A couple of days after visiting the flooded boat yard I decided that it would be in my best interest to get back there again to monitor the situation. Importantly keeping an eye on where the boat was lying as the water receded. If it happened to be resting on the jetty while the water dropped there would be a high risk of the boat capsizing, and that would pretty much be the end of it for a long while.
After arriving at the yard, I realised the water had subsided enough to enable me to walk around to the boat. The only problem was, in order to get on the boat I needed to climb the tree. 50 years old and still climbing trees. Who says I’m not living the motherfucking dream eh?
I didn’t spend too long on the boat, I just wanted to assess how much water the boat was holding. Not too much to be fair, but I determined it would take about an hour to hand bail what water was on board. In addition to checking the water level I also wanted to take measurements of all the holes mentioned here.
After formulating a plan of action I made my way home with the intention of coming back the following day with a to-do list, in the hope the water would have receded just a litle bit more.
As hoped the water had receded and it turned out to be a busy day. Uncharacteristically I had actually compiled a to-do list before I went, which for the most part I completed.
- Empty the engine bay – Since I’ve had the boat I have been stripping and keeping bits and pieces I thought were important and stored them in the engine bay. The sorts of things that were in there included locker covers, a toilet, a sink and a few other bits and pieces. I needed the engine bay empty in order to easily remove the water.
- Remove all the water from inside the boat – I’ve had to do this a few times over the last few months, not least of all because the previous owner has cut holes all over the show. He’s expanded the engine bay for example and cut away the top side of the transom, so when it rains the boat starts collecting water like a third-world villager. This will be a regular job until I can rebuild those bits
- Remove the only two navigation lights on the boat – These need to come off, they don’t work and the wiring to them has been removed. There are twolights. Port and starboard. A quick lesson: Port light = red and Starboard light = green.
- Measure the thickness of the fibreglass on all the holes – This is important because when repairing them you need to know how many layers of fibreglass to use.
- Measure the size of the dashboard – The reason I have to do this is so I can replace the backing board, the current one leaks worse than an incontinent woman during a sneezing fit.
- Shape the “Glory Hole” into a regular shape – I’ve had to do this so when I get round to patching the hole it’ll be easier to patch. This is where some will have a heart attack, Beasty with a cutting tool on a boat. That didn’t end well last time.
- Secure the boat – so when the flood water recedes the boat doesn’t rest on the jetty and capsize like some of my neighbours.
- Measure the size of the cabin door – so I can replace it.
