Tough Start in Vero

February 16, 2019

You know it’s going to be a tough day after two-plus months away from your beloved boat, you drive up to it and it has a hole in it that you can see through.  And the covers you labored over for months are not on the boat.   And the interior is a science experiment in mold growth because the windows hadn’t been opened.  And the varnish is peeling because of lack of covers.

I only heard rumors from afar, but the husband/wife owners of the normally-reliable marine service place where I keep the boat in Vero Beach had been going through a very tough divorce and breakup of the business.  So the new covers I sent down and the cockpit cover never got installed.  The way Tardis is shaped, they are supposed to go clear over the boat and tie down on the trailer, forming an air tunnel along the sides.  So the big side windows and portholes could all be opened for ventilation — or not.

How the hole, about one by four inches clear through the plywood got there no one knows, but it turned out to be in an easy place to patch.

Once that was done we took the boat down to the launch ramp — perfect batteries but no start and no one available to look at it until after the weekend.  But that was fortunate in a way since I was able to stay three extra nights with my extremely understanding friends Pat and Julia Harris and avoided catching something terrible from the mold.  And while slaving over the boat, I tried starting the engine from one of those little jump-starters that Pat has.  Zoom.  That meant a missing wire between the engine and the batteries somewhere. I found that the main ground wire had been detached by the service crew (correctly) last fall, but it had sneaked itself back into the boat during the trip and we couldn’t see it.  Engine runs perfectly now.

So Pat and I had an easy trip up to Suntex where I kept going at the interior, and had it in shape for Molly’s arrival a couple days later.  Great road trips to Miami, St. Augustine and Amelia Island have ensued, but I’ve been very remiss in my boat projects and blog.

It looks like things are okay at the boat place, too.  It has been re-capitalized and a new partner brought in.  With 7 kids involved in the mess, I really can’t be too upset about the covers, hole, etc.

Mold before cleaning

After cleaning, but I made another pass later in the week and got it one shot better.

The hole patch

Total Chaos getting the boat back together