At her dock

I check out Mojito at rest after her first extended cruise and all seems well. She's sitting well in the water and appears to be waiting to get out this weekend to explore a little more of the river.

Home Port....................St. Paul Yacht Club

Mojito leaves the Bayport Marina for her first extended run in a number of years. The trip from Bayport on the St. Croix River to the St. Paul Yacht Club on the Mississippi River takes a little over 6 hours. I run Mojito conservatively, as I am not really sure what to expect. It is her shake down cruise and she prefoms very well. Mojito's little six cylinder chugs along at about 8 knots. She navigates the lock and waterways easily.

As we approach the SPYC her idle speed decides to increase to about 1600 RPM and will not go lower. It makes for an interesting initial docking. After a few approahes, some club members help us at the dock and she comes in without any new dock dings.

At the end of the day, Mojito's newest boat buddy Jaida (my grandchild) makes an inspection tour and quickly grabs the helm.

Woodies on the Water..........Bayport, MN

Mojito attended her first wooden boat show while under my care. Not knowing what to expect, I was surprised at the attention she got and the compliments she received.

The day initially looked like we may get rained out but the sun broke through and a great breeze developed. A perfect summer day.

I have posted many photos of the great boats displayed. Seeing them all has inspired me to do more with Mojito as time and money permits.

Thanks to Valley Outreach for sponsoring the show and a special thanks to "Bayport Marina" for their great facilities and wonderful hospitality. It goes without saying that an additional thanks go to Joel and Michelle Lemanski for coordinating the event and making Mojito feel at home.

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.