ANOTHER VIEW

When we boarded LAUREL ANN for the first time last March as the new owners of a slightly used, twenty-year old boat, we realized that there was a list of things that would be required. In fact, there is actually a list that was started back in March. The first dozen items listed were things that needed to be done before we left the slip in Jupiter for the delivery home. There were some more items on the list other than those, but the immediate items were completed prior to departure.

Since the arrival in Julington Creek, I’ve been working steadily on the rest of that list. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered one of the black holes of boat ownership. It seems that for every item that I manage to clear off the list, another two get added to the bottom. Last March, before we left the slip, the list totaled twenty four items. Since that time, I’ve gotten four or five of the remaining dozen checked off. Somehow, the list now totals somewhere near seventy pieces of work left to be done.

How does this work? Everyone knows, but I’ll take you down the path anyway. On the way up the ICW, the blower motor for the engine compartment loses a couple of fan blades and begins to run with a syncopated vibration. I shut off the switch, adding the replacement of that motor to the list. Once back in the slip, I manage to slither into the portion of the engine compartment that the fan resides in. Not only can I NOT remove the old fan (without losing the backside of the ventilator hose), I discover that the 110v charging system is a single staged unit. That means that it’s not the type of charger you leave on for a week or two at a time, like I’ve been doing. All the batteries end up needing replacement, along with the charter.

Okay, so I get those things done, and while I’m mounting the charger, I find a broken nut holding down part of the steering system (added to the list). We get the batteries replaced (on and off the list the same weekend), jury-rig a set-up for the blower motor (to be better addressed later, further down the list.....) and decide to take some friends out for the Fourth-of-July fireworks. That was the weekend that we started having problems in the cooling system for the Yanmar. So far, that’s come to a new heat exchanger (on and off the list along with some new hoses and clamps) and a liberal pile of zincs for rituals of sacrifice, a leak in the raw-water side that’s allowing the raw water impeller to self destruct every other time we leave the slip.

In the meantime, the propane system sits unusable due to leaks in the system (you should see that list...), the V-berth cushions still need replacing (been on the list since the start), and the mast still needs re-wiring (that’s a whole sub-set of a list), and the sails are probably original equipment. I did manage to get the port cap-rail repaired (let’s talk about access to the ENTIRE jib track), legalize the head, replace the bilge-pump and float switch and add insulation to the hatches to the engine compartment.

One of the people I work with listened to me talk about ‘the list’ and remarked that he figured by now I’d be ready to sell this boat and get one that I can go sailing on. I’d like that. I’d like to be sailing instead of whittling away at a self-renewing list. At the same time, I’m getting a good course of lessons in getting to know ALL the systems in LAUREL ANN. When the time comes that the list is finished, and it will be completed, we’ll be able to sail LAUREL ANN in safety and complete confidence in our vessel, and a confidence that no matter what breaks, we’ll be able to fix it. After all, we’ll have fixed it at least once before......

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