The Deck Be Done!

For all intents and purposes, the deck be done. I still have a couple of spots to touch up tomorrow, but the deck project is complete. Needless to say, and easily seen by the three posts covering this project, it was a little more involved than I anticipated. I hope the paint is durable so I don't have to do this again for a long time.

Fair seas and God bless.

The Deck Goes On... and On... and On...

The painting of the deck continues. The house is now painted but the deck... it just keeps going on and on and on... especially at the aft of the boat. The lazarettes took a little longer than expected, but they are looking right.

What I'm trying to figure out is why in the world did I think that two quarts of paint would be enough to do the entire deck and house? Boy, I missed it on that estimate... it is taking four quarts. Mind you, I've put down three coats in high wear areas and because the paint is so inexpensive, I have not been stingy with it.

Anyway, once the aft end of the boat is finished, the rest should move pretty fast. The whole job should be done by Thursday evening.

Also, the "Boat Fairy" visited my boat while I was at work. When I got back to the boat, there was a extremely large wire crimper/cutter with crimping sleeves and a heavy duty saw horse. (I have no clue as to why someone left these on my boat... my suspicion is they'll show back up confessing "wrong boat").

Gifts from the Boat Fairy

Fair seas and God bless.

Boom Bails & Mainsheet

The boom bails are now installed. As you can see in the pics below, Annie's boom was configured with pad-eyes secured with two machine screws threaded into the aluminum boom. After consulting with many experience sailors as well as Westsail Facebook, I decided to switch to boom bails. They can handle far more stress and are less likely to fail. It was recommended to me to install the center boom bail directly over the traveler so as to maximize leverage. That sounded logical to me so I did.

I'm trying to decide if I should remove the pad-eyes or just leave them in place... they're not really in the way but...?

I also installed my mainsheet... she's getting closer.

Fair seas and God bless.

The Deck Goes On...

Though I am not completely over the worst head cold in the history of mankind, I am feeling better. It finally stopped raining and the forecast is no rain for the next two days... enough time to finish painting the deck.

Again, I stand amazed at Rust-Oleumm Topside Paint. It flows together so easily, dries relatively fast, and maintains its gloss very well... plus it's so inexpensive! Of course, only time will tell as to its wearability and toughness.

I'm hoping to be completely finished with the deck by Thursday evening. The stern of boat has a couple of lazarettes and a lot of fittings and equipment which slows the process with taping and brushwork.

Fair seas and God bless.

Nav Station - Ready

My Nav (Navigation) Station has always been a little chaotic. It's so easy to set stuff there when you come down the companionway and often that stuff stays there...forever... and then it begins to pile up. Before you know it the Nav Station has become the junk drawer of the boat overflowing into the boat. Now that I only have 89 days, 16 hours and 45 minutes until I leave for Carrabelle, FL, the Nav Station had to get better. After 4 hours cleaning, sorting, rearranging, and organizing... the Nav Station is ready to Nav.

Tomorrow's work is lined up at the Nav Station, (which often doubles as a Prep Station)... painting the house, (forbidding rain), and installing my new boom bails and new mainsheet.

Though I did not take any pictures, I also cleaned out and defrosted my reefer, (refrigerator/freezer).

Fair seas and God bless.

"Hoist the Mainsail!"

In order to correctly rig my boom, I needed to put the Mainsail on Annie and mark the reefing points. In that process, I discovered I have a tear in the foot of the sail  near the clew. There were also a couple of other suspicious spots on the sail that I will let Mack Sails repair. I can now start the rigging of the boom and getting ready for my departure in June.

I went ahead and took a few pictures of the sail up and then neatly tucked in her cover just because it's been 5-6 years since Annie has had her rags on.

I found an old Westsail 32 drawing as to how the boom should be rigged and I like it. It's seems simple and efficient. That is how Annie will be rigged.

Fair seas and God bless.

Rain Dances, Dorade Vents, and Painting

In the days of the American Indian, certain members of the tribes would do certain dances around a sacred fire and they believed their great spirit would send rain... nowadays, it appears I take care of inviting the rain by simply preparing to paint. As soon as I plan to paint and start taping, the rain comes. I offer my services to the drought stricken areas of the country... I'll even bring my own paint supplies. :)

I was, however, able to tape the house off, prep and paint the dorade vents, and prepare for a dry day on Saturday to finish painting the house and varnishing the dorade boxes.

That is all.

Additional Pics added 3/26/2016.

I have been down with either a cold or severe allergies for the last two days... did a little today but had to quit after one coat. Back at it on Monday.

Fair seas and God bless.