De-Winterizing and Launch

Location:  Sitka, AK

At the end of the last blog, we had just arrived in Sitka and were preparing to de-winterize the boat.

Seabiscuit in storage on the hard at Halibut Point Marine, Sitka, Alaska

March 12, Tuesday:  Our first check of the boat since we left her in storage at the end of September.  There were a few minor issues when we did our first walk-thru but overall everything looked good.  We hooked up battery chargers to the main and the gen-get home (GGH) engine batteries, wiped down some areas that were wet, secured the dinghy cover and rehung one of the flopper stopper lines. We did a rough plan and timeline for our de-winterization and maintenance projects, checked our storage unit to make sure everything there looked good then headed back to the apartment near downtown.

This tree, between the Bishop's House and Crescent Harbor, has two bald
eagles and four ravens sitting in it.  The apartment we rented was about 2 blocks from here.

March 13, Wednesday:  Our project for today was to re-install our lithium house batteries.  We moved the batteries from storage, used the davit to lift them up to the main deck and used a block and tackle to move them down into the engine room and then into the battery box.  Dave wired up the battery monitoring system (BMS) and the chargers and wired up the main engine battery bank.  We did a few other minor chores then left the batteries to charge overnight.

Lifting the batteries up to the deck.  The small battery, 150 Amps, is hanging in a sling
at the end of the davit line while Dave rigs a strap to the large battery, 300 Amps.

Both batteries inside the battery box in the engine room.

March 14, Thursday:  Today's project was the potable water system so I got busy cleaning the potable water tank.

B cleaning the inside of the potable water tank.

Once that was finished, we brought a couple of buckets of water on board.  Dave set-up the drill pump to push water through the fresh water lines and to push out the antifreeze.  We found a cracked elbow in the cold water line feeding the starboard head sink.  We had all the parts for the repair but needed a cutting disk from the hardware store so that was the end of that project for the day.

Dave pushing water through the cold water lines using a drill pump.

Our other major project was to discharge the house batteries down to their reserve voltage cut-off.  After the batteries have been stored for a long period of time, i.e. 6 months, protocol is to charge them to 100% state of charge, run them down to the reserve voltage cut-off (RVC), then to charge them back up to 100%.  For our system, RVC is 24.8 volts or about 10% state of charge.  We turned off our shore power feed and ran some heavy power consumers (two space heaters, the coffee maker, the microwave, etc.).  When the battery monitor showed 8% state of charge and 24.8 V, the batteries shutdown, which is what we expected.  We reset the BMS and charging system, reinstated shore power and left the batteries to charge.  A stop at the hardware store and the marine store on our way back to the apartment.  For supper, we went to the Mean Queen for pizza.

March 15, Friday:  The batteries were fully charged when we got back to the boat this morning.  We set up for the plumbing repair, cut out the old, pieced in the new and glued everything into place.

Dave working on replacing the pipe elbow in the cold water line, starboard side.

Another view:  Dave working on the the plumbing repairs

We decided to let the repair dry over the weekend before we put water through the lines so we moved onto other projects.  Dave re-installed the bench vice, the 2nd toolbox and the black and gray tank level sensors.  I tested the HF and VHF radios, the navigation system, the sat system and the marriage savers.  Back at the apartment, I worked on taxes, then took a walk along the waterfront to Totem Park.

View towards downtown Sitka from the shore near Totem Park.

March 16 - 17, Saturday and Sunday:  No bus service today so we didn't go out to the yard to work on the boat.  It was nice to have a weekend off.  We tried some local restaurants, picked up some supplies from the hardware store, got a few groceries, updated our maintenance log, walked and watched TV and movies.

A Russian Memorial near the Indian River in the Sitka National Historical Park.

March 18, Monday:  We almost finished the fresh water system today - got everything hooked up, flushed all of the antifreeze out of the lines and tested the hot and cold supply lines.  Dave hooked up the hot water heater and the pressure system.  We had a leak in a flex hose fitting on the pressure side of the pressure set.  We needed some fittings to fix it so we moved on to other chores.  We removed the zinc anodes from the hull and taped the studs in preparation for painting tomorrow and added water to our fresh water tank.  A stop at the hardware store for plumbing fittings and then a walk around Totem Park and along the river before heading back to the apartment.  For supper, we met Laura and Jim at the Mean Queen where their son Noah is a bartender.  Laura and Jim, who are friends of Cathy and Pete and are from New Hampshire, moved to Sitka about four years ago.

March 19, Tuesday:  The weather cooperated, i.e. it was calm, sunny and warm, so today was painting day.  We picked up our bottom paint at the marine store and caught a cab out to the yard.  We waited for the sun to warm up the outside of the boat, then taped the boot stripe (the white stripe between the green hull paint and the bottom paint) and got busy painting.  We started with brushes and a small roller and did cut in work and the hard to reach areas, then switched to large rollers to paint the rest of the bottom.

B suited up and ready to paint.

Dave taping the boot stripe prior to painting.

Dave using a brush to paint the hard to reach nooks and crannies.

Bottom paint, first coat, complete.

March 20, Wednesday:  We started our day at the hardware store, picking up more painting supplies and trading out some pipe fittings.  Our next stop was the sporting goods store where we bought bear spray to carry with us when we go hiking in the woods.  We rode the bus out to the boat yard and got busy painting.  The skies were overcast and rain was forecast for the afternoon so we wanted to finish our painting project before the rain started falling.  Dave applied a second coat of paint to the splash zone and the stabilizer fins while I painted the holidays and touched up some of the hard to reach areas.  After lunch, we assembled the potable water system and tested it.  No leaks so we finally got to cross that off of our list.  Dave inspected the bow thruster oil and reinstalled the bow thruster propellers while I painted the thru-hull seachest strainers.

March 21, Thursday:  Dave installed the thru-hull seachest strainers while I removed the tape from the boot stripe.

Dave installing the port seachest strainer.

Removing tape (blue) from the boot stripe (white).

I reinstalled the zinc hull anodes while Dave worked in the engine room installing the impellers in the bilge pumps, Wesmar stabilizer pump and the main engine.  Since we have our Cruisair HVAC system isolated and don't plan to use it again until we get back to the tropics, Dave removed the duct system in the pilot house to give us more access to the electronics that are installed there.  We  re-stowed stuff that we had moved out of the mid-ship hold for the winter, cleaned the living quarters and tidied up the engine room then called it a day.

March 22, Friday:  Dave installed the impeller in the GGH while I cleaned mold and mildew from the living quarters, cleaned the pilot house windows and tidied up.  We fired up the Kabola heating system and tested all of the units; everything worked so another task to check off our list.

March 23, Saturday:  We rented a car for the weekend so that we could move all of our soft goods out of storage and back onto the boat and also to do major provisioning and a few other errands.  It took three trips back and forth between the storage unit and the boat but we got everything aboard.

Dave hoisting up a duffel bag full of soft goods. 
We rented a climate control storage unit over the winter to store our soft goods and things that might freeze..

We stopped at the marine store for some parts, bought some fish at the seafood store and dropped off Puddy's leftover stuff (food, cat litter, scratching post, etc.) at Laura and Jim's.  For happy hour, the four of us, plus Noah and his wife, Ingrid, went to the Baranof Island Brewery for some cold beer and snacks.

March 24, Sunday:  Provisioning day today.  We stocked up on beer and wine, filled our propane tank and filled the car up with groceries.  We hoisted everything aboard, stowed the things that needed to be refrigerated and gathered up the covers from the boat cushions. We did laundry then returned to the boat, re-installed the cushion covers, hooked up the propane tank and took some measurements of the block heights under the keel so that we would have them as reference points when we haul-out again next year.

Dave putting the covers back on the seat cushions.

B measuring the block height under the keel.

We finished everything we needed to do with the car, so we filled it with gas and headed back to the apartment for some unlaxing and supper.

March 25, Monday:  We vacuum sealed all of the meat we bought yesterday and stowed it in the freezer.  I inventoried our provisions and stowed all of our goodies in the mid-ship hold and galley.  Dave sanded and cleaned the dent on the port bow, then applied Ospho to the rusted areas.  He replaced the packing on the GGH shaft, sumped the fuel tanks and we dried out the deck box.  It was a beautiful sunny day so I went for a walk around Totem Park and along the Indian River.

View of the mountains from the trail along the Indian River.

Crocuses in bloom.

March 26, Tuesday:  Dave's main project today was to apply epoxy putty to the dent in the bow.  I tested the stove and ran the dishwasher to get the antifreeze out of the lines.  We did more cleaning and inventoried and stowed all of the boat parts that we had carried with us from the farm.  We studied our cruising guide and the charts and decided on our first stop once we get back in the water.  Dave tested the windlass and set-up the starboard anchor.  We drained the water out of the dinghy and took everything out of its bow locker to dry.

March 27, Wednesday:  Dave sanded the bow epoxy then did some maintenance tasks.  I did some cleaning inside then cleaned all of the windows outside.  Dave worked on sizing a new set of aluminum anodes for the hull.  We stopped at the hardware store on the way back to the apartment and I took my afternoon walk around Totem Park.

March 28, Thursday:  This morning we moved out of the apartment and onto the boat.  We have been moving daily items from the apartment to the boat all week, so we didn't have too much to carry today - toiletries, a few clothes and the stuff from the refrigerator.  Dave set-up to work on the bow repair while I stowed our stuff.  We installed a hanging rack at the back of the starboard stateroom closet to hang Dave's wetsuit and lava suit.  Dave did some more work on the aluminum hull anodes.

Dave feeling comfortable in the saloon.  We have moved back aboard for the summer season.

For my afternoon walk, I went down to the ferry terminal and back.

The Sitka Ferry Terminal.

March 29, Friday:  We had our breakfast then caught the bus into town, the reverse of the route we've been taking since we arrived.  We needed a few things at the hardware store, picked up a few groceries and rode the bus back to the yard.  They launched two boats this morning, then put us in the slings and changed the jack stands around so that we could paint the areas on the keel that were resting on the blocks and the areas under the jack stands.  We prepped our paint stuff and got busy.  While I painted, Dave continued his work on the hull anodes.

Dave installing the AL hull anodes.

Dave marking and re-sizing the AL hull anodes.

We decided to install the aluminum anodes in lieu of the zincs.  This will give us the opportunity to monitor them while we are still in the U.S. and can easily get replacements if required.  We removed all of the hull zinc anodes and replaced them with aluminum.  We got our docks lines out, put the chairs up on monkey island and did some route planning.  I chopped veggies and got ready to cook supper but when I pushed the solenoid control valve to turn on the propane for the stove, I got no response.  We did some tests but had no luck so left it as a project for tomorrow.  I changed the supper menu and used the microwave to cook.

March 30, Saturday:  We woke up cold in the middle of the night and discovered the Kabola had shutdown.  We tried to reset it but had no luck so grabbed another blanket and went back to bed.  Dave did several tests in the morning and discovered that it was a pressure sensor.  He bypassed it using a jumper; the system fired up and we had heat again.  On the propane issue, we checked electrical connections and did some tests but couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.  Dave rerouted the piping to bypass the solenoid valve and we had propane for the stove - two projects accomplished before 8:00 a.m. - warmth and food can be major motivators!

The Kabola with the cover off after we got it back up and running.
Dave installed the pressure gauge in the foreground to monitor the differential fuel pressure
between the fuel filter and the fuel pump. 
We'll use this as an indicator of how well the filter is working and when it needs to be changed.

The other main project of the day was to get some heat directed at the epoxy putty repair on the port bow.  It has been slow setting up because of the cold weather we've had this week.  We rigged one of our space heaters on a plywood platform, covered the sides with garbage bags to hold the heat in and lowered it over the rail to direct the heat at the repair.

Dave adjusting the heating platform we rigged up for the bow repair.

Once we got the heater up and running, I rigging all of our dock lines, set up our fenders and hung a new U.S. flag.  Dave finished the anode project by installing aluminum anodes on the GGH shaft and the bow thrusters.  For my afternoon walk, I went to the Old Sitka State boat launch, just past the ferry landing.

The Old Sitka State Boat Launch 

March 31, Sunday:  The day before launch so we finished up our work in progress and did lots of small projects.  We worked on the bow repair, tested the main steering and the back-up steering, cleaned the PSS main shaft seal, opened both seachests and the shaft seal valve, checked the navigation lights and did a Coast Guard safety check, painted the repair on the port stabilizer fin, put another coat of paint underneath the keel and loaded fresh water.  I went to the Old Sitka State Historic Site, the site of the first Russian settlement in Sikta, for my afternoon walk.

Part of an interpretive panel at the Old Sitka State Historical Park.

An old traditional house that was moved from downtown to the Old Sitka State Historical Site.

April 1, Monday:  Launch day today.  Dave took down the bow repair heating rig and I took out all the garbage and prepared for sea.  The lift operator fired up the lift just after 8:00, moved us to the launch slot and lowered us into the water.

Seabiscuit getting moved out of her winter storage slot.

Seabiscuit being lowered into the water.

She's floating.

The Halibut Point Marine dock in the rear view mirror.

It was a perfect day to launch, sunny and very little wind.  We took a slow cruise out to Magoun Island and anchored in the bay surrounded by islands, only about 8 nautical miles.  We stopped along the way to look at the bald eagles on a nearby island; there must have been at least 50 of them sitting along the shoreline and up in the trees.

Dave at the controls.

Mount Edgecombe.

Bald eagles on a small island near our anchorage.

We settled in and did a few "fun" projects - installed the kayak racks and did some reading on the stern and up on monkey island.

Dave on the boat deck installing the kayak racks.

Dave reading up on monkey island.

The shoreline around our anchorage at Magoun Island. 
It is lined with bald eagles feeding on herring.

 We noticed that herring were jumping all around the boat so Dave set up our fishing rig and spent the evening catching bait for future fishing expeditions.

Dave with four herring on his line.

It feels good to be on the water for the cruising season.
Until next time...