Lazy days.......

Mojito get a little cleaning and I get a little sun. Not much effort expended by either of us. Joel stops by and thinks he may try a little caulk around the chine. Mojito has swelled a lot but still has one spot that has a little leak.

Mojito.............the star

So Mojito gets her blog picked up by the blog WoodyBoater. Check it out at http://woodyboater.com/ She was posted on the site Thursday July 23, 2009.







Friday brings Mojito out for her first cruise in a number of years. Her Red Wing six comes to life and the Paragon tranny slips into reverse. We make it out of the docks and into the river without any problems. I pull her mid stream and try and get a feel of Moito. She is as expected, slow and steady. Her six cylinder sounds like she should and we take a short cruise for about an hour and 1/2. It's back to the dock and I surprise myself that her single screw responds as expected. No dock dings.

Saturday is rainy and windy so I spend the day bringing in and attempting to assemble her sleeper sofa. It's not all together but with a little more time it should be right. I also attack a few small hardtop leaks. The top needs to stripped and redone but that is a winter project along with lots of other items.

At the dock.....................................

Mojito made her way out of the slings and under her own power this morning to her temporary dock. It's been a long time since she has traveled anywhere on her own.

I still have to bring down her sleeper sofa and get it installed. After that it's just doing the basics for the rest of the season. No big projects are planned for the balance of the summer. This winter I tackle additional projects, but right now it's time to enjoy her.

I can't thank Joel Lemanski from www.classicboathardware.com enough along with the help of my son Robert. It's been great.

Mojito and I go out this Friday for our maiden voyage.
We will see how we do together.
It should be great.

Brendt

In the slings.................putting the interior back together

Mojito swelled up fairly well. She is going to stay in the sling one more night and then set free. Joel fine tuned the Red Wing six cylinder and she sounds great.

I started putting back the interior and bringing all of the stuff I think I will need on the boat. The forward bunk/sofa is mounted as well as thecaptains chair. I spent most of my time just cleaning her.

Tomorrow should bring the first time Mojito goes out under her own power in 4 to 5 years.

Splash..................at last

Mojito is finally back where she belongs, in the water after a number of years.

Until her planks swell she will leak, but she seems to be doing fine. We have an extra bilge pump on board just in case. Hopefully her planks swell up quickly and she just needs to stay in the slings for a day or two. Then it's on her way to her temporary dock.

We fired the engine again and it seems OK. We need to check the points but I think she will be fine.

It's been a terrific day and Mojito seems glad she is wet again and back in her element.

Getting ready to launch...........

Robert and I head to Bayport to meet Joel for Mojito's splash. When we all arrive we are told that it would be best if we wait until late afternoon because they have a few launches ahead of us.

Mojito looks great as Joel pulls up with her in tow. I still have a lot of small items to attend to. Joel is going to be at the marina all weekend so I am confident that if we run into any problems I am in good hands. She will sit in the sling for at least a day to swell and hopefully not leak too much. Then to a guest dock until the "Woodies on the Water" boat show is done on the 8th of August. After that she will make her way to her home port, the St. Paul Yacht Club.

Tomorrow is the day.................................splash

After five months of work, Joel sends me the email below. Mojito makes a splash tomorrow.

Hello Brendt,

Tomorrow is D day. Mojito is ready, I will be at the marina around 8 am.

Give me a call.

Joel

Getting closer..........................

Spent the morning draining old gas out of Mojito's tanks, and attaching hardware. The Chris Craft Logo was added to the sides and it looks great. Joel replaced the fuel filter and gasket on the water pump. It's really coming together.

Joel finishes the cabin top this week. Robert is scheduled to help out with installing hardware, a trickle charger and other last minute items in preparation for the splash this coming week.

Getting close to splash

It's been awhile since I posted. Schedules have been hectic. It looks like Mojito can actually get in the water on the 17th. I posted lots of photos showing Joel's heroic work.

12 coats of varnish have been applied to the side sides and the final coat of paint is done. The top is sanded and hardware is starting to go back on. The cabin and cockpit have had a basic cleaning and I brought in the redone bunks and captain's seat. I still need to pickup the the sleeper sofa, but that will be installed when she is in the water.

Mojio is going to be launched in Bayport and slung for a couple of days. Joel asked if she can stay in Bayport for the Antique an Classic boat show he quarterbacks there the 1st week of August. Then she makes her way to St. Paul.