Launch Day

Day 3:  March 28, 2014

We both had a great night’s sleep.  This boat is sooooo much more comfortable than our Balboa 26.  We got up in our bare feet and walked about without having to wade in an inch of water.  Ah the little things!

I got up early and worked on blogs  until about 7:00.  We fixed pancakes and ready bacon for our morning delight.  We cleaned up our cluttered boat and prepared to drop her in the water.  In the interim of that process, two older gentlemen who walk in the park came over and spent probably an hour discussing all types of important topics and feeding peanuts to the squirrels.  They were most interesting.   

The actual launch was easy and went off without a hitch, however, a bit later a guy noticed that our strut that supports our bowsprit was bent.  Neither of us have any idea how that happened. 



Launch Ramp at Sandsprit Park.  A really nice one



We fired up the motor, backed out in the light chop but brisk wind of probably 15 mph.  We started motoring up the Manatee Pocket and traveled about ¾ of a mile when the motor started to slow down and then quit.  I immediately hit the start and had absolutely nothing.  I jiggled various plugs and wires to no avail.  Meanwhile, we were rapidly drifting toward a group of huge luxury yachts on the western shore and with absolutely no steerage or control of the boat.  Right in the middle of two of the biggest of boats was a small finger pier sticking out and luckily we banged into and caught hold of one of the pilings of that pier.



Our destination, Sailfish Marina 1/10 mile away

  I then began the process of elimination looking for the reason for loss of power to the motor.  It had an electric lift and even that would not work.  The batteries and all of the wire connections are located under the v-berth and bedding so I moved all of that stuff then dug all of the packed supplies away from the batteries.  I checked the charge level of the batteries and they were up.  I then checked the connection at the back of the boat where the motor plugs in and found power there as well.

I next dug out the motor owner’s manual and found that there is a fuse buried down in the electrical components of the motor.  I dug out the fuse and it was indeed blown.  I replaced the fuse and that solved the problem.  It did not, however, give me an idea as to why the fuse blew in the first place.  When I initially took the cover off of the motor, I felt that the motor was unusually hot for the short distance that we had traveled.  I again started the motor and checked for water coming from the water pump weep hole and found none.  The water pump was not functioning. 

Hum!  Nothing to do but get a tow back to the marina that located probably 300 yards downstream from us.  I must interject here that I have always felt that I would be able to get out of any problem but we had no way to get back on our own.  There is a towing service that charges tremendously high fees to tow disabled boats if you don’t have their insurance plan.  Earlier this spring, I decided that since we were contemplating heading out into open waters, it would be a good idea to spend the approximately $70.00 for the policy and did so about 3 weeks ago.  I called Boat US and they had a tow boat with a really skilled pilot to tow us back to the marina for the price of a signature.



Safely tied in the marina.  Dink is hiding, embarrassed



We spent the best part of the day trying to find a mechanic who would install our water pump for us. (I was carrying a spare set of parts just for the eventuality.)  However, it looks like we will be resting in Manatee Pocket and the Sailfish Marina until Monday.  Oh well, the wind is quite high and not very good for sailing. 

In the afternoon, we stopped by the Hake Yachts factory and got a guided tour by the manager.  It is really neat to see these beautiful boats in all different stages of construction.  We bought several parts that we needed and headed back to the boat and a nice nap.

Our friends, the Bowmans, are in the area.  They have spent a significant part of the winter west of here and were heading home when they had a wheel bearing got out on their boat trailer.  They are having to have the axle repaired and it is taking a lot longer than was expected.  They drove over and joined us at the King Neptune restaurant for a wonderful dinner.  I had a blackened seafood platter and Janine had pistachio crusted mahi-mahi.  It was another really small restaurant with really fine food. 

Back at the boat, we said our goodbyes to the Bowman and made an early retreat to bed. 

When people ask about the sailing and the stress/work involved, I usually say that for us, sailing is 85 percent relaxation and pleasure, 10 percent hard work and 5 percent terror.  Well, we burned out 5 percent terror for this trip today!