Fresh Horses

In keeping with our trend of undertaking huge summer boat projects, we’ve decided it’s finally time to replace Take Two’s engines.  We’ve been playing with the idea for a long time, but there has always been one impediment or another.  It seems we’ve always been at a lack for motivation, resources, or clarity about the project.  Now all those pieces have fallen into place, and when we look at what the next few years likely hold for us, we feel like it really needs to be done.

In two weeks we’ll haul the boat out of the water.  A crane will lift the old engines out and put the two new ones and the new generator on deck.  We’ll repaint the engine rooms, refresh all the ancillary equipment, lower the new engines in and that’s it!  Right.

We’re hoping it only takes two weeks, allowing for three, but of course it will take as long as it takes.  So many things could go wrong.  We’re going to do the minimal amount of work necessary while out of the water, which is most of it.  The generator, however, will only be set in place and not hooked up.  We can do that later.

Originally I thought we’d do the project in the water, but then came to realize that being disabled at the dock during hurricane season wasn’t the best idea.  We were going to have to haul out to make some adjustment to the props anyway, and there are some other parts of the job that will be easier out of the water, so we might as well do all the work in the yard.  

We’ll necessarily be displaced from our home while it is on the hard.  Tanya would likely vacate in any case.  We liked the arrangements we made during last year’s 4-week bottom job, and have rented the same condo again.  I’ll stay in town where I can supervise the project, and hopefully get some real work done too.  Tanya will come and go from the condo, visiting friends and family.  Spice will stay aboard.

I’m very excited about this and can hardly think about anything else.  I get anxious any time the boat is out of the water, this time even moreso because of the importance of the project and the tremendous cost.  But I think it is going to be great for Take Two and for us.