This is the last big job of the season. For the next few months it’s watching and waiting.
The checklist involves a number of jobs, some of which we already did by accident.
- Drain the water tanks. The forward tank has been empty (and dry) for years. The port tank leaked all the water, and the starboard tank was run dry a few weeks ago. So there’s that.
- Pump out the holding tank. Herrington Harbour did a nice job. The float sensor seems broken, so that needs to be replaced. (It still shows the tank as full.)
- Strike the sails. (Sadly, we didn’t get to try out the new main and mizzen. Next year.)
- Run anti-freeze through the raw water systems. This means the forward head and the engine. The forward head pump seems to be jammed, and needs to be rebuilt. The engine? Perfection.
We also brought the headsail sheets to the apartment for washing.
CA found some advice that we should (1) soak them in the tub for an hour, then (2) pull them into daisy chains, (3) bag them in a pillow-case, and (4) wash.
They’re heavy: 3 to 5 pounds each sheet.
We have a front-loading machine, so the pillow case to avoid tying up the central pillar of a top-loader is a non-issue.
I tried one sheet without a pre-soak, and we’re not happy. We’ll report on the washing to see what seems to work best.
The Lehman engine cold-start device is the best. Mr. Lehman sprang to life in the cold without a complaint. Ran flawlessly for a few minutes until the pink -50° antifreeze was gone from the bucket we use to inject it into the cooling system.
And that left the final step on the checklist.
Remove the key and tag it. No Raw Water. Engine cannot be run without resetting the sea chest valve.
Sigh.
