Serviced. blasted, scraped, sanded, painted and restored

Its been a very busy couple of days... as I sit here, secured with double lines to the dock awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Lusi sometime tonight...

WEDNESDAY 12TH:

Will the mechanic came Wed morning and I helped (i.e. watched, learned and provided good coffee) him service the engine in the morning.  All looks good in Yanmar world and we should be right for another year.

Barrington arrived at lunchtime and we motored around to Doug's Boat yard at 5pm in to coincide with high tide.  

Kalai was quite sluggish, with what looked like considerable growth under the waterline.  Considering I had scrubbed her a couple of months ago from the water, I was surprised.  Even more so when we hauled her out to discover young corals and seaweed attached!

Local yacht charters (was Rainbow, now Great Escape) share the wharf with the boatyard and Doug was ready with his workboat and cradle submerged in the water.  He guided us in and with some fiddling (a constantly emerging theme here!) we were secured and the long steel cable hauled us slowly up the slip.  A few more adjustments and a strop on her weighty bum, saw Kalai clear of the water and lodged halfway up the steep set of rails looking for all the world like a maritime version of the bearded lady. 

 Unfortunately the camera was on board as the 69 yr old pocket dynamo Doug asked me to "choose your weapon" from a selection of scrapers and spade as we set to work with water blaster and scrapers...

An hour later and the worst was removed and we were hauled further up the yard, rotated 90 deg on the ancient turntable (turned by hand winch and cable!) and then winched to our workspace for the night.  


Off to our little unit at Haruru Falls for the night, after a drink and nice curry at the Opua Cruising Club (OCC), with the prospect of an early start and a full day of fine weather, we hoped to get the boat sanded and two coats of anti-foul on...

THURSDAY 13TH

Up early and back to the yard soon after 8 to continue scraping and removing the "foundations' - bases of the corals that had attached themselves to the very thin and ineffective paint.  

The dry summer had produced increased nutrients and higher water levels resulting in unprecedented growth of 'passengers' on the hull (Note to self - don't leave it so long to do this next time!).  Hull was last painted Dec 2011, and from now on will be checked and re-coated annually...

Finished scraping and sanding mid-morning and shot around to the local cafe for some caffeine reinforcement before returning to apply making tape and then start the first coat around 1100 hrs...

A fruit and Biscuit lunch stop and then on with the second coat, finishing feeling a little weary and back-sore about 1530. Crawling around under the keel making sure every spot is painted will do that to ya!  But the finished result was beautiful!!!  Kalai in a new black skirt looked great!

Before

After

Doug arrived back around 1700 to back us down the slip in preparation for an early morning launch - yes, we checked and full tide was at 0625.  We promised to be back as we left Kalai sitting chocked inches short of her home element, forlornly waiting until morn to be once more 'at home' 

Up at 0530 and in the car to drive the 20min back to the boatyard where Doug was busy arranging cables and checking things by the light of his van headlights... By 0630 I was back on-board and motoring quietly in the stillness of pre-dawn light back to the marina, where I now sit watching the barometer continue to fall and await Lusi's coming!