The flights to Grenada from New Brunswick were at least successful. We came via Montreal, leaving a layer of snow on the ground in New Brunswick. In Montreal, we watched the screens, as a snowstorm was crippling Toronto and flights were delayed all morning and afternoon. Our flight changed from a small commuter flight at 17:00 h to a fully loaded, giant Boeing 777 at 18:00 h. We sat in row 55, with ten seats per row. It took off an hour later, after lineups and de-icing, as the worst of the Toronto storm was closing in on Montreal. The Toronto landing was as normal as a snowstorm landing can be, but it was a half-hour delay while the snow was mucked out from our gate and gate access. The next morning, we were in the air by 10:30 h, as Toronto was still recovering, and there was again a de-icing lineup.
As the weather predicted, there was not a breath of wind in the boatyard for our work-week, and it was tough. It was the usual work, with the common unexpected requirements as well. At night, we buddied up with new friends in the boatyard for meals at the “container park” near the college campus a few nights, but mostly Dawn cooked for just the two of us ate in the Cool Running apartment.
We had one mix-up in the boatyard that required us to stop our work while Cat Tales was moved to allow the launch of a boat behind us. Just a little annoyance and some time lost...
Once out in Prickly Bay, we had an easy second-half to the launch-day, and just limed - okay, one beer led to several, as the stress-relief was significant. I didn’t even want to try the dinghy engine, and why bother - it had started on the third pull in the boatyard. Wednesday morning, Dawn insisted I get it going to ensure we could maintain our evening social plans. Not only could I not get the damned thing going, but the dinghy was leaking water. A long story short - we got towed into the chandlery and bought replacements for both.
Since on the water, we have slowly sorted the tools, and the smaller jobs, and are finding patches of floor and other things that had been buried in parts and tools. Yesterday, Saturday, we took almost the whole day off (after switching alternators on one of the engines) and walked 1.5 hours to Port Louis Marina to have a lunch and some pool time with Steve and Maria (s/v Aspen) and Fred (s/v Dakota Dream). It was great, and we slept well once we got back.
Not much else to tell, but for some interesting stories. Here is a picture of a large ketch that had been hauled while we were being launched around the first of February. We met the couple, and conversed a lot, with some things in common. We gave them our vinyl-covered “C” cushions from the cockpit, as they had none, and Dawn had “a new plan”. They had just a couple of jobs to do, and intended to be back in the water in a day or two. Here the boat sits, 10 months later. We wonder wether it was a technical issue, or a health issue, or both. She was a survivor of colon cancer, like me (Laurie); explaining that chemo had been recommended, but she opted for a marijuana-based treatment instead. She explained that the treatment had kept her cancer-free, until a scope found a new tumour. I did not mention the contradiction, and she carried on by saying she was back on the marijuana treatment after the second tumour.
This second picture is of a boat, sunk barely 2000 feet from the boatyard lift. We had watched for a couple of seasons, as first the dinghy slowly lost air and started to be destroyed at its stern, and then we return to see this. The story appears to be that a man bought it, but he passed away quite soon after; and his wife just said she could not deal with the boat. Well, she has turned this asset into a liability; and she now has to deal with a worse problem. The boat, although older and comparably small, was pretty and in good shape. It is a reminder to make sure your will is kept up and straight forward - such that anyone could manage it.
TECHNICAL
After spending hours doing maintenance on the batteries, I gave up totally and condemned all five house and the starting battery. I had done all I could to make them last long: oversized the bank to decrease the depth of use, increased the solar power available, maintained the water levels, and equalized them regularly. Still, like all before them, they died at 4 years. Budget, interestingly, was almost sold out of deep cycles, but we were able to acquire 3 Delco deep cycle and a Delco cranking amp battery. Our new house bank is less than half of our old bank, at 2526 amp hours, but seems to work the same. AND they have a 4-year warranty. Let’s see...
We have yet to test the new boat speed sensor. We are hopeful that it will allow us to measure the currents with and against the boat as we compare to GPS speeds. The sensor also provides water temperature, which we expect to be warm ;-).
Dawn worked hard on both domestic issues and the hard work of washing, waxing and polishing, while I sanded down last-year’s gelcoat repairs, re-bedded a through-hull fitting, and recommissioned the engines.
Figuring out what to do with the dinghy and engine was only a little complicated. Both are 13 years old. The engine has a scary lower casting crack, and the dinghy was leaking through a seam between the rubber (hypalon) and the aluminum bottom. Investigations suggested a minimum $1200 repair, with no guarantee, while we had no real idea about the longevity of the rest of the boat. We purchased a Chinese-manufactured Carib Marine dinghy with a light fibreglass bottom that is not expected to fail in the same manner as an aluminum connection.
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| Speed and water temperature transducer, newly installed and NOT leaking!! |
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| Cat Tales waiting to be launched from the Spice Island Boat Yard in Grenada |
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| Notice that our new dinghy has no seat, which is apparently difficult for me (Dawn) to remember. When I unlock the dinghy from the dock and swing around and sit where I always used to sit, it has a new feeling landing on the floor of the dinghy next to the fuel tank! |
We are waiting to see how we will fare after last year’s cleaning out of the starboard engine with mineral spirits.
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| A Woods designed West System 32 foot catamaran that was lengthened to 38 feet, 3 feet each corner. The new owner, John, is still figuring it all out. |
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| Dawn, taking a break on the shady side of the boat waiting for the lift to arrive to carry Cat Tales to the water. |
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| Steve (s/v Aspen), Fred (s/v Dakota Dream) and Laurie of course from s/v Cat Tales, at the Port Louis Marina after lunch. |
