A Major Rigging Job

My friend Major is a rigger without peer. Ms. Bettencourt needed a canopy to shade her forward cabin top this week. The grab rails need refinishing and the varnish work cannot be done in direct sunlight.

Major came over yesterday and turned  an 8 x 10 reflective tarp and 75 feet of light line into a very serviceable work space.

I think the man is part spider. Click on this photo to get a closer look at the web he wove on the forward end of this job.

A roller stand from my woodworking shop was used as the main tent pole.

A couple of sponges cushion sharp edges to preserve the tarp.

The whole rig is acceptably nautical from a distance.

And, restoration of the rails has begun--in the shade.







Loading for next month's cruise is proceeding on schedule. Ms. Bettencourt is fueled to capacity and all the safety gear has been double-checked and re-stowed.

The high today was 77F. A few days with highs in the 40s are expected next week, but we're optimistic springtime weather will return by the time we leave in a couple of weeks.

If not, we'll go anyway.

Preparations begin

Winter has not entirely relaxed its grip on our town, but more than a few sunny days have stirred the lethargy lately and started us thinking about Ms. Bettencourt's next cruise.

The view from the end of my driveway,  photo at right, was anything but tropical a couple of weeks ago.

(Click the picture to see ice everywhere).





But today's high will be in the 50s and we had two days in the 70s last week.

So we are setting plans in motion.  My brother Paul, from Memphis, and I will leave here about the middle of next month, bound for Beaufort, SC, by way of the Savannah River. We'll spend two nights at anchorages on the river then overnight in a marina at Thunderbolt, GA, near Savannah. The next day we'll go to Beaufort and overnight there, then trailer the boat back to Augusta. It should be a good trip.

Ms. Bettencourt has been getting a lot of attention in mechanical areas. The oil, oil filter and fuel filters have been changed. I have also gone over the battery charging and starting circuits, and have removed, cleaned and tightened connections from the alternator through the starter motor to the batteries. Dielectric grease was applied at all connections. One failing battery post connection was discovered and replaced.

My friend Major and I hauled her out of the water on the trailer a few days ago, marking the first time the boat has been out of the river since June. A thorough check of the underwater gear showed the prop, shaft, cutless bearing, zincs and rudder bearings are OK. The hull looked pretty good after a scrub down. Unfortunately, the topside area is not so good.

The boat is sitting on its trailer at  the Ports Authority now, awaiting its turn for a slot under the shed, where there is sufficient shade to allow more cleaning, paint touch-up and some tedious work masking, sanding and re-varnishing cabin top grab rails.










If we can't get a commitment from the Ports Authority for a covered work space by Saturday, I think we'll re-launch and try to rig a canopy over the boat at my dock.

That could be a spectacle.