Watching Paint Dry

We are only watching paint dry, but it is getting to be pretty exciting!

The non-skid is getting done. These are the non-slip areas on the deck. They are textured (and often a complimentary colour) so that sailors' feet can get a better grip on a moving, sometimes wet, deck.

The order in which our progress is made is dependant on weather(temperature, humidity), manpower availablitiy, and exchange rates.

In order to do the non-skid we need to tape off the areas to be covered. This is made easier as we only have to follow the raised edges of the previous non-skid. Nonetheless it is a time consuming and painstaking job. Frankie did the first pass for us. Then Chris and Frankie put a thick primer coat on with a roller, letting it texture the surface. Only every other non-skid patch was painted first, so that the boys had somewhere to stand while painting. Then the tape was taken off those parts, and the remaining areas were taped. And painted.

Half the areas taped and primed

Taping the side deck

Because he acted before the first coat was completely cured, Chris was able to paint over the last set of patches with a dark grey primer without removing the tape first. Once that was on, we took the tape off that and got ready to retape the first areas which had dried too much to have this done. They would need to be sanded first, then primed with the dark grey.
Then the tape will be removed and everything retaped again for the final pale grey coat.

But we are finally seeing something close to the finished results - it's exciting!

The dark grey primer on half

A New Year

2009:


Mid-January:


Our very best wishes to you all for 2009. May it be happy, healthy and peaceful.

We had a brief but lovely time in Ontario over Christmas, connecting with people we love. There was more winter weather and snow than the region has experienced for some time, so both festive and challenging.

In early December before we left to go north the boat got it's second painting session on the topsides. We filled and sanded as best we could, then wiped down the surfaces in preparation for the paint spraying. Frank and Frankie started painting around 11 a.m., and were still working at 8 that evening. This is not for the faint-hearted! Once they start, they can't stop. They spell each other, but when one is spraying the other is manipulating the hose and keeping everything free moving, so there is rarely time for a break. They put 3 coats on altogether and did a great job. We returned to the motel for a couple of nights until the fumes had dissipated enough that we could go back to living on the boat.

The topsides ready for another coat. Pink spots
mark where little holes have been filled

Frank and Frankie getting ready for the second marathon session

Then we started preparing the hull (above the waterline) for it's coats of paint.
This job was quite a bit easier as there are less protruberances to deal with. Just the smooth lines of the hull, with maybe a couple of through-hull areas to mask off. By the time we left for Canada we had the hull prepared and available for painting whenever the weather and the experts were ready.

Returning the first Sunday in January we found the hull had been done. It looked lovely. Being a catamaran and low to the ground, Frankie had had to paint the undersides while kneeling!
The painting was great but it showed up many uneven or dimpled areas that needed filling and sanding again! We thought we had done a pretty good job, so it was an eye-opener to realize how much had been missed. And that is where we are up to now, filling and sanding the painted hull. Then, when there is a gap in the weather, she will get another coat of paint.

Which brings me to...the weather. Today the temperature has finally got into the 40s(Fahrenheit) after a week of below freezing temperatures day and night. Oddly enough, today there is a film of ice on the part of the creek that is home to the boatyard and the marina next door, though there was only a little during the really cold times. At that time our water tanks froze, as well as our water lines, but we are hoping there was no lasting damage. Friends who are on their boat in the water actually had to chip ice away from their through-hulls that same morning!

The topsides and hull after painting and before we start filling again

Starting to mark the holes with blue tape

Our boat got moved slightly to make room for a wooden boat under the Big Top. The wooden boat is expected to be a year's project, at least. Seeing as how we have been here for 5 1/2 months, that doesn't seem at all untoward.

It is becoming clearer and clearer that we will not be heading south before the start of the hurricane season in June. Although we might be ready before then, we certainly wouldn't get very far before we had to turn around and go back. So we have a new set of options this summer, one of them being exploring the Chesapeake. We would definitely enjoy seeing more of that. There is also a lot of work to be done with the boat after the painting is finished. (I'm voting for a new loo!)

Our new neighbour