Saturday, March 2, 2013

Homecoming


The hubby had made a stop by her while he was down in Florida, and we'd gotten reports from the repairman, but I don't think I quite realized the massive amount of work that needed to be done aboard Jus'CrewZen till I climbed down the companionway about 3 weeks ago.

Overwhelming……  I guess this is one of those situations where it's good I don't get overly emotional (well at least about most things).  But for a split second I looked around and could imagine myself feeling helpless and just crying.  Throwing my arms up in the air, not knowing where to start, and suggesting we just sell her and start over.

But anyone out there who owns a boat, especially those who live on their boat or have lived on their boat know that "that" isn't really an option.  You can't just trade in your kid b/c they rolled around in the mud, got sprayed by a skunk, fell in a bucket of black ink and then ran through your house and sat on your white couch.  I mean, you may contemplate it, but it's not really an option.

Soot was covering every surface and mildew was coming in a close second.  You couldn't sit down or touch anything without getting covered in some sort of black powder.  They had pumped hundreds of gallons of saltwater down into the salon, enough for there to be standing water in the forward and aft cabins before the repairman pumped it out.  (We have a HUGE bilge.)  Somehow when they sprayed the water down it tore our blinds down off the ports in the salon and salt was also covering most surfaces.

The first day I threw away 4 dock carts full of stuff.  All of the carpet was ruined.  That wasn't too big of a blow, the carpet was only down b/c the previous owners had glued down the previous carpet to the teak.  All of the comforters and bed pillows were ruined.  This hit a bit hard.  I know it sounds silly, but do you know how hard it is to find pillows to like?  Or to find that comforter that is the perfect weight for both summer and winter?

Once I threw away the comforters and bed pillows things got easier.  Throwing away all the pillows (except for 2 that had lighthouses on them) on the settees didn't hurt quite so bad.  And by the time I started chunking away all the food behind the settees and in the galley, I was almost gleeful.
The first day consisted of throwing and making sure that our bunk was completely clean.  I used vinegar to wipe (and re-wipe) every surface that surrounded our bunk.  The second day finished wiping down every surface in our cabin.  It took a while, and I even broke out the battery powered vacuum to get into all the corners, but it was worth it.  The third day was scrubbing the floors, and we're familiar with how much I love that.

4 comments:

  1. Wow. That sounds like hell. I'm so sorry you guys are having to deal with that awfulness, and I hope it's just superficial damage rather than anything too horribly difficult to fix.

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  2. At this point we think most things are superficial. She motored fine to and from a couple of places around Miami (minus a small mishap when a coolant hose blew). There is still a lot of stuff to go thru (and most likely throw away), but after that we'll start checking out all the electronics. I have a feeling getting everything back in order will almost be like getting everything ready the first time around. Oh well, I guess I should look at this as a time to redecorate :)

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  3. Sorry to hear this. Hope everything is going better for you guys.

    We miss seeing you but will catch up when we get to the East Coast in the next few weeks.

    MV Michelle

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