elena pohl
I have good news and bad news. This week has been full of improvement and steps forward. We fixed up the boat enough for her to make the transition from land to sea. But Polar Spirit's freedom only lasted for a grand total of about 10 minutes before she had to be hauled back out of the water.
After taking each blade off and putting on new O-rings, greasing up the gears, and torquing and safety wiring the bolts, the propeller was ready to run.
Painting the hull
Since exterior of the boat is aluminum, we had to get a special kind of bottom paint without copper in it so wouldn't react with the aluminum. It was very expensive, every drop counts so we had to use it sparingly.
before
after
Land Sea Process
First, the boat is loaded onto a trailer. The trailer drives under the boat and raises it's arms flush to the sides. The jack-stands are removed and the boat is towed out of it's parked position.
Next, the boat is backed into the travel lift. This device is able to lift and lower boats to and from the water.
Finally, once the boat has been fitted into the slings, the lift can drive out over the water and begin to lower the boat into the water.
Just as Polar Spirit began to motor away from the dock, an unusual vibration shook the shaft that connects the prop and the engine. A new part had to be ordered will only install while the boat is out of the water. Although this problem will set us back a few days on our departure, we are lucky to have found the problem early rather than realizing along the way.