Our guess is that the river will eventually go higher, in fact, quite a lot higher given the amount of snow-melt on its way from Vermont. That 52-ft. Ocean shown in the picture could very well float unless the guys in the yard move it, which we're sure they will if the river really comes up. It's funny hearing many of the boat owners who are new to Portland Riverside asking how they can get their boats in the water and escape the flood. No chance of that at this point. The river was running at 6-7 mph or better and today, the wind was 20-30 mph.
Meanwhile, Act Three was waiting patiently in the shed for May 9, her proposed launch date.
Today we replaced four more of the lower station gauges and then climbed down underneath and replaced the zincs on the trim tabs, rudders and shafts. That's another $76 but good insurance against electrolysis. Oh yeah, we hand sanded the prop shafts too.
We also revisited the removal and replacement of the hose that leads from the new holding tank to the pump-out fitting on the deck. This fitting is a problem, since we can't pry it up far enough to unscrew the pipe clamp holding the old hose to the deck fitting.
This hose, probably 12 ft. long, runs from the deck, then curves forward down past the the front of the AC unit, behind the galley cabinets and into the area under the vanity in the head. From what we can see, it isn't clamped anywhere but it just doesn't want to move. Today, we removed the AC air inlet grill in the salon to get a better look. It looks like the old black hose is binding where it passes through a piece of 3/4-inch plywood. Holding the camera inside next to the AC unit gives us some reference. Remember, we not only have to pull the old sanitation hose out, we have to use it to snake a section of new "smell-proof" hose in.
This is definitely a two-person job and Frances and I will have to come up with a plan. Cut the old hose and pull/snake it that way? Maybe. While the old hose is difficult to work with, the new hose isn't much better. While it is smooth on the outside, it is extremely stiff. Maybe we can leave it draped over the car in the sun for a few hours. Whatever we do, this isn't going to be easy.
Sunday: whitecaps on the river
Sunday morning, we had to help with a circus promotion at a New Britain Rock Cats game. Lots of kids each of whom seemed to love baseball. Nice to know that there are still youngsters who do something other than sit at a computer.
When we finally got to the boat the weather was bright and warm (after a night of hard rain) and the river was on its way up again. The wind was now coming from the south at a good clip, kicking up little whitecaps in the river. Parts of Route 17A in Portland near the fairground are now closed with water over the road. The National Weather Service is predicting 13.2 ft. mid-week. That's still nothing terrible but perhaps a 3-year event. In years past, we have had to wear waders to get to the boat.
This is what the road down to the launching well looked like in 2007, the last time the river came up more than normal for the spring. This was taken from in front of the shed where our boat is now. Even with this much water, none of the boats floated, although it was almost up to our waist as we took this picture.
We were able to get a few things done in the limited time we had Sunday afternoon, the main one being vacuuming the bilge of all the junk that had accumulated there in the fall before the boat was put in the shed. We also checked the batteries and added a little water to two of the four and remounted the aft bilge pump.
We also checked the engine, transmission and v-drive fluids and all were where they are supposed to be. The engine oil does need to be changed and we'll do that as soon as we get in the water. Getting at the port oil filter should be fun Need to get a big aluminum turkey roasting pan to put under the filters to keep from spilling oil into the bilge.
We have remote oil filters for both engines but installing them is going to have to wait until next winter. Time is getting short and we still have a lot to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment