Broken Down in Belhaven

—Blogpost written by Bob

This stop in Belhaven NC was unplanned--it resulted from the breakage of our propeller shaft while on the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal.  S/v Rainy Days was towed to the River Forest Boatyard where her repair has been started.

Tuesday, May 26

Last night we slept on the boat while it was on the hard.  (Some boatyards don't allow owners to stay aboard a boat while it is on the hard,)  I was surprised that I really didn’t miss the normal motion of the boat.  I think I imagined we were still afloat. In the morning, I definitely noticed that the boat had a slight tilt toward the stern as it was setup on jack stands.

s/v Rainy Days on jack stands in
the River Forest Boatyard
in Belhaven NC.

The outside temperature was only 63 degrees when we awoke at 6:15 AM. The sky was overcast and it felt damp outside. Rain was in the near-term forecast (Wednesday through Friday) but not for today.

Our quilt kept us nice and warm during the night and we slept like babies. A small cabin fan was running all night long in the v-berth but it probably wasn’t necessary. (We couldn’t have run the air conditioner nor the heater while on the hard because the onboard HVAC unit requires sea water for heat transfer.  So, we “lucked out” with the moderate weather.)  I have always liked the fact that s/v Rainy Days always felt comfortably warm inside.

We picked up our rental car (a Toyota van) at 1 PM.  Because their business is hurting due to COVID-19, Enterprise found the time to pick us up at the boatyard which they would not normally do because of the 30-mile distance.

Packing up some personal things (and Lola’s paraphernalia) took until about 3 PM. We moved into our rented cottage at 3:30 PM. The first thing we did was to take hot showers and they were wonderful (and I’m not using this descriptive term lightly). (I’m still enjoying the extreme personal cleanliness as I’m writing this. The last hot shower we had was in Beaufort NC about four or five days ago.)

The cottage consists of two reasonably-sized rooms— one is a combination living room-miniature dining room while the other room is a bedroom with an adjoining large bath and shower. It is nicely appointed with antique furnishings and is very comfortable. (Our cottage rental is part of Between Water and Main Bed and Breakfast Inn—I highly recommend this place to anyone who visits the Belhaven NC area!)

The two room cottage is on the second
floor of this building. It includes
an outside deck.

Lola always has a difficult time adjusting to new environments, like the cottage. It takes her a couple days to investigate every little nook and cranny of a new place until she feels safe. Just putting her in her travel carrier for the short car ride here was a traumatic experience for her.

Wednesday, May 27

The rain started about 7:30 AM—it was expected to continue off and on for three more days. No doubt this will delay our bottom painting and hull waxing that we added to the work scope for the boatyard.  However, the rain should not delay the replacement of the propeller shaft and engine alignment. (The rain clouds cleared and the sun came out at 10 AM as Tropical Storm Bertha veered inland but the weather forecast has not changed.)

I picked up some miscellaneous things (milk, peanut butter, jelly, bread, lettuce, and others) we needed from the boat in the early morning. (Later, Maggie drove back for a couple more things that I couldn’t find.). Since we only have a microwave for cooking in the cottage, we will have to do some grocery shopping for some microwaveable items. (We don’t yet trust the safety of restaurants for eating out after the COVID-19 pandemic, even though some have reopened. We might buy some “take out” meals though.)

The miniature dining area
of our rental cottage.

We really enjoyed sleeping in a king-sized bed last night! I got up at 3 AM fully rested—I tried to get some sleep afterward but it was difficult. Lola has finally adapted to our new temporary living quarters. She was running around in all the open space she now has available, which was much larger than the confines of our boat.

Late in the day, the boatyard advised us that the present tapered (bronze) bushing between the 1-1/8” diameter shaft and the 1-1/4” bore of the propeller was too thin (1/16” thick). The machinist recommended increasing the bore in the propeller to 1-3/8” diameter to allow for a 1/8” thick bronze bushing. I approved this change but this means that I cannot use my original prop as a spare because of the revised key way dimensions.

Thursday, May 28

Rain came down hard from the very beginning of the day until late in the day when the sun came out.

The first time today that
we saw the sun was
about 5 PM.

Not much work got done today on our boat because of the rain. Today was a complete wash out. Tomorrow, thunderstorms are in the forecast. Let’s hope there is some sunny weather between thunderstorms so that our hull cleaning and bottom painting can be completed! (Again, the new propeller shaft can be installed in the rain.)

We did a lot of reading and watching TV shows during the day.

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Stay tuned for more of our adventure in Belhaven NC...

Stay healthy and thanks for following our blog!