We had the local U-Haul install the trailer hitch. Unfortunately, the wiring wasn't in stock and had to be ordered.
| Part number | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| HTHW | Lifetime warranty | 5.00 |
| 78214 | Round Tube Rec. (Powder Coat) | 149.95 |
| Hitch Labor | 65.00 | |
| On-Line Labor Discount | -10.00 | |
| Tax | 19.96 | |
| Total | $229.91 |
At the time that we bought the boat, we noted that the mast step was a little loose. The bolt and screw holding the mast step allowed the step to lift a little above the deck of the boat. Sandi had already looked into this. She wanted to put a new Mast Step Halyard Plate under the mast step anyway, giving it six points to clip various lines onto.
While we were on vacation, Sandi had ordered new stuff from Catalina Direct, including the Halyard Plate ($39.95) and a Mast Step Mounting Kit ($12.95).
She removed the mast step by unbolting it, and removing the screw that sinks through the deck into the top of the post in the cabin. We decided to use the longer of the two screws supplied as it bit into the wood a little better. Adhesive was applied and the Mast Step Halyard Plate was put down, followed by the Mast Step.
The adhesive needs five to seven days to cure, preventing us from putting the boat in the water for a while. At this point, we still do not know for sure that she floats.
Other stuff Sandi ordered:
The sail tape was needed to repair a 1" tear in the mainsail. It's a must for any sailboat maintenance kit. The batten set was ordered since two of the four mainsail battens were broken into multiple pieces. The cost of replacing just two individual battens was essentially the same as buying the entire batten replacement kit.
After getting several fiberglass splinters while gluing on the first end cap, she decided to sand them down gently with some very fine sandpaper. It worked great. No more fiberglass splinters and no need to worry when handling them to put them into or remove them from the mainsail.
We have created a page on using the Loos Tension Gauge, because the instructions may as well have been written in Rongorongo.
Our friend Chris brought Impulse down to us. He has a massive Ford pickup truck, which makes hauling the boat easy. He happened to be on Whidbey Island that weekend, and it was just a couple of miles out of his way.
Unfortunately, as he was bringing it in the last couple of miles, the brakes on the trailer started smoking. We weren't sure why at the time (I'll cover that in a later post). Still, it made it and got dropped in Greg's parent's driveway. Our driveway isn't conducive to parking the boat because of the steepness of it.
We had a few hours to admire our new possession before having to get ready for our vacation.
That morning we had decided on what we were going to rename the boat. Although Impulse was a good name, we had decided that Fantasia was a better name for us.
First, Sandi had just lost her mom. Her mom was a Disney Imagineer, having worked for Disney for more than 15 years. Her 15 year anniversary award was a Mickey Mouse with the sorcerer's hat and robe from the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of the 1940 movie Fantasia. Some of Sandi's best memories growing up was going to the Disney parks with her mom, as well as one of her last. The last time Sandi had been with her mom, they went to Walt Disney World together.
Second, Greg's dad had been taking us to the Seattle Symphony for the last several years. We had heard many of the pieces from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 being played live at various points. Since Greg's dad was helping make the acquisition of the boat possible, it seemed appropriate.
Third, I could just imagine the kids trying to bail the boat to the music of Paul Dukas's Sorcerer's Apprentice as new water came crashing over the sides.
It will take a while before the new name will be applied to the boat, so in the pictures that follow, it will still say Impulse until we can finish the renaming.
|
| One of the first photos of Impulse |
As just idle speculation, we mentioned to Greg's dad that "if we got a boat, could we park it in their driveway?" After trying to talk us out of it, he then started sending us links to various boats for sale. One of the prime candidates was a boat named Impulse, then on a trailer on Whidbey Island, Washington State. Actually Sandi found this boat first, and sent a link saying "this is more like what we are looking for."
On Saturday, June 14, Greg's dad went out to Whidbey Island and talked to the owner and took about 50 photos. We weren't available that day. The boat seemed in very good shape, unlike a few other that we looked at.
|
| Sandi and Conner on Impulse |
We went out to Whidbey Island, taking the ferry from Mukilteo. We left being the proud owners of a fine Catalina 22. At the time, our vehicle didn't have a trailer hitch, so we couldn't bring her back with us. We arrange for a friend to bring her home for us.
She came with:
We went immediately to the Department of Licensing place to register it. Although we had the title for the boat, we discovered that we didn't get the title for the trailer. The reason was that it had just been re-issued to the previous owner and was still in the mail. He sent it a few days later and we applied for the title after we received it.
We had done our research on the value of the boat, the trailer, and the other stuff. We had prepared three separate bills of sale: one for the boat, one for the trailer, one for all the other stuff including the outboard. There can be beneficial tax reasons for structuring it like this.
We went out to Whidbey Island to look at a boat. It was a disaster. It smelled inside, and had been leaking water. It was unstable on the trailer. Since we were out there, we decided to go look at Impulse. The owner wasn't home, but we could walk around it in the driveway. It looked good. It was in good shape. We decided to come back when the owner was home and could see the inside the cabin and ask some questions.
|
|
| One of the first photos of Impulse |
As just idle speculation, we mentioned to Greg's dad that "if we got a boat, could we park it in their driveway?" After trying to talk us out of it, he then started sending us links to various boats for sale. One of the prime candidates was a boat named Impulse, then on a trailer on Whidbey Island, Washington State. Actually Sandi found this boat first, and sent a link saying "this is more like what we are looking for."
On Saturday, June 14, Greg's dad went out to Whidbey Island and talked to the owner and took about 50 photos. We weren't available that day. The boat seemed in very good shape, unlike a few other that we looked at.