Century Club: mike pitchford

Spring boat work is underway as documented in so many Century Club entries, mine included. I am blessed to have several boats to get ready. I also had a new dock built over the winter and so am doing "spring launch" work on the dock as well.

I was working on some racks for two SUPs when a gust of wind lifted both of them airborne. One just flipped end over end into the water under one of he lifts (still empty). The other lifted a bit higher ,banged into the dock box and escaped easy rescue. As I watched it float down the creek I realized that I needed a boat.

Unfortunately the runabout was still in need of hydraulic fluid in the steering system. The inflatable dinghy was tied down and the torqeedo up in the shed. The kayaks were tied down and the paddles not with them. The cold molded rowboat was also tied down and still winter covered. It also likely has a hornets nest or two to clear.

After a few minutes contemplation about the easiest path to being on the water to rescue the now out of sight SUP, my neighbor appeared on his dock by his little runabout. Problems solved. He and I took a short ride down the creek and found the solo traveling SUP wedged under a dock.

I don’t normally log boat work days but... Our little Key west runabout, Mighty Quinn, was on a trailer shrink wrapped all winter because we were doing dock work. So, with spring she got all new electronics (MFD, Stereo and VHF) as well as a number of little fixes and improvements. Combined with a visit to the shop last November for annual engine maintenance and a fresh wash and wax she is ready to go.

Winter was a lonely time on Martin's Cove. Many boats were gone for the winter and those that remained were mostly shrink wrapped. Spring has begin and so the baots are retiurning. Today I helped my Neighbor launch his 17' Key West and get it to her dock and lift.

With almost all the tasks of winterization done and finally some nice weather, I took Winsome Winn to Rock Hall for winter storage on land.