Mike and Kathy
09/03/2008, Deltaville, VA

Beware! This is about work-the less glamorous aspect of boating.

Friday August 29... Deltaville, Va

After coffee we signed the car out for a provisioning trip to the grocery, the hardware and a stop at West Marine for a new prop shaft zinc On our return I worked on sanding the hull and applied a coat of West Systems (epoxy) to the leading edge and the bottom of the keel. During the process of scraping barnacles from the bottom of the keel I also lost most of the barrier coat. The epoxy should do the trick.

After lunch I fired up our new heat gun and began the task of removing the Cetol from our rub rails. Most of the brite-work can be done from the deck but the rub rails are impossible and need some attention while we are on the hard. Kathy did laundry as the washer and dryers were amazingly free. The laundry room seems to always be busy here.

We worked all day ... but quit early for a dinner of grilled chicken, broccoli, and salad. Later we began watching the "Deadwood" series that were gifts from Ellie and Matt.
(The bad guy may be too bad for my taste but the setting is interesting.)


Saturday August 30... Deltaville, Va

We were up at 8am, which is late for us. After wasting the requisite amount of time, I moved the ladder and continued removing finish from the rub rails. Kathy headed back to the store for three or four things that we forgot yesterday while I scraped.

When my feet started to hurt from standing on a ladder, I mixed up a batch of West Systems, added as much filler as possible and patched the keel where we lost a hunk of fiberglass last summer. The stuff ends up about the consistency of peanut butter which is troweled into the area that needs filling. Then I used wax paper to cover everything ... smoothing the epoxy into the shape of the hull. I taped the wax paper in place and let it cure. I will have some grinding to do but over all the patch seems perfect. There were three of four other small spots that needed attention and before long the job was finished.

I went back to ladder work and by about 3pm finished removing the finish from the rub rails.

The boat "Bold Endeavor" joined us in the meadow yesterday with about the same agenda as we have. We've seen them for the last year but this is the first time we've met. We pop back and forth when we need a break.

In the evening we listened to the Spartans on the computer...before calling it a day.


Sunday August 31... Deltaville, Va

Taking a lesson from my sisters, we went for a walk as soon as we got up this morning. It was warm and humid but mostly clear. On our return and after a couple of cups of coffee it was back to work on Sapphire. Kathy used the heat gun stripping the teak on our deck, the hand rails and eyebrow on the cabin top, while I sanded the repaired keel. In the afternoon I finished preparing the starboard rub rails for varnish and then sanded the teak that Kathy had stripped.

We quit at about 4:30 and showered.

There is one house on the perimeter of the meadow where Sapphire is parked and we are close enough to hear them talking when they are on their porch. We are thinking that it is used as a cottage or fish camp. When we were here in July it was well kept but empty. This weekend there are about three couples here.

During the afternoon one of the guys came over to borrow a drill bit...and returned it in about an hour. Later when they returned from fishing they dropped off a bag full of Spanish Mackerel for out dinner.

They ranged in size from about a foot up to 18 inches. I knew that they are a little oily so we grilled them in some tin foil with lots of drain holes. It tasted good, not at all strong but was a little soft... similar in some respects to a Whitefish.



Monday, September 1st... Deltaville, Va

Today was the fourth day in a row that we have worked almost nonstop. I started this morning sanding the epoxy on the bottom of the keel in preparation for painting and then shifted to the final prep of the starboard rub rails which consisted of a final sanding, a light hit with bronze wool and finally taping.

Then I mixed up and applied some epoxy to finish up our keel repair. We also applied epoxy to any place on the hull where bottom paint has chipped or flaked off.

After some lunch I began the process of scraping the toe rail while Kathy finished sanding the teak on the deck. We spent the afternoon sanding and scraping. At about 5pm I applied a coat of finish to the rub rails and the deck teak finishing up about 6pm. It was a long day and we have about three more until we can relax a little.



Tuesday September 2nd... Deltaville, Va

Work ...work...work...

Out of bed at 7:15 we walked for an hour between the two rivers that dominate this area. Kathy made some coffee on our return and then it was it was time to get the bottom ready for painting. I sanded and all of the filled spots on the hull and then wiped it down with solvent. Then I took a shower to get the dust off. Returning, I taped the water line and we both began painting. After about 2 hours we were finished. I went back for another shower while Kathy worked with the heat gun removing finish from the toe rail. My next task was to fill one small spot on the bottom of the keel and apply a coat of resin to the bow portion of the hull. ( I left those spots unpainted) Finally I applied a coat of finish to the starboard rub-rails and the teak on the deck. Kathy finished while I talked with the kids in London via Skype. ( She had chatted with them the night before)

By that time we could smell our dinner of sweet potatoes and ham. We watched an hour of "Deadwood" and went to bed.

It is looking like we will feel the effects of Hanna on Saturday and will keep our eye on the weather. We are in as safe a position as possible, our preparation will be determined buy the wind forecast.

We have been doing so much outside work that Kathy has not had time to post the blog lately. Also, the inside of the boat is starting to look like a disaster area and the hurricane is still far out at sea, so it couldn't be from that! Time to do some posting and inside cleaning before heading back out to scrape some more on the toe rail.

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Mike and Kathy
08/30/2008, Deltaville, VA

August 28th... Deltaville, Va

Well we're back aboard after a wonderful month visiting family and friends. It was a little hectic. Making all of our Doctor, Dentist, Optometrist, and Banking appointments while at the same time moving Sam out of her house in Lansing and into a storage unit in Crystal. We did not always get to see people as much as we would have liked.

We worked on a couple of building projects with Matt and Ellie, (possibly violating building code and getting them in trouble) replaced an oak trim board in Mom's house (thanks to John and his planer and saw), split and stacked firewood with Dave for a couple of mornings, and even found time to read a few books in the shade.

We spent quite a bit of time at Dave and Kristie's house while they were traveling. When they returned we moved into their fifth wheel... which was very comfortable and roughly the same amount of space that we're used to. We had so many offers for lodging that we really didn't get to stay with as many folks as we wanted to.. but are sincerely grateful to all who offered.

The pig roast for all the graduates in the family was a great success. We had the first annual washers tournament, lots of laughs and catching up with friends and family. It was great to see how all the babies have grown since Christmas. We had many great dinners with family and also with Marty and Esther and John and Mary Susan. .

One weekend was spent at our old marina where we touched base with our friends on both sides of the lake. Carol, Larry, Mike and Lori put together a great dinner and Randy plied us with G&T's at Crosswinds. Dan and Colleen were as refreshing as always.

Kathy's mom treated the graduates to dinner with the family in Holland and fed us on a number of other occasions. We spent a couple of nights with her and were happy to see that she is getting around very well after a not-so-fun winter.

We saw Abby, Jake and Sam off to London, where Abby is working a Social Worker in the Child Protection Program and Jake is hanging out in libraries reading dusty old journals. Sam joined them a week later and has found employment (as of today) in a downtown wine bar / restaurant. They are moving this weekend from their flat in Nottinghill to Clapham Common where things will be less crowded rent is a little more reasonable.

Last Wednesday we drove up to our cottage on Douglas Lake in northern Michigan and spent a few days watching Davey stand in the water at the end of the dock while Debbie sunned in a chair reading. Kathy and I stayed on the deck in the shade.

While there we visited our friends Luke and Mandy to see their boys and to check out the new house. The last time we were there a year and a half ago it was mostly finished . Now with most everything done (it's never really all done) , it looks great. Their two acre garden was amazing for so far north.

Yesterday we headed back to Lansing to hand over our car to Jim Bob (Davey's brother) who was in need of wheels. I hope that it treats him as well as it has us. Later Ellie, Matt, Kathy and I met our good friends Marv and Roni for dinner and had a nice time catching up with them and their new life style.

Ellie and Matt delivered us to Detroit Metro this morning for our flight back to Richmond. It was cloudy all the way with the remnants of Hurricane Fay. Kathy had arranged for a driver to meet us at the airport and he got us back here without any surprises.

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Mike
07/29/2008, Deltaville, VA

July 26th... Deltaville,VA

Kathy spent most of the day cleaning inside while I cleaned the hull top side of the hull with toilet bowl cleaner to take off all wax and the brown stain along the water line. Then I scraped junk off the bottom of the keel that had built up with barnacles since we failed to do a very good job of painting down there before we left. I also inspected and cleaned the gouge that was caused by running into a rock last summer.

Before noon we borrowed Bill and Val's car for a quick trip to West Marine and the grocery.

It is very nice to be able to work in shade. The vast majority of the people here are not so lucky.

The "Fawkes" folks were going to attend a concert this evening so we put off our dinner date until Monday.

July 27th... Deltaville, VA

I was up early as usual and for some reason decided to go for a run. I walked through a gap in the woods and found a driveway that led out to a paved road. I ran about a half mile at a good clip before running our out of wind. I walked about 100 yards and then did the same thing again. After four of these rotations and at least a couple miles, I called it quits.

I got busy right away washing the boat again to remove any left over wax. After noon I began the process of putting a finish back on...by late afternoon I was done with the starboard side and quit for a shower. Bill and Val drove us to a restaurant that they liked for shrimp and crab/lobster bisque.

July 28th... Deltaville, VA

I went for another run this morning but the ladder work, on top of yesterday's run, had made my legs feel like lead weights. I only got about a mile and a half before walking back to the boat. I finished the port side and then sanded the bottom of the keel before quitting.

We walked over to the "Fawkes" to make dinner arrangements to find that Angel, (the daughter) had scheduled a concert for 5pm. We packed up our dinner and headed over to the main office before five and got front row seats for the concert. It was very nice. She has a portable piano on board and played one jazz tune, 4 classical pieces and a one of her own creation.

The boy scouts invaded the grilling area so we adjourned to "Fawkes" for dinner. Although we met Dave, Nancy and Kids in Georgetown, Bahamas and traveled north with them from time to time, we never really got to know them very well. Our meal was very good and we talked for a while before heading back to pack.

July 29th... Deltaville, VA to Crystal, MI

I went for a walk before coffee. (there was no way my legs were going to run) and began to close the boat) Tony, our driver, arrived about 30 minutes early and we scrambled with last minute jobs while he waited. The trip to Richmond was uneventful and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time for our flight.

Since the main purpose of this blog is to keep our family informed of our day to day activities...and we'll be spending the next month with them... we're taking a break from our daily journal until our return to the boat.

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