Welcome to: This old boat... I inherited a very long 'to-do' list from Craig, after he and Angela visited Oct. 21st. Maybe i should have started with the easiest thing on the list? (i am so sore, all over, my knees feel arthritic and fractured. my back is tight and sore. feels like it could lock up at any second.) I started with "fix windlass." [the windlass is the motor on deck that lifts the chain and anchor.] the original problem was; the foot switch needed to be replaced. it was intermittent. $35 and done. except then the motor slipped. something else is wrong. (Ideal Windlass built in Rhode Island, circa 1980, replacement cost $4,500. designed to lift 500 lbs)
My Windlass needs a new brake pad. ($45) in addition i read that you need to rotate the ends of your chain yearly. so i am thinking i'll switch the chain. i've also read, "you need to galvanize the chain" to keep it from rusting.
[Galvanizing: In this step, the material is completely immersed in a bath consisting of a minimum 98% pure molten zinc. The bath chemistry is specified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) in Specification B 6. The bath temperature is maintained at about 850 F.]
so i get in there and take out my chain. i discover some rust on the motor in the chain locker below deck. so i take wire brushes to the motor and then prime it, now i've painted it. all this takes place in a tiny closet in the 'front point of the boat.' it's below head level so you have to stoop down. i've spent two days scrunched down, bent over, reaching up into the chain locker on my knees reaching way-way out.
a question on the BLOG.
""Inquiring minds want to know: Exactly how did you get all that chain from the boat, up the dock and to your car??? -The Admiral ""
[REPLY: well Angela i had to slowly, carefully, load every inch of that chain and anchor into a dock cart. then slowly drag it up the dock and make multiple attempts to get it up the ramp. this resulted in some minor lower back pain.]
(shown here with coat 1 of primer)
Then this afternoon, after applying 4 coats of anti-rust primer to the motor, and 2 coats of candy apple red paint, i decided to do another project. the Liquid Propane Gas lady told me last year that i "need to paint my gas cans yearly" to inhibit rust. i think, well i have everything already out - why not paint my 2 gas cans? So i work on those for a few hours... wire brush the rust spots and then hit it with primer. finally turn them upside down and paint the bottoms candy apple red. it looks like two Jack-o-lanterns sitting on the dock!
This Old Boat. it never ends...
happy pirate skip - boo!
