Preparations

Planning began nearly immediately. The first item was to ensure the boat was seaworthy. After reading about the problems older swing keel boats had with their keel pins, we agreed keel work would be the winter project. Pulling the keel revealed what we had thought: the pin hole had elongated and the pin was worn half way through. Repairs to the keel were made and the rigging was inspected. (We did all the work except drilling and placing the bushing ourselves. If you want to jack a 550 pound keel up 3 feet into a boat on stands, I’d be happy to tell you how we did it!)

A date was picked, food purchased, and plans were finalized. Our friend Gene Barnhart (a nicer guy you’ll never meet) agreed to serve as our "safety boat" and follow on his C&C 40 named Coyote in case of a catastrophic failure. Gene looked on the trip as an opportunity to try a long single-handed cruise.