Offically KELLY IV

5/10/2008
Now Kelly IV is Offically KELLY IV! Keith Otto and Jack vanArsdale spent 11 hours (8am until 7pm) on Saturday, May 10, cleaning all the old glue off the transom. They completely washed, then waxed the entire transom, measured meticulously, carefully placed the new name and hailing port and finally pulled away the last paper to expose the grand new name of "Kelly IV, Erie, PA". The new name is Kelly Green with a gold border (Packer colors acording to Wiscinsonite Otto!). She wears her new name beautifully, Thanks to a terrific effort by Jack and Keith.

In addition, Jack spent hours in the small starboard lazarette replacing a drain hose and securing a loose hose and wire. Now the new propane tank (filled after an arduous effort by Keith to locate someone open on a Saturday) is safely located in its own locker in the cockpit.

Another big job was centering the wheel over the rudder. Somehow the wheel was off center by about 120 degrees. After an hour or so of fiddling with the binnacle (compass housing) and quadrant (below-deck rudder-turning mechanism) the three of us figured out that a chain and sprocket drive the turning of the rudder. Once we determined that detail (buried under six layers of compass and binnacle parts!) we were able to lift the chain off the sprocket like a bicycle chain off its gears. Once off the sprocket, Keith and Jack were able to move the wheel to a centered position over the amidships rudder so the fancy weaving on the wheel properly centered the wheel over the rudder. We are now able to enjoy a truly ship-shape wheel!

In addition to these major activities, First Class crew Otto and vanArsdale accomplished numerous tasks to prepare Kelly IV for her launch on May 19. They removed, inspected & replaced the water pump impeller, planned several jobs with the marina Service Manager including a new engine instrument panel, a high water bilege alarm and pump, and a hot water heater and LPG system repair. They also rinsed out the bilge, checked and confirmed the oil level, installed the batteries, confirmed proper operation of the primary bilge pump, located the USCoast Guard documentation number, replaced the nuts on the battery terminals with wing nuts, and inspected the numerous through hulls and located emergency stopper plugs at each one.

Not Bad for an 11 hour day with no lunch break! Seriously, Jack and Keith were terrific crew more than measuring up to their colleagues and the tasks at hand!

My heartfelt "Thanks!" to Keith and Jack for many very important jobs "Well Done"!