For a complete set of photos from this stage of the journey, please see the Google Photos Album
“Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” – Terry Pratchett
Summer draws to a close, and the ocean cools, and Selkie is once more ashore.
This winter I decided to leave her mast up, as there’s not a whole lot to go wrong that needs active access and it’s (frankly) expensive to get the mast down or up every 6 months. (costs about $600 each time around, and that’s at the more reasonably priced place)
The front parking lot at Aspasia has room for those of us who are keeping our masts up, and I’m in the spot I wanted most… and where I can launch as early as possible in the spring!
It’s a funny thing, in that there IS a sense of safety with having Selkie “on the hard” as the saying goes. I know she can’t sink or drift off… but at the same time it’s like her going to sleep again. As John Shedd said “A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what a ship is for.” Same goes for being high and dry.
Regardless, there’s a bunch of small things to get done. I plan lots of very boring interior cleaning and measuring and saving up some money for larger projects… so I’ll spare you the process photos of not much. (Also, I forgot to take any)
The real excitement of the off-season happened in January of 2024, when a winter storm coincided with a king tide (really high) and brought waves and debris right into the parking lot and storage area.
The waves made it all the way to Selkie’s feet, but the gravel stayed hard and no damage done other than trash from the work yard all over the place.
By February, Eliska and I had enough of the regular workday, so we found ourselves an airBnB with a hot tub in southern Maine, and spent a long weekend soaking and ignoring the world. Much needed!
Right around the corner was this very cool civil war era battery, which I explored on a walk. Can’t say no to the ruins! Plus, the sunlight though the tunnel door has a nice symbology to it: the light WILL return, and spring is right around the corner!
Finally, April came around and I got a new thin coat of bottom paint on Selkie in preparation for launching. Mainly I’ve tidied things up and sealed up some holes I didn’t need… not hugely fascinating.
What IS exciting, is watching Steve pull up with the trailer again! Hell yeah!
Easy!
… Uhh…. NOT … THAT easy. Heh. Haa.
Soo, yeah. I hired a diesel mechanic to come and give the engine a once over to look for anything amiss. Now, one of the things about marine diesels is that since they have this great source of cooling water RIGHT THERE, instead of being air cooled, they cycle fresh and salt water in a heat exchanger, and use the salt water to help keep the exhaust system cool on it’s way back overboard.
When you run them on land, you need to give them something to cool with… so the guy hooked up a hose.
Long story short, the hose over-filled the exhaust system, which slooooowly trickled back into the cylinders during the weekend, and when I went to start her up (already in the water, with Steve waiting for me) … she just went CLUNK and nothing else. (water doesn’t compress, and certainly won’t burn, sooo)
I had to come back OUT of the water, take the cylinder heads off, cycle the engine (which left water ALL OVER the inside of the engine compartment) and then put her all back together, and THEN get launched … again. (I paid for both times, too)
The mechanic did at least finally comp the visit. *eye roll*
Boats are not an easy existence, just one that I love anyway.
For now… it’s time to get out and go sailing! Cheers!
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