This past couple of weeks led up to an attempt to leave the dock. Ready or not, here we go.
We got the wiring in place for lighting. Nina learned how to do the ends on wires. Does she understand wiring? Someday, perhaps. The dangly wires connect to terminal strips. The LED lights, which should arrive in September, we hope, will be screwed into the panels and connected to the strips.
On the outside of the boat, the rigging was checked and static tuned, ready for dynamic tuning under sail. We replaced the backstay adjuster with a new lengths of Amsteel, MLX and a new 8:1 block system. The old 3 to 1 setup meant that Bill usually had to do any backstay adjusting because Nina just didn’t have the umph to pull anything in. Now even wimpy Nina can pull it in.
The next step was getting the sails back on the boat. The sail cover got a once over and was sewn back together where the elements had played hob with the thread (it’s now sewn up with UV resistant thread so should hopefully last more than a year: hooray Sailrite sewing machine). We found one jib sheet in the garage (the rope that connects to the sail) but had to hunt for the second. It was mis-labeled so locating it was a bit challenging. Tracked it down, got it on and we’re ready to go.
We got things reasonably stowed down below. Everything was still in project mode so it needed to be put away so that when we heeled, nothing would go sliding all over the cabin. We put on our PFDs, began to untie the boat from the dock, and started the engine. Except it didn’t. It made lovely clicking sounds. We unconnected, wire-brushed the connectors and reconnected the starter. Still nothing. Repeated the process with the same results. Heat and frustration ensued. Other attempts were made to clean any wire ends involved in the batteries, starter and engine. Nada. Finally we called it a day. After our Labor Day vacation we will investigate the Yanmar wiring harness as the internet says this is the problem.
Stay tuned for varoom, varoom it starts or F***S**** it doesn’t. Oy.
GypsyKramer 
We hope you have a relaxing Labor Day weekend. You deserve it! Next, we are anxious to hear about your shakedown sail (minimize the shakedown and maximize the sailing). We saw Rose City Yacht Club sailors at Sidney Spit. We hope to rendezvous with you there, too!
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Thanks, it sounds like you had a good time on Dromen this summer. We are planning on going north next summer. Gypsy may not be completely finished by then, but she will be able to go for a cruise.
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Quite a funny post! Except for the engine troubles, of course. Maybe Nina wants to come out for a visit and teach me about wiring? I have a feeling she knows a lot more than me.
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Thanks for the offer. Perhaps after hurricane season (hope you came thru ok). As for wiring, I know how to make ends meet, but beyond that, it’s very confusing. It’s like a foreign language written in math.
Nina
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