Well it's been a busy 2 weeks. My partner John and I did the sea trial of our Maxi 77 on April 20th. On April 21st we took the families out for a day sail and on the 26th we arranged the title transfer and licensing. At that point we thought we owned a boat.
After sailing Saturday and Sunday (April 28 & 29) we had her hauled out so that we could prep her properly and do some minor work. We were feeling really cocky because on Sunday while motoring around, we managed to fix the autopilot (wired wrong) and the compass which had tumbled. We thought we were cool!
After pulling all the cushions out for cleaning & disinfecting (or possibly burning as hazardous waste) I found that the starboard side stay had failed the anchoring plate at the hull. The stay has deck fittings and a carry through that goes thorugh the cabin into the hull and it is at the lower end that it failed ;-) We had inspected all the fittings as part of the survey but this must have been overlooked or was just ready to fail. We are so glad we found it on-shore and didn't fail the stay or the mast while underway so we are still considering ourselves lucky.
Now we are sure we own the boat ;-(
The mechanic that has been caring for the boat for years and I developed a repair scheme that I am pretty confident in and he has started work and says he will be finished early next week. While she is out we are also taking care of the following:
New flares, extinguisher and a couple of other safety items
New jib sheets
Replace the toilet seacocks
Replace the manual bilge pump
Install electric bilge pump
Replace all the cabin light fittings
Troubleshoot and repair the engine "idiot" lights (not working and I found a ton of pin corrossion - Now working - yay!)
New anchor rode
New docklines - made from old anchor rode
And we cleaned the bejesus out of it. Buckets of black water came out of the interior. It didn't look as bad as it was but now she sparkles inside and smells like a lady not a...
So all this is in prep for our first overnight! On May 12, 13 the club is organizing an overnighter about 30 miles away. The event is designed for relatively inexperienced boaters to get away from home base, anchor out and get some experience on the hook. There will be some experienced boaters along to help the newbies and they are bringing a couple of tenders as well. Looks like 4-6 boats in total.
It is an international trip to Malaysia as well up the Johor River so we will also get help and experience clearing out of Singapore and into Malaysia. There will be shore trips and on-shore sleeping for those who choose.
Any tips on this first cruise is appreciated as are any comments about the maintenance or anything else to check before we go.
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