At last check-in we had been continuing down the ICW, anchoring along the way. We visited the town of Bath, NC, one of the homes of Blackbeard the pirate…

We were purposely going down the ICW to stop and visit the Pacific Seacraft factory. Two months ago, we reserved a slip here in “Little Washington” at the Washington Waterfront Docks, a convenient location for installing our new water tank covers, custom built by the Pacific Seacraft factory, located just a few minutes away. That was then…

Now… Do you recall in a recent post about being dragged off a sunken wreck in Portsmouth, VA? Well due to concerns of possible damage from that incident (and that the bottom could really use a scrub), we inquired to schedule a “short haul” at a nearby marina before going to our slip. Or at least we thought it was going to be a short haul! Just to clean and check the bottom.

The guys at the marina made quick work out of pressure washing, and I set to work scraping off a few barnacles. So that part was simple. No damage, except for some scratches in the paint. However, I asked about having a mechanic look at our motor/shaft alignment, as we have been having increased vibration issues lately. Not sure where that might be coming from, we decided to move into the yard for a closer inspection… Maybe for just an overnight?

Nuh uh. That was Tuesday of last week. Here’s what happened: While we waited for the shaft coupling alignment, another Pacific Seacraft owner (also doing work in the yard) walked past, introduced himself, and looked at our giant rudder. I pointed out that we had what appeared to be a seemingly too large gap above the rudder, and asked his opinion. He said it looks like you’re missing a big washer on the gudgeon, but suggested checking with Steve, the owner of Pacific Seacraft, about it.

Recall again: Our initial purpose here in Washington was just to upgrade the broken PVC water tank covers – to replace the fragile original covers. But then…

The next morning, Steve, the owner of Pacific Seacraft (factory) came by to test-fit the new aft tank cover – the larger of the two. He graciously gave us some of his time to discuss other questions we might have about Fayaway, (and he agreed that the lower rudder washer was indeed missing; Project #2). But, he just happened to have one in his truck! Then he described how straightforward it would be to install. Simple, right?

Steve left us to prepare for installing the quarter berth tank cover while they made some minor tweaks back at the factory. To deal with the missing washer, I proceeded to disassemble the big bronze rudder gudgeon. That’s when we found defect number two – a seemingly defective gudgeon installation, where the mounting holes weren’t drilled correctly, greatly weakening the assembly. Yikes!

The next morning we met Steve at the factory for a tour. He showed us all the interesting refit work going on, as well as a new Pacific Seacraft 37 being built. Between all the awe, I showed Steve pictures of what I had found with the old gudgeon assembly. Yup, that doesn’t look right! We discussed repairing the skeg, and then re-welding the heavy bronze gudgeon. We opted for a new gudgeon, and used that as a mold for repairing the skeg to which it was mounted. (Project #3)

While all that was going on… I also asked Steve about why the backstay chainplate wasn’t bent to the appropriate angle of the stay. Yup, that doesn’t look right! (Project #4) Fortunately, while we waited for the new gudgeon to be drilled for the proper mounting holes, I replaced the chainplate with one containing the proper angle.

While all that was going on… I told Steve about the drive shaft, which while in the process of re-alignment and considering a new cutlas bearing. I didn’t have the old shaft but Steve showed me one that had recently been removed from another PS 40. This one looked to be in better shape than the one on Fayaway, and so… yup, that didn’t look right!

To order a new shaft, which takes about a week from a local machine shop, we needed to remove and measure it. To remove the shaft, we not only need to remove the prop and disconnect from the engine, but also need to remove the rudder. To remove the heavy rudder, you need to lift the boat up very high, and allow the rudder to drop down, so that the rudder shaft clears the hull. Steve let us borrow a special hydraulic jack with which to hold and move the big rudder as the boat is lifted.

So that’s what happened when we arrived in Washington, North Carolina, simply to get new tank covers. One project turned into five!

• Pressure wash / inspect hull / touch up scratches with fresh bottom paint.
• Replace two tank covers with new G10; install / wire new tank level sensors.
• Replace backstay chainplate; new toggle and pins.
• Repair skeg; install new rudder gudgeon, new EPDM washers, shaft packing and hardware.
• Replace drive shaft and re-align; replace prop zinc.

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So far, our hats come off to honor the extreme helpfulness and assistance we’ve been receiving, both at McCotter’s Boatyard in Washington, and from Steve (and his talented crew) at Pacific Seacraft. All their workers have been very respectful and kind to us. If all continues to go well, and we don’t keep finding more stuff to fix, we expect to be back in the water before Thanksgiving. In the meantime, while only waiting for the new drive shaft to be machined, we rented a car to drive off and visit family and friends. I’ll complete any last minute cleanup and provisioning and then we’ll head off, continuing south again.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!