Day 472 & 473 Work and splash!

Friday was work, work, work.  Lists were made of what needed to be done and off we went.

I got the NM42 from NoLand Electronics installed.  This gizmo(best thing to call it) allows two different streams of information from my Garmin GPS and my Datamarine wind instrument to go into my Robertson autopilot.  Before, it would read only one of the streams of information and not both.  To make the autopilot work to its fullest potential, it needs information from both.  This way it knows where we are(GPS info) and which way the wind is coming from(Data Marine info)  Combining the two and the Robertson autopilot is a champ.  I'd bought the unit about a year ago, but couldn't get it to "listen" to the information I was putting in.  That time, I had hooked it up to the Data Marine and the Raytheon GPS.  It would read the Data Marine but not the Raytheon.  This time, I used my "new" Garmin 172C for the GPS input and it works fine.  I can now read the screen on the autopilot and see which way and how strong the wind is and I can check and verify our location with the input from the GPS.  It's now able to do everything it was originally made to do.

We had a plate made to fit the back of the new Toshiba TV since as I said in the earlier post, the old wall bracket didn't fit it.  Peter's Marine here in the boat yard whipped it out in under an hour.  We screwed it on to the TV and then lined up the old plate on the new plate and had him weld them together.  Problem solved!!  Now the TV is all attached to the wall and ready for travel and all without another trip to Costco.  That has been one of the joys of being in this yard.   If we need a part or something made, the proper people to do it quickly are just down the yard.  It's been great.

The rest of Friday was spent cleaning up, putting away and throwing away things we don't need anymore.  Tracy took off for the laundry room while I dug into my mass of stuff that I had piled here and there.  By late Friday evening, we looked much better.

Saturday was more of the same.  Tidy up and get ready for splashing.  We were on the standby schedule for being put back in the water!!  Yes, that's right, back in the water again exactly four weeks after we had been hauled out.  We had no idea when or if we would make it but two of the companies we had used to get a bit of work done said they would make sure we got lifted and put in the water that day.  If not, we were scheduled to go in next Tuesday afternoon.  About 1400, the lift showed up and into the straps we went.  They had to lift us so the last bit of bottom paint could be applied to the areas that had been covered with stands and blocks under the keel.  Up she went and on went the paint.  Then they left us while they put another boat in the water.  They wanted the paint to have some time to dry before putting Zephyr back in the water.   One of the things about this yard is that they have lifts big enough that we don't have to take off the stern rigging to get into their lifts.  In every yard we have been in in the past, we have had to undo the back stay that helps support the mast.  The first time we had to do this, both Tracy and I had visions of the mast just falling forward and crashing onto the deck.  Now we know better.  While the wire if off, the mast is still held in place by other wires in the rigging.

Up Zephyr went about 1530 and into the water she went.  We stopped at the yard office and made sure to settle our bill before she even splashed down.

Once in the water(still supported by their straps just in case we started to sink), we started the engine and I made sure the propeller packing gland I had worked on(it had been too loose) had refilled with water(keeps the propeller cool while it spins).  Once filled, they lowered us the final few inches and off we went!!!  We were back in the water right on schedule.  We'd set August 15 as the target date and we made it!!  This will give us the weather window we need to get off shore for heading South.

During the Summer, the winds off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts flows from the North or Northwest making it easier to head South(where we want to go).  Come early to mid September, the wind shifts and starts coming from the South.  As sailboats don't sail into the wind(but sure do motor) we want to make sure we don't miss the weather window we missed last year.  That's why we ended up staying in Port Townsend for the winter.  We are more than ready to move on.  We'd set the 15th as the target date for being ready and we made it.

Once in the water, we headed for the pump out station to take care of the sewage tanks and then topped off the water tanks.  Once done, we were off for the fuel dock to top off those tanks. We took 79.1 gallons and had used the engine almost exactly 80 hours so that works out to about a gallon per hour.  That is great for a boat of Zephyrs size.  Most don't come near that.  Yeah, I know, it's hard to brag when you are only getting maybe 7 miles to the gallon, but on a boat of her size, that is really quite good.  The fuel man was nice enough to give us the "over 100 gallon" price which save us a bit so we didn't get burned too badly.

We were set.  Fuel and water in and waste out and we were off.  We checked out Port Townsends town docks to see if we could tie up there for the night but they have changed the regulations to 30 minute stop over for commercial boats only so we took off for Fort Worden State Park(48 08.283N  122 45.493W) to spend the night on the hook for a change.  

It's interesting to me that while we were out "sailing" to Alaska, it felt natural to be on the water and spend the night at anchor.  Yet while we were in the boat yard in Port Townsend, it felt natural to be on the hard all over again.  Now we are back in the water and about continue our journey.  This time, South for a change.  With luck, we have seen the last of snow for a while.  I guess time will tell.