Oops!!!

We, and about 20 other boats were waiting for a bridge opening south of Norfolk on the ICW. I began slowly backing up to gain clearance from another vessel when CRUNCH!!!

I had collided with an underwater object (tree stump?) with the trailing edge (think weakest spot) of the rudder. We continued on for a few more days. The boat steered differently and the steering effort had increased.

I decided to go Jarrett Bay Boatworks near Beaufort, NC. We arrived on a Monday and they hauled the boat that morning. Pictures tell the story. They put me in touch with an on-site sub-contractor who started work immediately. A week later it was repaired as good as new. We were back in the water and continued on our way south.



This summer, after the bow thruster was installed, we decided to stay in Annapolis and work on "boat projects". Boy, did we ever!

Rigged a topping lift for the whisker pole.
Had mainsail recut to correct the luff.
Re-wired instrument panel, replaced panel glass cover and added a power port.

Re-wired solar panel and wind generator negative cables to enable the Link 2000 to show their charge.

Rewired refrigerator with #6 wire. Installed an amplified wifi antenna. Had the salon cushions recovered in Teal Ultra Leather. Replaced 2 fire extguishers w/5# Halon models. Replaced the faucet assy. in the "master's head". Install water tank gauges on all 3 water tanks. Replaced VHF antenna at masthead. Cleaned and repainted the front of the engine and replaced the water hoses and clamps. Replaced both solar panels with 130W Kyrocera panels. Removed bimini and dodger so Diana could resew (rotting threads) and replace worn zippers. Replaced glass and latches in all 6 deck hatches. Sold Mercury outboard and bought a new Yamaha 15HP two stroke. Traded the Avon (West Marine) HP floor dinghy in on a new 10'6" AB lite. Had diver clean boat bottom. Installed new depth transducer and Tridata reader. Changed engine oil and filter, changed trans oil, replaced Racor fuel filters. Cleaned all raw water strainers. Washed and wax hull sides. Replaced all zincs. So you can tell we were very busy, but the boat is in tip top shape and ready for the Bahamas!!