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Man the pumps! and a new buddy for Pualani!

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oldengineer1949
1st Mate

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USA
75 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/06/2020 : 19:48:45

Ole OldEngineer eased Big 'Tater (his 2014 Chevy Silverado) into the marina's handicap parking space, slipped the shift lever into park, stepped on the parking brake, and turned off the engine. "Phew! sure needed this "mental health day". What a beautiful afternoon to take off work and come down here to my baby boat."

Ole grabbed the overhead handle, shifted his body around, and gingerly lowered himself out of the truck, grimacing as his feet hit the ground. "Dad-burn lymphedema..." he growled, then straightening up, shut the truck door, and hit the lock switch. "OK 'Tater, lets get the tools out of your truck bed, then I'll head over to the docks and start work on your girlfriend Pualani." Ole fetched a garden wagon from the marina fence, went over to 'Tater's tailgate, opened it, and pulled out the tools he needed for Pualani's maintenance session. He closed the tailgate, locked it, and began walking down to the docks, humming tunelessly to himself.

Arriving at his boat's slip, he heard the familiar, soft liquid voice of his beloved Catalina 25, Pualani Nui.

"Aloha E, Skipper! Pa hea oi? How are you today?"

"Doin' fine, Pu, fine as frog hair *chuckle*"

"Huh? But Skipper, frogs don't have ..." Ole chuckled again, and repied, "just think on it a while, sweetie boat. Anyway, let's get you opened up and aired out. Been too long since I last came down here."

Ole unlocked the cabin hatch, slid it back, and carefully removed the hatchboards. "These boards are gonna need another teak oil treatment, Pu. Too dry."

"Aye, Skipper, the sun really fried me all this summer. Um, could you please hurry? I feel kinda wet in my bilges..."

Ole caught the sense of urgency in Pualani's voice, and he hurried as fast as he could down the companionway steps. He stopped at the aft dinette seat, pulled the cushion off, and lifted the hatch cover.

His eyes got wide, and he exclaimed, "Pu! Oy vey! Where did all this water come fr... wait! It was the tropical storm we had a week ago! These blasted leaky windows! Pu, I am so sorry baby boat! This is my fault! I should have rigged that tarp over your cabin weeks ago!"

"It's OK Skipper. You're here now, and I'm still afloat, right? The portable bilge pump has new batteries, so you can bail me out, no sweat."

An hour later, Ole grunted as he lifted the fifthteenth ten-gallon bucket of water up to the deck, and poured it over the side. "No sweat, eh? One hundred and fifty gallons of water, and there's still some left under your cabin sole lassie! The batteries in the bilge pump are almost flat, and the cockpit whale gusher's output hose shrank and I can't reconnect it! I'm gonna have to come back tomorrow with a better pump, and run it off your house battery. Right now, I need to stretch my body, and go for a walk down the dock. I'll be back in a few, lass."

"OK Skipper, a hui hu. Hurry back."

Ole slowly ambled down to the end of the dock, then stopped short, looking at a new to the marina Catalina 25 resting in its slip, all shiny and "bristol fit". "Whose boat might this be... "Robin's Nest"! Larry's boat! Awesome!"

Ole walked back to his boat as fast as his stiff knees and feet would carry him, and arrived, huffing and puffing. "Pu! Guess what! There's a new Catalina 25 just down the dock from you. Her name is "Robin's Nest". You have another Catalina buddy to keep you company!"

"Whoa! Cool, Skipper! I can't wait to meet her. Maybe you can talk with her owner and we can sail together! How awesome is that!"

"I'll see what I can do, baby boat. You rest now, and we'll get you all dried out tomorrow. I'll bring Daisy and Kane, and we'll get you squared away. Right now, it's time to button you up for the night."

Ole put the hatchboards back in place, pulled the cabin hatch closed, and fastened the hasp and lock.

"There y'go, ku'u pu'u wai (precious heart), all secure"

Pualani sighed, "OK Skipper. I'll miss you. Please come back early tomorrow."

"I will baby boat. You be good, and stay afloat, hear now?"

"Aye-aye, Skipper. Aloha, and a hui hu."

"Aloha, lassie." Ole's gnarled hand slipped slowly off Pualani's bow pulpit, as her soft liquid voice faded away. "Tomrrow God willin', and the crick don't rise."

Al and Bernadette, "Pualani Nui", '82 C25 SR/SK, homeport MCB Quantico

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3367 Posts

Response Posted - 11/08/2020 : 21:35:59

I was on Robin's Nest today - No wind to speak of but motored around checking out the new waters. Paul (Hunter 25) came down to my finger slip and mentioned someone was looking for me. I have a friend (co-worker until I retired last year) opposite my finger slip (Catalina 32) bute Paul indicated it was someone else. I suspected someone from the Catalina Association and so figured I would check out the Forum today,,,and saw your posting ! I'll meet up with you another day. Right now we seem to be playing grandma and grandpa grandchildren daycare except for Friday. So, I try to get down to the boat on Fridays and....usually Sundays. Thanks for looking out for me.

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

Edited by - OLarryR on 11/08/2020 21:39:28

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.