After pushing Island Time to its’ limits, we were finally ready to “splash” on Wednesday. We packed all our belongings that were in the Airbnb and made our way over to Galt. When we arrived, the guys were getting the straps onto Galt to haul him over to the water. They lifted him slowly and took away the blocks that had been holding him securely in place for 4 months. The painters were placing their last minute touches when I walked by and heard a hesitant, “Ma’am?” called to me. From the tone, I knew bad news was coming. I walked over to him and he pointed at the bottom of the boat and said, “You have a drip.” Considering Galt had been out of the water for 4 months, a drip seemed almost impossible. Quick summary, when we pulled Galt out of the water, he was placed on the blocks which hid a small hole/crack that had been on the bottom of the boat. Therefore, no water leak was noted by anyone and no water could drip out because the block held it inside the hull. So, the yard manager said, “Somebody go get Gold Tooth David.” A thin man with the largest gold front tooth I had ever seen showed up and cut a hole in the boat…right through our just completed paint job! Water came gushing out of the bottom of the boat. Not a good thing! So, now we wait for the hull to dry. Each day, Gold Tooth David comes and cuts away a little more fiberglass to check on the moisture. Luckily, Galt has a solid concrete hull so no structural damage should have occurred.
If you recall, since last year, we have had mystery water always in the bilge. Well, mystery finally solved and as water pours out the bottom of the boat, the bilge is finally dry! We are not sure when the hole in the keel occurred but we are guessing it has been there since our travels down the Intercoastal Waterway because we have not scraped bottom since that time. The hole (which was more of a slit) was less than half an inch in diameter but it sure did hold a lot of water! So now, Gold Tooth David meets us daily as we all stare at the drip. Bill has even begun to time the drips so that we might get a feeling of progress. “Drips are 3 seconds apart.” “Drip is at 4 seconds now!” I am guessing the timing of Christmas will be good for our mental health since the boatyard will be closed for the holiday. Not much we can do but wait so we were thankful our illegal Airbnb was still available! We do feel very grateful that we are in 80 degree sun versus the 9 degrees in Atlanta! We awoke this Christmas morning to church bells playing Joy to the World and then local dogs joined into the chorus. I will put this memory into my pocket for one of the best Christmas mornings! Merry Christmas to you all!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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