It got worse. But then it got better.

The big weekend had finally arrived.  Pegu Club was getting hauled out and we could get to work on her.

We spent the previous weekend removing her sails, boom, lines, etc. in preparation for the haul out, but we also spent a lovely afternoon just hanging out in the cockpit on the water and getting comfortable on her.  The weekend of August 15 and 16th was promising to be sunny and dry, and we were raring to go.

One of the ways Shenny differs from Pine Island Marina is that the owners help to haul and launch their boat.  We had never done this before, but since we were hauling out so early we would be able to “learn the ropes” in an unhurried fashion.  During the height of launching and hauling out, the boats are lined up one after the other so there isn’t as much time to guide newbies through the process.  However, with a haul out date of August 15th, we were the only ones on the schedule so it was a much more relaxed affair.

Our haul out time was 9:45 a.m., and at 9:40 we were motoring up the fairway to the lift well.  The difference between how Pegu Club handles under power vs. Little Bristol was like night and day.  Little Bristol has a full keel with an outboard and a tiller.  To say she was not exactly responsive would be an understatement.  Backing up?  Good luck with that.  On top of it all, the outboard and tiller had me standing a bit forward so it was difficult to gauge how far the stern was from unforgiving docks and pilings.

Pegu Club handles like a dream in comparison.  With her inboard diesel, modified fin keel, and wheel, I think she might be able to turn virtually within her boat length.  Standing at the stern, I could look behind me and see exactly where her stern ended.  I was nervous, but the trip to the lift well went off without a hitch.  The idea of docking has now become much less intimidating than it was with Little Bristol.

After Pegu Club’s mast was pulled and she was moved to her new spot (where she’ll remain until she launches on April 30th), we were ready to get to work.

There was absolutely no question that the first order of business had to be removal of the entire head system.  The hoses, holding tank, toilet, manual pump out – it all had to go.  To put it delicately, Pegu Club didn’t smell good.  Her hoses were permeated and the only way to make it better would be to get rid of it.  Given our love of our Nature’s Head, we had never intended on keeping a traditional marine head in the big boat to begin with, but her scent left us no choice but to make this project number one.  We had stocked up at Home Depot with tyvek suits, respirators, gloves, shoe covers – the works.  We also had a ton of rags, duct tape, our wet-dry vac, and very large trash bags.  It was time to get started.

I will skip all of the gory details.  The marina in Greenport had pumped out her holding tank before we took possession of her, but a pump out always leaves a bit behind.  It’s the nature of the beast.   Let’s just say that when a certain hose was removed, I will admit to shrieking behind my respirator mask.  Fortunately, Jeff is THE MAN.  And I don’t just mean his gender.  He. Is. The. Man.  He was my hero all weekend, wrestling with hoses, anticipating when we would need corks, towels, the shop vac.  He was amazing.  Me?  I stood there and handed him tools, pulled on hoses when necessary, had the Clorox Clean-Up at the ready, and cheered him on.  How anyone can have a traditional marine head on their boat is beyond me.  It’s truly disgusting.  I didn’t think it was possible to love our Nature’s Head any more than I did, but now you’ll have to pry it from my cold dead hands before I’ll give it up.

By the end of the weekend we (meaning primarily Jeff) had removed all of the hoses, the toilet, the manual pump out, 5 thru hulls, 4 seacocks, and half of the anchor wash down system.  He had also thoroughly corked and taped the openings for the holding tank.  I had emptied the boat of almost all of its contents and made liberal use of the Clorox Clean-Up.  At the height of the project, the smell had most definitely gotten worse (hooray for respirator masks).  But by the end of the weekend it had gotten a lot better.  Another weekend of airing out, along with a thorough scrub down with Clorox Clean-Up (and lemon oil on the wood), and she’ll be just fine.

And so the refit begins.