Today I stopped by the boat, just to see how it was holding up. Not necessary, really, just a nice thing to do on an open Sunday afternoon in the middle of a New England Winter. No other owners were at the boat yard, just a few folks who looked like they were out for a walk. It was a somewhat mild day, with the sky darkening up in anticipation of some rain.
Ruach is, naturally, right where I left her. Patiently waiting. My mechanic has removed her shaft and cutlass bearing. Those will be replaced. It’s good to have a decent mechanic work on the boat. He not only winterizes her but also does an inspection each fall, looking to see if anything else needs to be worked on. This was fairly obvious damage and I had caught it on my own. But having a backup that knows a whole lot more about these boats than me, that’s a good thing.
The hatch boards will have to be re-finished, it’s time. Maybe this spring, before launch I’ll work in a Y valve for both the engine and air conditioner intakes. It’s a convenience thing, but when things are more convenient they seem to get done a lot more readily.
March is coming up, it’s a funny month. End of Winter, beginning of Spring, most of the time. Spring never comes fast enough though. And then when it does, it passes by too quickly, before you know it. Good things can be like that. Life can be like that.
Larry Robertie