Aeolus's TUMMY

After the maintenance work was done yesterday, we sailed the Aeolus back to Hokko Yacht Harbor. When the Aeolus was lifted up out of the water, I thoroughly ran my hands on the underside of the Aeolus to paint a mental picture of her. Normally, this part of the Aeolus would be underwater so I wouldn't be able to do this. By doing this I got to know her better. Like being surprised at how small the propeller that moves the 8 ton Aeolus is. And how impressively big the keel is. That's why even in heavy winds the Aeolus won't tip over and we feel safe when the waves are pretty big. Thanks to the keel, the Aeolus sails relatively straight without steering. By touching the bottom of the Aeolus, I reconfirmed that she is a reliable boat even in rough weather. Next, I carefully touched the water intake and scupper (drain). What I am touching with my left hand has a strainer so it's the water intake. Sea water is pumped to the faucet in the galley (kitchen) from here. We do most of our washing with sea water. Purified water is precious so we can't use that for washing. I'm touching the the scupper with my right hand. This doesn't have a strainer. Water intakes have strainers so that things like seaweed won't clog the pipe. There are many scuppers for different uses; i.e. some are to drain water out when a huge wave rolls into the cockpit and fills it up with water or to flush the toilet or to drain the sea water when it is used to cool the engine. I touched and memorized each one. I then carefully made my way up the step ladder and got aboard the yacht when I heard voices and sounds of machines from the direction of beneath the boat which felt so different from when the boat is in the water. I went into the cabin and I touched the pipes and tried to imagine which inlet or drain that I touched earlier it was connected to. To explain why, I did this because if I don't understand the layout of the inlets/drains, I won't be able to troubleshoot if and when the boat fills with sea water. At around 2 pm, the Aeolus was returned to the water by a crane and we cruised by engine to Hokko Yacht Harbor. We are now done with most of the major maintenance work on the Aeolus. I'm really proud of the Aeolus getting into better shape for our voyage across the Pacific.   

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 4/18/2013
Translated by SWIS Project