Friday
02 May 2014 | Yacht Haven Marina
hat with some rain
When I got back to the boat after my morning trip to the main dock for faster wifi, I found Tracy sitting in the cockpit. She'd taken a pair of vice grip pliers and ripped off the old patches we'd put over the original hole in Puffs tube. She also took off the patch we'd applied just a couple of days ago. We were back at square one ready to do it a bit differently.
After breakfast, I took my bottle of Tulene--melts old glue--and started in on the mess of old glues on Puff's tube. Lots of Tulene and a metal scraper and slowly the old glue came off. I cleaned one of the other patches we'd used and broke out our pot of two part Hypalon glue. I stirred and stirred to make sure it was mixed well and then poured a bit into a separate jar and added the hardener and stirred again to make sure it was well mixed. Do it like the instruction manual says to. Never hurts to follow instructions.
I brushed on a coat--thin as I could--on both the patch and the tube and waited. The directions say to do this in 75 degree temps and low humidity. Neither of there is ever present in Thailand, not even in Winter which looks for the most part like Summer only less rain. This time, I put on three coats on both and waited. You're supposed to wait about 15 minutes between coats. Not going to happen in these temps. Once the glue had set up--it's a contact glue--, I carefully joined the two surfaces together and then pressed an press the patch onto the tube and tried to get all the air out from under the patch. Now to wait the 72 hours for curing. This time, I'm going to follow the tip one of our readers sent me about patching. I'm going to put a second patch over the first patch going out a good two inches all the way around it. I'll stop this leak, one way or the other.
I then spent much of the rest of the day cleaning up my messes on the Nav table and work bench area. Amazing how it can get out of control when you let it.
Tracy had dragged out the sewing machine and started in attaching a zipper to the bimini that had come off during the last passage. She's not really good friends with her sewing machine--her nemesis as she calls it. It keeps jamming and not playing nice for her. Normally, it goes crazy when there is just 6 inches left in the jobs she has done with it. I've heard her threaten it several time with being thrown over board. Once she finished that job, everything got put back in the cabinet where it's stowed. It's so heavy that it's clear at the bottom of the cabinet, so everything has to come out jus to get at the machine. It makes a big mess in the stern cabin when the machine is out and it can be a nightmare getting everything stowed when it's put away.
We had dinner with friends at one of the two restaurants here at the marina last night. Terry and Christine off Teka Nova are heading out this afternoon to get to Krabi for their haulout in a couple of days. Then, they are are off for a nice trip home to the UK and Cyprus. We'll meet them again early next year when they return.
A nice day with more things done. No rest for the weary.