I'm usually months ahead of this point, but life has been interrupting my boating season. The absurd amount of rain this year has pushed all marine activities off by weeks, and we only had Blue Angel detailed last Friday. I would have been done with much of my projects months ago, but between the weather and my pilgrimage to Spain, that didn't happen. My varnish lady has been patiently waiting for the shrinkwrap to come off and the detailing to happen before she comes to take a look at what the boat needs for this season.
I started a list of projects last fall, and while my Hunt 25 Harrier is a simple boat, there is always something. I believe it is the nature of a day cruiser, for instance, that the head probably needs to be rebuilt as it has not been used since I bought it, same with the fresh water pump. The boat is not really a cruising boat, although I would have said the same about Dave Pike and his small boat adventure: https://www.followingseas.media/blog/2017/5/30/dave-pikes-most-excellent-journey-continues.
While none of these projects keep me from enjoying the boat when the sun shines and the water flat, the list is out there and I must take care of them if I ever intend to upgrade Blue Angel to a larger cruising boat in the future. It is the same experience we all face, getting things to work again and fixing things that break. When my friends and I take our boats south for the winter, we don't have nearly the same level of problems and failures because we are using the boats 24/7. That seems to make a difference.
Note the bend in the water hose entering the pump filter. There should be an elbow fitting if the pump remains in the same location.
I guess I will start with the fresh water pump. Then go ahead and rebuild the day head, then replace or improve the center hatch into the bilge. Its hydraulic strut was attached to a block of wood somewhat crudely epoxied to the frame member, and came off because the epoxy wasn't well applied. I think there are several better solutions.
Not very impressive and I'm sure there is a better way to hold the base of a hydraulic strut for the center hatch.
The transom hand holds were removed after one broke from crevice corrosion, but then we had the boat painted and I have not yet reattached new handholds. The list isn't long but it isn't trivial either.
While it is unfortunate these things have surfaced, it's all part of boat ownership and I rather enjoy working on such projects. They require creative solutions, use of skills rusty from the winter, and an opportunity to get down and dirty inside the boat. Nothing says working on boats is fun more than rebuilding a marine head! We'll see how that goes...
Have a great week.
