Monday, October 09, 2006

October 6 - 8

This past weekend we began preparations to put Ariel away for the winter. The weather was perfect and it was a harvest moon which created extra high tides Many of our neighbors at the marina were also doing the same for their boats. It is a someone a depressing time as we all know the many months before we will be back on the water. It is actually a lot of work but we spread it over three days. We had removed the sails the previous weekend and taken them home to store. They are bulky so they were a car load in themselves. This weekend we gave it a good cleaning, and removed the dodger and bimini. These also go home with us for a good cleaning. We also removed anything that could freeze. Invariably something will get missed. Last season it was a can of diet coke which burst leaving a nice mess in a locker to clean up. We also winterized the air conditioning and engine. These systems use sea water for cooling so this has to be replaced with antifreeze. Weather permitting we will put the cover on this coming weekend and winterize the fresh water system, head and generator. We always hope the birds do not make too much of a mess before we get the cover on. Last year was particularly bad.

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