Ok, thats probably an over statement, but sometimes it feels that way. I have gotten her in good enough shape though, to make her voyage across the bay to Dry Dock. There she will be lifted out of the water, surveyed, bottom paint, and anything else that needs to be attended to.
Right now I believe that she is going to need some driveshaft work, and possibly a inlet valve or two replaced. Also, she will surely need all her zinc replaces.
After return to dock, she will need a complete rewiring. mainly due to outdated lights, fuses, and switches. I am good at electrical, so that is a easy upgrade that will not cost much, and can be done at my own time. I will also need to attend to some rusted bulkheads, which are more dirty work than anything, but will need attending before they get worse.
Besides that everything else will be cosmetic work that can be done while I have free time. At this point, I plan to clean her up, get her back to a healthy state, and sail her around the bay for the next few years while I work and live here. I will put here up for sale as well for profit only once I have her in perfect turn key condition. Meanwhile though, she is a handful, and been a great project so far.
Last Sunday, I took her out for the first tour out in the bay. She handled perfectly. There was little wind, but she caught and held on and was surprisingly fast. Most sailboats were motoring around, but she just cruised on by. I was a bit leery about docking such a large vessel, but I actually put her to rest perfectly, like a I actually knew what I was doing. It was not easy to pull her in slowly and accurately enough not to hit the dock. I had to be able to jump away from the wheel and grab the lines, and tie her up, by myself. She is heavy, and hard to physically maneuver, so manipulating every move is vital. I pulled it off very well, and I am bit proud of that.
Anyways, I am now planning the voyage across the bay. I have a small check list to take care of this week. I need to watch the weather, but hopefully it all works out and she makes it to Dry Dock this Sunday.
