Asyl

On Thursday, I painted the last accessible areas of the hull with Gelshield 200. Only the areas around the trailer supports are left. But, on Friday was the crane appointment, and everything was ready for a brief time in the water.

On Friday, everything had to move quickly. The crane was rented for three hours, and within that time, four boats had to be launched into the water. Although it was a relatively comfortable timeframe, nobody wanted to waste time and risk jeopardizing the schedule. Antares was the second boat to go, and it was positioned under the crane.

I confess, I was a bit nervous because just the evening before, I had resealed two hull fittings: the log sensor at the rear and a water temperature sensor at the front, where a transducer for the depth sounder used to be positioned at a 45-degree angle downward to the right. I didn't really need the water temperature sensor, but it allowed me to close the existing hole without having to laminate extensively. The last time I installed a hull fitting, it wasn't completely watertight. Not much water leaked through, but I prefer to keep my bilge completely dry, so any drop of bilge water is a sign that I need to investigate its source.
The good news: both fittings were bone dry

The not-so-good news is that this is not the case for the impeller (the cooling water pump). However, I already knew that beforehand. What I still don't know is why. It seems that I'm not able to properly seal the impeller cover. I'll have to work on that again. Fortunately, only a small amount of water enters the engine bilge while the motor is running, so it's not an unlimited flow of water along the way.
In case a large amount of water does end up in the engine bilge (after all, there are three holes in the hull: one for the log sensor, one for the cooling water inlet, and one for the propeller shaft, and there are a few more around them that lead to the adjacent storage compartments), I have now installed an automatic bilge pump that can pump out up to 4000 liters per hour. This way, if a significant amount of water accumulates in the engine bilge, the pump will automatically activate and remove it.

However, nothing happened, and after being lifted by the crane, I motored to my berth for the night, thoroughly enjoying the evening spent on the boat. Sipping a glass of wine while watching the sunset on the water brought back a sense of ease—a relief after weeks of uncertainty about whether Antares would make it onto the water this season. I can't quite put my finger on it, but being on board releases all the pressure. That's what I love about sailing.

I ended up spending the night on board. To do so, I had to rearrange a lot of the "stuff" that had accumulated in the salon and find other places for it throughout the boat. I stowed boxes of parts, tools, and... other items in the forward toilet, the closet, and the V-berth, until the salon was clear enough for me to use the salon berth.

The night was somewhat restless as it got quite cold despite the heater fan. However, I was greeted in the morning by a sunny day with fog over the Trave. As I brewed my coffee, the fog gradually lifted, revealing a beautiful, sunny day. Around eight o'clock, I cast off the lines for the first time this year and made my way to the marina that offered me asylum for the coming weeks. It's there that I plan to carry out the remaining tasks on the hull, such as applying antifouling and completing other necessary underwater maintenance work.

At the marina, Antares was lifted out of the water once again, and now she stands on land, well, "off-gassing." The solvents in the Gelshield need about a week to evaporate before the Coppercoat can be applied. Technically, this week would end on Wednesday or Thursday, but in practice, I'm waiting until the upcoming Saturday because I can apply the Coppercoat in one go. It needs three days to cure, and after that, I can sand it down and finally get her back in the water!