Day 165 Splashdown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miracles can happen!!!! We are in the water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Earlier this week, Rich, who runs the boat lift told us that he had been told that we would be launching on Friday.  Mark, the yard foreman knew nothing of it so that went down in flames.  Tracy decided to take a "proactive" stance today and approached the company with the fact that we wanted to be back in the water today if at all possible.  The rest of the work needed on Zephyr could just as easily be done while we were in the water as out of the water.  Brions rigging is the same.  Jack, the electrician got involved.  It was his first day back from the boat electronics show.  He pushed the folks behind the counter to get us in.  The boat lift operator--Rich--was there and told them he had plenty of time to get us in after lunch.  They decided on 1:00pm and we were off to the races.  Back to Zephyr to get her ready to for splashdown.  Clean off the deck.  Stow anything that wasn't necessary for launching.  A quick lunch and the lift arrived just after 1:00pm.  Off came the back stay.  We attached the main halyards to the pad eyes on the deck that is to be used for the running back stays to stabilize the mast and we were ready.   The boat lift picked us up and took us to the launch area and we were in the water in 15 minutes!!!  We went from waiting,  waiting, waiting to water in  the span of a few hours.

Once in the water we went through the boat checking for leaks.  The new stuffing in the rudder post was nice and dry.  The mechanic that changed out the transmission came on board to inspect the engine and transmission for leaks and to make sure the liquids in both were at the proper fill level.  I started the engine as soon as we got in the water.  We had several leaks at the engine from clamps that had to be tightened.  Leaks stopped.   I checked the bilge and found water.  I attributed it to the leaks on the engine.  We started the engine and stopped it several times.  I emptied the bilge after the hose clamps were tightened.  As I was inspecting the bilge after emptying it, I saw more water coming down the side from the galley area.  Further inspection revealed another loose hose in the space under the galley.  Once tightened, all water stopped coming into the boat.  YEAH!!  Apparently , one of the men that is new on the job but has lots of experience on diesel engines has a problem tightening hose clamps.  He almost sank a boat a week or so ago.  They had launched it and found water inside and quickly pulled it back out.

The engine fired up on the first turn of the engine and the transmission worked great in forward and reverse.  We are up and running so far so good.

We tied Zephyr up to the dock with lots of lines to make sure that we were safe and secured against the changing winds of the marina.  It blows from the North and then just a quickly turns from the South.  The prevailing winds in the Winter come from the South.

To celebrate the launch, we had a great dinner of steak and baked potato with a great bottle of wine.  A nice way to finish a great day.  It's been ten weeks since we got here and now we are back in the water again.  We're not done yet, but just being back in the water is a big step forward.

Earlier in the day, we got a tour if one of the last Liberty 458s that was made back in 1989.  The current owners had stopped by last night and toured through ours.  It was interesting seeing the differences between the first and just about the last.  Lots of changes were made during the manufacturing of their Liberty.  They are just the second owner as the previous owner had her for 18 years.  Lots of subtle changes and some major ones but she is still a Liberty.