The day dawned with the forecast of rain, just what we didn't really need or want. Now our teak decks are about 2/3s removed and the men came in with some epoxy and filler and redrilled and filled all the holes left by the screws that held down the teak yesterday afternoon. With that being done, the decks the men have worked on are now sealed and water shouldn't get through the new fiberglass and epoxy surface. We didn't want the rain today as we'd planned on chiseling out the rest of the expansion joints on the cap rain(long chunks of teak that run along the outside of the top of the hull)and cleaning out the joints(we used Tracy's fathers dental tools)and then refilling them with new caulk. Water has been getting under the rail and then running down the outside of the hull making long brown streaks, plus it's not good to have water seep under teak as it could lead to rot. Not something we need.
So with it raining, I took the steel plate that is under the deck that holds the forestaysail stay at the bow and took it off the boat and stood under the boat trying to get the rust off it. I used Naval Jelly, a product supposedly made to get rid of rust on metal. You smear it on, wait anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 and wash it off. I put it on, waited, then washed it off. After four times, it didn't seem to be making any big contributions to getting rid of the rust so I grabbed my drill and with a big brass brush held in the chuck, continued on. Scrape it clean with the brush, put on more chemicals, wait 15 minutes and repeat. In the end, I walked up to the work room that available to all the cruisers here and used it. Most of it's now gone after lots of these tactics. While I did this, Tracy picked up some epoxy paint(two part) to cover it so rust can't get at it in the future. It gets bolted under the forward deck, right over the anchor locker so a good bit of sea water can and does get in there. We have out work cut out getting it back in and protected from future corrosion.
After lunch, now that the rain had stopped, I grabbed a bunch of tools and worked my way around the deck chiseling and scraping and picking at the mastic that covers the joints. I had to move the ladder several times to get to each of the joints. In the end, I got them all cleaned out and then applied tape so I could put on the new caulk. Out came the first tube. A product specially made to put in wood joints. I punctured the seal at the end and found the caulk had hardened. I cut the tube in half and found it was all solid. I grabbed another tube-- same thing and then a third tube and it was solid also. I was out of caulk and since it was Saturday and well past noon, all the chandleries were closed. Here I was, all set to finish a project and now I have to wait till Monday to get more caulk. Rats!
Tracy, meanwhile has been working on more painting of the stern cabin where we had damage back when the Hydrovane nearly ripped out of the wall. The Hydrovane is a wind powered auto pilot. One of the best pieces of equipment on board. We'd repaired where it had damaged the wall but had never had the time to repaint the wall and get it all covered up and fixed. Now we had the time and it's looking much better. As I was working on the teak expansion joints, she was slowly scraping the rudder, stripping off the old paint. A long tedious job. A long handled scraper with a sharp blade slowly cut through the old paint. We've tried to find someone that will do the job here in the yard, but they all want to do the entire hull, not only scraping it, but putting on the new paint. The paint is where they really make the money. So far, no one wants the job of getting rid of the old paint. "Lobster", the nick name for our contractor, wants the job but won't even start on it till the deck is done. That delays us in the yard. It makes more sense to have the bottom done the same time as the deck, that way we can get out of here sooner and back on the way to Grenada.
Tomorrow, on to other jobs and on Monday, the deck men and a new electrician will be coming. Brian, the first electrician can't seem to figure out where we are loosing a good ½ volt between the batteries and the circuit panel. It drops even farther at the electronics buss bars. When I keyed the microphone on the VHF radio, the volt meter came back at just over 11 volts. Not good when the batteries read 12.4 volts. Something is definitely wrong so Randy(works with Brian) is coming over Monday to see if he can find the problem. So far, after two visits, Brian hasn't found it.
This boat yard is by far the biggest we have ever been in. Hundreds of boats, from small run abbots to 80 foot cruisers, they are all here. Some for storage and many for repairs. We were lucky and got centrally located so we are about even distance from the showers, the main office, the internet room and the small store. The internet room is great and is open all the time, plus the speeds are quite good. We can get wifi here on the boat but it's really weak so I normally hike to the internet room and use it. Comfortable with lots of chairs and desks for lots of cruisers Lately, we've been approached by "security" where we go there, checking our ID's to make sure we are in this boat yard. Apparently, some cruisers that are out at anchor, dinghy to shore and sneak in and use their wifi. The first time we were approached by "security" we had no clue about the "ID card" we were supposed to carry. I hiked up to the office and got one for both of us.
Once we were done with work, after the rain can increased humidity which led to more heat which led to more sweaty bodies. We were off to the showers just after 1700 where we both just stood under the luke warm/cool water for what seemed like a long time. Boy, I can't tell you how good it felt to just stand there and let this little splice of delight run from the top of my head to the end of my toes. It's one of the things we both look forward to just about every day.
That's about it for now. I'm off to the internet room to get this posted.