Tag Archives: boatyard

3. East Coast USA

A day in Oriental, NC

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I’ve been aboard a week. This life isn’t easy. Trying to live with two men, each of us with our distinct lifestyles; living in a small space; gear everywhere; endless projects; an occasional shower. Trying to adjust to getting up with the sun and going to sleep many hours earlier than my old routine. Missing the comforts and relationships of home.

We spent the entire day today at a boatyard in Oriental, NC, because we have once again had problems with dirty fuel causing one engine to stall. The yard has been cycling our fuel through a filtering system all day long. We changed the oil in both engines today, which is a messy job (as is most any job in the cramped “engine rooms”). We started working on problems we have with the plumbing of our heads/toilets, but we have lots more work to do there. We got a fuel gauge working that had stopped. We failed to fix our wind speed indicator, which works occasionally, but mostly not. We did most of the rigging of a bracket to hold our outboard motor securely, rather than leaving it on the dinghy when we’re out at sea. It’s been a productive day.

Everyone we have met in Oriental has been delightful. Everyone at the boatyard is knowledgeable and helpful. The town seems to be a very pleasant place, though maybe a little too sleepy for my taste. Seems like lots of people travel here from away (many by boat), find that they like it, and decide to retire here.

The weather, after our initial gale, has been wonderful. Until this evening’s rain, that is, and tomorrow it is supposed to get cold, and below freezing tomorrow night. But with the cold front comes a north wind, which we can use to our advantage. We’re thinking of going as far as Beaufort, NC, tomorrow; spending the night; then heading out into the ocean for an overnight (again in strong winds and cold) to Charleston, SC. In one overnight of intense sailing we can go as far as in 3 or 4 days of motoring down “the ditch.” We’ll re-check the weather and again consider the plan tomorrow night.

It should be interesting getting out of this marina in the morning, as the boats couldn’t be packed in any tighter!

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2. Preparation

Boatyard infuriation

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Maine’s short summer is winding down, and “No Regrets” is stuck at the boatyard. Aside from sailing the boat from one yard to another at the start of the season, we have not been able to sail this year. The major work we had done was to replace an engine and service the transmissions that turn the propellers. One thing led to another. The yard recommended that we replace the wiring in the engine rooms, because it was poor quality. We agreed, without realizing that the yard didn’t actually have time to finish this work. We’ve been waiting a month, unable to use the boat. After many delays and a constant stream of apologies about how busy they are with emergencies, today was to be the “sea trial” to demonstrate that the new engine and wiring are working. The dreaded but half-expected phone call came this morning. “The boat isn’t ready…,” followed by more apologies and excuses and stories. We rescheduled for tomorrow (Friday). Sunday we need to move the boat to another yard, because we have more work waiting to happen there. What are the chances that things will be working enough for a sea trial tomorrow…? Even if they are, we will probably come away with a list of things to “finish up.” What are the chances of that being done before Sunday…? We are held hostage, because we can’t very well take the boat away with the job unfinished. I thought we were going to do some sailing on the beautiful coast of Maine this summer… 

17 days until we are scheduled to leave Maine (to take the boat to New Jersey for two months). 156 days until we start the BPO.