Delays, Decisions, and new deadlines
OK, I have been a little quiet for the last two weeks.
Work and travel have kept me away from the boat. Martin on the other hand has been awesome. He has been working hard on the boat every moment he can.
Decisions…
The Good News and decision numbers 1 & 2…
The deck is starting to look amazing. The fibre glass is down. Next, they need to prime and paint the deck. Then stanchion mounts for the hand-rails and their cables (these stop us from falling overboard) go back on. Along with the new anchor winch and controller, head sail travellers (cutter rig, so two head sails) and numerous other fittings. And then they apply the anti-slip surface.
I am nervous to share this as everyone has an opinion about what to use for anti-slip. And there are equally as many good and bad stories for each option out there. The choices we are considering are, a traditional old school approach (sand in paint), a premix paint anti-slip paint or a product called Kiwi-grip. We were gravitating towards the latter after on-line research. However, the guys at the yard painted some of the premix anti-slip for us to see what it looked like/felt like and it feels good. Although the sample they gave us was blue we intend to have white anti-slip on white fibre glass.
Before they apply the anti-slip they need to mask off the edges. Like house painting, it is a process of taping off the edges to paint to. And in doing so nicely trim around all our stainless steel. Can’t wait – she will look gorgeous. Nitto, the gorgeous Brazilian guy who is the leading this work is a master of his craft. And also cute…
The Bad News and decision nbr 3
Martin as you know has been sweating through the days with temperatures in the high 30s polishing the top sides of the boat. He has now undertaken removing some of the antifoul where it has been flaking off. It is messy work and he has been suited up and wearing the protective kit including face masks. Even so he says he can feel the sting of the chemicals.
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In case you are wondering what antifoul is. Antifoul is a paint that is applied to the underside of the boat that chemically prevents slime, weed, barnacles and the like from growing. And why is this growth a problem? It does two things; the growth slows the boat down when sailing and it can eat away at the hull.
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What Martin has unveiled leads to decision number 3. The antifoul has pinholes going through to the glass. And while there does not appear to be any damage to the hull it will need to be rectified fairly soon. We have decided to make a remedial fix for now and will do the whole underside as a standalone project sometime next year. To do the whole boat efficiently requires sandblasting and another week (or two). So, it will have to wait until next year and we have a little more cash.
Delays and new deadlines
We have had to reschedule putting the boat back into the water twice. It was going to be Monday the 16th, then Friday 20th and now it is some day in mid-January. L
We had our fingers crossed, that the other bits and pieces being done at The Yard all get finished as Friday the 20th which is the last day the yard is hoisting boats in and out of the water. We were booked in. The reality of the situation is the work won’t be finished. And I am glad they have decided to not push the deadline.
Here’s one good reason…
I was told a funny story today… In haste, on another boat, the steering was wired incorrectly, and it got lowered into the water and they had trouble steering it out of the haul out facility. They managed with great frustration and the error had to be corrected on the water.
Anyway back to our boat… and more delays
Unfortunately, our new boom did not get shipped in time to be put on the boat before Christmas. We understand it was ready to go and it did not fit in the 20ft container. It needs to be in a 40ft container. I am sure we are not the first to ship a boom of this size so I am struggling to understand this mistake. I am trying not to think about not sailing over the Christmas break. OK we might have to sail in our sailing dinghy…
Notwithstanding the on-going bad news with deadlines and new deadlines we had a great talk with the riggers, and we are the first job up after Christmas. They start back on the 15th January. And, once again lady luck is on our side (if only). We have a wedding of a girlfriend I have known for 30+ years on the 16th in January and fly to New Zealand on 17th for Martin’s eldest daughter’s wedding on 18th. The proposed date to put the mast back on the boat we are in NZ. We need to go back with another date.
So much is happening…
And to finish on a high… We are super excited to have shipped our first order of Erudite Apparel t-shirts. I asked Martin not to open the parcel when it arrived, so we could do it together. I want to do Facebook live of the unveiling. However, like a kid in a toy shop he was excited and wanted to see what they look like. And the T-shirts are awesome!!!
We have created a neat little thank you card to go in the bag. The card shares our philosophy “What are you waiting for?” The next stage for Erudite apparel is to set up the on-line shop.
So much to look forward to…
#Ilovesailing #whatareyouwaitingfor #liveyourlife
