Fall Activities

October 11, 2013

The days are getting shorter and cooler. We are busy with preparing for our drive to Florida and also making sure that The Rose is ready for the coming winter.

In years past she has remained in the water, winterized with an agitator to prevent the water surrounding her hull from freezing. This year we decided to have her hauled out and stored on land. Harbor Lights Marina is less than a 1/4 mile from us by water and their travel lift is new with a capacity of 100,000 pounds. The Rose usually comes in at 40,000 to 46,000 pounds depending on how much water and fuel we have on board so we feel secure with John McGovern and his crew handling the chore. They know her well since they are the only marina we have used for hauling here in RI over the past 9 years. Hap Miller is our mechanic now that Drew relocated to warmer waters and he has her ready in an afternoon. During the process he identified a problem with one of the a/c units that has puzzled us for the past year. There was a water line that was clogged despite my regular flushing. Thanks Hap!

Today, (10/11/13) she was out, hanging in the slings and power washed. The Petit Zinc that I used on her propellers and rudders in the spring worked well. The Blue Water bottom paint also functioned as advertised. There wasn't a barnacle anywhere. By 12:00 noon she was resting easy on stands.

Connie and I have been working almost nonstop for the past week gathering our belongings; some to storage and the rest to be loaded in the car for the drive home. We have managed to deplete the remaining food except for what we'll bring with us as snacks during the drive.

For the past several days we cleaned the refrigerator, wiped down all the counters with Clorox and washed-stored all bedding. Fenders, power cord, hoses and lines are stored under cover. Sometimes it seems like there is a never ending list of tasks that need our undivided attention.

We are confident that The Rose will be fine, but we know that our cousin Nick will swing by from time to time to check on her. Our next post will be in the spring, 2014.