The day arrived for Great Ketch to be launched. The early morning was calm with a slight breeze, and not many boats were in their slip. I arrived at the marina to see the boat in the hoist waiting for me to apply the remainder of the anti fouling paint to areas where the stands had held the boat while on the hard during the winter.
After the boat was launched, a dockhand and I started the Yanmar engine and expressed delight knowing that the engine was pumping water and running well. Basic engine maintenance task still needed to be performed.
Great Ketch was placed into its slip. I checked the boats hull for leaks, the through-hull connections, and the overall condition of the boat. I walked along the deck admiring the feel of the Great Ketch as it floated in piece in its new slip.
I made a request to the marina to have all fuel filters replaced, the impeller in the water pump replaced, and to save the oil changing task for myself, which I performed the following week. Using a hand pump to suck the oil from the oil pan it became obvious that changing oil is a time-consuming task --imagine sucking heavy syrup from one of those hollow plastic tubes used to stir milk in coffee.
