Winter & Spring Sailboat Projects

Birds will ensure frequent visits to your boat over the California
winter, because you'll want to scrub all the crap they splatter
on the deck & sail covers before it petrifies in the sun.
If you're really unlucky, you'll have to remove their nests
from under your dodger. (Not us, but our slip neighbors; what a mess.)

We've spent weekends working on the boat here and there over the winter, but not as frequently as we did in the Fall and Summer. When it's raining, windy and cold, we'd rather stay home, and work on the plenty of other things that need our attention.

Try not to drop your key card on a windy day.
Especially if it might fly out of your hand before
you even get the gate to your dock open.
But if you must, be sure to drop it at low tide
 so you can crawl precariously down
the slippery rocks to go retrieve it.

We've accomplished a decent pile of projects, which we'll write about soon. The assortment included water-tank clean out, a new stereo, an overhaul of the propane system & new tanks, a bilge mystery and a leak in the Vetus Water Exhaust system.  When we sleuthed the cause of water-where-it-shouldn't-be (the exhaust), we both tried to fold, twist & squeeze into the lazarette to access it, but we failed. We called on a professional to help. A small-ish professional.

Jose, showing how it's done. Getting to the exhaust to replace the Vetus.

After watching the Amazing Jose (abt 5'5") fold himself
just right, and twist & scrunch ever so slowly to get into our lazarette,
I felt sure I could fold enough too (I'm 5'11").  It wasn't easy, but I did it.

 The mistake in my effusively enthused accomplishment (the pic above was snapped as I was coming back out) was that Don thought for about 2.5 seconds, and announced that from now on, if we need anything else in the lazarette worked on, I'm the Go-To-Gal for the job. Durnitt.

Little puddles of rain water coming in the anchor
hawsepipe and  settling at the base of the mast.

 In our search for a dry bilge, some of our next projects include a re-do of the hawsepipe, a new mast boot, re-bedding cleat screws on the foredeck where we've got water coming down the thread of the screws - and then, of course, lots of mold abatement. :) More on that later too. I know, I bet you can't wait.

But even with the rainy chill, and the list of projects,
we did find some unseasonably beautiful days
here and there, which gave us an excuse to take breaks
 and sprawl in the cockpit in the sunshine
with a cold beer and an ear-to-ear grin.
We are SO glad Spring is here!