Failure to Launch

As scheduled, the AT crew moved Touch of Gray from the shop to the dock on Tuesday. Splashdown successful!

We arrived in La Conner Wednesday after a stop at Fisheries Supply in Seattle to pick up some gear on the never-ending boat shopping list. Mainly, more water hose and extra lines (lock lines, specifically, as we plan to take the boat into Lake Washington this summer). 

It was a lot of fun to step out of our car and see ToG at the dock in all her glory! We are so pleased with the completed work and the overall look of her with the new extended top deck and mast. Work was still being done so we did our best to stay out of the way after getting our food into the fridge/freezer. We walked around La Conner for a bit and had an early dinner, another excellent meal at The Oyster and Thistle. 

After dinner we unloaded more of our belongings, made the bed, and got a few things situated and stowed. We found the forward berth cushions to be quite hard, making for a less-than-ideal night’s sleep. This is no big surprise. We are considering what we will do moving forward – topper or mattress – we’ll need to come up with some solution. The weather overall was rainy and quite windy. Gusts that night were strong but we barely felt it. It was also cold as hell! 

On Thursday morning after early coffee, we went to The Farmhouse (out on Hwy. 20) for breakfast before meeting with Jeff at AT to talk about next steps. 

And here’s the not-so-good news. One of the things AT upgraded was a coupling on the drive shaft. These are finely machined feats of engineering – and the new part didn’t quite fit the old part. So…they are replacing the shaft as well. This will take a week or two, making it impossible for us to take ToG away this visit. We were disappointed, sure, but appreciate AT’s efforts to get everything perfect before we take delivery. 

Some good news: Jeff drove us to Anacortes to finalize the purchase and file USCG documentation – and then treated us to a scrummy lunch at Adrift. 

After loading our food and personal items back in the car, we hit the road for home. Not sure what new delivery plans will look like…stay tuned!