As you may have noticed from my first post, I am starting this blog about a week after the boat arrived in Seattle. I wasn't sure if I was too busy/lazy to write anything down for this project. Now that I'm beginning to realize the scope of the project, I decided to get started.
Now to catch up with what I've done so far:
The day after the boat showed up, I got off work early and went to the boat to take the first truck load of stuff home. Unfortunately, the boat had been sitting on the trailer, in the Ketchikan rain for about a year and a half. This was not the best environment for many of the things that were stored on the boat.
The first things I wanted to get off the boat were the cushions. I was optimistic that they would be in decent shape, as they had been stored in a garage for most of the last 20 years. I was quite disappointed to find that the canvas on the first cushion I grabbed, fell apart in my hand as I pulled it out of the boat. Oh well, shit happens, luckily I'm a long way from needing cushions.
Next, I grabbed the carbon spinnaker pole. It has sure seen better days. On top of the general chalky UV damaged exterior, about 4 years ago one of the end fittings tore out. The solution was to cut down the pole by 6 inches, and put on a new end fitting. So, the pole is now 11'-6" long, and has mismatched end fittings. Eh, whatever, that's another project for later.
The last thing I grabbed was a random handful of sails. I had no idea what ones, or what condition they were in.
So, I bring this stuff all home, lay out some plastic over the guest bed, and start carrying stuff in. In a misguided attempt to retrieve some value from the cushions, I brought them in to dry them out, then put the spin pole over top and piled the sails on top of that. Close the door and put it all out of mind for a night.
The next evening, I start sorting through what I have. The first sail I pull out is a blue and white chute, 3/4 oz. if you can believe the note someone wrote near the head, no sail makers mark, and sail numbers I don't recognize. There was no bag for the sail, so I had just been sitting, getting dripped on for months. I tried drying it out for a couple days in the living room, but the only thing I actually managed to accomplish was stink up the apartment. My girlfriend loves it. I did find a bunch of tears in the thing, so I finally gave up and decided to toss it in the round file.
Next sail: an old North Kevlar self-tacker jib. I vaguely remember tearing one of these almost in two about 8 years ago. I thought I remember it being thrown out, but we have had 3 or 4 of these jibs over the life of the boat... nope, nevermind, this is the one I remember blowing out in 35 knot winds. Fold it up, might be able to recover something from the cloth.
Next sail: D4 self-tacker jib from Mariner Sails. This thing still looks to be in pretty good shape, but the clew board will probably need replacing due to corrosion. I know it was one of the last sails that were bought for the boat. Dry it out, roll it up and set it aside until I find it's bag.
Next sail: Auckland Sails self-tacker jib. Old, heavy, dacron, but should be ok for light cruising. Fold it up, and set it aside.
Next sail: unknown main. This sail looks to be in pretty good shape. Laminated white cloth, nothing high tech, but could be a decent sail. One surprise was the leather reinforcement at the luff end of the batten pockets. Of course the leather is the only part of the sail with mold on it. Great.... dry it out, roll it up and set it aside until I go to the store and buy some bleach.
So that is the end of my first load.
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