Folly Beach - 2017

Jan 20 thru Jan 22

--Blogpost written by Bob

We're nearing the end of our stay in our rented oceanfront apartment here in Folly Beach SC.  We've been here while our sailboat is being re-powered at Marine Propulsions Inc. in Rockville SC, about 40 minutes away from Folly Beach.

January 20

Last night Maggie got a message that a dear friend of hers was very ill and in the hospital in Sarasota FL.  In a very emotional state, she rented a car and promptly started the 8-hour drive to Sarasota.  I really don't expect her back for at least a week.

With the boat's re-powering not quite complete yet, a couple boat projects I still have to tackle, and at least two days of moving time ahead of me, I called our rental agent and was able to extend our rental period here in Folly Beach until January 25 (Wednesday), allowing just one or two days for the cleaning crew before new renters are scheduled to arrive.  This rental extension gives me a lot more "breathing space."

When I arrived at the boatyard this morning, Rainy Days was already out of the water sitting in the travel lift.  Both the old and the new prop were lying on the pavement under the boat's stern.

  

S/V Rainy Days sits in the travel lift during
a short haul on Friday morning.

Anthony came out to explain to be that the bushing and stepped key that came with the new prop were made for a 1-inch shaft (the size listed in my copy of the C&C Owner's Manual) but the shaft size is actually 1-1/8 inches.  (We found this error when ordering the shaft seal but after we ordered the new propeller.)

The old 2-blade propeller and the new 3-blade propeller
are shown here laying on the payment beneath the
stern of our boat while on the travel lift.

The mechanic put the old prop back on the shaft so that the boat could be put back in the water for testing the new shaft seal and the new (harder) motor mounts.  Also, by doing this, I could continue to work on the boat over the coming weekend.  

----------

At lunchtime, I drove back to Folly Beach to do a couple loads of laundry that Maggie sorted out for me before she left for Sarasota.

----------

When I returned in early afternoon Matt advised that the leakage from the shaft seal was fixed by the new shaft seal bellows and the two motor mounts that were changed out.  After he cleaned up his work area, I checked assembled the engine panels just forward of the engine.  Then I directed my attention to the rusty water stain I saw near the fridge's compressor yesterday.  The culprit was a leaky hose connection next to the compressor.  The leaking salt water over the hose clamp (even though stainless steel) caused it to rust--it was so loose I could simply pull off the hose.  I cleaned up the area and applied a set of wider hose clamps and the hose connection was now very secure.

----------

Like yesterday, the weather today (Friday) was partly sunny with an afternoon high of 70 degrees--pretty nice for January!   However, an inch and a half of rain is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday--it's going to be a sloppy weekend. 

January 21

I got an early start to the boat this morning.  As I was arriving at the boatyard this morning a thunderstorm was brewing in the distance across the marsh.  As I started to prepare for my day's project, it rained so hard that the deck drains could barely keep up with the resulting water flow.

I spent about 3 hours re-installing the engine panel, battery tray, and batteries inside the starboard cockpit locker.  Working in the cockpit locker is hard on your knees.

This is a photograph of the engine panel (at bottom of image),
the battery tray, ands the two batteries inside the
starboard cockpit locker.  This photograph was
taken after the original installation-
-it is not a new photograph.

While I was inside the cockpit locker I cleaned up some wiring, removing old individual cables ties and installing new cable ties that supported the entire bundle of wires.

I left for Folly Beach about 3 PM, tired and with aching knees.  The rain continued off and on for the remainder of the day and evening.

January 22

The thunderstorms and rain continue today.  While I have two tasks that involve indoor work, the wet weather prevents me from moving things from our oceanfront apartment to the boat.  Fortunately, Maggie will be back on Tuesday afternoon to help with moving.

The quirky goose at the boatyard loved the rain
as he/she bathed in the creek .

I have two systems that do not work correctly after the re-powering: (1) the deck wash pump does not shut off when deck valves are closed and (2) the 110-volt battery charger just chirps and blinks.  After arriving at the boat and experiencing all the rain, I decided to scrap my plan for the day and go back into the warm and dry oceanfront apartment at Folly Beach.

While it is not obvious looking at this photo and looking onto the
salt marsh behind our boat, everything was soaking wet.

Summary

I must get things done early next week.  We must leave our oceanfront apartment on Wednesday morning and we need to get underway later in the week.  I will publish our last blogpost from Folly Beach on Tuesday evening.

Thanks for following our blog!