One and a half Milestones Surpassed this Week. And One Mast starts its road back to wellness.

 For the past three weeks, Capt Hacketts's crew from Captain's Choice Yacht Management Services have been laboring-seriously scraping, cleaning, sanding, varnishing and painting large swaths of Spirit of South Carolina's deck, furnishings, and brightwork from midships- aft to the cockpit, . As of this past Friday, when our Investors/Board Members met on deck for a look-over and lunch, she has not looked this good since she was launched. And they're not done yet. The crew has been gradually advancing forward, the saloon butterfly hatch glazing (windows) suffering from delamination, have been lifted out, and new ones ordered as replacements. The bulwarks below the cap rail is being scraped and prepped for new coats of Sandtone paint. 

 Below decks, a Diesel engine expert has been steadily restoring the engines and generator to peak operability, and a Marine electronics specialist has been rewiring and testing the navionics, VHF, and radar.  

Word has it that her suit of four sails are on schedule for restoration, cleaning, and repairing. They may leave for volunteers the final task of patching the smaller areas.

Neither have Volunteers been idle. As the past few weeks since returning from Thunderbolt Shipyard, volunteers have beaten out three straight weekends of poor weather to make strides in getting all the sails rolled and swung over onto the dock for transport. All 27 mast hoops removed, sanded, linseed-oiled and remounted on the masts. As rainy weekends disrupted plans for going aloft, volunteers mustered below with lengths of line, and learned to whip ends, secure strands with constrictor knots and splice eyes in both ends; all to replace the worn rope sections of lifelines at the shrouds. 

Bryan introducing his Master Class
 in crafting the Excellent Eye Splice

This past Saturday, a rainy morning continued to force volunteers below for other projects.  While Tony Marchesani, and Jim Leonard, dropped down into the forecastle to string up hang all the berth curtains, Bryan Oliver gathered Danny Johnson, David Lazar, Mikell Evatt,and Ken Fonville around the Saloon table for lessons and practice in turning an eye splice into the end of a line, with aid of whipping or constrictor knots to control the rapidly unraveling strands and yarns of newly cut "Vintage" 1/2' rope. Meanwhile, Hunter hiked off to Harris Teeter to provision for a crew hot lunch. 

By noon, a clearing sky was helping dry off the deck and rigging, so while Tony and Jim finished up in the forecastle and started troubleshooting the frozen trash pump, the rest began installing their newly eye-spliced rope lifelines at the shrouds. Some looked better than others, but for first attempts they all met the standard for functionality and durability.  so there., and just in time for a robust lunch of Chicken Teriyaki over rice with fresh steamed green beans. 

Ken and Bryan assessing the bosun's chair
 soon to haul one of them aloft.

After lunch, with weather clearing, Bryan Oliver looked around for volunteers willing to go aloft up the foremast in a bosun's chair with a power sander to start in on the first stages of restoring our UV-damaged wood surface.

  

Seeing none he promptly strapped on a harness and with help of Ken Fonville, Mikell Evatt, and David Lazar, climbed into an already rigged up bosun's chair and started up the mast. 

Bryan with his trusty Makita Orbital
 slung low, starts up the mast.

Dragging up 100 feet of extension cord, David and Mikell hauled him up to the copper sheathing, where Bryan powered up the orbital and began a series of swipes as far around the mast as possible, and downward about two feet, before Mikell and David lowered him three more feet, and the process repeated. After about 40 minutes in the chair, Bryan had used up two sanding disks, and sanded down most of the top third of the mast, leaving a ragged stretch down the front of the mast where he couldn't reach.

 

Tony, Mike, Ken, and David
on the throat halyard
 pulling Bryan up the mast.

It was time to come down.   With a proven process tested, and hopefully consistently better weather, and of course, additional volunteers for the adventure, the goal is to return both masts to operation in next three weekends. 

The Milestones- almost forgot.

Friday morning, Spirit of South Carolina received two crucial visitors;  a Marine Surveyor, commissioned by the Insurance Underwriters, and Cdr John Loughlin, USCG.  Their purpose was to officially inspect the vessel and assess the progress in resolving issues discovered during Shipyard in Thunderbolt. 

After conducting their joint inspection and concurring, they informed Capt Hackett that they would complete a satisfactory report for the Insurance underwriters, and the Coast Guard would clear the vessel for her final milestone which would be to sail for her COI.  

He's up there somewhere. 

 

One milestone ; attaining a satisfactory Marine Survey Report; and half-way to the next big milestone of sailing for her Certificate of Inspection.   All great news, since the failure in any of these areas would be too dismal to contemplate.