Today was a beautiful day to be on the water. After sleeping in a bit, I got up when Jeff returned from town, where he went to find Internet, to work on his online course. And, since the boat is essentially an 11 x 37′ room, it is hard to sleep in when someone else is onboard.
When I got out of bed, we decided to go for a short dingy ride to explore the Branford River. We are currently tied up at the floating dock at Branford Landing Marina, the same marina where Bear had been on the hard for the past 18 months. The river flows under the Indian Neck Avenue bridge, just to the east of us. We dropped in the dingy that came with the boat and rowed out, looking for the Branfordness Monster.
On the east side of the Indian Neck bridge, Bear is one of the boats tied up to the floating dock on the right side
Rowing the Achillies
We traded off rowing, for exercise purposes, of course, and realized that we now own a small fleet of boats. We have Bear, her Achilles tender, our Walker Bay sailing dingy, and Jeff’s West Marine inflatable. So basically, we are a four boat family, at least for the time being. We are hoping to sell the Achilles on Craigslist this week.
Back on the boat, the cleaning resumed. Last night, I scrubbed out all of the galley lockers and cabinets, degreased the stove, and even stocked a few provisions. Today I found a place for all of the pots, pans, cookware, and spices that we brought from Peoria. As I worked on the galley, Jeff began to sort through all of the spares that David had left aboard. There were drawers and lockers full of parts, some that will definitely come in handy and some that we are not sure what they belong to! We also found a pair of bib foulies that we thought would were David’s, but once Jeff tried to put them on, we realized that they were probably Jeannie’s. These will come in handy also, to keep me dry and warm, when we head offshore.
Cleaning, sorting, scrubbing, organizing….
Helly Hansen bib pants!
Around 2:30, we decided to make our first meal in the galley! With little to choose from, we settled for egg sandwiches, realizing that we will need to provision better in the next day or two.
First time using the galley stove
Jeff practicing splicing techniques
Coring the furling line
The core braid
After a quick snack, Jeff went back to work practicing splicing, and I finished stowing our clothes and towels….exciting times! Each day, Bear becomes more homey and comfortable. I am looking forward to Jeff installing our new head tomorrow, which will mean we will have a fully operational boat!