On the Hard

On the hard is a term used by boaters that means the boat is not in the water by on a hard surface so you can work on it without the water coming in. Now Keeping the water out is great and you get access to the bottom but there is a lot of climbing up and down.

Things that happened on the hard? Well the first bad thing is I skied the halyard. For non-boaters that means I let the halyard go up the mast with out a way to get it back down. Joe got out the ladder, (this is a really old jute rope mast ladder) and started to climb. Now he didn't have a harness on and we are on the hard, so if you fall holy crap. the first step he took the ladder stretched to the deck. The second step the ladder stretched to the deck. The third step it stretched a little and up he went. My heart was beating like crazy as I watched my partner climb the mast to retrieve my mistake. I vowed I would never sky another halyard and that we would get a proper bosuns chair with safety back-ups. Well he made it up and down and it scared the hell out of him too.

We had to install or repair the engine we had. Joe found a Perkins 4108 on Ebay for $2500, what a deal. It had less than 500 hours and looked pretty good so the deal was made and Joe negotiated $500 for installation. Well the guy came and took the old engine out and said he would be back with the new engine. He called and said that the transmission didn't look good and for a fee his friend would test it. Getting suspicious yet? We weren't. So the transmission was bad but his friend had a refurbished one for $600. We bought it. He did come back with the "new" engine and the  "new" transmission and began the install. Joe stayed with them for hours. What should have taken a few hours took like eight. The guy that was doing the work was so heavy he broke the fasteners that hold the steps up. This becomes important later.

With the engine finally in the guy turns to Joe and says, "it took longer than expected so it will be $1200. All total the guy wanted $2200. Joe paid it and we went on with things. The next day we went in the water and guess what? The engine wouldn't start. The guy was unavailable. The port people were great and gave us many people to call. Only one was available and it was Louis to the rescue. 

Well there were many things wrong with the engine install and Louis was a wizard. $500 later we were back in the water and the engine was working. Thank you Louis Ball. We made our way to our slip.

From the Beginning

So the whole boat idea started after a conversation we had about sailing. I told Joe I had always wanted a sailboat and to sail the Pacific. The next thing I know Joe is bidding on a sailboat on Ebay. He looked at me and asked if I wanted to go in on it with him and I agreed. We set the limit at $3000. The next thing I know we own a boat together.

I know I know it sounds like a really good deal. And the boats name was Serendipity. Could this be more perfect? In a word yes.The first time we looked at her we thought, not bad but old. We were really inexperienced about looking at boats. We were also really wrong. There are so many things that need to be replaced or refit on the boat it gets to be a little overwhelming.

We initially thought we would quickly turn the boat. Then the lipstick and rouge started getting expensive and we thought, well, we might as well make it The boat. So the serious journey begins.

The boat wasn't running when we got it. The former owner had it moved to the Edmonds marina close by us. We stayed on the guest dock for a couple of days before we went on the hard. 

Joe left town and I took over part of the work. A friend helped me sand the bottom. Boy I will never do that job again, I will hire it out. There was bumps and such that I wasn't sure about but some guys in the yard said all but 1 was fine and I had that one professionally repaired.

Every do it yourself yard is different. This one had no ladders and a very picky port inspector. I got a citation for not being clean enough in my work area around the boat. Now keep in mind there is a tarp under and a tarp going around the boat. That being said they wanted the entire area very well vacuumed each night. My vacuum didn't have a brush attachment so I spent the evening on my hands and knees wiping all the dust up off of the tarp.

All of this sanding and what not took over a week and we were sick as dogs. Although we used masks, we did not use respirators and suits, which is what you should use. A big note of caution here, ablative paint contains copper and sanding it off can seriously poison you so BE careful.

Rigging Survey

The morning arrived and it was raining! Big surprise we do live in the northwest. We check our dock lines and head out to the bathroom and breakfast. Both of us were sore from the tension of the sail/motor to Port Townsend. We had breakfast and set out to find Brion Toss (world renowned rigger).


Brion can be a little like jello, hard to nail down and delightful when you get it in a bowl. Brion came over and began our survey with a lovely conversation about what we wanted from our boat. I was really upfront. We had had a survey and other riggers look at the boat and my question was always, "I don't know what I don't know so is this a boat we can blue water sail with an investment of $35,000 to refit her"? Brion did the rigging survey and said yes.


Now up til now I have been tentative about falling in love with the boat. The original plan was to lipstick and rouge the boat and sell it, more about that on another post.


With Brion giving us his thumbs up we had to address the issue of the batteries. As I said earlier, we had to get a new battery to make the trip. The morning after arrival the battery was dead. Joe noticed the amp meter reading negative on the trip over. The local wonderkin, "Owen" came to the rescue. We had the engine serviced and the the wiring redone recently so this was a concern. When you have work done on your boat, babysit the project. The mechanic who rewired our engine used and existing red wire for a negative lead which should have been black. Joe, thinking red is positive, put this wire on the battery in that position not knowing it was the wrong color. This shorted the battery and drained both the starter and house batteries. Thank goodness it did not ruin the new alternator. Owen fixed everything and got us up and running for under $100.


I left Joe in Port Townsend because I had a job interview. This involved walking to the Port Townsend/Keystone ferry, about a mile away. Then I hitched a ride 35 miles down Whibey Island to the Clinton/Mukilteo ferry. Next, the bus I used to take was cancelled so I took 2 buses to get about a mile from my house. The whole trip only took 4 hours, not too bad.


I made Joe promise to get fuel before he left Port Townsend and it has become a joke between us. One of most sailors favorite movies is "Captain Ron" and there is a line in the movie that goes something like this, I new we had to be close 'cause we are almost out of gas. Needless to say we are getting a lot more fuel capacity.

The Rest of the Way to Port Townsend

The Rest of the Way to Port Townsend

Well, after laughing at me and the way the boat spun around Joe started the engine and we motored out of the offending waters. We stayed on a good tack for sometime. We were going fast in sailboat terms, (although since we had no instruments who knows). We continued to beat up wind without making much headway. Because we didn't fuel up before we left we absolutely had to sail part of the way. Yes you heard me, we did not fill the fuel tank and it is small, only 10 gallons. You are starting to understand why I chose the title, right?

The were ships coming up on us and we had to start the motor once again. I was down below reading old charts to figure out where we were and how far we had yet to go. I guessed before we left it was somewhere around 10 miles. Nay, it is more like 30! HOLY COW! Joe, are we going to make it? Sure we will baby. But it is getting dark, we are low on fuel, we are going into the wind and we are still 10 miles out. Are you scared yet? Because I am.

The sun was setting and we had the mainsail up the jib down and the motor running and we were going into the wind still. It was getting dark and we were relying on my knowledge of the landscape to find the port. I don't know what it looks like in the dark. I got out the binoculars and looked at the shore and say I think that's it right there. NO! That was not it, that was Marrowstone Point, we nearly headed for the ground between the lighthouse and a very large house on the shore but the disaster was avoided. The land in the distance came into view and we knew quickly the course needed to change. Joe made the appropriate adjustment and we were headed for the town of Port Townsend. 

Where is the entrance to the marine? It isn't lighted. I think that's it. No it isn't it. Maybe it's there. No not there. The shore, turn. There it is, that way that way. Joe I didn't get the fenders out. It's okay bay the dock has small bumpers we will be fine. 

It is a narrow opening to this marina and we were relying on the lights from businesses in the town to see. Joe got us in and pulled into the first slip available. It was wide and long. There was a boat next to us but they were asleep, until we got there. 

For those of you who are not sailors, getting to the dock is the beginning of work. You need to tie the boat up, put fenders out, get shore power connected, tie and bag the sails. This is a minimum. We don't currently have a head on the boat so we all needed to pee as well, including Albert, the dog.

Well tomorrow we will get our rigging surveyed and decide if this is the boat we will take to sea or not. It is late and I am oh so tired.

The Beginning Late In the Game

This last week we headed over to Port Townsend from Port of Everett for a rigging inspection. We got up on Monday morning and decided to go. 

We made a quick mental list of what we needed to make the trip:

Dani,You pack you bag and I'll pack mine, Joe,OK baby.

Dani Hey did you remember your pills? Joe,Yes, did you remember yours?

Dani, Thank you. Joe,Should we take a bike? Dani,I don't think there is space. I watered the plants lets load the car.

In the little HHR goes the mattresses for the Vbirth, (note the front seat must be put down for this to occur) the cooler, Joe's bag, Dani's bag, the back pack with the computer and the dog. Now this may not sound like much but the Vbirth mattresses are big, long and wide. So they go from the back of the car to the glove box and across the width. The cooler and bags got shoved in around them. There was a small space in the back seat for a 5 year old, Joe sat there and I drove. Oh yes, the dog, he got crammed in the floor board of the front passenger seat.

Off we go. Six blocks from the house I remembered I left my phone on the chair, we did not go back and get it. Big mistake! We stopped at the nutrition store for powdered food and we were off.

When we arrived at the marina, we got carts and loaded them up with all our stuff and headed down to the boat. We began loading the boat with some frustration and fussing on both our parts. The boat gets loaded ready to start it and the battery is dead. Well both the batteries are dead. Joe looked at me and said,"well lets go get a new battery." 

Off we go to one of the many chandleries to get a battery. Now getting a battery for a boat is not as simple s you may think. Do you want 6 volt or 12 volt? AMG glass pack, gel or standard? this is all before you decide what brand to get. We wanted gel, we thought. But 6 volt or 12? How many amp hours will we need in the end and how do we connect them? In series or something different? Marine batteries are expensive. The will range from around $100 to many hundreds per battery. We chose a throw away and only $125. Joe got it installed and the engine started right up. 

We were off. Two hours later than planned but we were off. I had recently completed a couple of sailing classes and was excited to use my new found skills on our boat. Heading out I got the fenders in and stowed, dock lines stowed, jib hanked on and we were set. Having been around the south end of Whidbey Island before, we knew that we would have to motor around the point before we actually put the sails up and headed up wind.

It seems that where ever you are headed in Puget Sound, you will be going into the wind, and for the first bit we were going against the tide. We rounded the point and the wind picked up, I could feel the excitement grow in anticipation of turning off the engine. The sails were set and the course was set so we cut the motor. The current was so strong I was quickly locked in irons. For those of you who don't know, I screwed up. The current was strong and the wind was turning like a toilet bowl swirly. Joe was laughing at me in my frustration as the boat was being pushed and pulled by current and wind and my steering had no effect.