Our 21’ beam makes it hard to find a yard with a travel-lift big enough to haul us, but as luck would have it there was one within sight.  We just motored out of the channel at Oceanside, made a U-turn, and headed into the channel for the Old Island Boatyard.  The travel-lift there is 21.5’ and we used almost all of it.  We weren’t quite as nimble using only one engine, but the guys on the dock gave us a hand and we were in the slings in no time.

Pura Vida about to be hauled out

Wes and I worked for about an hour to disconnect the steering quadrant from the rudder so it could be dropped.  We ran into more of the same – stainless bolts running through aluminum that have set for years in the marine environment.  The result is lots of galvanic corrosion that seized the bolts.  Luckily, there we didn’t have to try to use the propane torch in the small space; plenty of PB Blaster, the breaker bar, and lots of elbow grease were enough to get all the required bolts moving again.  Tiff had a close call when the rudder finally came loose.  We didn’t realize it would drop so suddenly once the last of the steering quadrant was disentangled or that it was quite so heavy (the rudder shaft alone is about 6’ of solid stainless 2-3” in diameter.  She was below helping to steady the rudder as we dropped it and got a bit of a surprise when it finally dropped.  Luckily, other than a pair of broken sunglasses and a little soreness when she winks, she’s unscathed.  Once we’d dropped the rudder, the guys in the yard lifted the boat in the slings nearly as high as it would go until the top of the rudder shaft cleared the bottom of the hull and we were able to move the rudder out of the way and allow the boat to be moved to a semi-permanent spot on the hard.  We were fortunate that it was a slow day in the yard and we had plenty of time to sit and work in the slings.

In the slings

While we were out of the water we also make the unfortunate discovery that the keel repair we’d had done in St. Marys in January hadn’t stuck.  We re-drilled the stop in the starboard keel and got a little bit of moisture out of it.  Wes re-worked it yesterday and we’re hoping that this time it will last longer.

While we weren’t moving, we took the opportunity to try to do some much needed haircutting.  We’d purchased clippers before we left with the intent of doing our own haircuts.  Unfortunately, the clippers that had been recommended to Lauren were actually trimmers and were completely overwhelmed by the task of cutting a full head of hair.  After several attempts, Wes was left with a patchy half-head of hair that was a sight to see.  A new set of clippers cleared up the problems, tough, and Wes and I were both able to get a proper haircut.  Mine haircut was the first time Lauren had ever cut hair and she must have had beginner’s luck.  She did an impressive job.

Wes Post-Haircut

Dallas Pre-Haircut

 

Dallas Post-Haircut

The cruising community isn’t a huge one, even here in Florida, and we were happy to meet up with Freddie and Deby again.  They’re friends from St. Marys, GA that we met while we were in Amelia Island.  Freddie would stop by every week or two to visit, talk about boats, or help with repairs.  They finally wrapped up their boat hunting and bought a Wildcat 35 they’re going to call Stray Cat.  As fate would have it, they were actually here in Key West at Old Island as well getting ready to head back north to Georgia.  They had a rental car and were generous in taking us shopping for several needed items.  We wish them good luck on their trip north.

Deby & Freddie Aboard Stray Cat