By Rich

We are beginning to shake off our winter slumber and get Rover ready for the 2021 cruising season! Brian has been working very hard cleaning & polishing the boat and managing a variety of contractors who have painted the bottom, made repairs to the plumbing in the forward holding tank, and repaired a variety of leaky hoses and other related items on the generator. Below is the dodgy repair I had to make last summer to keep a cracked cooling hose from failing; hoses like these have all been replaced along with a badly corroded heat exchanger. The contractor raised the generator off of its mounts to do the work – something I could not do while were still cruising and living aboard.

We have also ordered new batteries, which were not easy to find! First we had to get the old ones out. We rigged a block and tackle to the boom, then hoisted each of the 145 pound batteries out the aft cabin hatch, and finally over the side of the boat so they could be lowered to the ground below and brought for recycling.

We are hoping to get the new batteries installed this weekend! Soon after that we should be ready to launch. Our current plan is to head north to New England at the end of June so we can join the Annapolis Yacht Club summer cruise.