After getting in a bike (e-bike) ride this morning, I played some music while Joan made breakfast... a lovely start to the day. It was a glorious morning - sunny, crisp blue sky, reasonably low humidity, and in the upper 60s while I was out on the bike.
After cleaning up, I proposed to Joan that "today would be a good day to get the boat out." She concurred, and we gathered some stuff to take out to the storage unit. At the storage unit, we pulled out the coach and got the boat ready for the road: Joan took off the cover and closed up the storage compartments; I topped off the air in the tires, checked the bearings, and we hooked the trailer up to the Honda...
The indoor storage is nice - the boat stays clean and out of the weather. 38 miles back to our house, with a stop for gas once we were back in town. The length of the CR-V and boat/trailer is just right for the gas pumps at our Walmart: Joan topped off the Honda while I fueled the boat.
We put the boat in the driveway, and I went to work checking things to make sure the boat is ready to go. Battery hooked up and checked - good. I hooked water up to motor, pumped the fuel bulb a couple times, and the engine fired right up with a nice strong water pee stream. I put the GPS/sounder on and it fired up. Lights checked.
I like to make sure the steering is free before launching - I went to the wheel and... it wouldn't move. That's not good. I gave the wheel a good tug... nope. I climbed down and checked the steering ram - it looked good, and I know I lubed it before we put the boat away. I grabbed the motor and put my shoulder into it... didn't move. I got some lube out and was able to get a small bit in the shaft for the steering ram. There is a detent in the ram where you can more easily get lube in - of course, it was on the part of the ram outside the steering tube. I let the lube sit for a while, then managed to break it free; I'm guessing there was some water in there when I put the boat up. With the steering ram moving (stiffly), I was able to work more lube through the system. It took a half hour or so of "spray and move" to get it to move normally. Better to know that now and get it dealt with than find out after we launch.
Look over the engine - good to go...
Then, just a matter of picking things up and putting away a few more boat necessities...
We'll be ready to launch tomorrow if the tide and weather are cooperative.
:-)
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