Black Magic in the water again
Yeah, we floated the boat
Just a brief update – this evening, we rigged Black Magic and launched. It took only about an hour to rig the boat this time (not counting the 20 minutes I spent with the bilge pump before Pat and Tadpole arrived), and probably about a total of two hours to get the boat rigged and into the water. Unfortunately, since Pat and Tadpole didn’t arrive at the rigging crane until about 7, it meant that when we finally did finish launching and get the boat over to the marina, it was very dark. To make matters worse, the skies opened up with a downpour just as we got the boat to the marina. So much for all of that water I just pumped out; there will be more in the morning.
Rainwater in the bilge is something of a given in an Etchells, since it doesn’t have an enclosed cabin. In many ways, what I have is a 30-foot dinghy. We have a tarp to put over the boat, although the tarp is far from water-tight. But at least it does seem to reduce the amount of rainwater that comes in. We didn’t have time to do anything with the tarp tonight, but we can get it set up tomorrow after we’re done sailing.
Just a brief update – this evening, we rigged Black Magic and launched. It took only about an hour to rig the boat this time (not counting the 20 minutes I spent with the bilge pump before Pat and Tadpole arrived), and probably about a total of two hours to get the boat rigged and into the water. Unfortunately, since Pat and Tadpole didn’t arrive at the rigging crane until about 7, it meant that when we finally did finish launching and get the boat over to the marina, it was very dark. To make matters worse, the skies opened up with a downpour just as we got the boat to the marina. So much for all of that water I just pumped out; there will be more in the morning.
Rainwater in the bilge is something of a given in an Etchells, since it doesn’t have an enclosed cabin. In many ways, what I have is a 30-foot dinghy. We have a tarp to put over the boat, although the tarp is far from water-tight. But at least it does seem to reduce the amount of rainwater that comes in. We didn’t have time to do anything with the tarp tonight, but we can get it set up tomorrow after we’re done sailing.
posted by Carol Anne | 1:30 AM
2 Comments:
Never thought of an Etchells as a 30' dinghy, but I guess that's a pretty accurate description.
The two hours and a bit included me running back to the cabin to fetch the motor, getting the boat to the marina, helping another boat dock in the dark, and driving the car (El Caballero) back to the ramp area to fetch the truck (Babe) and trailer (New Mexico's best Etchells trailer). So, at least we're getting better at some things even if our racing skills got kind of rusty this summer!
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