Haul-out!

We hauled out this morning, at 9:00 sharp with Rafael and crew doing the honors of adjusting and positioning Equinox in the lift at BMC's Clinton Street facility. It's an 80 BFM Travelift, capable of lifting 88 tons...we aren't shy of stressing it at just short of 50 tons. Nice to know there's a margin, for at 96,000 lbs: fat girl! In fact, Rafael remarked that, "She's growing up. She's getting larger!" And, it sure seems that way...! Funnily enough, both Ron and I feel oddly seasick being aboard at the beginning of the haul-out, swinging away as we are in the slings, but being off the boat watching is even worse. A boat needs to be in the WATER!!

Creeping along, ready for pressure-washing and zinc change-out

A view of the props -- clean, but ready for a power-wash nonetheless!

Actually, the hull looked extremely clean underneath...of course, we'd just hauled out in June and that was only 4 months ago. There's was a bit of a beard along the waterline, but in the disgusting brown Baltimore waters, that is to be expected. Nevertheless...we changed out the zincs: the two round rudder zincs and the "diver's dream" big plate on the stern, as well as the small ones on the cutter spurs on the shafts. (Due on the next haul-out are the small zincs in the stabilizer fins.) Our slip package here in Baltimore includes three haul-outs a year, so we use them! Knowing the guys operating the Travelift (after 6 years here) is great peace of mind too, especially when your heart and soul are hanging over the asphalt in the slings!

After the haul-out, Ron put Karyn through some paces to practice with the boat, doing close-in maneuvers to walk Equinox sideways for side-to docking, and lining up on slip spaces inside the marina. Karyn doesn't usually pilot when docking; the usual routine is to have Ron at the helm, and she handles the myriad of lines and fenders. But, so as to gain confidence and to keep things sharp with handling the boat, it's nice to have a bit of time at the helm!

Karyn is heading to Wisconsin in the morning to spend a few days with her family before being joined by Ally on the weekend; Ron is greatly looking forward to a few days of solitude and peace aboard alone, without the crew! :)