TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Me and Matt, we are making lots of upgrades and repairs before we depart. They just keep coming and coming. Today, however, I did find time to have some fun. I made a Joe-O-Lantern. Instead of a Jack-O-Lanter, Joe hangs out, doesnt say much, always looses his beer, fly is down, and he is ready for a nap. He is the best neighbor we have ever had!

Then we caught the awsome sunset!

This is a bit delayed but we are finally FINALLY, officially out of the boatyard. Have been for a few weeks, still making repairs and upgrading things here at our home slip. The boat still floats. The engine cranks. The fridge is staying cool. All is well…for now anyway. Our date of departure from here is November first, and no we have still not fixed the dinghy! ::yikes:: Check out the pics.

More than a month later our boat is still at the dry dock, up on the blocks, still getting work done to her. Sand, grind, sand, grind, epoxy, sand, epoxy, sand, engine work, transmission work, epoxy, sand. I could be a sales represenative for dewalt tool company at this point. This week we hope to start laying on epiglass…aka no more sanding!!! I have come to hate it and all of its associated activities, the suit, the mask, the heat, oh and especially that little drop of sweat that builds at the tip of my nose that i can shake off when it starts to itch under the duck mask!

The job is coming along, it has taken a lot more time, a lot more effort, and a lot more money than what we were expecting. Have to do it though to get the boat insured/appraised.

And best of all when we are done here we get to work on the other boat…the dinghy!!!

July 18 2009, Kindred Spirit is up on block in the Fisherman’s Boatyard in Freeport, Florida. We spent the majority of the first weak scrapilng, sanding, grinding and powerwashing the old bottom paint off. It is July, it is Florida, and it is HOTHUMID and HORRIFYING. The boat is almost 40 feet long, although it may not seem like we have done a whole lot, we have gotton very far in the first week

Dehydration, sunburn, and near pyschosis are the only health problems we have encountered so far. July 26, 2009 the engine is craned out of the boat. We are getting a new transmission shipped to us so we figured this would be a good time to do all the work we need to do in that compartment.  We also started putting mud on the boat today to fill in the areas that are blistered, worn away, or in need of repair.

More to come, check out the pictures.