On July 5^th we departed Willoughby Harbor Marina and moved Pas de Deux up the Bay, arriving at Lake Ogleton, near Annapolis, MD on July 7^th. We made overnight stops in our usual mid-Bay anchorages at Mill Creek and Solomons. We spent four days at anchorage in Lake Ogleton preparing for a maintenance period at Bert Jabins Yacht Yard in Annapolis. We removed the sails and disconnected all the mast electrical and electronic instruments and antennas in preparation for having the mast removed to accomplish several maintenance issues. On July 11^th we motored the short distance to BJYY where Pas de Deux would stay until August 8^th.

With the mast removed we were able to (hopefully) resolve the nagging mainsail halyard problem and replaced the masthead wind instrument. The problems with the wind instrument and tricolor light that we experienced last winter in the Caribbean turned out to have a common cause – the internal mainsail halyard was chaffing the wires running to the masthead. The wires are protected in a conduit starting near the mast base, but the conduit ends about 2 feet below the masthead, exposing the wires. Over time the halyard chaffed against all the wires in this exposed area and caused the electrical "disconnects" on the tricolor light and some of the wind instrument wires. Chaffing was also occurring on the VHF and Navtex antenna cables, but had not yet caused problems. All the wires to the masthead were replaced except the Navtex antenna wire, which was repairable. We also replaced the VHF antenna and took the opportunity to upgrade the VHF antenna cable. Dave fashioned a chaff guard from tygon tubing to protect the wiring in the exposed area. With the mast down, the forestay was also replaced and some cosmetic repairs were made to the carbon fiber mast itself.

Dave's brother Pete assisted with reinstallation of the sails on August 7 and joined Dave for the trip south to Jaynes Marine in Reedville, VA for further maintenance. They stopped in Solomons for an overnight and enjoyed good weather and ample golden beverages…. The master plan was to have the boat hauled out at Jaynes for “on the hard” maintenance items including bottom painting and through-hull fitting and seacock replacements. Pas de Deux would remain out of the water through the peak of tropical storm season in August, September, and October. During these months, Dave would spend time “living” on the boat in the yard to perform maintenance between trips home for house chores and other obligations.


A new genoa was procured and installed and some spinnaker repairs were conducted in the side yard at home in Arlington. One major repair involved the dinghy: our current dinghy was inherited from the original owner of the boat--making it over 10 years old. Being a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) of PVC construction, 10 years is several years beyond its expected lifetime. Its age had become more apparent – with an entire glued seam on the port side of the transom having come apart, we researched replacement dinghies and considered buying one from a dealer in Annapolis. But Dave chose to first attempt a repair that would last long enough for us to purchase a replacement in St. Maarten on our upcoming winter cruise, costing about $1300 less for the same model in Annapolis. Dave procured the special glue and followed the tedious instructions including five “washes” with MEK solvent and three coats of the two part adhesive on the mating surfaces and was successful in making the repair. It has held together very well <knock, knock> and we’ll be able to delay the inevitable replacement. In usable condition now, we will try to sell it later to help defray the cost of a new one.

The decision to have Pas de Deux hauled out in early August for the remainder of storm season became prophetic when less than two weeks later hurricane Irene blasted up the east coast. Dave traveled to Jaynes a day ahead of the storm to handle storm preparations including securing the mainsail, removing the bimini, removing nearby loose objects that could become missiles in hurricane winds, etc. Friend Bob whose sister ship Our White Magic is also on the hard at Jaynes arrived from his home in Ontario to do the same. Following the storm preparations, Dave drove back to Arlington and Bob eagerly stayed to ride out the storm, having never seen a hurricane up close. Irene passed just east of the Chesapeake Bay and Bob got to experience a pretty good blow. Dave waited two days before returning to allow road crews time to clear downed trees, of which there were many. None of the boats in the yard sustained damage, but the yard was without power and well water for several days which made clean up hot and sweaty. Dave and Bob used the fresh water transom shower on Pas de Deux fed from on-board tanks for both cooling and bathing.

Back to work again, Dave discovered that the starboard Volvo folding prop hub was very loose on its shaft, indicating rebuild or replacement--an unexpected maintenance item. After much research and many phone calls, it was apparent that replacement parts to rebuild the hub were not available and purchasing a new hub or a whole new prop of another design would be necessary. A new hub was expensive, but still much cheaper than a whole new prop of any design, so this was the obvious choice – although it was frustrating that parts to rebuild the old hub would have been even cheaper if Volvo would make them available…. After all, the very same parts are needed to make a new hub!

Once the new hub was in hand, Dave could perform the elaborate four-step process of applying antifouling to the props and sail drive legs: 1) wire brushing all components down to bare, bright metal; 2) immediately etching the metal parts with chemical etcher to prevent oxidation prior to priming; 3) applying five coats of brush-on primer to the aluminum sail drive legs and three coats to the bronze prop hubs and blades; and 4) finally applying three coats of antifouling paint to all the components. Whew! This was the same process Dave used last summer and (for all the effort) it proved to be remarkably effective in minimizing marine growth on the props and drives.   





In addition to the big ticket items, we conducted numerous routine maintenance items during the remainder of our stay at Jaynes. Donna cleaned and re-situated areas in preparation for the annual loading of provisions. We expect to relaunch Pas de Deux just a couple of days before our expected departure for the Virgin Islands in early November.

While at Jaynes, Dave enjoyed the opportunity to interact with other multihull cruisers in the process of performing their own maintenance tasks. It was a friendly international community with plenty of occasions to assist others and to tell sea stories in the almost daily happy hour gatherings in the “Yacht Club” – including frequent pot luck dinners and “semi” organized cookouts. Emphasis on “semi”…..    

Stay tuned for our Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean...we expect to have a weather window for departure on Wednesday, November 7.