Broken Chainplate

While I was climbing back on board after walking Zoe, I noticed that the forward starboard shroud chainplate had broken off yesterday when she slipped in the sling. I pulled the broken piece off the turnbuckle and was really surprised to see that it was rusted almost completely through. The surveyor said they looked fine when he surveyed her in late 2007, and she's been covered almost continuously since then, so he must have just missed it.

I inspected all the other ones closely afterwords, and they all look the same. So, in the long run, I guess they did me a favor when they almost dropped her yesterday. It's a whole lot better to find this out now than later when it really matters. I'm going to have to replace all of them with heavier ones, so I'm not going anywhere any time soon. And it could have been worse, had it not broken, the shock would have probably damaged my mast, and hidden the fact that they were all about to go.

I'm going to take the sails down today, and they'll unstep the mast, put her on jack stands, and cover her for the winter tomorrow. I'm going to try to live on her here and fix it all myself, but I don't think there's any way I can get out of here before spring. All the work I planned to do in Houston will have to be done here in the cold.

I'd thought about getting a job for the winter, but if I did, I wouldn't have time to work on the boat, so it's better if I just bite the bullet and get with it. Although I got a sick feeling when she slipped, and an even sicker feeling when I saw the broken chainplate and realized I'd need to replace all of them, I'm actually okay with it now.

This should give me plenty of time to do the engine and transmission work, as well as the half dozen other jobs I'd planned, in addition to the chainplates of course. Right now, I'm just going to concentrate on getting ready for the winter. I'll have to winterize everything tomorrow, so life on the boat is about to get a little more primitive. I'm about to be back to where I was in Marion, but at least I'll have more reliable power, and better heat.

But it's still better than working in Manhattan.