Welcome 2019
Happy New Year to All!!
We brought in the New Year with a hike along the Raindancer trail, which A built over the course of many years while working in the cheeze biz. An hour's hike through the forest, directly from our door, brings us to the marina where Aurora lies. Just make sure to dip muddy boots before stepping aboard!
We only had a few hours in the afternoon to spend on her, and as we're not quite confident enough to take her away from the dock and bring her back yet on our own, we just took care of some chores. A couple more times with some help and I think we'll have it. Manoeuvring a catamaran in tight quarters, especially a large one, is a bit more involved than just turning the wheel on a monohull. You have to use the port and starboard thrusters, one in reverse, the other in forward, in combination with the horrifically noisy bow thruster, and you have to do it "just so". I pulled her away from the dock and brought her back a few weeks ago, under close supervision, and though I can tell it'll be the sort of thing that'll become muscle memory after a few times, it's currently absolutely terrifying!!
So we spent the afternoon taking care of miscellaneous tasks; some clean up & vacuuming; re-folding the Code 0 so it would fit in the starboard bow hatch; moving the forward sun lounge cushions from the aft cabin to the port bow berth for winter storage; checking the water pump in the starboard mech room; hooking up our 100' garden hose to the dock water spigot to fill our starboard water tank, only to discover the marina water has been shut off (and we didn't want to get the generator and water maker going); tightening up the lines for the boom so it doesn't swing around as wildly when waves come through, which kept triggering our motion-activated security cameras, and snugging up the Code 0 halyard so it doesn't bash around like crazy either. At dusk we set off on foot for home, but opted for roads as it would safe half the time of the trail.
Here's to looking forward to many safe adventures in 2019!!
We brought in the New Year with a hike along the Raindancer trail, which A built over the course of many years while working in the cheeze biz. An hour's hike through the forest, directly from our door, brings us to the marina where Aurora lies. Just make sure to dip muddy boots before stepping aboard!
We only had a few hours in the afternoon to spend on her, and as we're not quite confident enough to take her away from the dock and bring her back yet on our own, we just took care of some chores. A couple more times with some help and I think we'll have it. Manoeuvring a catamaran in tight quarters, especially a large one, is a bit more involved than just turning the wheel on a monohull. You have to use the port and starboard thrusters, one in reverse, the other in forward, in combination with the horrifically noisy bow thruster, and you have to do it "just so". I pulled her away from the dock and brought her back a few weeks ago, under close supervision, and though I can tell it'll be the sort of thing that'll become muscle memory after a few times, it's currently absolutely terrifying!!
So we spent the afternoon taking care of miscellaneous tasks; some clean up & vacuuming; re-folding the Code 0 so it would fit in the starboard bow hatch; moving the forward sun lounge cushions from the aft cabin to the port bow berth for winter storage; checking the water pump in the starboard mech room; hooking up our 100' garden hose to the dock water spigot to fill our starboard water tank, only to discover the marina water has been shut off (and we didn't want to get the generator and water maker going); tightening up the lines for the boom so it doesn't swing around as wildly when waves come through, which kept triggering our motion-activated security cameras, and snugging up the Code 0 halyard so it doesn't bash around like crazy either. At dusk we set off on foot for home, but opted for roads as it would safe half the time of the trail.
Here's to looking forward to many safe adventures in 2019!!
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