Day 7

Do you ever get the feeling you have bitten off more than you can chew?? Well its getting that way with the Lady Evelyn!
Where to start?? The begining is always good I suppose...
Ok, after my 'help' went AWOL due to the cry of wild women and drink!
I had to sort out the pumps and the logistics myself.  I hear you say "So what?" well you try lifting, lowering and manhandling a petrol pump down a twenty foot harbour wall and across a deck that is a slippy as ice and tell me that its easy...well if it is, it all had to go back up again when the lady refused to lift on those tides I didnt blog about.
I managed to source three pumps and heres a wee thank you to those involved, first thanks to Paddy Lafferty for the honda 5hp garbage pump, then to Burden's for finally getting a decent wee diaphram pump and also to Neil Munro from Munro's garage in Oban for the very cute 1 inch honda that looks like a toy (Works absolutly fine though!!). 
I want to mention the fourth pump that came from MacGloghlans that didnt work and nearly killed me in the discovery that it didnt work!! It was a heavy bloody thing that was as awkward as you get, a huge amount of effort for nothing in getting it on board then trying to prime the thing...but a thank you for letting me borrow it none the less.
The pumps were all 2 inch apart from the one that didnt work which was a four inch.  It turned out the diaphram and the 5hp were adaquate to get her afloat.  It appears that there is a point where if the boat is dry enough and if the pumps are on, then she will lift. 
If the pumps are not running, as happened the night before, the water overtakes and its not worth carrying on. 
I think a lesson to be learned here is that if the water looks like its going to win...then its going to win!
So after the lessons learned from day 7, the Lady lifted on day 8.  It took the two pumps mentioned and having them running the whole time.  She really did not take that much water after she levelled out as most of the seams that were coasing a problem held fine (I had caulked them at low water)and the worst ones were above the water line anyway. 
If she has sprung a plank then its not overly causing a massive influx of water.  Not enough to worry about towing her as is anyway.
The tow job... Well she is going to a yard to be hauled out and then work can begin on her proper.  At least that was the idea.
What the reality is, is that she may well be far to heavy for the yard's cradle to lift her out.  The yard has apparantly tried this before an the cradle 'groaned' under the strain. So much so that the pilot of the cradle gave up. 
The yard have said they will try again, but she goes back into the water if the cradle fails again.
Therein lies yet another problem, if this yard cannot take her out......what the hell do I do?
The charges where she is sitting at the moment are £110 (Approx) per week and the deal is that I get her moved ASAP. 
I have postponed the move three times due to pump problems, human interference (Sorry, lack off it) and timing of the tides and to be honest the weather the other day was atroshious.
If she cannot get intot he yard then one thought is to put her on legs and find a beach somewhere, but to be honest that would be the kiss of death for the vessel as access might very well be a huge issue. 
She already lists very badly to starboard after having been lying on that side for over a year and very badly needs to dry out .  (The initial idea was to let her dry out for some time on the slip at the boatyard then lift her, that cannot happen now as the yard have put pontoons up inside the pier for locals to use for their boats.)
Since the timimg of the tides are wrong this week, the fact that I have managed to lift her and turn her round are a bit acedemic and I have had to return all the pumps. 
The tow couldnt take place as there was nobody in the yard at the weekend to attemp to lift her.  So the next attempt is going to be on the 5th or 6th of November.
I still do not know hat do do if the hoist/cradle cannot lift her.  Is that going to be the nail in the coffin for this project? The only yards that are capable of taking her are based on Corpach near Fort William, Mallaig or South to Crinan.  But since I would not get change out of say, twenty thousand...well thats me stuffed.
Like I said at the begining of this blog "Have I bitten off more than I can chew?"
I am begining to think this project is cursed.....
Aye
Kered