Unexcused Absences

We have spoken these words with alarming frequency over the past few months. The reason is simple. We have made the second-worst* mistake in all of boating; we purchased an old boat with the idea of fixing her up. We were lulled into complacency by our wonderful French canal boat, Après Ski, and decided that she was not causing us enough trouble or costing us enough money, so we went and purchased an old, slow boat in the form of a 1976 Gulfstar 43 trawler here on the Chesapeake Bay and christened her the Miss Adventure. And for the past several months it seems like every third sentence out of our mouths is “what have we done?” More precisely, “@#$(^, what have we done?”

Our old, slow boat, Miss Adventure

So now here we are, owners of not one but two boats. Heather says that means I’m an Admiral, but I think it just means I’m an idiot. “Let’s buy another boat, and spend winter 2016 in the Bahamas,” he said. “It’ll be fun!” he said. “How much trouble can it be?” he said.

Let’s pretend Après Ski is like an electric golf cart; no lights, or power steering, or power windows, or ignition system, or brake lights, or internal combustion engine, or sound system – just gas pedal, brake, and steering wheel. By that measure, our new/old trawler, Miss Adventure, is like a vintage BMW; used to be quite nice, but lots of little issues – the engine burns oil, half the power windows don’t work, the brakes need constant service, the cooling system leaks, the paint is peeling, and you can’t find replacement headlights.

The aft cabin – I think our whole canal boat could fit in here

I make it sound bad, but the boat is actually quite nice. The main salon has been compared favorably to a disco dance floor by a friend. The galley and inside dining area are also quite large. And the aft cabin has a centerline, full walk-around queen-size bed. Plus, the first owner (we are only the third) installed acres of custom teak furniture, cabinets, and closets. And, by overhauling the boat ourselves, we can be confident that the systems are in good repair.

The vintage helm station

The boat also has an incredible array of systems, which is both good (comfort and convenience) and bad (more things to break). She has a bow thruster, deck washdown system, LectraSan MSD Level 1 sewage treatment system (whatever that means), microwave, fridge and freezer, electric hot water, autopilot, 110V AC generator, and not one, not two, but three zones of air conditioning.

On our first cruise, near Norfolk, we crossed paths with the carrier USS Wasp

The “what have we done?” part is because a lot of these systems broke (conveniently after the surveyor declared the boat sound and we had paid the seller). Not long after these happy events, the following things happened:

• The oil cooler on the port engine sprung a leak
• The forward toilet electric pump broke with a bang, literally the first flush after the surveyor tried it, and spewed water all over the forward head
• The fresh water pump began to leak
• The deck washdown fitting rusted through and began to leak into the forward cabin
• The anchor light stopped working
• A leak appeared in the aft head during a rainstorm
• The aft head pump assembly started to leak
• The port navigation light burned out
• The starboard prop shaft “dripless” seal started to drip
• The dripless seal vent lines dripped salt water onto the engines
• The holding tank vent clogged up
• The engine block heaters gave out
• One of the forward deck stanchions started to leak
• The port engine high-pressure fuel pump went bad and had to be replaced
• The engine coolant drain valves were completely blocked and had to be replaced

The ancient Onan generator

The new Northern Lights generator

The main salon, with about 7 projects going on simultaneously

In addition to the unexpected, outlined above, we have made the following planned upgrades and improvements and fixes (this is only a partial list):

• Replaced the cutlass bearings
• Re-bedded the deck fittings for the flybridge ladder
• Re-bedded the two bow cleats
• Replaced all the through-hulls and seacocks
• Purchased and installed a new Northern Lights 6kW generator
• Built an entirely new fresh water delivery system (strainer, pump, filter, and accumulator)
• Installed bright LED rope lights throughout the formerly cave-like engine room
• Built a rack for my windsurf board on the side of the flybridge
• Installed Weaver davits for the dinghy (by the way, Dad contributed a new dinghy to our adventure)
• Designed and installed new awning-style outside window covers
• Made all new curtains for every window and port-light
• Built an electric oil change system with custom pickups in each main engine sump
• Re-did the entire DC battery system (four new Group 31 AGM deep-cycle batteries and multi-stage, three-output charger)
• Not to mention more repairs/upgrades/woodwork to come …

But, in between boat projects, we have done some cruising around the Chesapeake Bay, and have had some fantastic experiences. We anchored near the mouth of the Rappahannock River alongside longtime friends Lisa and Ricky on their beautiful Island Packet sailboat and had a fun pot-luck dinner. We cruised up the bay to Annapolis, looped through the inner harbor, docked at the Minister of Leisure’s house on the Severn River for a couple weeks, and had the chance to visit with friends in the area.

Docked at the Minister of Leisure’s house

We spent a couple weekends at the Kent Island Yacht Club docked next to some other longtime friends, Carl and Tulinda, on their big Overseas 46 trawler. We cruised up to Rock Hall, Maryland, with Dad and met up with Heather’s mom and her friend Judy on Mother’s Day, and had a great lunch at a dockside restaurant followed by a cruise around the area. Ten days later we anchored out on the Severn River, just up from the US Naval Academy, with a group of friends to watch the Blue Angels air show as part of Commissioning Week.

Prime parking for the Blue Angels airshow

We finished our spring cruise with a trip back down the bay, spending nights in both Reedville and the Piankatank River, where we met up with yet more friends (Bill and Gwynn) at their riverfront cabin for dinner. So it hasn’t been all work, just 98% work with 2% cruising.

Anchored on the Piankatank River – see my new windsurf board rack on the side of the flybridge

Now the boat is back at Chesapeake Boat Works in Deltaville for yet more projects (install a new fuel filter system, an escape hatch for the aft cabin, new fuel return lines, and replace metal exhaust elbows with fiberglass ones). We are in desperate need of a vacation, so as this is being written we are on a plane to the Bahamas to visit our very favorite client, the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. And less than 48 hrs after we get back we’ll be on a plane to France for our summer cruise aboard Après Ski, so at least for 2015, we’re making good on my goal to vacation more than we work.

* The worst mistake in all of boating is buying an old wooden boat with the idea of fixing her up.