We weren't happy with an area on the leading edge of the rudder just at its bottom on top of the lower bearing. It appeared we had hit something, but it was difficult to evaluate in the water. It was apparent that bottom paint was missing; the question was whether the fiberglass had been cracked and water ingress occurred. The Zululand Yacht Club has two means of hauling boats; a travel lift and a dolly. As the cost of the travel lift is many multiples of that of the dolly, we chose the latter; the first time we've used a dolly during our ownership. At high tide, we came onto the dolly, which is allowed to back into the water by means of a very large chain and wire on a drum high up on land in a garage, moving by means of a huge motor and gravity down the slipway. The dolly can accommodate up to a 30 ton vessel, so Infini was no problem. We gently eased up on top of it, and tied multiple lines to the strong steel side to starboard. Thus, a vessel is sitting on its own bottom and secured to the dolly to starboard. When set, the drum slowly winches the dolly out of the water and onto land. Back in the boatyard again. Tomorrow will be a pressure wash and we'll more fully evaluate the rudder.
No comments:
Post a Comment