Yesterday (May 15), I spent a few hours at the boat to do everything necessary before splashing. I picked up my engine (still don't have a bill, so I'm steeling myself for a big shock) and put it on the mount.

It was cloudy and in the upper 50's, with it feeling warmer when the sun was out. But it was WINDY. I actually wished that I had a watch cap as my ears were getting cold.

I solvent washed and then waxed the boat. I had what felt like about 3/4 of a bottle of 3M wax from last year, and I hoped it would be enough. Turns out it was more than enough. I had bought a foam applicator for the buffer, and, remembering that I ripped the last one I had bought just putting it on, was very careful about getting it mounted. I still wound up putting a little tear in the edge, but it didn't make a difference and was able to use it.

The Formula 202 left a lot of streaks and was more difficult to use than I remembered. But those streaks disappeared once the wax was applied. I had forgotten that the guy at Defender who sold me the wax had warned me not to let it dry too much before removing it. So the first couple of areas needed a lot of elbow grease to get off the dried product. But I quickly remembered the advice and only let it dry for a couple of minutes before wiping it off. Made it much easier and much more effective.

I went to Richlin and bought a cheap bike lock to lock the engine to the boat. I feel better about that. I had also hoped to clean the teak hatch runners too, but it was cold, I was distracted (Lily and Study Abroad, Dan's upcoming graduation), and so I just went home.

It was so windy, I wasn't going to bend the Mainsail on, so home I went. I'll probably call the marina and ask them to put the boat in for the weekend as we'll be in Maryland for the rest of the week for Dan's big day!