Saturday, October 9, 2010

Even knowing all that needs to be done, and planning for it...it's still not quite the same as getting it all done! Doing it is exhausting! We took a walk this morning over to the customs office to see if any of our packages have arrived. Nothing yet, so we hoofed it back empty handed. The office is just under a mile away, so it was an easy distance, but dare I mention it again...the heat ! Temp had to be around 92 - at 7:30 in the morning! We were dripping with sweat before we were out of the main gate.

First order of business on the boat today was to clean the saloon and .... Stuff the cushions! They ALL fit and look just GREAT. The change to the saloon is amazing...Thanks Maureen & Mom...they make all the difference. Of course, Jim and I trying to stuff them was a site for sure..but all worth the effort. We also walked over to the next boat yard to price some bottom paint and primer. Because of the condition of the bottom (flaking paint all over !) we have decided to have it scraped and sanded back to its basecoat, and have completely new primer and antifouling paint applied. It'll take about 7 or 8 days to complete this job. Fortunately, I'm not going to be the one doing it this time.

After lunch, I started on the interior cleaning with one bleach bucket and one vinegar bucket, and managed to clean ½ of each of the heads (top down) both hallways, and ½ of the two forward heads. It's a little challenging to work in the forward berths because each of them has the cushions for both fore and aft berths, a sail, linens, pillows etc. The aft heads are completely empty in preparation for the mechanic coming on Monday.

Jim started washing the top layer of dirt off the hulls. He had to move the scaffold about 10 times and climb up and down. He finished the outer edge of both hulls (the equivalent of our old Monohull) and was getting pretty tired when Raymond and Tony, our mechanics showed up. They got started doing a full service on both engines and by 4pm had pulled the oil, replaced impellers, took out the injectors, found out there is no air filter in the intakes, flushed the coolant, and removed the muffler...times 2. The frames of both mufflers are rusted thru and he could break pieces off in his hand. PAST TIME to replace them! He also took a look at our starboard fuel gauge which is faulty, and will be repairing that too.

So now it is 6pm...the sun just set, and all the day boaters are coming in. We're exhausted and a little achy from all the scrubbing, climbing, crouching, kneeling and hauling. We have finished dinner and cleaned up our little kitchenette and Jim has his choice of 4 college foot ball games (go Irish!) on the air here in Trini! We also get WGN news here at 10pm...but no way will we be awake to watch it. The agenda for tomorrow...more of the same.