Just when we thought the 2020 season couldn't get any weirder, we discovered water in the bilge was rising slowly. That is a clear violation of the 2nd Law of Maritime Operations.
Volumes of USCG Rules & Regulations can be boiled down to only 3 immutable Laws of Maritime Operations. 1st Law: 'Keep the people in the boat.' 2nd Law: 'Keep the water out of the boat'. 3rd Law: 'Don't hit anything.'
We didn't know where the water was coming from (yes, yes, we knew it was coming from the River, but not where it was entering the boat) so a skeleton crew took the boat to our friends at Caddell Dry Dock and Repair on Staten Island. After pumping the bilge dry and crawling around in tight dark spaces over the course of two days, a small leak was located. Realizing that a) it wasn't going to fix itself, b) the likelihood of a small fish plugging it up was relatively slim, and c) a short-term inexpensive patch was, well, short-sighted, back into drydock she went.
With the boat out of the water Caddell's team of wizards went to work. New steel was welded into place, painted and heavily 'gooped'.
We are now back in compliance with the 2nd Law of Maritime Operations.
