On the Hard Again

So deciding that this might just be the boat for us, we set up all the arrangements to have the work done and hauled out, yet again, in Port Townsend. For the non North-westerners, it is a lovely little town on the Olympic peninsula famous for their boating and ship wrights. They have fabulous craftsman and a really cool vibe to the town. It is pricey, so we will be camping a lot and staying on the boat some.


There is always a lot of excitement when you move the boat in or out of the water. Where we were staying and where we were hauling out, are a couple of miles apart. Not really a big deal but some thought needed to go in to how to get the car and the dog and the camping stuff and so on. What we did was put the dog, the bike and us on the boat. We towed the dinghy. The dog, the bike, and I got off together and went to the head of the dock. I tied the up and parked the bike. Back to the boat to get the dinghy. (They don't have a dinghy dock at Boat Haven) Owen (best marine guy) and I picked the dinghy up and carried it up the dock, it will eventually end up under the boat as a storage space. I left the haul out to Joe and Owen, tied the dogs leash around my waist, got on the bike and headed for the car, which was back at the other marina.


Joe and Owen got the boat washed down, placed and chalked. And a new adventure with the boat begins. Brion Toss, (famous rigger) set up the unstepping of the mast. This means the mast comes off the boat for work. All very exciting. Owen is in the boat working away on the many things that must be done and Brion is working on marking all the cables and parts of the rigging that will have work done. Lots of activity. We are all working on this boat like ants. 


I go up the stairs in to the cockpit and Owen says,"this is Aren, I think you should listen to what he has to say." Aren proceeds to tell me that this is not a good boat and we should not spend money trying to make her a blue water boat because she never will be. Now this guy is not contracted to do any work on the boat, he is just a craftsman and a sailor who knows more that we do. I call out,"Joe, you need to come up here." Aren repeats for him what he has just said to me. 


You could have kicked us both and it would have been easier. We had spent nearly a thousand dollars getting marine surveys and opinions telling us the boat would be fine only to find out that was not the case.