May 25th 2025

Waking up in the morning both of us thought today was a day we could relax. But once we started talking, we both got way too excited about making progress on the boat. So: boat work day it was. Our mission? Continue the battle with the aft cabin.

We spent hours trying to get the old screws out. Some came loose fairly easily, others… not so much. It was a bit of a torture session. One of us was up on deck, in full sun, holding the screws steady while the other was down below trying to loosen the bolts. It was hot, really hot. And since we still didn’t have any power, we couldn’t even use the fans we’d brought with us. The plan was to get all the deck screws out, clean and reseal them to stop water from getting in, and then remove the bolts from the stern that once held the swim ladder. Those bolts were completely rusted. The ladder had literally snapped off the first time Alex touched it when we bought the boat. Screw by screw, bolt by bolt, we chipped away at it for hours. We also tore off the fake wood paneling in the back, it was ugly and water-damaged and honestly just had to go. Then Alex made a very bad discovery.

The backstay chainplate, the metal anchor point that holds the wire stabilizing the mast, was rusted through at the very first bolt. Fully broken. Sailing with that? Out of the question. My heart dropped. Suddenly I was panicking about the other chainplates too. There are six more along the sides of the boat, three on each side. If those were also rusted? We’d be in real trouble. To check them, we had to dismantle the back walls of the closets in the saloon. My nerves were through the roof while unscrewing those panels. But...relief. Twenty minutes later, we had our answer. All of the side chainplates looked solid. Clearly replaced at some point. It was just the backstay chainplate that had failed. Still, it was a big problem.

Where on earth would we find a replacement? Especially when we wanted to set sail in just a few days? That moment definitely felt like a low point. We were sweaty, frustrated, and worried. I jumped online trying to find local sailing shops, marine supply stores, anyone who might be able to help. We tried to keep the energy up, kept saying, “We’ll figure it out,” but honestly, we were both pretty skeptical.

Fingers crossed something turns up tomorrow.

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