The list of work that needed doing on my trip to see Quijote last November wasn't too extensive, but there was enough to keep me busy for the two days I was there. Two work days took four days to accomplish because a day of travel is needed to get there and another day to get home.
While there, I had several objectives. The first was to replace the genoa roller furling line. This is something I've done twice before, but wouldn’t have needed to do at all if I had left it alone. The reason I replaced it the first time was because I was convinced the original line was way too long. After I cut some of it off I discovered it was way too short. So I replaced it, but with a line that was still too short. Dang. So I replaced it again. That line was good for the most part, good enough that I used it for all of last year, but it still didn't have enough line wraps around the rolled up sail when the Genoa was fully furled. So… I replaced it once more while I was there in November. What I ended up with was probably the same length as I originally had when I started messing with it. It was clearly a lot of unnecessary effort, but at least it's good again.
The next objective was to replace the propeller anode. That's not a difficult job, so it didn't take long. The task is most easily accomplished while the boat is out of the water. Seawater acts like a conductor and steals electrons from metal surfaces. If you don't want your propeller to be pitted and slowly disappear, it's a good idea to replace the sacrificial anode, a chunk of metal bolted to the propeller which is designed to give up electrons more freely than the propeller. The saildrive anode and the refrigerator anode do the same thing for those parts but they're in pretty good shape for now.
The saildrive transfers power from the engine to the propeller through a gearing mechanism. It extends vertically through the hull and has a rubber shroud, called a boot, around it to seal the gap between the drive and hull. The boot is attatched to the hull with adhesive that doesn't last very long in my experience. Cody at Yachtfitters replaced the boot for me last time it detached from the hull and found a new adhesive to try this time to see if it will last longer. Fingers crossed.
The last item on the list, is to replace the pressure relief valve on the hot water tank. The valve is slowly leaking engine coolant. It's an item that still needs to be done when I return to the boat in March.
The plan is to fly down on February 28, do the work and some of the cleaning on the 1st of March, and put the boat in the water on the 2nd. With the boat in the water, I'll move it down to the marina where I can clean it properly with fresh water before the rest of the crew arrives on the 3rd.
