The Boatyard Blues

I’ve read of this phenomenon on many occasions but have just now had the pleasure

of coming to know the boatyard blues personally on our first boat. For months, I have been making plans based on the survey of exactly what would need attention in the

yard. At this point, I must digress to others on the nature of plans:

Everyone has a plan - until they get punched in the face. - Mike Tyson

No plan survives contact with the enemy. - Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke

Ok, ok... so yes, the plans did evolve substantially during the past three weeks on the hard, and to be fair, this is not a bad thing when you relax and learn to accept change:

Those who plan do better than those who do not plan even though they rarely stick to their plan. - Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. - Benjamin Franklin

Initially, work was to include servicing the seacocks (valves which allow you to close the hoses going through the hull under water), max-prop, and stuffing box (allows the prop shaft to spin but keeps water out) as well as attending to a few possible problem areas on the hull. Simple enough, right? The seacocks are old Wilcox-Crittenden bronze juggernauts which have drain holes where grease gun zercs can be fitted for servicing. Problem is... the zercs had been left in and the far more noble bronze seacocks have caused them to corrode to tiny, rusty nubs. Hmmm.... what to do now? This problem has yet to be solved, but the seacocks all close and are in good condition themselves.

Next issue was the stuffing box which was seized together so bad that no amount of PB Blaster or heat from a torch could cause it to budge in-situ. I have to wonder when this was last serviced at all as the log book from the mids on summer cruise mention the bilge filling with water every two days! Water had clearly been spraying all over the engine compartment from the stuffing box as well. Solution: out comes the whole shaft thus freeing the stuffing box.

I also decided to go ahead and pull the engine as well since a re-power or at least serious repairs are due. This has my head spinning with options. New diesels are astronomically expensive (as is everything involving boats), and I never want to see Audacious again filled with so much oil, grease, and carbon soot. Holly and I have been giving some serious thought to re-powering with an electric system. There are major pros and cons which need to be pondered for the next several weeks/months while other tasks are completed.