Yesterday was a day to visit a dentist. Tracy had pulled out a chunk of one of her filling while doing a flossing job on her teeth. That happened on Sunday so Monday was "lets go find a dentist day".

We got on the morning VHF net and put out a call to anyone that might have info on a local dentist. Many that listen and participate are X cruisers that have taken up residency here in Trinidad. We got a recommendation for one and made the call. We could be seen about 1145. As it was just about 0900, we though we better take off since we had no car and had to rely on "maxi taxis" to get there. We walked out to the road and caught the first one. Cost--$10TT--about $1.50US for both of us. That got us part way there. Then into a second maxi taxi--in reality, a minivan and another $10TT. That got us closer but not there yet. Into a "shared taxi"--a private car that takes on riders for a small fee--about $6.00TT--90 cents. He got us there. Her offices are on the fourth floor of a shopping center so we could pick up some groceries while we were there. We were in her office by 1045. I took off to get my watch fixed and Tracy waited. By the time I returned, she was in getting attended to and came out shortly after. All fixed with a thoroughly numb mouth. Into another "shared taxi" for the first jump towards home. We stopped along the way and had lunch between taxis. Once the stomach was full, into another "shared taxi" and we were off again. Unfortunately, he blew a tire along the way so we were out getting another "shared taxi". No one said it was going to be an easy or quick trip. He took us close to "Independence Square" where we could get another maxi taxi back to the boat yard. In the end, we got back about 1400 only to find our boat was off limits(there was strips of tape across the boarding ladder). The workers had completed sanding the new ruined paint off and had repainted the deck again. It takes time for epoxy paint to dry so we couldn't get back on board till about 1800. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on our butts in the internet room. We finally climbed up the ladder at 1800 and walked very carefully to the cockpit and settled in for the night. With a somewhat wet painted deck, we didn't dare go back out.

By this morning, all the paint was dry and the men were due to lay down 3M blue masking tape to mark our the pattern of where the non skid is going to go. We, meanwhile had to drill holes for the blocks that the genoa sheets run through so the men would know not to put non skid there. I had to drill up from inside the cabin as the men had covered the existing holes with epoxy filler weeks ago. Now I had to drill upwards and try and match the holes in the bracket that holds the blocks. Not an easy chore to match holes that are outside when drilling from the inside. It took some work but we got it done before the men showed up. "Lobster", our contractor came on board and explained to the two men that work on Zephyr how and where to put down the tape. Off he went and the men worked the rest of the day slowly out lining every through hull and bracket on deck.

Our anchor light at the top of the mast no longer works so I used one of the free services here at Power Boats. A free lift to the top of the mast in one of their "cherry pickers". It has a lifting range of just 60 feet so once we got as near as we
could, I climbed up the the guard rails on the lift platform and reached over and undid and redid the screw in attachment. In the past, that had corrected the problem. Not this time so I'll be inspecting the connections inside to circuit panel.

We had to drill new holes for the granny bars, again from the inside as the earlier holes had been covered when we found delamination in the deck core. I drilled a few holes for one of the bars foot pads to make sure the alignment was correct and then marked the holes in the granny bar pads on the deck and drilled downwards. I walked over the Peakes Chandlery to get some new stainless steel bolts for the bars as the old ones are now too long and came back. Once I returned, we took the brackets and deck prisms out of the deck(stored there to keep water and dirt and dust out) and got them cleaned up again(metal brushes and sandpaper) and pulled out a tube of sealant and got the prisms ready for installation in each bracket making sure to cover each bracket and prism with plenty of 3m blue masking tape. We had to bed each prism upside down as the prism fits into the bracket so gravity and the sealant holds it in, so each is done with the bracket upside down lying on the salon table. I lay a bead of sealant along the edges of each prism and them put the metal plate over them. I then added more sealant where it was needed(to the bottom of the prism). I checked them a couple of hours later, turning the right side up and adding more sealant to a few areas that didn't quite have enough. Smeared it in with my finger and then let it set up. A few hours later, I pulled off the tape and they are now being supported right side up by rolls of toilet paper on each end. They should be ready for final cleanup tomorrow and with luck installed by Thursday afternoon. We'd do it tomorrow but "Lobster" and his men will be rolling on the adhesive for the non skid and then sprinkling the sand that goes in the paint on top of that for the non skid effect. Right now, if the deck gets any kind of moisture on it, well it's like being on an ice skating rink. It's slippery as all get out. Not a safe place to walk. Once that is done, another coat of paint goes on for the final seal of the fiberglass.

As I'm typing this, Tracy is out on deck looking at the job the men did laying down the tape. She's not thrilled with their job (it's the artist in her)and is making some corrections to it. They were supposed to round off each corner where it goes around anything that is rounded and they failed to do it. Instead, we have squares in areas where it should be round. It's bothersome to our eyes to look down and see squares going around circles. It's like a square peg in a round hole, it just doesn't go. It will get corrected tomorrow before any more paint get put on. I expect we will get banished for Zephyr tomorrow for the day so the new stuff can dry. With luck, we might get the granny bars installed but I doubt it with all the new paint getting applied. I'll let you know how that goes. Meanwhile, our decks are covered in white, white, and more white. Lot different from a layer of teak planks.
It's now Wednesday morning(0635) and Tracy is out sitting on the deck doing re taping. It was driving her crazy last night with all the squares around circular fittings. With blue tape in hand, she was on deck by 0600. We're getting closer.