When April arrives, thoughts turn to “Launch Day”, scheduled for May 10th. When April arrives I go back to Kindred Spirit, not before. Why? Because Al tears the boat apart while simultaneously working on all of his winter projects and I refuse to see my boat in that condition. He promised everything was neat and tidy again. Which was true if I didn’t go below…….
Al finished projects and prepped the boat for the water while I cleaned. This boat has a LOT of wood surfaces!! Whew, that was quite a chore, one I escaped last year due to the spinal surgery.
One of the last things we did was mark our anchor chain. I will just repeat what I said when we marked the Mariner Orient’s anchor chain in 2015. This system works for us —
“When anchoring, to avoid guessing and yelling about how many feet of chain you have let out, it’s a real good idea to mark the chain in specific lengths. You can buy special markers, make your own markers (we tried that for a few years) or paint your chain different colors at specific lengths. Some people tie a different number of small lines or wire tires at intervals, but we found they can tangle in the chain or hold dirt. Others use a specific color scheme and paint the links. I read about an interesting color sequence – every 25 feet change colors, red, yellow, blue, white, orange, and remember it with “Rub Your Body With Oil.” Really? Anyway, about ten years ago we settled on a system that has worked for us without any problems. We paint the chain at intervals of red, white, and blue, in that order, changing color every 25 feet. We use good, bright paint which is easily visible without confusion and it lasts for years. The bonus is that we never forget the order of red, white, and blue. Easy-peasy, as the first graders say.”
May 10th! Confession time – I did not attend the launch. I debated, I thought about it, I thought yes, then I thought no. In the end, Al had plenty of help so I took care of other things at home. Secretly, I decided that he could check to see if the stern thruster and bow thruster were working before I attempted to use them. 😉 Update – the bow thruster did malfunction and Al had to dock without it. Not a problem for him. That’s now at the top of the fix-it list.
Splash day is always a big deal. Will the weather cooperate for the day you signed up, weeks in advance?
James McGuffin
Nice boat. I to have a KK39 which I just purchased. I want to install a stern thruster and would like to know what type, HP you have and are you satisfied with it?
Susie Marshall
I hope y’all have a great summer.
watsons
Thank you! Wish we were traveling in the same waters so we could finally meet. Enjoy your summer in New York – I enjoy reading your blog about your adventures.