Please meet the ... little ship Mojo...
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| SV Mojo all clean and ready to return to the water |
The SV Mojo is a 1978 Catalina 27. She's in pretty good shape, needs a little tlc, and is fixing up nicely. Since bringing her to the island (a very slow slog across Georgia Straits as we carried a significant number of False Creek muscles with us) we've had her up at the shipyard to clean her bottom and hull sides. We're pleased to say we couldn't find one single blister (just a lot of shellfish)... and the bottom cleaned up very nicely. The sides of the hull responded well to some elbow grease and strong cleaners.. and she now has a gleaming white hull. Her motor, a 9.9 Mercury outboard, is mounted on the transom and seems to be running well.. even better since we added a spacer to keep the propeller from pulsing back and forth. As for the interior... well, suffice to say it's setting up nicely as well... we've done a little plumbing and reorganizing and will be doing a little wiring over the summer. All in all, we should be very comfortable.
Mojo has the 'traditional' interior. That's the one with a pull-out couch (it makes into a double bed) and a drop down table... loads of room in the main salon with the table up. Storage is very good as well... there's the V berth (too small for sleeping but great for stowage) and a full locker under the settee on the port side. I've cut a hatch into that locker for easier access and added an inspection port to the side of the starboard locker (wherein lies the water tank and holding tank) for easier access to the heads thru-hull. As well, we've turned the space below the two-burner Origo stove into a locker for pots and pans... never had one of those before... wonder if we'll miss the hassle of digging around for a pot in some godforsaken corner and having to remove and replace the upholstery and locker lid every time you want just one pot...? Hmmm, probably not. Now, we just have to open the door and presto! there they are. The rest of the interior fix-up, well that will be taken care of by puttering, as the time allows and as we feel like it.
We hauled the sails off yesterday and dragged them up to the yacht club lawn for a good scrub. I must say some of the stains came off, but not all. We'll be keeping our eyes open for a new set of used sails... they're out there somewhere :-)
Our inaugural cruise is planned for next Monday (the 17th) when wee Mojo, the princess and CJ will head up to Pirates Cove for a little park hosting... and Kathy will fly in Tuesday from Vancouver to join the little ship. We're really looking forward to getting back out onto the water and to spending some time relaxing and cruising in our beautiful Gulf Islands...
And so for now... we putter... we ponder... we plan... And, oh aren't those rhody's beautiful this year ! (we're enjoying being home too.. good friends to visit and we do so love Maple Bay).
For now, adios amigos y amigas ... we wish you all fair winds and seas... and happiness always. CJ
