Day 94 When is the fun going to start?

Another day of excitement here in Port Townsend.  It started early as we were getting hauled out at 10am.  Up early and get cleaned up and get Zephyr ready to go.  Jack--the electrician--said that the engine was ready to start.  Pushed the button and on she came.  Unfortunately, she wouldn't go out of gear.  Try as we might, she would only go forward.  Jack went down the stairs and took off after the transmission.  I tried reverse and all that happened was the engine stalled after a few seconds.  We tried again with Jack at the transmission in the engine room.  Forward was just fine--glad we were still tied up to the dock.  In reverse, Zephyr bucked and vibrated and would quickly stall.  This is not a good thing!!!!  Jack made a quick call to the office and down came one of their engine specialists.  On came the engine again with him at the transmission controls.  Forward--great.  Reverse--lots of grinding and vibrating!!  It appears that the transmission is shot.  They are not sure why since we made the trip up the coast ok--of course that was all in forward gear.  We'd used reverse many times since getting up here--docking repeatedly.  Now it was gone.  Later this afternoon, after getting hauled out, another of their specialists came over to look at it.  We heard the dreaded words--"take out the engine"amidst the conversation by the engine room.  The conclusion is that next week, they will plow into the transmission and see if they can find out what the problem is.  They don't think the engine will have to come out--thank God!   We expect that will add on another week or so to our stay here.  At least Port Townsend is a nice town to be stuck in.  Lots of great restaurants and places to see.

Since the engine was off line, they hauled us to the lift with ropes and out we came.  A quick power wash to get the goo off her hull and onto wood blocks and racks so the work can continue.  They really prefer us to be out of the water since dock space is at a premium.

At two o'clock, Brion Toss--our rigger and several of his worker bees showed up to start the removal of our mast and rigging.  Some of them had been with us earlier in the day getting the rigging loosened up while we were still in the water.  Now they went at it at full steam.  They had been delayed by the crane not showing up when it was scheduled.  Since it had shown up, they sprang into action.  Up the mast they went.  I've added a lot of pictures to the flickr account that you can view by clicking the link to the right.  There were far to many to show here.  All went smoothly with me adding lubricating oil to as many of the turnbuckles as I could to make their job easier.  The mast is now on sawhorses in the boat yard waiting for next week to be worked on.  Several things are going to need changing.  It will be rewired and most of the connections changed.  Time takes a toll on equipment on any boat.  With the rigging being original to its manufacture, it was time for a replacement.  Lots of new fitting with new "space age" composites will now be used.  It should make a big difference with Zephyrs sailing style and ease of handling.   Tracy had never been able to get the main sail up the mast by herself.  Our riggers goal it that she can.

The boat yard had a pot luck dinner tonight and we were invited.  A nice bunch of people.  Always ready to help.  As we were getting ready to go over for it, we noticed cracking in the cabin sole that we hadn't seen before.  Large cracks between the boards that make up the floor of the main cabin.  We weren't sure what had caused it as so much had happened to Zephyr today--the haul out or the removal of the rigging.  We discussed it with the boat folk during dinner and they followed us back to Zephyr to check it out.  It's not suppose to be that way.  Off they rushed to get the lift and put her back up in the air suspended by the two straps.  Didn't seem to make a difference.  We will see how she progresses over the weekend.  If no change, they suggested returning Zephyr to the water and see if that makes the floor return to normal as the regular pressure will be returned to her hull.  We'll see how she is on Monday.  As of now, we have a large crack from the galley to the forward edge of the dining table.

Meanwhile, Blue has already tried escaping down the stairs.  To her dismay, I caught her on the second step.  Since we are now being held in place by the straps of the lift, there is now just a ladder for us to get up and down on so she won't go any where til at least next week.  She is not a happy girl.

Over the weekend, I will be reading the electrical books our electrician loaned me so I can better understand how it works since I'm not the chairman of the board of Zephyr Power and Light.  To keep her running smoothly, I have to know how she works.  In this case--"power" is knowledge!!

Have a great weekend.  Still more to come!!  We figure at least three more weeks with one down.