Seabiscuit and Beyond: Preparing for Sea (June 21

Location: Kodiak, Alaska

We've been in Kodiak since the end of June, getting Seabiscuit ready for the summer season. We are late getting in the water this season and are looking forward to spending some out in the wilderness.

Seabiscuit on the hard at Fuller's Boat Yard, Kodiak, Alaska

Sunday, June 21 - Friday, June 26, 2020 - Austin, TX: On Sunday, we flew from Miami, FL to Austin, TX. The airport in Miami was busier than we expected but we made it to our gate and onto the flight with no issues. The flight was about 50% full and uneventful. We landed in Austin mid-morning and made our way to Ben and Cat's house. Because of the recent up tick in the COVID-19 cases in Texas and our travels, we all wore masks and practiced our social distancing.

Cat with Bubby, Maggie and Archer in the golf cart.

We borrowed Ben's truck and headed to our hotel for the week. After lunch, we went to our storage unit to get our computers, tax paperwork and tools to repair the Chevy. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things then settled in for the evening.

Monday morning we gathered up our tools and went to Ben and Cat's to work on the Chevy. Ben had driven it to the store a few weeks ago and had some issues getting it started. He had done some troubleshooting and determined that the fuel filter housing seals were bad.

Dave replacing the Chevy fuel filter housing seals.

We got it running and Dave took it around the neighborhood for a test drive. While we were there, we visited with Maggie and Bubby through the window screen and Cat came outside with Chief, their new dog. We took both the Chevy and Ben's truck back to the hotel just in case the Chevy didn't start again.

We met Heather and Leland for supper at Leland's place. He has a nice yard and we were able to eat and chat while keeping our distance.

Enjoying supper with Heather and Leland.

We spent the rest of the week doing fun stuff like getting our paperwork together so that we could file our federal income taxes, updating our computer software and finishing other administrative stuff. We went out walking every day, either to Dick Nichols park or on the trails along the Barton Creek Greenbelt near our hotel.

B on the bridge overlooking the Barton Creek Greenbelt trails

Saturday, June 27, 2020 - Austin, TX to Seattle, WA: Today we flew from Austin to Seattle. We had a difficult time finding flights to Kodiak and it was easier to book two separate tickets, one from Austin to Seattle and the second from Seattle to Kodiak.

Dave in the Austin airport.

Sunday, June 28, 2020 - Seattle, WA to Kodiak, AK: Today we flew from Seattle to Anchorage then on to Kodiak. Alaska has a COVID-19 testing program set-up for arriving travelers and we got tested when we arrived in Kodiak. They called us later that evening to let us know that our tests were negative.

View of the Kodiak Channel from our apartment balcony.

A box of boat parts waiting for us at our Kodiak apartment. We had shipped most of them to my mom, Louise, back in December so that they would be available for our spring start-up. She mailed them up to Kodiak.

Monday, June 29 - Tuesday, July 14, 2020: Monday morning we walked down to the boatyard to see how Seabiscuit fared over the winter and spring. She did well and we didn't find anything out of the ordinary, i.e. no mold or mildew and no leaks. We settled into our apartment and our boat projects with regular trips to the marine store, the hardware store, the grocery store and the liquor store. As part of the Alaska COVID-19 testing protocol, we were required to get a second test within 7 - 14 days of the first test. On July 7th we walked up to the testing center; the results were negative.

A young bald eagle on a lamp post near the Kodiak harbor.

Dave in the engine room installing the new shaft seal. Before we left last winter, we discovered the shaft was misaligned and that the shaft seal needed to be replaced. We had someone align the shaft while we were gone and had a new shaft seal shipped to my mom - it was in the box of parts she mailed.

Two young eagles on a building overlooking the Kodiak Channel.

We rented a U-Haul pickup to move our stuff out of storage. This is our first load..

Dave hauling one of our mattresses aboard.
I stood in the pickup bed and hooked a line around the stuff and Dave hauled it up.

The small battery in the engine room ready to install.

Dave next to the battery box after we got both batteries installed.

Dave hooking up the battery in the wheel house.

Time for a lunch break. Dave sitting on the patio at Kodiak Hana restaurant.

A tug boat coming down the Kodiak Channel.

Setting up to flush the antifreeze out of the potable water system.

Mary and Ron, our apartment hosts, gave us some fresh salmon to grill. It was delicious.

Dave inspecting the starboard stabilizer fin.
The shaft seals were leaking at the end of the season last year so we removed the fin in order to replace the seals.

The old lip seals and o-ring from the starboard stabilizer fin shaft.

The starboard stabilizer fin ready to re-install. The dark red areas on the hull are touch-ups to our anti-fouling paint.

The starboard stabilizer fin re-installed. Bill, the yard manager, helped us lift it in with the forklift.

Dave doing fiberglass repairs on the port stabilizer fin. We damaged it when we hit a rock early in the season last year.

Happy hour with Mary and Ron in their backyard.

Ron had been out fishing again and grilled some fresh salmon.

Dave working on the windlass.

B and Dave working on the port stabilizer fin fiberglass project.

Tuesday, July 14 - Sunday, July 19, 2020: Tuesday morning we moved out of Mary and Ron's apartment; they had new guests arriving later that day. We moved down the hill closer to the boatyard.

The view of the Kodiak Channel from our new apartment.

The Alaskan ferry Tustemena coming down the Kodiak Channel.

Dave putting another layer of fiberglass on the port stabilizer fin.

Cracked HVAC drain line p-trap. We found this crack while we were repairing a broken elbow in the
starboard cabin HVAC supply or return line. Next time we'll put in more antifreeze.

Painting project in the forward cabin. We had some mold and mildew behind the wall paper in the forward cabin.
We peeled the wall paper off last fall before we left.