I soon realized that our boat was not the only free boat on the dock
The gentrifying marina owners’ rush to get boats off the dock had left the marina tenants scrambling.
One owner had abandoned his sailboat with the title already signed over inside the cabin and a pen waiting for the next owner.
Another couple on D Dock told me they were donating their sailboat to the Center for Wooden Boats. “We’re having trouble though, because the boat was a gift to us originally, and apparently you can only gift a boat once in Washington State.”
You can only gift a boat once? I started to have anxiety.
What if I could never get rid of my boat?
What if I was the last person in an expensive game of hot potato?
Landon had almost paid $6,000 to have this boat destroyed before Jeff convinced him not to.
I held this anxiety in all day as I worked on the engine with Jeff.
That night, instead of in a yurt amidst the tulip fields of Skagit, Jo and I stayed overnight on the boat and watched a movie in the cozy v-berth.
After the movie ended, I confessed that I was having severe anxiety. “The couple said that they aren’t able to regift their boat because they were originally gifted it. What if I can’t ever get rid of this boat?”
“Um, I think that has to do with the taxes,” Jo said sagely.
“Oh! Like they’re not able to get a tax break for gifting the boat a second time?”
Relief washed over me.
I could gift the boat again, I just wouldn’t be able to get any tax benefit from it. That didn’t worry me, because I didn’t expect to be in an income bracket where that would matter. I had worried all day for nothing. Story of my life.
Sunday dawned and I went back to work on the engine. I had figured out how to empty the oil from the bottom of the engine into a carefully placed trash bag (since no oil pan would fit in the space) and I felt proud of my innovation.
Over the next several days, I worked hard, but the work felt purposeful. Each day I made several trips to get parts from O’Reilly autoparts, Stoneway hardware, Covich-Williams, or West Marine. Other marina neighbors lent us tools when I couldn’t get the oil filter unstuck (I ended up stabbing it with a screw driver and getting it off that way).
When Jeff and I started to feel woozy from the diesel fumes, we went topsides and raised the mainsail. It had a couple holes in the top and was pretty blown out, but otherwise it looked good. Then we tried to rain the jib with the roller furling. It was stuck. There were no halyards fouling the top the sail, so it the roller furling must have seized. Jeff gave me the number of a rigger he knew.
I called immediately, and 10 minutes later, the guys from Puget Sound Rigging showed up. I doubt Puget Sound Rigging would like to be associated with a derelict like Temptress, but I want to give them a shout out because they were wonderful. They were able to untie the jib sheets and lower the furler. With just a few spritzes of PB blaster, it was good to go again.
I paid them $40 and apologized for how dirty they had gotten from handling the moldy halyards, and they headed off. A few minutes later, they came back up the dock with a dock cart full of rope.
“I figured I would just give you these lines. They’re not new - we just took them off another boat - but they’re better than what you’ve got.”
Meanwhile, Jo cleaned every inch of the inside of the boat and bought boat supplies, like a boat first aid kit and a tea kettle. She also made lunch and snacks.
Since neither Jeff nor I are real mechanics, I decided I would like to call a real mechanic to check our work before attempting to start the engine. Mechanic Pete showed up on Tuesday and went over everything. While the pouring rain pattered on the top of the boat, Pete showed me how to bleed the fuel filter and the fuel injectors. Then he turned the glow plugs on and cranked the key. The engine didn’t start. The engine wasn’t getting enough fuel. There was a small chance that the issue was the internal fuel filter, which would be a disaster, as it would be pricey and require several weeks time to replace, but it was more likely the inline pump. I ordered a new inline fuel pump.
I decided to plan to be off the dock by Thursday. I wanted at least one more experienced crew member to sail with us from Seattle to Bremerton, because this would be my girlfriend’s first sailing trip. Our friend Harry has sailing experience and said he could join us Thursday. I sent Harry an email explaining the situation. The sails were working, the engine worked pending a new fuel pump, and the only thing not working was the head. We could poop in a bucket if it came to that.
Wednesday morning it was still pouring. I installed the new fuel pump and the engine ran. I was exuberant.
Harry got back to me and said that he wouldn’t be available to sail with us on Thursday. I think this was because of the bucket situation. I was also mentally and physically drained, and probably not in the best shape for sailing. I decided to replan the journey for the weekend, when more crew would be available. I updated Landon, who said he would update the marina office.
I still needed to clean out the fuel tank (we were currently running off clean fuel in a fresh can of diesel). The day was cold, and my hands were freezing. The rain had let up, but now it began again.
I told Jeff that if it started to pour again, I was done for the day. Just then, a loud crack of thunder shook us, and lighting lit up the sky. I packed up my tools as the rain turned into sleet, and then hail started to come down. The thunder washed over us. A waterspout was seen on Lake Union.
I was bone tired, so I decided to take the next day off. I had been working nonstop for a week at that point, and I felt like I had accomplished enough for now.