Having done their magic, I left JGordon this morning and headed to the home dock for the weekend. On Sunday she heads to Haven Harbour for a three week appointment n the paint shop. Such a beautiful day on the Bay!
Century Club: mike pitchford
Friday, May 29, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
The day arrived to move the Legacy 32 (undergoing refit) from Mast and Mallet to the paint shop at Haven Harbour in Rock Hall. It is a boat so naturally some things were not working after a long winter. The battery charger and HVAC raw water pump were not working so I made plans for an afternoon stop at JGordon for a quick look see.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
Having removed the shrink wrap from our little runabout, we joined eight other Annapolis Yacht Club boats at an afternoon anchorage and socially distant dinghy visitation. It was a pleasure to be out, even briefly, with old friends.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
Winter rehab with the masters
headed to the paint ship next
We were sequestered in FL were the winter and most of the spring. As things began to ease, we made a run for Annapolis over Memorial Day weekend. There are several boats there to commission and launch.
First up is the new to us Legacy 32 that we have been refitting over the winter. The boat is a sad tale of neglect and we are bringing her back to her glory, and writing about it in sister publication Proptalk: https://www.proptalk.com/restoration-legacy-32-part-3-beauty
On this day, I met the canvas installers (Stephanie Field of Custom Canvas Coverings) to finalize the canvas install and the winter restoration folks (Joe Reid of Mast and Mallet and Keith Gunther of GPS Marine) to go over their completed work.
Monday, May 25, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
We got out of Florida and back to Annapolis over Memorial Day weekend, arriving on Saturday. The "snowbird" return was sequester delayed. The boat in Florida is put away for the season and the house in Annapolis is opened and ready for the summer by Sunday evening. So now it is time to get the Annapolis boats in service.
Today we pulled the shrink wrap off our 17' Key West, cleaned the boat up and went for a cocktail cruise to celebrate.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
With COVID-19 pandemic restrictions moderating a bit we are planning our departure from FL and return to MD. Finally! Much like our prep for winter in Annapolis, the boat here in FL needs to be prepared for summer (and hurricane season). Today I added fuel stabilizer, ran the engine, opened the drain plug, removed the sparkplugs and fogged the cylinders, added the heavy cover, strapped the boat down to the lift and raised the lift to 6' above MHHW. Sound familiar?
Back in Annapolis over Memorial Day weekend. Next report will be on the big boat, I hope.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
Keeping a small boat in Florida requires some extra effort. The hot sun, hurricanes and saltier water than the Bay, require some different approaches. Our little Key West dual console has an extended bimini to provide extra shade. I routinely flush the outboard after a cruise.
Attention to the gelcoat is critical as well. The prescription for a good shine is routine cleaning and was a couple times a year, at least. Today, a pro spent seven hours on our 20' runabout and made her look like new! It was worth every penny.
To celebrate (and to break the sequester routine) we went on a cocktail cruise. In our little waterfront community and on the ICW, such a cruise may never get much above idle speed. Except for the minor four stroke engine noise it reminds me of small boat sailing, sans the tack and gybe action.
Soon it will be time to depart Florida and get back to the Bay. With recreational boating restrictions on the Bay lifted, it is time to get our Annapolis based boats ready for the season. There is plenty of work to o ther and a plethora of future Century Club reports.
Before we leave Florida we need to "summerize" the Key West. This is not unlike winterizing on the Bay. Except for worries about freezing the tasks are the same (clean, empty, cover, fog the engine). An additional task is hurricane prep which includes raising the lift to the stops and strapping the boat to the lift.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
Ok, it has been a while... since we have done "normal" things. This sequester has us fairly locked up. Thankfully, we are in our little Flordia condo for the winter. Thankfully, we have a little boat down here with us.
Today was the first day in Florida that marina's and botels were allowed to repoen since early April when they were closed by the Governor's executive order. It was, naturally, a zoo on the ICW near Jupiter. Byt we wre desperate for a diversion, a picnic lunch.
While it was like heavy weather sailing to get to the picnic site on the ICW, the crew (my wife, Sue) was brave and we made it! We had a nice quiet lunch. It was kind of like being in the eye of a hurricane because, of course, we had to brave the boat wake and traffic to get home.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
As we work our way through COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, life begins to imitate the experiences of Bill Murry's charactor in the movie, Groundhog Day. Each day can seem the same, even the news.
For us, we try to make sure someting different is in each day. Some days it is a ride in the golf cart (we are sequestered in our little condo in Florida, #extended showbirds). Some days is is a convertable ride to pick up a meal to go. On the best days, boating offers a way to distinguish the current 24 hours from the last.
So it was that today we took a ride with a cocktail, around the community and briefly out on the ICW to explore a neighboring marina at a safe distance.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Number of days:
1 day
We have friends very nearby, wintering in Florida on their 58' Hatteras LRC, Mary Catherine. We reached out suggesting a virtual, Zoom aided, cocktail hour and they suggested we motor over on our little boat and sit on their aft deck, at a healthy social distance.
That sounded like a plan so we headed over at the appointed hour and tied up on the floating dock nearest their transom. We boarded carefully and sat in opposing chairs they had already cleaned for us. Naturally we brough our own beverages.
All in, it was really god to see friends in person rather than on the small screen. The beam of Mary Catherine kepts us at least ten feet away. Sure they had to break our the handwipes to clean the chairs before and after, but it seemed worth it for some face to face contact.