On the Hard

After hitting the submerged obstacle on April Fools' Day, we are on the hard, but overall have all good news to report.  We were able to arrange for a haul out mid-day yesterday right here at Carolina Beach.  As expected, we have a bent prop blade.  The prop is already at the prop shop for repair and we are optimistic we'll have it back today.   What was not expected is the port side strut is also bent.  The good news is the yard believes they can heat it and bend it back without removing the shaft and strut.  Bert will likely need to re-align the port engine after this work is complete.

Make Me Smile - on the hard

Bent prop blade on the port side

Prop removal so it can be sent out for repair

There wasn't much we could do while the boat was being blocked in the yard so we took advantage of the time to go for a run / skateboard tour of the area.  We routed a trip over to the ocean at Carolina Beach.  Carolina Beach is a very nice area and we are fortunate to be on the hard here.  Lots of things for tourists to do.  After we complete the Great Loop, this is a place for us to return to in the future, maybe with an RV.  The area of the beach near what used to be Carolina Beach Pier is closed, but there is a park farther up where the beach is open.

What's left of the Closed Carolina Beach Pier

Carolina Beach Pier area
Lots of huge boulders have been brought in to provide a barrier.

Farther up Carolina Beach is open
4 wheel drive vehicles are allowed park on the beach.

After spending some time seeing the area, we came back to the boat to start boat projects.  As long as we are on the hard, we decided to make full use of the time we are here and the remaining daylight.  Hilary started by buffing out the cosmetic paint scrapes after our collision in Jacksonville.  We have color matched automotive paint for the hull that requires a mixing ratio of 8:1.  The painting went very well and the damage is repaired but it turns out a red solo cup is not a suitable mixing vessel for automotive paint.  Who knew that 9 teaspoons of paint could make such a mess!!!!!

The bottom fell out of the red solo cup, along with 9 teaspoons of blue hull paint.

The ladder didn't clean up too well, but rubbing alcohol and about 20 minutes of scrubbing got Hilary cleaned up.  Glad to not have a blue foot all summer.

Hilary is in need of a new pair of flip flops as there was no saving this one.

Before Repair

Before Repair

After Repair - Good as New!

Bert was able to put more caulk on the new thru-hull fitting we installed right before we started the trip as it had a very small leak.  Today we have more projects planned in combination with getting out to see the area some more and enjoy our time in Carolina Beach.  

The marina and boat yard both knew of the submerged obstruction we hit and encouraged us to file a report with the North Carolina sector of the US Coast Guard which we have completed.  Our understanding is the more reports the USCG receives, this increases the likelihood of them marking and/or removing the obstruction so other boater's don't sustain damage.