Yep, 19 days. Nineteen days until we shove off (weather permitting, of course). That’s feeling pretty, well, REAL. As in, “we’ve got a REAL long list to get accomplished”. But overall, it seems to be going fairly well. It also means we need to multi-task. On the one hand, we’ve got the boat projects that MUST get done before departure (in order to be safe and seaworthy). On the other hand, we’ve got projects that MUST get done in order to live unattached to a dock. Because of Kim’s recent carpal tunnel surgery, I, Bob, am doing most of the manual project work and Kim is doing most of the “live off the dock” work.

This seems…impossible.

First, boat work. The big project right now is repairing the foredeck and installing our windlass so we have functioning anchor and rode (anchor chain). If you recall, our old windlass was corroded beyond saving and the deck underneath had a rotten wood core. Three months ago, Kim and I removed the rotten core, replaced it with new, and fiberglassed over it. We then sanded (and sanded, and sanded, and sanded) until it was fair and smooth. The original plan to was to pay a guy to apply the gel coat over the fiberglass and make the non-skid surface. That WAS the plan. But he ghosted us. Repeatedly. So now, 3 months later, we’re doing it ourselves. Last week, we installed the new windlass, which involved drilling some really big holes through our new, really thick deck. And then installing the bolts to hold the windlass in place. And then swearing a lot when the holes didn’t quite line up. Then swearing a lot when the bolts weren’t long enough. Then sitting in a patch of wet caulk. Then sitting in a hot anchor locker like a pretzel making the wiring connections. So, pretty much the usual. However, in a stunning display of teamwork, we got the windlass installed and mostly connected. We can’t finish until the deck is done, which should happen…TODAY! We hope.

Big Hole. Really Big Hole
Some of the wires
And more wires.
And it’s bolted on!

I also installed, plumbed, and wired the water pump for our refrigeration system. That involved running hose from the engine compartment to the compressors, which are in our cabin. We’ve been running a lot of cable lately and we make a pretty good team but running hose is way harder than wire-it’s bigger and less flexible. After more swearing, we did finally get it done. We just have to make another hole in the boat for the discharge, and it’s done.

We successfully tested our watermaker! Hooray! We can make fresh water out of seawater! It tastes great!

Kim has been working on getting our satellite phone up and running. We’re going to have Starlink on board for internet, but the sat phone is and important backup. She’s also working on a provisioning plan-not only what to stock on board, but where and how to store it. It’s a challenge to figure out what food to get so we are set for weeks with no store to go to if we forget something. She’s also finished up our ditch kit, which she wrote about last week.

Say good-bye…
Yeah, we had a lot of stuff.

She has also spearheaded unloading the last our unwanted stuff. Last week there was a marina “garage sale” and we were able to sell a few things there. I sold our rooftop carrier last week. And soon, it will be time to sell…the car! Nope, we won’t have a car. That seems crazy!

Well, the whole thing seems a little crazy, frankly. But, NINETEEN DAYS!