This round of maintenance...done!

And just like that, our time in the boat yard is over! We splashed Thursday, exactly one week after we were hauled. We now have a good idea of how long painting and waxing takes us and we know how much bottom paint we need (3 gallons for 2 coats!).

I made a few runs to the grocery store, the kids enjoyed their last day of land life with new (used) skateboards, we said our goodbyes, and we are anchored in Herring Bay for the night. Katreina took over my anchoring roles while I drove the car between the marines and did great!

We will get fuel and pump out in the morning and be on our way. It was a busy, but wonderful stop!

Food!

Two boards for $40!!!

Nice anchoring, 2nd Mate!

Paint Day!

After much research, we decided to go with West Marine’s PCA Gold bottom paint. It ablates at 4 knots which is perfect for our cruising sailboat (and much more appropriate than the paint that we had which ablated at 7 knots), and it the same as Pettit Ultima SR40 paint. And it was on sale! Today Frank wrapped up sanding and I wiped it all down with Thinner 120 and taped it off before he got to work applying two coats of paint. While he painted, I waxed! It was a painful day for everyone, but well worth it!

Frank working hard on the first coat.

With my mate, the Shurhold!

Hiding from the sun.

So shiny!

Looks fast!

Tomorrow I will finish up the second coat of wax while he does some work on the water maker and knocks out a few gel coat repairs. We will also work with the marina to get the jack stands moved so we can paint where they were. Then it’s time to splash! This was a painful yet rewarding time on the hard. This is the first time we have done all of this ourselves, and we are pretty pleased with how it’s all turning out!

Happy Father’s Day! Now get to work.

No rest for the wicked! I’ve been compounding the hull and trying desperately to bring life back to the vinyl boat stripe, but that’s nothing compared to what Frank endured today! He rented a vacuum sander and went to work prepping the hull for new paint. This was some hot, dirty, hard work. And thanks to COVID-19, respirators are sold out so forgive his attempt at safety gear.

Getting it done, one 6” circle at a time.

Looking good under here!

Trying hard to get a few more years out of this stripe.

It wasn’t all work! We ordered out for dinner and treated him to some bourbon-themed chocolates from Bixby & Co. in Rockland, Maine and bought him a bottle of Lagavulin 11 “Offerman Edition” (Parks & Rec fans will get that). We love our Captain/Dad!

FINALLY! We are on the hard!

After leaving the boat Monday we FINALLY got the call Thursday afternoon that the boat had been hauled! I was in full-on panic mode as we are on the schedule to launch next week and we have lots to do!

We got to the boat today to start to assess the workload. After looking at the bottom paint condition and researching what was put on last year, we’ve made the tough decision to sand and repaint the whole bottom. I will also be compounding and waxing the hull. Today was assess, shop, and wash day! I also painstakingly removed the silver pinstripe that was above our boot strip. It had taken quite a bit of abuse from mooring balls and we thought the boat would just look better with it removed. 

We will spend the next few days battling heat, thunderstorms, and work that we’ve never done on our own before!

Assessment time!

Pinstripe removed, ICW mustache removed with lemon juice and on-and-off, and she got a bath!

Galley Wrap-up and Moving On

After letting the countertop cure for a day, it was time to start putting it all back together! This wasn’t so simple as we decided to flip the sink around (which required some wood to be cut) and then had to redo the drain pipes when I dropped a piece overboard while trying to clean it. Getting all the screws back in to secure the sink took a LOT of boat yoga and patience. We also installed an in-line water filter under the sink (love it!) and a new faucet with a pull-out sprayer (love that, too!). I really can’t thank the Captain enough for all of his hard work on this project! I still have to put everything in its final place, but I’m calling this project complete!

Installing all the new goodies!

It’s done! Love it!

And not a moment too soon! Today we left Herrington Harbour South after a wonderful, productive visit and headed to Herrington Harbour North to get hauled out sometime this week. It was fun checking out our sister marina, not so fun starting an engine coolant line project only to find that some of the parts need to be special ordered. More to be done on that later!

Kids handled lines while I drove the car, then enjoyed the perks of HHN!

Grrr...that stupid piece of after-market metal needs to go!

Decisions, decisions...Time for a big project?

As we’ve been heading north we noticed that we were losing speed through the water. It’s time for a haul out! We were going to shoot for a short haul where they leave you in the slings for a good power washing and zinc change. But...maybe we want to do more? The hull seriously needs to be waxed which would be easier if we were out of the water. We also would like to touch up the bottom paint where it got gouged by the anchor chain and a few mooring balls. 

The good news? Lots of options for yards on the Chesapeake. We debated Deltaville for a quick haul, but having decided a week on the hard would do us some good, we started looking between Solomon’s Island and Annapolis. Our friends, family, and car are all up there which would make the work easier. And as we are intimately familiar with the services at Herrington Harbour, we made the call. Unfortunately, the earliest they can haul us is the week of June 15th. Not horrible, but not ideal. We could stay at the Navy base in Pax River to wait for our haul and still be close to friends. But alas, Herrington Harbour South is able to give us a competitively-priced slip for two weeks while we wait! YES! We will be “home!” They can put us only one dock away from where we used to live starting on June 1st!!!

This will work. We have plenty of projects that we can do while in the water that will be aided by the access to power and water. And we will have our car. And we will be near our friends and family! This means we will be spending at least three weeks, probably closer to four, in Herring Bay. Not a bad place to be “stuck.”

For now, I will celebrate the new plan with a cocktail with our stowaway friend! 🐸 

We are getting there!

I know, it's been a while, but I think we are finally almost home! After a month on the hard in Mississippi, a quick truck ride north, and what is turning into almost a month on the hard in Maryland, our crew is finally almost home! New jobs/locations are underway, and new classes/schools start soon!

Fall maintenance

Took advantage of the government shutdown, took a day off, and did a short haul!  The bottom actually looked pretty good, but it was definitely time to scrape the prop and change the zincs.