Holy Paperwork Batman… But it’s a done deal now. I own a BCC officially. Turns out that going out on my own as a freelance graphic designer this year, was bad timing. Not having a steady paycheck for the last 6 months of 2007 sent up the red flags in the loan office. With a bit of coaxing, and an extra signature (Dad had absolutely no idea he was going to be buying a boat this year!!) on the loan they eventually lowered their flag halyards. So only 6 days later then expected, I find myself here in the motel on South Padre Island again. This is my third trip down here. It’s not an easy place to get to (ie not cheap). All planes to Harlingen fly through Houston, so it’s a minimum of 2 plane fares to get here…and with my last minute flight change, this trip has turned out to be a financial doozy. With motels, flights, rental cars, the survey, haulout, storage, mast removal etc, this boat has cost me approximately $4400 so far and she’s not even on the truck yet! Note to self: Next time (don’t think there will be, but…) try to buy a boat within driving distance.

I got fairly well acquainted with the amount of work I will have to do this Spring, as a I took her apart and prepped her for mast removal. I was amazed to find that every SS halyard shackle was frozen and required a wrench to twist it open. The salt infused winds that torment this coast wreak havoc on the boats here. You can see a permanent salt haze in the air, coming from the Gulf.

To pull the rig, we had to get the boat in the water where it was low enough for the fork lift to get a good pick on the mast. Joy…another launch to pay for. The mast had been set/sealed inside the partners with a product called Spartite. Their site has many great testimonials about how secure, stable, dry, and fail proof this product is… but no one talks about how much of a complete b*tch it is to remove. A simple mast removal turned into a 2 hr sweaty, swearing saga to the tune of $70/hr per person. We hammered, we tugged, we cut… little by little we got it out. My overhead near the opening for the mast has a few battle scars and the mast certainly rose to the occasion and took one for the team…but it’s nothing a little cosmetic surgery can’t fix.

She still looks real sexy even without her rig. Note all canvas on deck must be removed for the truck. The mast although new in 2000 and never sailed, is in pathetic shape. Evidently it began to blister within the first year. And again this environment here, like smoking 2 packs a day, has made her look far older then she really is. You can also see in the pic the swaged fitting is cracked. My closer inspection of the rig makes me realize I will need all new standing rigging this year, rather than just replacing the three stays with cracked fittings as I originally thought.