15 May 2016

Dinghy Update

Sometimes, I think Keith is brilliant in his ideas, solutions, fixes. Other times, I think he's certifiable and needs to be committed to a hospital ward.
Such was the case a few weeks back when he told me he had someone to help him bring the "work in progress" dinghy to the boat. Okay, not certifiable, good idea.
Than he got certifiable. He couldn't get schedules to coincide with the guy to get the dinghy to the Sue, getting impatient and feeling the five bucks a night cost was wasting money (it was), he decided to tow the dinghy out with our "deflatable" dinghy (we call it that because the entire front end is flat and there are a number of leaks on the port side).
He couldn't find any of the transport carts for the work room, so he drags the dinghy to the front dinghy docks where the deflatable is located. It's actually quite a distance for dragging something, so I'm sure it wasn't good on the bottom of this work in progress.
A couple of his buddies saw him, and helped him get the dinghy into the water. So, he tows this sad looking dinghy shell out to the Sue.
Okay, this is where he is certifiable. He couldn't wait for a nice, sunny, low wind day. He did it on a windy, cold, cloudy, "we're going to get rain any minute now" day. 
He comes in the cabin and tells me what he's doing. Looking at the sky through the hatch, and hearing the wind blow, I just shake my head. I think, maybe, after 20 years, I'm getting used to "bizarre". 
Anyhow, the water is too rough for him to get the dinghy on the deck, but he tries anyway. He attaches the lifting line fore and aft and starts to raise it out of the water.....when it started to fold. Great. He dropped it back in the water, but now, it was half full of water. Now, he's depressed and pissed, convinced it will sink by morning.
Okay, nothing we can do about it now. If it's still afloat by morning, we'll haul it to the deck together.
Lo and behold, the morning brings decent weather....and it's still afloat. But instead of waiting for me to help him (impatience is not one of his best qualities), he hoists the dinghy up on the deck by himself, by clamping sturdy wood to the port and starboard shears and lifting it up to the deck.  
By the time I got up on deck the dinghy was set in place at the bow. Keith is still pissed, convinced that there is no saving it and wants to chuck it back overboard and watch it sink. We'll just buy a used dinghy, he tells me.
Oh, no...no...no. We didn't spend all this money to give up. I asked him if it could be saved. He wasn't sure. Okay, let's tarp it down for the coming weather (still windy....rain expected) to keep it as dry as possible (and to dry it out), take a couple of days and think about this dilemma. 
Bottom line.....he repaired the collapse the following weekend. He is now working on it once again, with it sitting on the Sue
I do believe he might be the only person to build a boat on a boat.
He's certifiable.



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