here it is --- Right here”
“Where??”
“There! “
“It’s only a paint flake”
“Whadaya mean ONLY?”
“THAT flake fell flat on my forehead!”
“It just fell from the cabin top…”
“You mean the cabin that top looks like a chart of the islands?“
“It’s not THAT bad is it?”
“Then why don’t you try having an island fall on your flat head?”
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Islands of the Green Fiberglass Sea |
And that, my friends is the precise moment when the “To Do”
list emerges from its chrysalis to become a full-fledged REFIT
Refitting is a Voyage
of Discovery
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SV HideAway's Rudder with Acne |
The rudder casing developed a serious case of salt water
acne.
Certainly not a major project, however, on both
sides of the rudder lurk the cockpit drains.
Unprotected by scupper valve baffles, they have long been the source of flooding in the cockpit when HideAway sails with a bone in her teeth.
Unprotected by scupper valve baffles, they have long been the source of flooding in the cockpit when HideAway sails with a bone in her teeth.
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Baffle Me Please |
And what about that
pieced together boarding ladder to starboard and the motor mount to port, the
one with the broken springs? Where do
you start? What do you do? It’s really simple; you just…
Bust Your
Nuts
Did you know that unlike most boats of this size,
a Com- Pac 23 has eight separate stays? Each of them are held in place by two
or more hardened stainless steel bolts with personal oxidation issues.
.JPG "SV HideAway Rusted Nuts & other things") |
Rusted Nuts |
Hearing stories of chain plate bolts rusting
through from the inside, then finding the malady on your boat adds some urgency
to the project.
Living Below the Deck
The biggest part of
the refit is overhauling our below deck living space, if it can be called that
on a 23 foot boat, and we do. Humans are
a lot like gold fish when it comes to adapting to living spaces. We are both happy in the smallest spaces if
we don’t think about it too much.
Ignorance, or at least inattention to detail, is bliss.
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Below Decks SV HideAway |
The aforementioned falling paint flakes take center salon at
first. Then we will build some storage, a hanging closet, maybe a
chart table with chart storage. New lights and maybe a quieter fan.
The Usual Suspects
Repainting
the non-skid area of the deck, a general clean-up, a new boarding ladder, sole, replacement of a cleat or two, and a host of yet to be discovered joys fit to be
refitted.
So join in the fun of sailing’s other side -
Here’s the latest video update
The North Coast Of Imagination
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