Motivated! Spring work is almost done

[HeaveToo]

The past two days were productive and I am paying for it now (I am very sore).  I managed to bottom paint Saga, install a new anchor light, and do a few more minor projects to get ready for the season.  I have also secured my slip for the season.

The end result is that Saga will be splashed May 1.

Anyone else close to ready? 

[crazycarl]

no.

she's still in indoor storage until may.

spring cleaning the house/yard/garage

[HeaveToo]

Better get moving...Spring is here!

I hope to get a shakedown cruise completed before my long cruise in May.  It would be nice to test systems and to get everything broken in for a nice overnight cruise somewhere.

[Jim23]

I'm saving the outside housework for after the boat is splashed...I got priorities!

-Sanded and sealed the brightwork and cockpit grate with Semco.
-Varnished the bowsprit.
-Replaced main and jib halyards.
-Coated lifelines with plasti-kote (still in good shape - just yellowed - I'm too cheap to replace just yet).
-Had the mainsail serviced by Sailcare.
-Repaired the main sail cover and genoa UV cover.
-Ground off the decals and painted the outboard cowling. I was amazed when the motor started instantly after sitting for 5 months so I though it deserved some love.
-Still need to scrub the decks and rebuild the Bosworth Guzzler.

Our slip isn't available until May 15th but hoping to get on a mooring ball before that.

[Bob23]

I, umm...thought about my boat. Does that count? All exterior teak is removed (lie!). Well most of it is and will be sanded to bare wood and finished with Cetol Teak color with gloss overcoat.
Can't wait to sail!!! I need it!

[Reighnman]

Aiming to launch high tide on 4/29, 1124am. She's undergone a bunch, as the previous owner wasn't into upkeep. New: halyards, lifelines, main sail, mainsail cover, scuppers, bronze bushings for pintle, refinished teak, bilge pump wiring, changed cove strip color from brown to blue with gold striping, bottom paint, wind indicator, anchor, Yamaha 4hp, and a few rounds of compound, polish and wax. Previously the SV Jolly Roger, now SV Barnacle. I'll post pictures at launch. Still need to rig jiffy reefing, and a boom lift.

[Mas]

Much stuff on the ole farm not happening quite yet, other priorities ......so in her slip, got topsides washed and waxed, dodger and bimini back on this trip , sitting in cockpit - O'Beer thirty!

[rbh1515]

My HDC will be splashing this weekend!  Would have gone in last weekend, but it was too far back in the storage facility to get out.
Rob

[BruceW]

I have made a bit of progress, but have some hull work to do. I am sailing from the hard for awhile, so that won't stop the sailing. I do need the hull to dry before spraying with the acidic solution that will dissolve the remains of the barnacles. Am to take my motor off and get the club guy to see about the carburetor, which I think has a jet that is clogged.

Next up would be the deckpipe, change motor mount. Who knows when those things will happen.

Oh, and I did buy three things: a flotation device (got the kent A 33), a danforth style secondary anchor,  and I ordered a straw hat that comes with a solar fan. We'll see about that one.

Doing some gearification on my WindRider 17 also.

[HeaveToo]

Sounds like I am not alone in the progress.

I am so glad that the bottom is done.  I dread that task every few years.  It is hard work and it is heavy work when I jack the boat up to get the bottom of the keel.

Funny but my old boat rarely had barnacles on the bottom of the keel even when you scrape the paint off by running aground.  My Compac had a few barnacles there and I am not sure why.  Maybe it is the difference in depth.  I did run aground in the compac and I scraped some paint off of the keel on a sandy shoal.

No matter how shallow my draft I still find a way to find the bottom with it!

[BruceW]

Heave, did you get any pictures of the process of jacking up the keel? My keel had barnacles on it, and I couldn't get to them. I did launch & retrieve once since then, and it looks like fewer of them, but hey, I'd like to get them off. Can get a diver once he comes back from vacation.

My main issue is having time to get to the boat to work on it.

[HeaveToo]

If you search the site you will see the pictures that I posted from a few years ago. 

I used two jacks between the rollers.  In between the jacks and the keel I placed a 2x6 on top of a 2x4 that were cut to the exact distance between the rollers.  I jack one end up a few inches and then the other end up a few inches.  The jacks sit on a 2x6 that runs the length of the rollers since I was on dirt.  I also remove one of the bunk boards to help in painting.  I made 4 small blocks out of 2x4 to sit on the painted ends where I could paint under the bunk boards before I jacked the boat up to steady the boat.

Here are a few of them:

[HeaveToo]

Here is the finished project with two coats of ablative paint:

[philb Junkie19]

This is the season of paint, epoxy, and other stuff that likes to stay on your hands. A quick solution to a lot of that stubborn stuff is a concoction of 1/2 cooking oil and 1/2 dish detergent well mixed. I Just came in for lunch and mixed some in the palm of my hand.  I've also kept a small container on hand and remix it.

It's easy to have mixed feelings about boatwork. There are so many possible interesting and fun boat projects. (just found an old copy of Bruce Bingham's Sailor's Sketchbook). Brenda B' appearance would be much improved with a coat paint topside and the brightwork would look much better if it were bright. If the boat lived on a trailer rather than a mooring, if the season here in Maine were longer or  if other demands could more easily be set aside I might be a little more gung ho about those things.  Instead its just basic maintenance and also repairs as needed.

This year it's replace the motor mount, repair the tiller where a previous owner installed a tiller extension socket without drilling all the way through to let water out,  put on a new coat of bottom paint, put lockdowns on the cockpit seats, clean her up,  rig and launch the boat and go sailing.  At least that's the plan.

[deisher6]

End of season?  What do you mean? How can you tell when the season is over? 

It is always 'in season' here in sunny NC.  Just have to pull the boat every two years to redo the bottom.

regards charlie