Sand, Paint, Repeat

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August 15th 2016

Published: August 15th 2016

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ebrubacher

P7260027

Lining her up

So I am sure some of you are wondering what we have been up to lately.

I can sum it up in three words: Sanding, painting, repeat.

Time in salt water is not good for a steel hull, and so we decided to make sure it is extra protected by sanding her down and repainting.

What I thought would be a hard but shorter job, has turned into over two weeks. When you haul a boat out of water, there is A LOT more boat hiding under there than you can imagine!

I think even Lukus is surprised how long it has taken us. Admittedly, I am probably not the most effective assistant. I do have the motivation, the eagerness, and the dedicated attitude, but that does not make up for the fact that ultimately, I am a wimp. What takes Lukus an hour (especially sanding), can take me 4 times as long. But we have persevered and the end is in sight!

We had the boat lifted out the last week of July (see photo) to find some zebra mussels and growth, but a sound hull. Pretty

P7260030

The "big lift"

amazing to watch a giant hoist lift almost 12 tonnes out of the water.

After spraying her down with a power washer, they balanced her on blocks with a few metal stands to keep her upright.

Now, I know this is common practice, but for a boat “newbie” climbing up and down and living on a boat seemingly precariously balanced on a few pieces of wood and metal was a bit nerve wrecking at first. I admit the first night, I slept lightly, not wanting to move too much in case I “tipped” the boat. Not necessarily a rational thought; as if my body could shift a whole 39’ boat, but at 2 in the morning, you don’t necessarily think clearly.

Since then, we spent almost 5 days sanding. Lots of sanding. I mean, endless sanding. And sanding epoxy off a boat is not fun. Not only is it hard work (epoxy is hard!), but the dust burns your skin. Note: if you ever have to sand epoxy off a boat, get a hazmat suit.

We have also applied 3 coats of paint to the upper

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Coming out of the water; doesn't look too bad from afar, but closer...

haul, and 2 coats of coal tar epoxy to the bottom. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but after a week of sometimes 10-12 hour days, it feels like quite the accomplishment. And she is looking pretty good now (see photo)!

We still have some things to get done, but we are plugging away. This coming week we are having screen doors installed, Lukus is welding a stainless lift system for our second dinghy (aka Emy), and more sanding and painting in the hatches. But we are coming close to launching.

I know some people have asked when we are leaving. And as others who know us well understand, we are not the best with “schedules”. Our thought is one day, we will wake up and know it is the day. But, I can state with a fair amount of confidence it won’t be today or tomorrow, since we are still on “the hard” (aka the ground).

Hopefully, with a lot of the big tasks behind us, I will have time to write a little more often. Thank you to everyone who keeps asking about our trip and expressing their excitement and