This is our 7th season with Ceilidh and unlike Rubicon she is more work to launch and get prepared for the season but having the bigger boat is nice.
Although there are many jobs the main issues are in order:
1. Cleaning the boat. After winter the deck is filthy and grimy. Two hour job.
2. Retrieving the batteries from home and lifting the batteries (3 @ 80 lbs. each) up to the deck and down into the boat. Hooking up the necessary connections. Two hours and a lot of effort.
3. Bottom paint--Not a hard job but takes at least three hours and it is messy.
4. Varnish--Making sure basic varnish is applied where it cannot be accessed on the water. Four or five hours.
5. Testing the engine. Critical job that has to be done properly. 1/2 hour. Once the boat is ready the trailer comes in a picks up the cradle. Then the 60 ton lift comes over the boat and the belts are slung under the boat and it is lifted off the cradle and lowered into the water.
6. Retrieving and installing the stackpak/mainsail combo which weighs about 100 lbs and very awkward. It is done in the water and requires that we old people lift the package on to the boat and then install it on the boom and on the mast. Then we have to add two 16' long stiffeners to the stackpak and four battens to the sail as we raise and lower it. Sounds easy but takes us about 3 hours after which we are exhausted.
7. Retrieving and raising the genoa. This is a huge sail that must be partially laid out on the foredeck and setup for raising in a groove on the furler at the bow of the boat. It shouldn't take long but due to issues with a bad halyard (which needs replacing) it has been a source of unnecessary bad words.
8. Installing the dodger, bimini and centerpiece over the cockpit. Relatively easy but tough on the fingers. Takes less than two hours.
So these jobs take anywhere from ten to fifteen hours and are hard work.
After these jobs are done we retrieve the cushions, etc.
