Thats right guys, we are back in the water! Brad and I had had enough of being landlubbers, so we drew the line and picked a date to splash. It was the day before Brad’s 50th birthday. After being out of the water for 13 months and 1 day, the idea of splashing was both an exciting and terrifying thought. We were crossing our fingers and toes that we would not encounter any problems with the repairs we had done. We were worried about taking on water through any of the thruhulls or having the engine give us trouble. A few days prior to splashing we tested the engine on land, just to check for any hidden surprises. We used a garden hose to flush and provide the necessary water through the system and everything went as it should have. Which left us with the “we better not start sinking” worry. That would mean an immediate haulout and we were not looking to be on the hard any longer!
With the splash time quickly approaching, we had to prepare the boat to be back in the water. We removed all sun covers, cleared the cockpit, ran the dock lines, opened thruhulls, placed the fenders and prepared ourselves to be trailered across the yard to the TravelLift. Any time the boat moves on land it is completely unnatural and quite stressful. Somehow during this maneuver, Brad ended up on the ground while I was left on the boat with the trailer moving us. I tried to play it cool but in reality I was sweating bullets the entire time. Eventually we were trailered up to the TravelLift. The slings wrapped around Perspective’s belly and we were airborne. Our boat was essentially flying through the yard at the mercy of the lift operator, no pressure Pancho, no pressure at all! As we crept forward towards the water the excitement was hard to contain and so was the fear of the unknown. Eventually Brad was let back onto the boat as we got closer to the water. He was immediately off to install a last minute part down below deck and I was on deck watching the water get closer and closer to the hull.
After what seemed like forever, the boat made contact with the water. Brad and I both went down below to check for leaks. I had my eyes on the bilge, watching for rushing water but none came. Whew!!! Next up was to start the engine. Brad did the necessary steps, the engine cranked over smoothly and water immediately exited the muffler as it should. We were golden! Things happened in a giddy blur after this. The dock lines were thrown back on deck by the yard workers and we motored forward out of the slings. Brad captained Perspective to her new slip in complete control. As luck would have it, a nice gentleman was at the dock and took our lines as we approached. We tied up, took a deep breath, hugged, high-fived and celebrated with a well deserved rum and coke! The splash was a success but the work is far from done. Stay tuned as we get ourselves and the boat sea worthy! Cheers and thanks for reading. I hope each of you are happy, healthy and enjoying the weekend!
