Mike Spears (smiling) presents Captain Mike with the final bill. |
January
2001 - The M/V Beachcomber has been at the Caicos Marina in Providenciales
(Provo) for repairs since May 2000. Armed with frustration and tenacity,
Captain Mike spent two weeks in a hotel in Provo... waking at 6:00am,
working on the boat by 7:00am, sometimes stopping for lunch, and finishing
each day at about 5:00pm. Hmmmm, didn't think retirement was such
hard work!? The boat was finally lowered into the water on Thursday,
February 8th at about 4:00pm. These pictures were taken at the shipyard in
Provo.
To date, a keel was made by Flounder Bay Boat Works in Anacortes, Washington and shipped down for installation in Provo - the chine was re-fiber glassed, the hull was painted, the transmission was rebuilt, the seal around the bow door was replaced, and the list continues. |
Captain Mike and Coral watching China Mike at work on the seal |
The seal around the bow door
cracked and Captain Mike, China Mike (Peterson) and Coral Jennings spent
part of the day gluing pieces of tubing and cutting up and using Mike's rubber knees pads to try
to make a better seal. Captain Mike bought a really great seal - the
best money could buy - and it cracked and split. Now there is some
concern about water flowing in through the door (if it doesn't fall
off.) The hinges are rusting out pretty well and need to be
replaced, but that will have to wait for another time.
THE CREW
|
China Mike using a piece of Captain Mike's knee pads to seal the bow door. |
Coral Jennings (our friend from
Salt Cay) has lived on the island all his life, fishing and around the
water. He currently works for the Public Works Department on Salt
Cay.
Oliver "Ollie" Been (our friend from Salt Cay) has lived on Salt Cay for much of his life and is co-owner of Salt Cay Divers and a dive master. Captain Mike has been working on vessels for over thirty years and this is the first one he actually owns. |
