Huge Efforts Prep Full-Time Cruise - April 2-17, 2011

These past few weeks have seen a growing amount of work going into Kelly IV as she prepares for her first (and mine!) full-time cruise.

Of course the cruise wouldn't be possible without the wondrous and significant contributions of blood, sweat and tears (OK, mostly sweat) by the volunteers who so kindly help me with so much of the work in getting Kelly IV ready for her biggest season yet.  Keith Otto, Guy Stewart, Bill Paviol, Sarah Paviol, Jack VanArsdale, Whitney Stewart, Kayla Stewart, Justine Stewart and Paul Murphy have all played an important role in helping make sure that we are off to a grand and safe beginning of our North American Cruise, 2011.

Keith and I braved some cooler weather as we emptied the starboard lazarette, climbed into the dark,

Keith Otto

clammy spaces aft of the engine and under the cockpit to inspect and reset the steering wheel.  Many of you will recall that during the engine re-powering last year, the wheel became off center.  The fancy monkey's fist installed on the wheel to mark amidships was at least 20 degrees off center.  With Keith climbing up and down the ladder and me clambering in, then out of the lazarette, we kept adjusting and shifting the steering cables and chain until a couple hours later, the monkey's fist is now amidships again.  We also completed a number of initial Spring Fitting Out jobs like removing the fender covers for cleaning, re-installing the batteries after a winter in my basement, and testing (and repairing as needed) the complement of flashlights needed to work in the night and dark crevices aboard.

The following weekend Guy and I began work on Saturday morning about 8am.  Seven hours later

Guy, Bill and Murph Shift Dinghy on Foredeck

we had 4 backing plates and 16 bolts removed and re-installed to better secure the stern pulpit.  That means a “blistering” work pace for two grown men of about ½ backing plate per hour and 2 ¼ bolts per hour.  Did I mention that Guy spent the entire 7 hours on his back?  He was out of sight, buried in the stern lazarette (a space about 5 feet by 3 feet by 16 inches), reaching his bruised knuckles into the tiny spaces below each pulpit mounting.  These areas are each about 6” x 4” x 2”, all above and almost an arm's length from Guy's position under the deck.  Since my knees' arthritis was acting up, Guy volunteered to do the duty in my place.  “What a Guy!!”  

Whitney and Jack Installing the Davits

The well-secured stern pulpit is now the base for the newly installed dinghy davits.  Jack, Bill and

Sarah & Jack Help With Davits' Setup

Sarah arrived Saturday afternoon and immediately got to work as we mounted the new dinghy davits onto the transom and newly-secured stern pulpit.  Bill enjoyed drilling holes in the transom as I winced and Guy directed the location of the new bolt holes.  When
I helped direct the starboard side drilling, Murphy's Law kicked in and I had Bill drill the holes about 2 inches outboard of their proper position.  Once drilled, we let it go as the strength and stability of the davits does not seem to be a problem.  Unlike the backing plates installed earlier in the day, this job actually went pretty smoothly (mislocated bolt holes aside) and our test run of raising and lowering the dinghy using the davits went quite well.  An especially noteworthy item was Jack's idea to replace the stretchy nylon line I had been using for a lifting bridle.  In it's place Jack suggested we use some old ¼” chain I had and it was quick to install and worked like a charm, enabling the new davits to raise the dinghy well above the deck and out of the way of water and waves. 

Saturday evening called for some relaxing and celebration of the huge efforts expended that day so Bill broke out his new propane grill and we enjoyed steaks, chicken and shrimp on the new barbie, all from the fine culinary hand of Chef Paviol.  Guy's children and their friends joined us for the party and a good time was had by all!

On Sunday we got right back to work as Guy replaced the leaking port side portlight and Jack re-caulked the starboard portlight.  The rain we had over the past week tested both and I can confirm they did terrific job!  Bill and Sarah sanded and painted the bottom paint, raising the

Bill Paviol Working Kelly IV's Bottom

waterline by an inch in preparation for the salt water and heavier loading that Kelly will see on her first full-time cruise.

This past weekend, my son Paul and I unpacked and loaded the new gear from our recent purchases.  If you own stock in West Marine, I may be personally responsible for the significant uptick in your net worth!  :-)  Paul and I unboxed new anchor, radar and mounting pole, depthsounder, chartplotter, charge controller, boat hook, solar panel, dock and anchor line, windex, engine oil, 4200 adhesive, dinghy motor, spare dinghy battery and solar charger for the dinghy battery.  The anchor required some assembly, so we built the new anchor and stowed all the gear securely until we can begin the task of installing it all.