A Milestone and an Anniversary

We have finished painting the boat!! There are some exceptions to that, as we have holes to fill and bits that got missed or need a touch up, but - we're finished. Frankie and Chris did the remainder of the non-skid a couple of days ago, and it looks really nice. We are still keeping off the most recently painted parts, though they feel dry to the touch. As always the preparation is the key and took the most time. Taping all the areas feels like forever. The paint went on fairly easily and they did three coats in total.

Careful taping is what gives great results

No one stepped in a paint tray

Beautiful

Hardware is already finding it's way back onto the boat. Two winches for the sheets, two new hatches in the cockpit and 2 above the back deck, 2 new hatches waiting to be installed in the cabin top. It wasn't part of our thrifty plan to get all of these - just some fittings to stop the leaks - but the boat is so pretty it is hard to put all the worn and scratched hatches back on.

Newly painted non skid with winches and hatch

Yesterday we went to Richmond and bought two 8'x4' sheets of 3/8" acrylic that we will use to replace the cracked/leaking/opaqued windows we arrived with. These were definitely always on the list to be renewed. We are going to change the side windows from one long piece of acrylic that straddles the three windows to 3 separate pieces big enough to cover each window. Hopefully that will help stop leaks due to flexing. And the price of acrylic has dropped since we researched it last year to just under US$300 a sheet so we're pleased.

One of the repairs we did to the hull has started to blister like the small pox. Frank's professional eye declared it to be uncured epoxy. Most of what we have used was West System, but this was some that Chris picked up at Home Depot. He might have mixed it wrongly, or it just doesn't work on a boat, but it has to come out. Good thing we are still here :-)

Uncured epoxy - let's start again

AND - we have just commemmorated the completion of our first full year at the boat yard since being hauled the end of July'08. Everyone gallantly declares it doesn't seem that long though one newcomer was told we had been here for at least 2 years! Hopefully that translates to us feeling like family rather than a pain in the ass.