She floats! She runs! She shifts!

The moment of truth came this weekend with being put back into the water after almost a month on the hard. Given all the surgery I had done with the engine and shaft and such, it is a bit tense when you get splashed back in to make sure you hadn't messed something up in the process. Naturally, I go through mental checklists ad nauseum, and by doing so I hoped for the best.

Deck getting painted with Kiwi Grip non-skid. Grey is new, other side is taped but not yet painted.

When they lowered the straps and carefully placed her back in her element, I ducked below and plopped down to check the PSS seal to see if it was watertight. Sure enough! No leaks! I then burped it a few times to let water squirt between the two seals to clear out any dust and small debris and to void some air bubbles.



The next question came with whether she would start. I had to disconnect all her hoses and wires in order to hoist her up off her mounts, and then put it all back. It is straightforward, and yet it only takes one little wire wrong to mess up something important, or one thing bumped inadvertently to cause you problems. I've never had to really bleed my Universal 5432, and instead only loosened the valve on the injector pump which I believe allows fuel to flow through the excess fuel lines more easily. I clearly had an empty fuel line between my primary and secondary filter, because this was the one disconnected. But when I warmed up the glow plugs and turned the key, she started just fine and ran smoothly without even a hint of hesitation. Sometimes in the past she would hesitate a few times, or even die once or so, before resuming her normal operation. Not this time. Just smooth and constant.

Next, and most dramatically, given the replacement of the transmission, was whether the gears would engage properly and spin freely. The time came for forward movement, I told the lift crew I was ready, and popped her into gear. Sure enough, there I went! Smooth as butter. I motored out and away from the marina into some open water and went from forward to reverse a few times and she worked perfectly. I did notice a different sound, and it will take time to become accustomed to how this Twin Disc sound differently from the old Hurth.

Well, given that she floated, she ran and she shifted, the rest of the weekend was all gravy.

I launched into painting the deck with Kiwi Grip non-skid, and made good progress. And I added the second coat of two part paint to the hull stripe. Both look good and I'm really happy.

The new hull stripe with the second coat looks great. Not as shiny as I would like, but a nice color. Windows aren't back in yet.

This rib is left over from when the Gulf had a sliding bow hatch. I finally got around to priming it and painting it a nice one part white which looks fantastic.

So I have brought the entire haulout process to a close and must say I am really satisfied. Everything mechanical is working properly, and she is yet again better than ever. Our trip around Vancouver Island is feeling might close at hand, and Aeolus is truly a perfect vessel to carry us on this expedition!