Captain’s Log: Mystic’s TLC Program Part 3; The Painting is Done!!!

Dec 19

Hi All,

Yea….the PAINTING JOB IS DONE AND SHE LOOKS LIKE A BRAND NEW BOAT!!!! In fact the day we splashed neither Kathy nor I wanted to leave the paint shed and go out and get Mystic wet and dirty:))))) We are very happy with the finish and shiny look for Mystic. We very much appreciated the quality of work performed by Platypus Marine in Port Angeles and would highly recommend this boatyard!!! We did learn a lot in the process and might change some of the billing processes at Platypus….more firm quotes and less T&M. We did experience some cost overruns as there were several surprises….as in most boat projects….ugh…a new prop shaft, taking the bottom paint to the barrier coat, more blisters and thin gelcoat requiring repairs before painting, were the big ones.

In all, it took 9.5 weeks, which was about 1 week more than the target…there was also Thanksgiving holiday in there as well!! Both Kathy and I arrived on 11/19 hoping to splash on 11/26. Well, we worked our butts off trying to assist all the techs getting Mystic ready….mainly helping put all the hardware back on correctly. We were easily working 9-10 hour days for 10 straight days which was physically demanding and maybe in hindsight too much for us. The splash got pushed to 11/27 and around 1pm the folks said….you know, it is cold, rainy and windy out there now so if it is ok with you, lets keep Mystic in the shed over the Thanksgiving Holidays and we will splash next week….ok, no problem for us!!!!

We did travel back to Pleasanton the next day, Thanksgiving Day….never done that before….the only crowded spot was the Bainbridge to Seattle Ferry….super long car line…but, the airports were pretty empty….whoa!!!! We spent 4 days in Pleasanton….had a great YB/Jones family Thanksgiving festivity at David’s house….then it was back to Mystic for another 8 day marathon on Mystic. We splashed on a Thursday, spent the rest of that day and Friday getting Mystic back in order and cleaning the interior. We did a successful seatrial on Friday to check out the new prop and then on Saturday went 64nm from Port Angeles to Shilshole marina near the Ballard locks.

We had a celebratory dinner at Rays…great local seafood restaurant in Seattle…I had the King salmon…some of the best ever and Kathy had the Dungeness crab cakes…yummers…and then up early to make it through the Ballard Small Locks….it’s never that much fun going through locks as it is very narrow and I was sooooo paranoid about putting the first scratch on Mystic….but no problems and soon we were tied up at Emerald Landing in Lake Union, Mystic’s home for the next 4 months!!

The only tragedy was John falling again…yep, the year of the falls….ugh!!! The day we splashed and went about a mile to tie up Mystic at the PA Boat Haven marina, I slipped going from the dock to the swim transom connecting the power cable….yep, classic fall….my left leg slipped as I boarded dragging the right leg….I banged by right knee, shin and foot on the edge of the swim transom…then hit my tailbone…..oweeeeeee…..both legs went into the cold seawater but I was able to catch myself before everything went in and then pull myself back out.

Well….the short version….it is now 2 weeks later of lots of MAN pain…yes, ladies, it is real PAIN….thankfully nothing broken just badly bruised….2 doc visits, x-rays, on two different anti-biotics for cellulitis and a strong skin infection as I did have a good size gash as well….and we finally can say…. well, it looks better. I’m in for a long recovery for the shin, but hopefully the knee, foot, and tailbone will be livable in 1-2 more weeks!!! We are finally done traveling for the rest of the year and I’ve done pretty much nothing the last 2.5 days and the swelling is way reduced….arghhhhhhh!!!

We did have two really, really fun highlights in our month long marathon on Mystic. One was reuniting with Jerry and Linda Dow. They live in Sequim which is about 20 miles from PA. Jerry and Linda bought hull #1, Island Star, a Selene 53 and his expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm helped sell many Selenes. They have now retired on several acres in Sequim and raise bees as a hobby. Jerry and Linda went with us on our maiden voyage in 2005 to Princess Louisa and we had many laughs and a few stressful moments for Kathy and me getting through the Malibu Rapids!! Lots of jocularity that night as we reminisced and caught up. We certainly hope to see them again next Spring!!

The other highlight was seeing Adam and Cindi, of sv Bravo fame. They were in Seattle and we got together that Monday after we got Mystic to Seattle. Adam and Cindi had visited us on Mystic this past summer in British Columbia. Another fun filled jocularity night catching up. They hope to take possession of their new Boreal 52, a French built boat, in March and then have plans to sail England, then up to Norway and hopefully get to Svalbard, like at 80 deg North latitude…wow!!!!!

Boat Stuff:
1. I did change out the coolant on the Cummins late that Friday after the seatrial and all the workers were gone. If you recall we got a high copper level in the coolant test we did late September. I flushed twice with water then added the coolant. The next day we made the run to Seattle and all was fine. I retested and just got the results back and no copper in the coolant. Good news!!! Of course, the new coolant only has 11 hours of run time so we will need to recheck after maybe 100 hours!!
2. Greg, Chris, and Jeff of Yacht Systems Northwest have started their work on Mystic at Emerald Landing. New Maretron small instruments replacing the Simrad IS-15 instruments, new Garmin Panoptix sonar replacing the Interphase sonar, removing lots of old electronics like the Inmarsat FBB Sat phone, the old SeaCas AIS, and the SeaTel satellite TV antenna. Jeff has also agreed to service the Kabola…fitting as he was the one who installed it in 2005. Part of the service will be flushing the hydronic tubes with new coolant, changing out the exhaust tube, cleaning the boiler, new filters, and cleaning the boiler!!
3. We did schedule Greg Andersen to service the Cummins starting on January 9th. Replace the rear seal and new motor mounts are the big items!!
4. Since we had all the hardware off Mystic we took the opportunity to replace some of the old, worn out items with new parts….it had been 15 years for most of these items: new LED anchor light, new LED running lights (stern, mast, port and starboard), new spreader lights, new lexan in the sun hatches, new outdoor faucets and hoses, new outdoor speakers, new swim ladder hydraulic strut, new Spurs line cutter parts, new PSS shaft collar on main prop….
5. Emerald Landing in Lake Union has just installed the new shorepower pedestals that have the new, super-sensitive gfs connection plugs. We have experienced this before in several marinas in Alaska and Mystic has always done fine. Well, not here. Spent 4 hours that Sunday trying to hook up power only for the shorepower breaker to trip. I finally isolated to our 15-year old cord. Took apart the connections and found water in one. We ran the generator that first day and on the 2nd day tried again with an electrician watching and the cord did fine and we had power. But, that night we lost power again. So on Tuesday, the day before we left for California, I bought a brand new $650 50A shorepower cord from Fisheries (which is only 2 blocks from the marina)…ugh!!!
6. Yamaha 25HP outboard: By the end of last season the engine was barely running. I took it in for service at a local dealer in PA. They were able to replace the carburetor adjustment screws the kid in Sitka broke, did a sonic clean on both carbs, replaced the lower crankcase seal, new prop as the old one was out of balance and an overall service job. Sure hope she’s back to purring this next season like before!!

Kathy and I plan to try and take it easy the next few weeks and enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays with family here in Pleasanton. We will drive up to Seattle on January 7-8….well, gee John, why drive you ask…..oh, for a very good reason….Mystic is out of wine…really:)))) We finally finished the 21 cases we took with us on our road trip from CA to Brunswick Georgia the summer of 2011 and the 15 cases we bought on our Australia and New Zealand road trips….wow….now that was FUN!!! We still have quite a stock here in Pleasanton so a transfer of 6-8 cases seems prudent. Plus it gives us a car for lots of running around in Seattle (like buying a new fishing capable dinghy)!!

The Plan: Well….continue Mystic’s TLC program: mechanical work, some new electronics, buy a new dinghy, install fishing downriggers, potentially enclosing the flybridge…may have to wait until fall 2020 as they have a 6-month lead time, find a storage unit and off load lots of stuff…have to cleanout the 3rd stateroom for the grandkids:)))…and service as much as possible time permitting…windlass, cruise air, et al!!

We will be trying to sell the 3 fuel bladders, the Inmarsat FBB Sat Phone, the SeaTel Sat antenna, and a few other items…if you are interested let me know!!!!

We will attend the Seattle Boat Show in late January, have a family ski vacation in Tahoe in Feb and in March we plan to attend the Iditarod in Alaska….yep….another very busy next 3-4 months….that’s Kathy rolling her eyes:))))

Kathy and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and New Year!!!!

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon
Resting at Emerald Landing Marina Lake Union Seattle

PSS: The final gallery of the paint job:
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/painting-mystic-moon-part-3-3

Pictures compliment of Jerry Dow: