The Hollywood

   A few days ago I went down to the harbor to do something on the boat and I saw a lot of unusual activity on the transit dock. Upon closer examination I saw that the old wooden seiner the Hollywood sank at the dock. Several months ago I had mentioned to the harbormaster that it looked like it was setting down a little bit. I can't remember what the response was. A week or so ago it was really starting to look  like it was taking on water, but I didn't give it much thought. It was docked right where everyone who came to the harbor would see it, so it wasn't a surprise that it was looking a little shaky. I think there was ample opportunity for the powers that be, either the owner or the harbormaster to deal with it, but obviously that didn't happen. You know that old saying- there's never enough time to do it right but there's always enough time to do it over." ? Well, this was kind of like that. The owner was out getting ready for a seine opening and had to come charging in to deal with the boat. I know that he lost out on several days of fishing time and I don't know what the expense is going to be as far as hiring equipment to try and right it. It took the better part of a week as I recall to finally get it to where it could be towed to the haul out and put on solid ground. I passed by the boat the other day and surprisingly it doesn't look bad from the bottom to the deck. Of course I didn't get out and examine it or anything so there could be severe damage on the side I couldn't see, although I don't think so or it wouldn't have floated long enough to be towed to it's resting place. I'm not sure what's going to happen to it now. I don't wish something like this on anyone, but if it's going to happen, it's better to have it happen tied to the dock than out in the middle of the ocean. If you happen to own a boat, keep in mind that boats are a lot of expense. They're like having a little kid, they have to be taken care of. Zincs should be checked every year and replaced if need be, thru hulls need to be looked at, rubber boots on out drives need to be checked,  seams need caulked on wooden boats and bilge pumps should be tested. I know it's a pain, but if you want to keep the water on the outside, you need to do the maintenance.