You would think that by the time we sold Quantum Leap, it would be time for a little R & R but nope, we had more to do. Lots of projects on the “to do” list for Pivot/Her Idea but we’ll cover that at a later date.

When we returned from Kennebunkport, Maine in Pivot, Rob had moved the dinghy and tied it up to a dock across from us. Our previous dinghy had been sold with Quantum Leap, and we knew the one that was included in our purchase of Her Idea wasn’t going to work for us.

The dinghy was a West Marine single hull fiberglass “RIB” (Rigid Inflatable Boat) which is a fiberglass hull glued to soft flotation tubes. The single hull design makes for a sloping uneven floor. It also makes it very deep making it uncomfortable to ride in and difficult to get in and out of. Not to mention this dinghy had PVC fabric tubes which don’t hold up well when exposed to sunlight (Hypalon fabric is more expensive but much preferred and will last for decades). In addition, the setup for getting it on and off the boat was difficult to use to say the least. All of it, except possibly for the motor, definitely had to go!

Both Her Idea and the dinghy were previously registered in Maine. We obviously needed to register Her Idea in RI even though she is documented with the Coast Guard. But, after a bit of research, we determined that before we could sell the West Marine dinghy, we would also need to register it in RI to avoid some complex paperwork. We thought of mailing all the necessary forms to the RI DEM (Department of Environmental Management), but on their website, it said that it would take four weeks to process it. Nope, didn’t want to wait that long! We decided an in person appearance would result in a faster turnaround, a trip to the Providence office was a must!

But first, before we could even consider selling the dinghy, it was in dire need of cleaning. Unfortunately we didn’t take before and after photos. Rob was able to clean the inside of it using the pressure washer while it was tied up to the stern of Her Idea. It didn’t look perfect but it sure looked a lot better!

The next step was to clean the bottom which was in pretty rough shape having been in the water for a few weeks. We decided the best way to do that was for Rob to row it over to where the crane is located at EGYC, then hoist it up and lay it upside down in the parking lot. Hard to see in the photo below, but if you look closely you can see all the crud hanging from the bottom. It was totally disgusting! And it smelled awful too!

It took a couple of hours with the two of us scrubbing and rinsing it with the pressure washer, but eventually it was fairly clean! Then it took more time to clean the crud off the pavement of the parking lot!

After we were done, for obvious reasons, we didn’t want to put it back in the water again, instead we were able to wheel it on a dolly over to the dinghy rack where we could store it until it sold. Now that it was clean, Rob was able to take pictures of it and created an ad on Facebook Marketplace.

Before it sold though, we had to get it, as well as Pivot/Her Idea registered in RI. A RI DEM registration application form needed to be completed for both boats and notarized so another trip to our local AAA was required. We had been here so many times recently I think they were beginning to recognize us! Once that was done, off we went to the DEM. Within an hour, everything was registered. Cool!

In the meantime, Rob had advertised the dinghy on the Facebook Marketplace. It didn’t take long for it to sell. Within a few days, a man from Charlestown, RI, came in his pickup truck and after paying us in cash, with Rob’s help, hoisted the dinghy into his truck. Done deal!

Now the fun begins! Time to get our ship in order! Time to focus on all of the to do tasks that we had planned for Pivot/Her Idea. Amazon Prime as well as other vendors had become our best friends! It seemed like every day we were getting deliveries of various supplies and replacement parts. Our aft cabin head had become a storage room!

Although we had completed an initial cleaning when we first moved on board, more cleaning including power washing all exterior surfaces was needed so that was our first priority. Plus we were still in the process of organizing things and putting things away, requiring the purchase of bins and other storage items.

Here’s some (but not all) of our other accomplishments:

• From our canvas guy, Jay, owner of Maritime Designs in Seekonk, we ordered the following:
  • A new front window sunscreen.
  • Outdoor Corinthian rug replacements for the bridge and aft deck.
  • A new aft deck enclosure.
• After unsuccessfully trying to clean the mildew stains on the bimini, and determining that it is not cost effective to repair, we ordered a hard top from Atlantic Towers which will be installed in Spring 2024. Jay will be building us the new enclosure.
• “Steam cleaned” all the original carpet including in the salon with our rug cleaner to remove wine stains near galley steps. Big improvement!
• Replaced the bluish area rug with a new more colorful area rug.
• Replaced the TV with a larger (43″) 4K Smart HDTV and installed a full motion TV Wall Mount in the main salon. Replaced the TV’s in the forward and aft cabins.
• Replace the corroded aft and forward head/shower drain plates
• Replaced the corroded shower fixtures, curtain hanger/rollers showerhead and flexible hose.
• Replaced the dysfunctional kitchen sink faucet.
• Removed the defunct ice maker (replaced with a portable ice maker) and added custom made Arctic White Starboard doors (as used by the factory elsewhere on the boat).
• Replaced all light bulb with LED light bulbs (32 eyeball, 12 puck lights). Courtesy lights still need to be replaced.
• Replaced yellowed plastic cup holders on bridge with stainless steel ones.
• Replaced ancient Tappan Convection Grill Microwave model TC 1050B oven with a new GE 1.0 Convection/Microwave/Air Fryer oven
• Installed under sink filtration system with faucet in galley and aft deck wet bar.
• Replaced lower cabinet lazy Susan in galley with a 3 shelf unit which added considerably more storage.
• Fixed a number of issues (leak in forward cabin, non draining shower, etc.)
• Many more to come including a new hardtop and solar panels, a new enclosure for the bridge, a new fridge, a new washer/dryer, a dishwasher and assorted other improvements. Phew! We sure are realizing that BOAT is an acronym for “bring on another thousand”!

In the midst of all these activities, my brother, Paul and his wife, Peggy, drove down from their home in NH to see the boat, spending two nights with us, one at the slip and the other on the mooring. Fun time!

Pivot was scheduled to be hauled on November 15th so the time was fast approaching to get her ready for winter storage. Although Rob was a wiz at winterizing Quantum Leap, he didn’t feel comfortable winterizing Pivot because of the diesel engines so he hired Scott Main, a mechanic at EGYC. This would be our first time removing both the enclosure and the bimini. Despite it being chilly, it went relatively smoothly and not difficult.

Our departure date in the RV was November 17th because we had reservations at Ft. Wilderness Campground at Disneyworld beginning on November 25th. So it was time to switch to getting the coach ready for travel. The race was on!