La Le Lu is back in the water - where she belongs. Chris lived in the sandlot for the last week and busted ass to get everything that needed doing done. The rudder bolts and stuffing box needed replacing/re-stuffing, but we got off easy, relatively speaking. The other end of the spectrum of possible rudder problems was a new rudder bearing, which would have meant a month in the yard, and a lot of lint out of our pockets. Thank you 'powers that be' - that fix was not in our cards. After splashing, we burped the shaft seal and confirmed that Chris' rudder bolt replacement was indeed holding water - Yeah! Smug with fresh accomplishments, we made our victory march back down the barge canal. Upon arrival to Harbor Town, no one was on the dock to greet us -but neither of us cared. Some achievements are deeper and don't require the resonnation from or approval of a crowd. For some strange reason, with my boat now back in the water, the rest of my world is much less traumatic. On Sunday as we washed the yard sand off our decks, I just felt good. As I watched the trails of sand swirl down the scuppers, I felt that the weight I have been carrying for the past month has lifted off my shoulders and I inexplicably did not feel the need to worry about anything. My boat floats....everything else just falls into place.
