It seems like every year something (at least it seems that way to me) big comes up to take me or the boat out of commission. Last year is was personal/family stuff which continues to make life a bit complicated but I’ve found solutions. However, the boat needed new bottom paint and it was time to strip it clean so it was more than the usual haul, paint and splash job. I put some work into finding the right yard for this effort and settled on CSR right here in Seattle. Lots of reasons, too many to list.
So far so good. With help from a couple of my loyal crew we get the boat through the small Lock on Monday morning with me only making a fool of myself once. After getting things sorted I leave the boat in CSR’s hands. A few days later I get the call I was dreading. The bottom is blistered worse than expected. After seeing some photos I have a friend go check it out. Sure enough it makes no sense to spend good money putting a lot of work into stripping and painting over them. Time to decide between the peel job I was hoping to avoid or simply slapping more paint on. The amazing thing is I’m getting used to this stuff. The worst part of it is knowing the peel job will keep the boat out of the water for two months!
I looked at many factors and came up with a ‘yes’ on doing the peel job. Better now than later and I can’t live with a lumpy bottom. Who wants that?
So we’re a few weeks in and counting. If all goes well the boat could be back in the water sometime later in May. We shall see. I’ll miss Blakely Rock and Race to the Straits 2015. Damn. Sorry guys.