DK the Nautical Knitter

We spent a long weekend at the boat recently and realized that the air conditioning was not working properly. Scott proceeded to check out the wiring and found out the the water pump that pumps in sea water to cool the unit was not working. Luckily the previous owner had bought one and never installed it. So, after much sweat and a few tense moments wondering if the seacocks were really closed or not it was time to test the unit. It works beautifully now and this past weekend we spent at the boat we stayed inside through the hottest part of the day and it was wonderful.

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Laugh-A-Lot arrived today in her new home in Alabama. Captain Bill and Captain Vicki sailed her up from her port in New Port Richey, Florida to a port here in Alabama where she will be much closer to us. We went down to meet with the Captains and give them a lift to the airport where they could pick up their car rental for their return trip.

We were a little nervous about having her delivered and I was more than a little jealous about not being able to bring her up here ourselves. She was in capable hands though and now she is here and all ours. Now the fun/work begins…

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There is a lot in a name. We found this boat about three weeks ago and it was exactly the make, model and condition we were looking for. The only problem was we had to wait two weeks to get free to go down to Florida to see her. Luckily, we put a contract on her right away, subject to inspection, so we would be the first in line to buy her, if we liked her. I am so glad we acted when we did. There were at least three other VERY serious buyers that we were able to beat to the deal. One of those buyers showed up at the boat last Saturday night to try and get a look at her and we had to inform him that she had been sold *TO US*! I couldn’t believe how sad he looked.

Anyway, Laughalot is ours now and we have already started the process of bringing her into the 21st century. There is so much to do to her. She is in great condition to sail right now, but we want to update the electronics, work on the engine, electrical systems, rigging, and plumbing. Updates on her restoration progress will be posted here.

She did come with loads of extras that we weren’t even expecting. She has a gimbaled stove/oven, hot water heater, refrigerator, brand new stereo system, wind generator, water maker, dinghy, life raft, epirb, bimini with dodger, and even an air conditioning/heating unit that works perfectly. Unbelievable!!! We were truly “laughing a lot” at our good fortune when we made the deal and she was all ours. Enjoy the photos.

The marina where she is located is at the end of a long channel that leads out to the Gulf of Mexico. There used to be a restaurant in the big building you see in the photos, but it burned on the inside and never reopened. As you can see from the photos we are in the last slip on the dock and it is so private and peaceful there. When you are looking at the building from the channel Laughalot is to the right, tucked back in the corner.

Our first weekend we spent on Laughalot was last weekend and we were surprised and excited to see all kinds of birds. We saw white herons, gray storks (or herons, not sure about that one), pelicans, seagulls, and one bird of prey who apparently is a local.

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The power of water propelled at high velocity is truly amazing. This past weekend we purchased a power washer so that we would be able to continue our clean up of the boat here at home where we left off at the car wash. The results were astonishing. The boat is so much prettier than it was before. Once the inside is washed photos will be posted. In the meantime, look how nice the main sail turned out. Scott laid it on our patio and power washed it. You can see where he had washed compared to where he had not.

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Yesterday we had a wonderful break in the weather and a simply gorgeous afternoon. So, we decided to take the mast and boom off the boat and remove all the remaining “stuff” from the inside. Scott gave the boat a much needed vacuuming and then we looked at the things that needed to be done to get her back in the water again. She will need some serious cleaning inside and out. The teak needs to be oiled or replaced. Scott will replace the wench that brings the keel up and down. We knew the keel would not raise or lower and this was the only thing that was mechanically wrong with the boat, but we didn’t know what the problem was until we got in there yesterday and started taking things apart. Luckily we found that the cable was broken and the wench needed to be replaced. That is the best we could have hoped for. As for me, I am going to set about replacing the hatch boards (which are made of 3/8″ plywood right now) and then I will go on to reupholstering the cushions. 1970’s yellow is not my color.

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We went to pull the boat out of the lake that had been it’s home for 12+ years on the 29th of November 2006. There are several things we learned that day, as you will see. When we arrived at the lake we made an assessment of the boat and briefly discussed the logistics of getting the boat around to the ramp and on to the trailer. The boat was in a slip that was one full dock away from the ramp. Our first task was to get the motorless boat around the end of this set of slips and then over to the dock that ran out from the ramp, somehow. As you can see from the photos the weather was just barely cooperating and threatening rain the entire day. To make it even more challenging there was a wind coming from the lake, blowing in toward the cove. As always, providence prevails and just as we were standing on the end of the dock surveying a much larger sailboat that had sunk in the most recent storm and contemplating what to do, a wildlife officer happened by in his nifty little (but immensely powerful) motor boat. Since it was the middle of the week and he seemed quite bored he agreed to tow us around to the dock on the other side. As it turned out this was the least time consuming and easiest part of the entire day.

Boat at ramp dock.

Once we had the boat in place we were ready to back down the trailer, or so we thought. We backed it down once only to find out that there was a really good reason the trailer had an extension bar. The trailer was barely in the water and there was no way the boat was going on it that way. So, we hauled it out and went about extending the bar.

Trailer with bar extended.

With the trailer extended it was now time to get the boat on it and haul it out of the water. This is easier said than done, especially with a sailboat. When we purchased this boat we were told that the cable that brings the swing keel up was broken and the previous owner did not know if the keel was up or down. Since this is a difference in about 4 foot of draft this was a concern. We knew if we could get it positioned just right the keel would swing up as we pulled the boat on to the trailer if it was down. Odds were that it was. We pulled it up to the end of the trailer where it drifted just off the back edge of the runner. The keel was indeed down and we know this because the boat promptly got stuck right where it had drifted. Drawing on our past experience of being stuck on the keel of our previous boat we proceeded to rock and roll the boat in an attempt to get it unstuck. This was not working and after about 30 minutes of man-handling Scott decided that if we couldn’t get the boat on the trailer we would put the trailer under the boat. He pulled the trailer out and repositioned it under the boat where we were able to secure the wench to the eye and pull her up onto the trailer. We pulled her out and quickly learned how to put the extension bar back in.

Pulling her out.

We then began to assess the condition of the boat below the waterline. Twelve years of algae and other “stuff” had built up on her hull. We decided she needed to have a good power washing on the way home.

Don’t Touch It!!

But first we had to de-mast her. We had not done this before. We had read how to do it and now we had to do it. We loosened all the stays and then disconnected the front three. This freed the mast so that it could be lowered aft and removed from the mast step. We then strapped it down and secured all the lines, stays and anything else that might jump ship.

We’re going to do what?

Time to roll.

Once she was de-masted we took her to the closest car wash that had a truck bay. This place was aptly named “Spiffy Car Wash”. I was so amazed at how well she cleaned up. Twelve years of muck washed down the drain. Yea!!

Wow!

Spiffy!!

Now that we have her home the plan is to work on her this spring and take her out a few times to the lakes in the area and down to the gulf.

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We had to finish the trailer restoration in time to pull the boat out of it’s slip by 11-30-06. The remaining painting, winch installation, and tire replacement went pretty smoothly and this is what she looks like now.

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We picked up the trailer on 9-24-2006 and began working on the restoration. The seller drew us a comical map of where it was located and we are confident that we picked up the correct one. The trailer wasn’t too bad off. Like the boat, it just needed some cleaning, sanding, and repainting. We decided on a deep red paint color. Eventually we will have to replace the tires in order to haul the boat any significant distance. Here are the before photos.

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We purchased our Catalina 22 from a gentleman in Auburn, AL. Prior to the purchase we went out to Lake Martin to look it over a couple of times and take some photographs. Here is what she looks like in her slip today, 9-15-2006.

The plan is to haul her out and bring her home around the 12th of November 2006 and begin work on her restoration. There is a lot of work to be done.

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