PROP REPAIR

Being pulled out 

Made a fair amount of progress today. The Bristol Marine crew was up early - we talked to them about 6:30 AM and discussed what we needed. Basically, we require a short haul, getting the boat out just long enough to get the prop off, then another short haul after we get the prop repaired. Although there seemed to be a pretty relaxed attitude around the yard, work was getting done, and they did actually have IMPROV out of the water by 10 AM. It was a bit of a challenge getting the prop off and they went through four or five prop and gear pullers before a couple of good whacks with a sledge

A few wrinkles from the rock

hammer loosened it up. While the prop was being pulled, Elaine was getting a rental car from Fall River, several miles away, and by 11:30 we were on our way to Middletown, near Newport, to drop the prop off at the repair shop. At the shop, the proprietor checked out the prop using his precision measurement device and figured it would take until Friday to get it repaired.

After the delivery, we grabbed lunch, then stopped off at a nearby store to buy fleece jackets. We’ve felt cold, even though it’s in the 60s near the water, because the wind has been relentless the last few days, blowing up to 30 knots most of the day today. It’s surprising that just getting off of the boat and on land made things feel warmer, but we still needed another layer of fleece.

We got back to the boat, which had been moved to a slip by the boatyard crew, and I started on my projects list. Working inside, out of the wind, I replaced a couple of halogen reading lights in the main salon with some LED lights. Not only did the original lights use a lot of energy, they got very hot when used, and one of them, which is just under the forward hatch, has “re-rusted” after I rebuilt and repainted it a couple of years ago.

The next project was on deck, and was made considerably

Not the usual perspective of our boat

more difficult than it should have been because of the strong wind. I replaced a couple of bolts on the supports for my instrument mast. The old bolts had bothered me ever since I bought the boat because they were the wrong length and someone had installed them with steel washers which rusted. They also loosened up regularly and made the mast rattle when we were in heavy seas or even with strong winds at anchor. Since the mast is right above our bed, I’ve been hearing this rattle the past few nights, and rather than just tighten them up again, I decided to replace them with the correct hardware. I was surprised that I couldn’t just lay a bolt or nut down on the deck without the wind almost blowing them away. I got everything reinstalled without loosing anything overboard and put it all together with enough Loc-tite that there shouldn’t be any rattles now.

Since we’ve got a day and a half before we can pick up the prop, and we have a rental car, we may take off for a short road trip tomorrow…

More notes from Elaine...


So my subject today - food! I love food - discovering different foods, eating, cooking,  ethnic foods, restaurants - need I say more? This trip is no different - although fairly common, I had never had grits before setting foot into South Carolina. We now have grits on the boat - we have grits with shrimp, sausage, greens, vegetables. We had wonderful Cuban and South American food in Florida. Subs are called heroes, hoagies and in Rhode Island - grinders. I love Maryland blue crabs - Dave prefers the west coast Dungeness. We are presently in Fall River, MA which supposedly hosts a plethora of Portuguese restaurants but we haven't had a chance to peruse the neighborhood yet. And I am pretty much game to try anything, unless it has anything to do with insects. I don't do insects.

And so we continue northward - looking forward to poutine, sausages, Canadian food, New England fare and probably other foods I have never heard of. Yum!