Aisling returned to the water world this past Wednesday and now the prep for June 1st get’s real.
Fortunately, having been through the commissioning routine several times, it gets just a bit easier each year. Of course that ease is tempered by the inevitable unexpected issues that arise and must be dealt with. For instance, as we had learned sometime ago, you must disconnect the shower heads because they are prone to cracking from ice if water is left in them over the winter. So dutifully I disconnect them, drain them and leave them unrestricted on the boat. Bad idea! Apparently, even a little water left in them is enough to turn these brass and chrome beauties into scrap metal. So ok, lesson learned, take them off the boat in the winter (or take the boat to a place where freezing in not an issue;-)). Search for replacement and discover they are available at 50% more than we paid last time. Oh yes, there was a last time…. You see Surveyors, boat ‘house inspectors’, don’t check non essential things like shower mixers. They leave that level of discovery to new boat owners as we found out the year we bought Aisling. Such is boat life.
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
I don’t know Mr. Grahame, but I do believe he was a man of great wisdom. Commissioning, repairing, modifying, cleaning….. whatever is just different when you are on the water. Yesterday, as I was filling the water tanks a noise grab my attention. For the next half hour or so I was delighted to watch a young cormorant learn to fly. Flapping its wings against the water, webbed feet paddling like crazy, it would get 3 feet, then 5 …rest and repeat. I didn’t get to see it’s first flight, but I’m certain it had a huge smile and a bright future.
Back to the mundane… Disinfect the water tanks and lines, change oil, replace zincs, clean everything, test everything. And once that is all done we will begin to prep safety systems and processes. Check all PFD’s, first aid kits, new batteries in all essential equipment, install life lines, practice Man Over Board (MOB) recovery, inspect the ditch bag…. All simple, easy and CRITICAL to a safety first approach.
Boaters love upgrades!! This year we have added two that should help our state of mind. NEBO Tracker automatically logs our movements. Very much like the flight map the airlines use to show progress when flying which I plan to post to this blog for others to see where we are.
Also, Siren Marine monitor. This provides us with a view into Aisling location, movement, battery state, bilge pump activity and security in real time. So if we leave Aisling to go ashore for dinner and someone should choose to board her, open the door, move the boat…. Or if while we are enjoying a cocktail away from the boat and a leak develops….. we will be notified immediately. Such a relief.
Aisling goes Looping 