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For those of you who read the prior paragraph VERY carefully, you would have noticed that I used the phrase, “my plan WAS” about next steps.<\/p>\nIt’s only about six weeks until I am supposed to head south on Pandora, bound for Antigua and I am getting a little bit anxious about next steps.<\/p>\n
The good news is that Pandora’s paint job is completed and her graphics applied and they turned out perfectly.\u00a0 \u00a0Pandora went in the water first thing on the Tuesday after Labor Day and I arrived in Stratford just in time to see her moved into a slip.\u00a0 My plan was to motor her back to Deep River to re-unite her with her mast and get going on all the “to-do” items that are on the long list of chores.\u00a0 She looked wonderful in her new finery.\u00a0\u00a0For those of you who read the prior paragraph VERY carefully, you would have noticed that I used the phrase, “my plan WAS” about next steps.<\/p>\n
That’s because as I went through my “pre-flight” check list, I noticed that the bearing on the back of the transmission, the “pillow bearing”, that was to be changed or rebuilt, hadn’t been touched.\u00a0 \u00a0That bearing had concerned me a lot on the way home from Antigua last spring and it needed to be addressed while Pandora was on the hard.\u00a0 However, somehow the engine guys at Brewers who were to do the work somehow “didn’t get the memo”.\u00a0 \u00a0A work order had been issued weeks before but somehow that key task was missed.<\/p>\n
Now for the bad news…\u00a0 So, back out of the water she went and back on the train\u00a0 for me.\u00a0 I wasn’t happy because by the time I got home I had burned nearly the whole day.\u00a0 Not to put too fine a point on it, but that little issue meant that I got up at 5:30 and spent the next 9.5 hours messing around on trains and buses but mostly just sitting around “waiting” for trains and buses.\u00a0 It’s so much fun and Pandora was back on the “hard” all over again.\u00a0\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG-7749-1-e1536661968809.jpg\")
But wait, there’s more.\u00a0 I just found out that the work won’t be completed and until next Friday, a nearly three week delay that eats up a huge amount of my prep time for getting ready to head south.<\/p>\n
So, here I sit, with so much to still do to get ready to head south and the clock is ticking.\u00a0 \u00a0And wouldn’t you know it, the tides will be against me this week, if she’s even ready then,\u00a0 for bringing her east in Long Island Sound.\u00a0 Such are the best laid plans.<\/p>\n
A few days ago I received an update and was told that they could not find a replacement bearing and that the old one would have to be rebuilt and that some parts were going to be “fabricated” in the machine shop.\u00a0 I always get anxious when I hear the word “fabricate” in the same phrase as “mechanic”.\u00a0 \u00a0 Oh great, they get to play with their awesome machines and I get to listen to the time clock tick loudly.<\/p>\n
Oh well, that’s why everyone talks about “boat dollars”.\u00a0 You know, the ones that are 1000\/1 compared to regular dollars?<\/p>\n
And, speaking of boat dollars, we are thinking about adding a passerelle, actually, I am not sure I can even spell it correctly.\u00a0 However, it’s a boarding ladder that goes on the stern for use when “Med Mooring” a boat.\u00a0 \u00a0 Oddly, they don’t even make them in the US for small boats so if we want to get one, it will have to be fabricated in the UK and shipped to us.\u00a0 \u00a0I have been in touch with a company there and they assure me that with the proper application of “boat dollars”, that they can get one here in time.\u00a0 \u00a0 The company makes all sorts of units but we are going to go with one of the aluminum ones, their most “pedestrian” style.\u00a0 Here’s a link to the page that shows the unit<\/a>.\u00a0 It’s not terribly elegant but should make it easier to move on and off the boat when we are Med or stern moored at a marina.\u00a0\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/passerelle.jpg\")
I don’t have a photo of what the unit looks like when it’s deployed but this is a shot of a fancier unit on a much larger boat.\u00a0\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_0542.jpg\")
And, on a really, really large boat.\u00a0 That unit telescopes into the hull from the stern.\u00a0 We saw this boat, Kismet, a few years ago in Ft Lauderdale.\u00a0 I\u00a0 wrote about her and her well heeled owner<\/a> a while back.\u00a0 \u00a0His passerelle is longer than all of Pandora.\u00a0\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2-12-15b-037.jpg\")
So, there’s a lot left to do and not a lot of time to accomplish it.\u00a0 \u00a0 Actually, and not to put too fine a point on it, I only have a month and that assumes that she is finally launched next Friday.\u00a0 Not sure I can make it as I was not counting on the unexpected three week delay in getting Pandora back to my local marina.<\/p>\n