May 22, 2014

Tense week.  Brought the boat from Ventura Harbor to Channel Islands harbor to be hauled out for bottom paint and to allow Jose to spray the AwlGrip in the yard.  Although I timed the trip perfectly, there was a lot more swell than usual, so the trip was very rolly. Damn near lost my little surf kayak that was temporarily stowed with a lot of other stuff in the dink while the deck and cabin were being painted.  I managed to secure it enough to make it the seven miles, though, and arrived at the yard within moments of the appointed time.  Got the boat into the yard's haulout bay just fine even though both friends who were supposed to help me flaked out at the last minute.  The good news was that there were no unpleasant expensive surprises revealed when the boat came out of the water.

In the yard, Jose and his helper hurried to finish masking and cleaning so they could spray the next day.  It seemed too windy to me, but Jose went ahead anyway.  That caused some defects in the results, which I wasn't happy about.  Jose is now working to fix the problems, including respraying some areas.  I'm cautiously optimistic that it will be okay in the end. When Jose's activities allow, I've been working hard to strip and sand the teak rub rails, but now I have to juggle what I do around both Jose and the yard.  And of course all my usual routines are topsy-turvy, but it all seems to be working out. With a holiday weekend coming up, I think I'll have enough time to get it all done without extra lay days at $80 each.  Still, it's tough to make predictions when things are not in my control.  So stay tuned....

Did my first outrigger race of the season Saturday.  And yes, I'm tired and sore from all of the above!