The Best Laid Plans…

It has been a long while, I know. As it turns out—for good reasons and not very good reasons—we have not done a lot of sailing so far this summer. The good reasons involve travel to attend weddings and see family. The bad reasons involve boat maintenance that hasn’t gone as planned. In addition, we have had a few projects around the condo and more than the usual number of doctor visits. 

One of the major boat projects involved replacing the saildrive gasket. The manufacturer, Volvo, recommends replacing the gasket after 7 years. George did some research and learned that some boat owners never replace the gasket. Nevertheless, we tend to be cautious so we opted to have it replaced. 

Not long after we returned home in the spring George contacted Vosbury Marine, the only Volvo repair company in the area. It was located in Annapolis, a six-hour sail away. We weren’t able to get an appointment with Vosbury until July. Two weeks ago, on a hot day with no wind, we motored over to Annapolis. Early the next morning our boat was hauled out of the water by Jabin’s Yacht Yard. Disappointingly, Vosbury did not begin work on the saildrive for almost another week. It is a difficult job, particularly on a Hanse. The saildrive is connected to the engine and contains the transmission, shaft and propeller. The engine is inside the boat and the saildrive is on the outside. The purpose of the gasket is to seal the hole where the saildrive goes through the hull. To replace the gasket the companionway stairs have to be removed, along with some other woodwork. Then the saildrive is disconnected from the engine and the engine is pulled out into the cabin. The propeller is removed from the saildrive, then the saildrive is pulled up into the boat. After that the gasket assembly can be replaced and everything is put back together. 

A few days ago George was notified that the work was done. We have missed Breeze On and we were so excited to be getting her back. In addition, the new dinghy we had ordered (more about that in another post) was ready and we planned to pick it up in Annapolis after Breeze On was launched. The weather forecast was delightful and we were looking forward to a beautiful day of sailing home. Yesterday we drove over to Annapolis, inspected the exterior of the boat and then told Jabin’s Yacht Yard we were ready for Breeze On to be launched. One of Jabin’s crew asked George if he would go on board to make sure everything was okay as the boat was lowered into the water. It was a good thing he did—water came gushing into the engine compartment as soon as the boat hit the water. George ran up into the cockpit and told the lift operator to take the boat back up. He then called Vosbury and told them about the problem and said someone needed to come immediately. While George was waiting for Dick Vosbury to arrive he found a rather large gap in the gasket. Dick Vosbury assumes the gasket was somehow damaged when the engine was put back in place. He will redo the entire job at his own expense. Feeling rather stunned and disappointed, we went out to dinner then drove back home. It will be another week at least before we can bring Breeze On home. 

Breeze On in the travel lift at Jabin’s in preparation for the replacement of the saildrive gasket. 

Propeller and saildrive.

Hole through which the saildrive goes. The gasket is at the top of the hole and can’t be seen. The area around the hole has growth because the bottom paint, which retards growth, has to be kept away from the saildrive to avoid corrosion. George plans to clean and repaint the bottom after the saildrive job is finished. 

Checking the “boot,” which was applied around the saildrive. If Breeze On ever had a boot it had fallen off before we bought the boat. 

Gap in the gasket. I am somewhat amused it is right beside the sticker that says care just be taken in mounting. 

Yesterday’s track from where Breeze On started on the hard, traveled to the water, then back to the hard.