Boat Maintenance Can Be Fun

Progress is being made.

Two days ago, WW and I arrived at Django bright and early. The repainting of her bottom was almost complete, just the boot-top (a line just above the waterline) to go and the places where she is on supports.

Less joy from the engine, which has to be pulled. At first it was going to be just the head, but now they are saying the whole thing should come out. To do that, they must first build a scaffold to support the transmission. All very complicated and time-consuming. We’ll have just one engine for some time.

WW and I spent most of Monday (two days ago) applying masking tape to Django’s cockpit, cabin top, and deck. She has painted lozenges everywhere and they needed to be repainted. Between them are strips of fibreglass that needed to be protected. This is all well and good, but there are a lot of these lozenges and, horror of horrors, their corners are rounded. Masking is fun until you hit a corner, at which point it gets mighty tedious. 

Tape artistry by Django's captain and mate 

After we’d got most of the foredeck and the cabin top ready, WW started painting while I (having got a bit of sunburn) carried on taping in the shelter of the cockpit.

Filling in the blanks

As a break from our labours, friend Peter with son Peter (Peter the Elder and Peter the Younger) arrived to claim Boffo. She was lowered with due ceremony (which is to say: not much) onto the bed of their truck, and off she went.

We walked over to the supermarket Epicurean to grab a piece of fried chicken (WW had jerk) and some melon for lunch. Then it was back to painting and taping. I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed Monday.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I finished taping and started to plan a menu for the season’s first Week of Having Guests. WW finished the painting. This involved our having to flee the boat as he gradually painted us off it. Then we went off for lunch. We had to borrow a ladder and climb over the bow to get back on board. We removed the tape from the earliest of Monday’s painting, then WW went to help the guys on the ground painting the boot top.

The boatyard boss showed up and, when WW said we wanted to launch today (Wednesday) he said, “No. All book.” Uhoh, we have guests arriving today and living in a boat on the hard is No Fun. WW told the man that that was a big problem. He came back late in the afternoon to tell us we launch at 10:30 a.m.  Phew.

Just before 5, we headed over to meet our new dinghy. She is smaller and lighter and is named Stefan (for Django’s bandmate, violin player Stefan Grappelli).

Back home for a rum punch then dinner at Mad Mongoose.

We’ll leave shortly, get the rest of the tape up (by far the best part of the whole job), take in a very smelly load of work clothes for laundering, return the rental car, do the groceries, clean the boat…oh the list goes on. But the highlight will definitely be floating. I am very much looking forward to floating.