Sailor's Luck

Originally titled My Island 4 Ft Above Ground (6-5-12), the updates which you will see below have convinced me my current title was much better suited.

As noted in my last report, Mischief is on the hard.  It is my belief, along with that of many of my seafaring buddies, that this is the worst place for a boat. I've driven down many country roads past many dusty and overgrown marinas and boats that have similarly been overgrown with mildew and the effects of neglect over long periods of time. It's amazing how this effect is so noticeable after just a month on stands. The birds have been kind enough to try and darken her decks and the earth has thought it prudent to deposit dirt and grass in my cockpit. Maybe the extra weight will keep Mischief from blowing away (all 5 tons of her).

I've got a motley crew lined up for the voyage home. I will admit there were a couple of legs I was sincerely hoping to single hand (Solomons, MD to Norfolk, VA and then from Beaufort, NC to Charleston, SC) but now it looks like I will have crew all the way. The safety (and company) provided by having crew aboard definitely outweighs the independence factor of singlehanding overnight.

My next project is to find a set of boat stands to store Mischief on the hard while taking on law school (yes I know the joke, "what's better than a lawyer at the bottom of the sea? 1,000 of them" :-)) and taking on some of those bigger projects such as what to do about the knees and repainting the deck.

Update since beginning this post (6-18-12):

Some things just have to be given up to Sailor's Luck.  I had my eye on 4 Brownell boat stands of the right size for a great price in Florida a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, by the time I was able to get back home, they had been bought up and the listing removed.  Luckily, I had taken the gentleman's name and phone number (as I had intended to call him earlier) and gave him a ring to see if maybe the post had just expired.  He didn't answer but I got a call from a nice lady the next morning (actually 2 calls and a text as I was away from my phone) who had bought the stands and discovered that they were much too large for her 21' swing keel sailboat (which with the keel up drew 6", my boat draws 4.5'). I was ecstatic and picked them up that afternoon... the stands new cost around $186 a piece. I was able to get the set for $250 and help a fellow seafarer out of a bind. 

Yet more good news... an interested party for the engine whom I lovingly refer to as Ye 'Ole Westerbeke.  A gentleman in Eau Gallie has contacted with significant interest in the Westerbeke that used to be in Mischief.  In the brutal Florida winter of 2010 (when does Florida have brutal winters you may ask, as I am a native, I can tell you EVERY year haha) the Mischief was stripped of this 40 HP overpowering behemoth and replaced with a handsome 28 HP marinized Kubota (Beta Marine). It would have been a fun experience to go through the engine and rebuild it, but at the time I had neither the time, experience or inclination as I was searching for a job so that I could keep my fair lady! At any rate, I thought I would never get rid of the thing but rather than send it to scrap I held on to it, knowing that parts for these old motors are harder to come by. And wouldn't you know it? A fella who cruises with his family is whose current motor has ceazed cooperating (I like puns) and he wants to use the parts of his motor, combine them with my unsiezed motor to make one super motor (throw the switch Igor muahahaha!), well probably not that dramatic, but you get the idea. Unfortunately, my sail plan has me unavailable to help with delivery or showing, all those things an attentive seller must do, but all indications are that he'll wait for my return and will prep his boat in the meantime. Its exciting to see this engine get a second chance!

PS: Motley is term of endearment!