Threading the needle

Turning the corner into the driveway; I was really worried that the road and the culvert under the ditch on the near side were too narrow to make the turn. There's not much space on the water side; it goes straight down for thirty feet to salt water.

But it made it....

Driving onto the lawn to line up with the bay of the shop building

And backing into the shed at an angle, since the dog pen was in the way.

First try into the shed.

The second try's a charm. On the far right you can see a platform where the owl sits of an evening. Little regurgitations from time to time. Hope he likes boats.

JUST RIGHT!

Now to support the boat with jackstands so that the trailer can be pulled out from under. The timbers for the keel are set, and the two front jackstands are reaching over the trailer to support the bow.





The trailer's driven out from under and the front jackstands are being positioned. Once that's done, they will support the boat while the rear ones are moved so that they're closer and more vertical. The driver was thorough and meticulous; adjusting the jackstands until everything was just right.

Just as it starts to rain, the long and nerve-racking day is over. Thanks to Associated and the driver for a job well done.

The Move to Guemes - Part 2

Pulling out of the boatyard, all strapped down, with the mast along side and a little cloud to the north. Quite an experience, seeing your boat moving down the road! We loaded her with the bow facing aft so that she could be backed into the shed with the stern facing out, since there could be more work in that area, and because it places the ladder right by the shop door.

Nautilus northward at 65 mph. Riding smoothly; much smoother than our nerves.

Just another paying passenger on the Guemes Ferry!

A right turn off the Ferry and onto South Shore Road, and we're a half mile from the shop.

The Move to Guemes - Part 1.

We moved Nautilus to the boatyard the night before because the boat transport company wanted to get started bright and early, and we had to raise the Fremont Bridge to get to the yard. The Bridge is closed to boat traffic from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM. It was a beautiful, clear morning and Stephanie took some great photos.

Lining her up on the boat trailer......

Straps are off.....









And she's ready to go

Electrical sidebar

The time domain for this blog is somewhat elastic, as I work my way up to the present. Today, I've been working on one of the survey's RECOMMENDATIONS, which was to move and vent the batteries. Working in a virtual sense. Since I'm an electrical engineer, I figure I'd better redo the wiring. Seventeen years ago, my approach was rational but not per AYBC standards. What did I know? So today I've been planning the new circuits.

Getting ready for the trip to Guemes

Back to the boatyard....







First we had to remove the mast and take all of the rigging off. Here we're taking out the mast wedges.









Next, the mast comes out














And it's ready for the rigging and spreaders to be removed.

After the Survey we...

painted the bottom and boot stripe, launched, motored back to the houseboat on Lake Union, and soon thereafter....

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took the prospective buyer for a sail.

Stem Exploratory

What's happening with the stem? The surveyor sounded soft wood right at the top. Any rot could go straight down the end grain the whole length. This could be a big one. I asked Heron Scott, a shipwright that I know and trust to look at it:

Good news! After turning the bow of the Nautilus into a duck, Heron found that the wood used for an earlier repair was 'not of the best quality. It was epoxied, filled, rebedded, refastened, and refinished, and what could have been a very expensive repair turned out to be minor.