Haul Out 2013

By the end of May, the deck project had finally approached a point where the new deck could be safely exposed to water, so we could finally consider removing our winter cover and hauling out to do the regular maintenance work a wooden boat needs each season.

We took down the winter cover just hours
before hauling out, so Evelyn's decks were
disorganized and messy for her first cruise of 2013!

But the forecast was grim, and rain poured down without breaks, so taking the winter cover down only to get wet seemed pointless.

Luckily, a short break in the weather came the same day we were able to get hauled out, so we woke up early the morning of June 6, pulled down the winter cover, and left the dock.  Lou motored over to Manset and I drove, the boat was hauled and we soon found ourselves in the yard at Oceanhouse.

Lou set right to work and began by power washing the bottom.  There was a lot of growth, but for the length of time we had sat still in Northeast Harbor throughout the winter and spring, it seemed pretty reasonable.  Afterwards Evelyn was moved to what would be our new “backyard” during the haul out—A corner between two storage sheds that is convenient to a power outlet.

This private nook is also convenient to a wooded area with a marsh, filled with frogs and turtles and surrounded by wildflowers.  I spent the rest of the day relaxing by this little marsh and reading, in between periods of cleaning the car, as Lou sanded all of Evelyn’s hull.  It felt good to finally be out of the water moving forward to a point that would get us closer to sailing.

Then our idyllic afternoon went downhill.

Evelyn was hauled out at the Manset ramp, and then
transported down the road to Oceanhouse.

As predicted, the skies darkened as another round of rain moved towards us.  The rain was expected to last for at least the next four days, so though we had just removed our winter cover that morning, it made most sense to put it back up so that Lou would still be able to move forward with some projects, such as filling and faring and sanding the deck.  Lou wanted to get as much work done as possible before resurrecting the cover, so it was just before dusk when we began to erect it.

Unfortunately, that was probably the worst possible time we could have chosen.  As I tried to stand still and hold the frame and as Lou tried to quickly tape the strapping to the frame, we were surrounded by a swarm of mosquitoes, black flies, and biting gnats.  Apparently the nice little wooded area and marsh were a mosquito breeding ground.

It was horrible.  The bugs were like a cloud and they bit and buzzed about us, making the process longer and harder.  When we could finally zip the pieces of the cover together, it was such a relief to have that extra barrier between us and the mosquito hatchery ten feet away.

Lou set right to work power-washing the bottom.

And it was also a relief later that night, and for the next few days, when the rain poured down and we were once again dry under the cover, in a space where Lou could easily work on projects.

Our cozy nook during the haul-out is bordered by an area of
woods with a small pond.

Lou sanded the hull to prepare Evelyn for two fresh coats of black paint.

Then we removed the anchors and bowsprit so that
we could work on it separately.  But this caused quite a
laugh in the yard--the joke was that we needed to drop all
our anchors to keep ourselves from floating away during
the coming week of rain!