Author: M/V Katie Mack

Relaunch Day dawned, and almost 100 family members and friends came to share this special event.

Hugh said a few words: “Four and a half years ago I came home from the Maine Boatbuilders Show and asked Pam if we could sell the alpacas, house and farm, quit our jobs, and go live on a boat.

She said, “I could do that!”

So this is a big day for us.  While we didn’t do the heavy lifting, we have worked on our new home almost every day we weren’t at work or on vacation.  It has been an absolute delight to have worked with Chip and Scott of Six River Marine.

As you can see their workmanship is extraordinary.  They are highly skilled, and easily tackled many challenges to transform a tired old boat into a sturdy and safe work of art.

They replaced every plank and frame, rebuilt the transom, stem, and part of the keel.  Almost everything inside was hauled out and reinstalled.

KATIE MACK was built in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1932.  She has a fascinating history, from running Canadian whisky during Prohibition, making fishing trips to Alaska, and entertaining Hollywood celebrities.  A detailed history can be found on the tables, along with coffee, pastries,  and other snacks. Please help yourselves.

Because she is not a new boat and we didn’t change her name, this is not a traditional christening, so there will be no champagne bottle smashing!  Seafaring tradition requires some libation to the gods of the sea, so we will be pouring some Harwood Canadian whisky over the bow and into the water over the stern.

Our original plan was to sail off into the sunset to tropical isles, but things change and we will be spending the winter in Martha’s Vineyard, then back to Maine for a summer of exploring!

Thanks again for coming.  It means a lot to Pam and me to share this celebration with you all.”

While standing on the bow, I said the blessing: “Bless this ship and all who sail on her.  May you have fair winds and following seas.

Almost 40 years ago, Hugh introduced me to Ratty’s belief that, “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats!”

The four-sling travel lift lowered her into the water, and KM floated off!  She was moved over to the dock so guests could climb aboard for a good look.  Seams swelled nicely, but water came in around the stuffing box (where the propeller shaft goes from inside to outside the boat),  sounding like a babbling brook!  Bilge pumps all got a good workout, but she remained afloat.

See the two little wood screws perched on the trim in the photo below?  At some point before the transport from Six River Marine, someone left two screws sitting on the shelf in the utility room. They made the whole trip from the boatyard, onto the travel lift, and into the water — a fine testament to the care that went into transporting and relaunching our new home.

We spent much of the rest of the day finding a place for everything, and putting everything in its place. For example, the saloon went from this:

To this:

Soon, the rest of our living space was shaping up.

After nearly four years on the hard at Six River Marine, KATIE MACK was finally ready for transport to Yankee Marina on the Royal River in Yarmouth.

Bucky Wooster and his team from DaytonMarine arrived, backed the trailer into the shed,  and set to work loading her.

Bucky drove sloooowly down the middle — or over to either side — of the roads, depending on low-hanging branches or wires.  Royal Road to Route 9, through the centers of North Yarmouth and Cumberland, down Tuttle Road to Rt 88.  Pam drove ahead to Yankee Marina to watch KATIE MACK, with heart pounding, make her way down the hill.  Finally, she was settled onto jackstands.

There was still a lot of work to be done — we were at the yard until 10:30 before spending our last night on the dirt for a while.

Scott and Chip jokingly tell us that KATIE MACK left the building twice: once on Bucky’s trailer, and the rest of her in this dumpster.

Through Spring 2017, Hugh and I continued to work 2-4 days each week, and all other days were spent at the boatyard.  At the end of June, I decided to work on KATIE MACK full time — 7 days/week, while Hugh worked 2-3 days/week until the beginning of September.  When not at work, he, too, was at the boatyard. It has been not only exhausting but also exhilarating to see the progress!

We are using George Kirby, Jr Paints — a family-run company in New Bedford, MA since 1846. Their semi-gloss vintage colors are fantastic and their service is unparalleled — when we call for more paint, it is delivered the next day!

All interior painted and varnished pieces that could be removed were brought up to the prep, varnish, and paint rooms. Cupboards and doors, screens, stairs, hatches, shelves, and lots and lots of trim were prepped and painted “Sand”, “Maynard Bray Off White”, “Mist”, or “Reddish”, or varnished with Interlux “Satin”, then prepped and painted or varnished again.  At least two coats on everything.  I’ve built up eight coats of Awlgrip M3131 high gloss varnish on the handrails, as well as masts and booms for both KATIE MACK and our sailing dinghy, SAMARIA.  The dinghy needed two coats of “Red” paint on her hull , and two coats of “Grayling Gray” on her interior, daggerboard, and rudder, and multiple coats of high gloss varnish on her rails and seats.  This is all so much easier to do in a good workspace, and we cannot thank Chip and Scott enough for encouraging us to do as much of the interior work as we have.  We feel so much more “invested” in this labor of love than if EVERYTHING were being done for us.

Meanwhile, Hugh got all the electrical pieces ready for Tim Carolan, the marine electrician, to connect to the AC and DC breaker panels.  We are trying to keep “the look” as original as possible, but there are newer navigation and safety features and alarms that we are adding, as well as a one-drawer refrigerator, a cooler-sized freezer, a water heater, and a microwave.  Hugh also installed the electric windlass to make hauling up to 300 feet of anchor chain and a 45 lb. CQR anchor a LOT easier!

Next up was to prep and paint/varnish all the interior bulkheads and trim in the galley, saloon, passageway, head, and stateroom,  while trying to stay out from underfoot as Chip, Scott, Matt, and Brandon affixed the cap-, toe-, whale- and quarter-rails, then taped, sanded, and varnished the pilothouse and cap and toe rails.  Multiple coats, of course!

The hull was ready to be watered down, so a plastic sheet was taped just below the rails,  sawdust was swept in piles underneath, and watered down, and the wood swelled nicely.  The stem had dried out enough that it had a “saline drip” running from a jug.  Once the seams were tight, the hull was primed and then

 

 

 

the topsides received three coats of white semi-gloss paint.  The bottom paint is two coats of dark red signal coat covered with two coats of black ablative paint by Sea Hawk.  As the black wears off  we’ll know it’s time to repaint when we start seeing the red undercoat.  The running gear is painted with orange anti-fouling ePaint, designed especially for protecting underwater metal.

Mark, the diesel mechanic, began readying the engine: he replaced the fuel hoses, installed a crankcase air ventilation filter, plumbed the water heater, replaced the fuel pump impeller, hooked up the raw water intake and telltale . . .  until it was time for him to go moose hunting.   Good news is he and his niece each got their moose — over 1,300 lbs of good eating — and he will be back this week to finish up.

The crew painted the pilot house- and cabin-top “Mist”, the exterior deck trim “Pearl Gray”, and the decks “Slate Gray”.  System Three polycarbonate grit was added to the second coat of “Slate” to provide a safer, non-skid surface, with smooth “channels” around the edges to allow for better water runoff.

 

 

 

 

Since the visor was delaminating, a new one has been made of Alaskan yellow cedar.  It has been painted “Bronze Green”, along with some trim around the pilot house and cabin top.  The visor will be installed “soon”, along with whatever remains on the punch list, as Bucky is scheduled to pick up KATIE MACK on Friday afternoon and transport her to Yankee Marina for Saturday’s relaunching at 10 AM.  If you are reading this, consider yourself invited!

 

Oh, what a feeling it was to walk out of the closing on our house on April 8, 2017, knowing we were a major step closer to realizing our dream of moving aboard KATIE MACK.  Anyone who has sold a family home knows what a “chafe” it is to list it, clear out as much clutter as possible, and clean it for every showing.  Thank goodness for Tom Kruzshak and his team at Sotheby’s International Realty.

Once the offer came in and was accepted, the real nailbiting began as contracts, appointments for inspections, reports, and negotiations flew back and forth. Since the closing was in April, and the boat wasn’t near completion, we had to find a short term/month-to-month furnished rental in the area,

secure a climate-controlled storage space,

and hire a moving company.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We moved into the rental in a freak slushy snowstorm with the help of a U-haul van with bald tires.  Thank goodness for good neighbors, as Brian pulled the van up the hill to the end of the driveway.

Whatever hadn’t gone into storage two days earlier, went to the rental, Goodwill, or the dumpster.  And finally, we cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned the house some more, right up to a few hours before the closing.

SOLD!