Friday, November 13, 2009

Epoxying Is Done, Getting Ready to Bottom Paint

Well, all umpteen coats of epoxy are done on the bottom. We purposely used different colors as we applied layers. It makes it easy to see where you've missed a spot.


We've been white, red, blue, black, and now cammo-green.


Today we have them come lift us and move the blocks and stands around, so we can epoxy the places where they were. We're giving the epoxy time to dry really hard, and on Monday and Tuesday we'll put 4 coats of bottom paint on.

We couldn't get black bottom paint (our preferred color). I kind of liked the red, but I think we'll end up blue. Dave says he read that was the best color to keep from getting sunk by whales.


While the Stewart Yacht Services guys have been applying the epoxy, Dave has been putting the engine back together...bell housing on, the flywheel, pressure plate, transmission, and shaft coupling. He also worked on our starter, which has been a little cranky when trying to start the engine when it was hot.


Dave is also responsible for painting all the underwater bronze bits.


We have had Ignacio working on more varnishing, and he's now painting the 'trailboards'... the wooden (black) trim pieces on the bow, and our second spinnaker pole. (Note the Gator hat we brought back from the U.S. for him). We couldn't find any polyurethane paint at the local Ace Hardware, so we're using enamel. It should hold up for a couple of years.


And I have been working on finances... trying to get everything set so our financial lives will run pretty much on autopilot next year. We WILL be able to get internet in some places in French Polynesia, but it will be slow and expensive, and I don't want to have to spend all my shore time sitting at a computer.

I've also been provisioning... I've made 3 $250 trips to the grocery store so far. We generally spend $300-$400/month on groceries, and I'm trying to buy a year's worth of groceries!! Of course we won't be able to really carry a year's worth, so it's strategically buying and then carefully stowing.

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