Week 10 — Decommissioning

Day 103, Tuesday, March 18.

Disposal day. We took a pile of towels, blankets, and sheets to a donation center. Animal shelters can use stuff too worn for humans.

We took a pile of fabric and parts for repairing the dodger, bimini, and sail covers to a marine canvas joint. They seemed happy to have a box of free stuff.

The hard part was disposing of the flares. We finally bribed and old lady to take them to the residential transfer station for us. She was with the coast guard auxiliary and took pity on us. The bribe was a donation to the local chapter.

Day 104.

Haul out. It was tricky navigating the narrow creek. The light breeze was just enough to make turning difficult with boats on each side.

• Option 1 was motor away from the lift well to find enough room to turn.
• Option 2 was backing down the creek.

Motoring down the creek to a space where there was enough room to turn would have been relatively easy. But.

I tried backing down the creek. It seemed like it would be simpler.

This is not fun in a Whitby. Indeed, it's barely possible. A five minute trip took maybe twenty minutes. But. We made it without damaging any other boats.

Day 105. Thursday.

Unloading the very last things from Red Ranger. Tight fit to cram it into the truck. But. We reckon we’re almost about to find a place for nearly everything.

Day 106. Friday.

Cleaning. Starting forward with soap, brush, and shop-vac. Focus is on the interior spaces, not the bilge. One could spend a week reaching into the spaces behind the furniture that are almost impossible to reach.

CA cleaned. And removed the remaining bits of stuff not critical to operations. No one wants our old ratty bungee to hold the little solar-powered garden lights we deploy at anchor. For that matter, no one wants the garden lights, either. They're not "personal" items, since we don't need them.

We took stuff to the wash house and set it on the table there. Slowly, it disappeared into other people's boats.

Today I re-rolled the Yankee. Doing it on deck is awkward, and depends on the weather. The day we struck the Yankee it was blowing pretty hard and the river current kept the wind so far off the bow we could not get the sail to lay down in the scuppers. A third crew member to hold the foot in place would have been helpful.

Or.

Wait until a calm, dry and and roll it up in the storage yard.

Day 107.

End of the cruise. Rinse the deck. Stow the dodger and bimini. Final trash run. Turn on the fan and dehumidifier. Wander around to be sure she’s good.