We took off under motor but needn't go for very long until we were able to sail full fledged. It's a thing of beauty to have all 3 sail up, the boat at a comfortable heel and hauling butt across the bay. Halfway to destin we felt overpowered and simply rolled in the big jib and then we continued just as closewinded. Love our cutter rig! We weren't really hot because the breeze kept us cool. We sailed right up into the crab island channel before starting the motor. We were having such a good time we decided to go offshore fishing. We didn't have any better luck trolling offshore than inshore. We managed to do some bottom fishing, but that's when it got really hot. We didn't have any luck, so we turned around and sailed back to destin harbour.
Mike was sailing with the motor running going into the harbour when he made a mistake and ran aground. It was a soft grounding, but this big boat sticks a bit more on the ground than the hunter, so it took us about 10 minutes to get her off and moving again. We managed to get in just fine but took note that the channel had shifted from our previous safe mark.
Sleeping was HOT! The V-berth was untenable, the settee was sweltering. We slept very late and left to motor home by 11 on sunday.
So when we were in the boatyard I refurb'd the Maxprop and re-set the pitch one notch up from where it had been because I wanted more speed per RPM's. Well that was a bad idea, so today Mike paid penance for his actions. I donned scubs suit and tools and went scuba at the dock to disassemble the prop underwater. Each of the 10 alan nuts had a cotter pin that had to be removed, and then I was able to remove the zinc and aft spinner with 3 blades and keeper. This is a pretty complicated thing to be doing underwater, so expert buoyancy and calm are a must. This was also in 3' visibility water so I was working very close to the prop, which became problematic when motorboat waves rocked the boat. I hung a 5 gallon bucket with a scuba weight to drop the bits and bobs into. I managed to get the whole prop apart and back together in about 50 minutes on half a tank of air which was pretty darn good, and make me thing my scuba ninja skills were pretty good.
Anyway another weekend, and the boat is so much closer to being perfect. We're still having fun!
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