Just Over two weeks to spring launch (hopefully)
Whoo-hoo! Finally made it to April. Which means we are just a couple weeks away from getting Knot Again back in the water. It has been another long winter here in Northern Michigan (although truth be told, the winter weather was not *that* bad this year). However, the months and days seemed to tick away slower than normal with the anticipation of all the work that we needed to get done on the boat before we can start our Great Loop preparations.
We have a launch date set now for April 22nd (already bumped back once by the facility) …fingers crossed that date will be a go and we can get out of there. We will be happy to leave that place in our rear-view mirror. All I can say is we will not be back! Our planned winter storage facility fell through at the last-minute last fall, leaving us in a scramble to find somewhere to store her over the winter. The ONLY place that had availability was the one everyone told us not to go to – now we know why they had availability! We will be glad to be out of that place!

Knot Again waiting for spring launch
And then we will start our Great Loop preparations!
Getting her out of storage and back in the water means it will be time to get to work! Of course, our list of projects to complete on the boat before our fall departure has grown over the winter and we are a little concerned we will get everything crossed off the list before September when we plan to start the loop.
Items on our to-do list to get the boat ready for our trip include (in no particular order);
- Quick touch up, top coat of bottom paint
- Complete exterior detail
- Finish install of Sureshade retractable awning
- Finish install of Starlink
- Engine work:
- Replace all hoses, coolant
- Aftercooler servicing
- Change all fluids, filters, etc.
- Install bridge heater
- Complete Fusion stereo upgrade
- Recaulk all exterior joints
- Replace all porthole seals and screens
- New house electrical system with LifeP04 batteries, new high output alternator, regulator, and monitoring system
- Add several 110 outlets in salon
- Repaint anchor chain markings
- Install Nebo Link
- Install AIS transmitter/receiver
- Finish fabrication and install of custom work area for Scott
- Build custom table/desk/storage for salon
- Build custom storage area for 3rd stateroom
- Install backup anchor and rode
Of course, the first two items on the list should have been completed while it was in winter storage. Unfortunately, this means we will have to pull her back out of the water again shortly after launch to get these items done – somewhere other than the winter storage facility!
I will try to post updates as we work on these projects and we will be experimenting making some videos to document our progress! Let the fun begin!

Getting some work done on Knot Again while in winter storage
Erin Jaehnig