1st weekend of December and the last month of the year… Sailing Life on Jupiter was in town and we met up with them to go out for a day on the dinghy to look for manatees. We also took them to our favorite spot, the Freezer for some salmon dip and steamed shrimp, then off to MacRea’s for drinks and some live music. What an amazing day spent with friends.
Something truly exciting happened on 12/7… Andy was able to get the old windlass off!! Say what? Shut the front door… I can’t believe it… The windlass is off… Now to hurry up and seal the hole before the next round of rain comes thru.
We also are having some of the fire damage repaired right now and the gel coat is being reapplied to remove the burn stains. We also had Free Spirit get a deep wash, wax and a ceramic coat applied to the boat and now… wow what a shine we have on her. She is really coming back to life and looking like a beautiful boat. The cockpit was cleaned out and and the cushions were removed so they can be redone.
The clearwater boat parade was also on saturday, 12/9 so what else could we do but have an “E Dock” party and watch the parade. A wonderful evening was had by all with lots of laughs, drinks and food. Met some new friends, SV Goin Coastal. We hope to have some crossover content coming soon with them.
We were given a swing for the boat to be used and so we attached it to a halyard line and it was a welcome addition to the boat and is able to safely hold either Andy or myself. Can’t wait to dip my toes in the water and go swinging over the water. We are now part of the “swinger’s club”! haha
We also got the new windlass installed, not wired but bolted in place. This thing is very heavy and we needed some assistance with getitng it installed.
There was a nasty winter weather storm this month so if you ever want to know if you have leaks and where they are…. just wait for a storm. We have lots of leaks that need to be fixed so that just got added to the project list. The windlass leaks, the nuts from the toe rails on the bow, a leak in the hatch over our bed and we found a massive leak that is coming somewhere and to our floor.
Andy fixed the windlass and put the V seal on it so it doesn’t leak, tightened the screws as they were loose (but they still leak) fixed a leak in the salon, changed the hatch window over our bed and did some caulking on the top deck…. now to wait and see if they leaks are fixed… convinently, they are. The front screws still leak some so we may need to caulk there as well.
Nancy completed the cockpit cushions and make the covers for the wenches! A huge project was completed with that as the prior cushions were falling apart and didn’t hold up well.
Finally, we ended the year with the forward bulkhead being replaced. We are super excited about that being done as the bulkhead had been rotten and crumbling.
Can’t wait to see what 2024 is going to hold for us.
