Special update - boat in the water!

Act Three went into the water on May 24, late in the afternoon.  We went down and checked things out. It looked a lot dirtier than it did in the shed but otherwise was fine. We puttered around, started the port engine (the starboard engine didn't want to start), looked in the bilge to see how the newly packed stuffing boxes were doing, checked the lines and then went home.

Today, May 25, we left work at noon and again went to Portland Riverside. It was a beautiful warm afternoon and we got a lot done. We began by changing the plugs on the starboard engine, gave the carb a squirt of gas and off it went. The engine idled smoothly and came up to temperature. 

With that out of the way, we began the re-installation of the bridge enclosure, which we had taken off in the fall to clean and have a few small repairs done.  We had also removed the roof section, which we wanted to clean and waterproof. The yard crew found Bill's wrestling match with this giant piece canvas quite amusing but eventually, we got it up and in place.  Then we began installing the 12 side curtain sections.  Hmm. Where does this one go?  There must be 100 snaps and 24 different zippers but eventually, it all went together and looks pretty good.

To top the afternoon off, we sat up on the bridge, started each engine and let it run in gear at an idle.  No drama. It felt great sitting up there in the very warm afternoon sun.

Before we left, we began putting things away and stowing the stuff that we'll rarely, if ever use during the summer.

After work tomorrow, we'll change the oil and the oil filters on both engines.