28 May 19

Launch day!! We were both up at the crack of dawn to clear out of the hotel, pack up the car (one last time) and head to the boat yard to get ready for the 09:30 scheduled launch. At North Island Boat, I checked the condition of the through hulls and new bottom paint and had a look at the rudder and keel; all good. North Island have not finished the replacement AIS antenna installation yet and the bilge is full of nasty, smelling water; don’t know where this all came from. Also, I checked the engine coolant level; it was down and I added nearly a gallon of water to fill it up - this is a bit concerning, as the coolant system rarely looses any fluid. The boat was in the water by 11:00 and I immediately set off round Fidalgo Island for Cap Sante Marina; Skyline Marina has no room at their very limited transient dock and Cap Sante is closer to town and West Marine and is way more convenient anyway. During the 1 hour transit, I determined that the auto-helm remote controller and the VHF cockpit repeater are not working; don’t know why. Upon arrival at Cap Sante, we immediately set to work pumping out the bilge and cleaning every square inch which we could reach; the diesel spill from 5 years ago is still plaguing us. I am at a loss as to how so much water accumulated in the bilge; we pumped it pretty dry before haul-out last year. Could it be accumulated condensation? It took us until 5:00 pm to finish cleaning the bilges and fill the bilge with a couple of gallons of bilge cleaner; we decided that the smell was vastly improved and that we could stay aboard for the night.  During the day, we also determined that the refrigerator is not cooling down to specified temperature; don’t know why, but I suspect the refrigerant leak (remember last spring?) is the problem again. Also, the hot water heater is not working, don’t know why. And that was about it. We did manage to get the water tanks flushed and filled and the forward head is now operational. We had G&Ts aboard, without ice, followed by a late dinner at The Cabana, stopped at Safeway to get enough grub for breakfast and were in bed, exhausted, sore and stiff by 21:00.

48-30.843’N, 122-36.362’W; Log = 8.0, Sum (2019) = 8.0 N-m

29 May 19

We were both awake before 06:00, but slipped back to sleep and did not crawl out of bed until 08:00. After a quick breakfast, we set to it again. I cleaned a bit of stuff out of the cockpit and did some work on the refrigerator and hot water tank. I replaced the condenser controller for the refrigerator, but this has not solved the problem - again, I suspect loss of refrigerant. The hot water heater is getting 120V AC across the terminals and the control switches, so, I am at a total loss as to why this is not working; it is the only system on the boat that I have not had to fool with at all. I have called for professional assistance on both the refrigerator and the hot water heater, but do not know when anyone will be available. I did manage to start the generator and confirm that the HVAC system (heat and cooling) are all working. The Admiral worked at packing clothing away and tidying up the galley. We also got the mosquito screens installed in all the port-lights. Oh, yes; I did manage to renew and update the chart plotter card (this took nearly 2 hours!!!) and order new decals proving our Texas registration is up to date. Then it was time for a late Captains hour, this time with ice. We had dinner at A-Town Bistro; our favorite restaurant in Anacortes, and we were not disappointed. Early to bed again. Hoping for some real progress on the original punchlist tomorrow; so far it has been mainly dealing with things that were not on the list.

30 May 19

We were up and moving before 08:00. After breakfast aboard, we first ran up the jib and furled it. Then, we turned the boat around to provide access to the anchors. We pulled both anchors down onto the dock, along with all chain and rode to inspect the lot, including the swivels and chain-to-rode splices. All looked good. We also stretched out the chains and replace the 30’ distance markers and supplemented each with a number of stripes of paint: i.e., 1 red stripe at 30’, 2 stripes at 60’, 3 stripes at 90’, followed by 1 yellow stripe at 120’. On the big (55#) Bruce (our main) anchor, we only have 140’ of chain, along with 250’ of rope rode. The CQR secondary (35#) anchor has 45’ of chain and 230’ of rode. I also mucked out the chain locker while the Admiral ran to the grocery store for more ice. By the time the paint had dried, it was lunch time. After lunch, we got the rode and chain for both anchors returned to the chain locker. I brought the power washer from Houston and deployed it to good use blasting off at least 8 months worth of grime and bird-s41t. Still no word as to when anyone will come along and have a look at our refrigerator and water heater. After cleaning the boat up, we turned it back around so we could hook back up to shore power and then it was happy hour. The boys from North Island Boat will be here in the morning to finish installation of the new AIS antenna and have a look at the water heater. We had a light dinner at Anthony’s. Early to bed.

31 May 19

Unbelievably, after going to bed so early, I slept more-or-less straight through till 07:30. Then, it was up and at ‘em, boys. I spent a bit of time looking at the manual for the hot water heater and have pretty much determined that the heating element is toast; so, I will try to replace that when I can get one. In the meantime, the engine cooling water system is still hooked up to the water heater and will make hot water whenever the engine is running. Woody, from IceBoat Marine showed up at about 10:30 and topped up the Freon level; it was way low (just like last year), which proves that there is a slow leak somewhere. Woody and I went through the system and pretty much agreed that it is time to replace the old refridge/freezer system with a new one; something to do for the winter. The guys from North Island Boat showed up after lunch and hooked up the new AIS antenna; unfortunately, it turns out it is the AIS transceiver unit that is toast - not the antenna. So, we will have to install a new AIS system. North Island Boat said this is the 5th Raymarine AIS unit they have replaced this spring and recommends we go with a Vesper unit, which is about the same price and is industrial strength, used by all the ferries, etc. Several of my dock buddies confirmed that Vesper is the way to go. I spent a fair portion of the day trying to clean up the forward water tank, which clogs up the pressure pump filter with nasty, green gunk after a few gallons; I ended up shocking the system and flushing out the tank twice (which will probably mean I need to replace the water pressure pump before long). The after water tank seems to be OK. We seem to have exhausted our ability to repair stuff on the boat here in Anacortes, so we decided to move on to La Connor tomorrow. Therefore, we did a major grocery/booze shop, did the laundry, washed and vacuumed the car, and finished power washing the boat (cockpit and transom) - during happy hour no less. Finally, we had another nice meal at A-Town Bistro, before retiring at 22:00. Before bed, I did a quick QA check on the whisky; I’m happy to report that the Bruchladdich I obtained today is in fine fettle, as am I. And there is May shot.