March 10, 2014
After a week
of living in our motor home at the OYCM parking lot, it is time to move
on. So, today we packed up and moved to
Hanna Park, my favorite campground in Jacksonville. During
the week we were parked at OYCM parking lot, we had five days of heavy rain. The walk to the bathrooms in the rain and
dampness were just too uncomfortable for our old bones. (How quickly we become spoiled) When we had
our 34’ Sea Ray we had to walk from the end of dock C every night to use the
bathrooms. We also had very limited
internet service and only a few volts of
electricity. I could not run our microwave or air conditioner, (praise God the
heater works on propane) because with all the dampness we did use that every
day. The OYCM has wonderful people
living and working there, Thank you Fred, and Roger for helping me get internet
access. I love you and value your friendship.
Originally we
thought the Morningstar would only be out of the water on the hard for two weeks,
so parking lot living seemed doable. However, that is no longer the case. The Morningstar is going to have a complete
bottom job. That means it will be on the
hard for at least two months to give the bottom a change to dry out completely.
When the Morningstar was in the water we could only image the many blisters
that were lurking on her deep unseen bottom.
OYCM Parking lot
Setting up at Hanna Park
Once the
Morningstar was hauled out, pressure washed and blocked up, we got a bird’s eye
view of the blisters on her hull and it was heart retching.
Rich spoke
to Brian Brockhaus from “Yachtbottoms”.
He is an independent contractor from Jacksonville and he does all the severe
bottom repair work for Hutckins. Rich
asked Brian to give Hutckins a written estimate for the work needed to have the
Morningstar’s bottom repaired. The
repair would include a complete osmotic blister repair (gel coat
removal, drying management, and moisture reading/pressure wash, four step
fairing process using all epoxy products, with four coats epoxy barrier coating
applied and two coats antifouling applied. Brian said he would guarantee his
work. This task is just too much for Rich to try to do on his own, so we decided to hire him for the job. The estimate came to $5836.25 plus sales tax
and environmental charges bringing it to $6,353.16. There will also be a $272 charge from
Hutckins for the haul, pressure wash, block, and launch added to that cost. The Morningstar
will be out of the water for awhile since we have to wait for Brian to finished
pealing a 52’ Sea Ray he is presently working on. Then he will start on ours. Once the work begins it will be at least two
months for the hull to completely dry out. During the time the Morningstar is out of the water, there
are many things Rich wants to do on her.
Rich wants to add a second electric head (toilet,) refinish the sundeck
floor, repair the rub rails, and the list goes on and on and on.
We also
hired Hutckins to do work for us. Rich
asked them to remove and replace the cutlass bearings, and replace the log
tubes and hose. That doesn't sounds like a
lot of work but actually it will involve many hours of labor as the area to
work in is very compact and may require more time depending on the condition of
couplers and bolts. They are removing
original parts installed in 1987. Example (replaces shaft log tubes, disconnect
couplers, remove from shaft, remove and replace hose, reinstall coupler,
reconnect to transmission port and starboard.)
Hutckins sent our props out for repairs and I have no idea what that
will cost yet.
Props off and work started on the
shaft
So, as the
Morningstar sits blocked up waiting for her transformation, I will be recording
the experience on my blog for everyone to enjoy along with us. For now though I am going to pour myself
another cup of coffee and go outside to enjoy this beautiful sunny day here at
the Hanna Park camp ground. Be Blessed!
