Decision Time

I gave myself until the end of May to decide whether the boat was going to go in the water or not.  I'm kicking myself now for not doing more over the winter.  There was a ton that I could have done in the warmth of my shop, but I guess I just needed a break.  Oh well, now it's crunch time and although there are a bunch of things on the list I don't think will make it, I've decided to launch this year, but not the way I had planned it. 

Originally, I was going to bring the boat down to the south coast of Massachusetts (Marion area), but in the 8 years that I've had the boat down there, the prices have gone up roughly 30%.  Couple that with the cost of hauling down there (~$1200-1500) and my already way over tapped restoration budget, I really had to rethink the launch date and possibly postpone it another year to spread costs.

So, just as I was wondering if this was going to be even remotely affordable, I found a mooring available for August and September in Center Harbor on Lake Winnipesaukee.  I had the boat on Winni the last year I had it in the water because it was close to where my dad was living and his health precluded him from traveling but he is the reason I'm a sailor and he was a sailor till the end and had his last sail on Magic 2 months before he died.

Lake Winnipesaukee is New Hampshire's largest lake with several hundred islands and roughly 20 miles by 10 miles wide.  Not the biggest body of water but it's only 30 minutes away which will make it much easier to swing up after work to get some work done or go out for an afternoon sail.  This is nearly impossible if I had the boat in Massachusetts.  Also, it will only cost about $1500 to haul, step, launch and keep the mooring as opposed to $3000+ down in Mass.   Finally, since I'm launching in late July instead of late June, I'll have an extra month to get stuff done.  I'd rather work out the inevitable kinks that the boat will throw at me close to home than far away.

As far as what needs to be done to get the boat in the water, there is still a lot of little things and 3 projects to do. Namely, the cockpit coamings, a tiller, and getting the engine started after 5 years of not running.  The coamings and tiller are on my list to start next week and shouldn't have any surprises.  The engine is still a bit of a mystery as to what I'll need to do, but I'm going to get going on that next week as well. 

Otherwise things are in good order and I crossed off another milestone today by installing the rudder permanently with the help of my son and wife.  I still have to glass over the bolt pocket now that it is installed, but after everything I've done, it's nothing.  I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and that the alignment was spot on perfect.  The shaft rides in the bearing as smooth as silk with no noticeable binding.