The last 2 days (Tuesday and Wednesday) have been a whirlwind of activities. Our launch is scheduled for Friday (Halloween) at 10:30am so we must have all the out of the water jobs done before that time. Nothing like an imminent deadline to make you work hard!!
Tuesday morning we made a few shopping stops before heading to the boat (looking for items we needed for the day). Mark spent the day scrapping barnacles off the bottom of the boat, cleaning the 2 bronze plates on the hull, changing zincs and cleaning and spraying the propeller with an anti-fouling paint to help protect it from ocean growth (I’m sure there are more jobs). I spent the day waterproofing the enclosure top (called a bimini), washing and organizing the aft cabin, and setting up the cockpit.
We headed straight to the boat on Wednesday (Oct. 29) and got to work quickly. We had a heat warning so we wanted to get as much done in the morning as we could. Mark started working on outdoor jobs and I went to work on the galley (kitchen) and the aft head. Lots of stuff to put away but at least the boat was fairly clean so the wash-up went really smoothly (and quickly). By lunch we were both hot and tired!! We met up with John and had lunch at the on-site market/restaurant and relaxed in the air conditioning!!
After lunch Mark started his last out of the water job – attaching chain plates for our drogue – it’s like a water parachute that is deployed at the stern if you get into some serious weather. I went to work on the V-berth – emptying it, washing it and setting it up for John. I got halfway through the job and I went back into the main cabin to rest (while the area dried). It felt so cool in the main cabin that I figured the temperature had dropped. Nope! It was 33 degrees in the cabin so it must have been close to 40 in the V-berth! That’s way too not for me!! Even with the heat, I completed all my before launch jobs and Mark is very close to being done with his jobs.
Thursday will be our last full day out of the water! I’m really looking forward to being at the dock – no more ladders to climb to get onboard and we can run the air conditioning!! Can’t wait!
Crimson Kathryn and her crew 