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Things are falling into place very rapidly. Had a long day at the boatyard today and got my mahogany handrails installed. I also peeled off the top of the tent and got most of the roof frames down. Tomorrow the rest of the tent comes down. If anybody is in the Deale, MD area and has “dismantle massi...

With all the handrail stanchions polished, I next set to work installing them and the mahogany handrail. It wasn't a pre-splash priority, but it's a lot easier to install these things with the catwalk scaffolding that goes around the boat now than it would be after this weekend, when I plan to disas...

The surveyor just informed me that he won't have his report done until the weekend. It was supposed to be in my inbox yesterday. That almost certainly throws the launch back to later next week instead of Monday. I really hate having to rely on others to do the things they say they'll do when they sa...

The marina manager told me they can't splash me on Friday but Monday is open. So after 4,998 days on the hard in Deale, MD, the boat's finally going back in the water. There are a few minor spots on the topsides where rain can still get inside the boat. I'll be taking care of those areas over the ne...

In my quest to get all of the above-the-waterline thru-hulls attached to hoses, pumps, or whatever appliances they service, the ones servicing the bilge pumps were a top pre-splash priority. Chris Craft did a strange thing with these boats: they'd cut NPT threads for hose barbs then weld the various...

With all of the mission critical items checked off my pre-launch punch list, like sealing up all holes in the hull that will be underwater shortly, I started working on slightly less critical items. Making sure stainless rub rails were installed all around was one such item, since pilings can rip up...

The last item on my must-do pre-launch punch list was installing hull strainer scoops for the main engine raw water intakes. Groco makes a nice scoop in aluminum, with little access doors so you can clean out anything that accumulates in the strainer or intake standpipe. I decided to attach mine wit...

I discovered a problem with the aft deck enclosure windows over the winter. The Boat Life caulk I'd used to bed them didn't bond well to the paint. Every single pane had a loose corner. On the upside, the weak bond made it easy to remove the windows so I could rebed them. I learned some tips and tri...

I've officially finished all of the mission-critical items on my pre-launch honey-do list. In preparation for splashing next week, I took my woodshop machines out of the tent and moved them back home. Then I removed compressor air lines and electric circuits I installed in the tent to distribute pow...

Good news! The surveyor showed up and was very impressed with what he saw. He'll get his updated report back to me next week and doesn't think the insurance company will find anything to prevent me from splashing. But most of my blog post today is about a YUGE problem I found last fall that made it ...