The Boatyard Banter Report

Pretty happy to see my boat back in the water today. Didn't realize how much I missed my oceanic view until I had to climb up a ladder every day to get on her. Fred the dog definitely didn't appreciate that leap. Thanks to the kind folks around the yard, Paul who heaved him up at night for me and the lead Foreman, Al who brought over the fork lift with a pallet on it to help him down. Poor Fred has severe osteoarthritis in his hips. Dear Uncle Leonard always puts things right.
"Old age is the shits!" he would say. Same goes for dogs.
So what started as two days in the boatyard for a hair cut and a shave - ended up as almost five. The problem with projects is this. When you start a little something and you think you can get it done there comes a time where things end up becoming what I call, the point of no return.
I thought I could paint the bottom, the bootstripe, put a couple coats of varnish on the transom and maybe do some touch-up paint on the hull. When I started on the touch-up paint on the hull, it became a repair here, a bondo or filler there a bit more sanding here and so on. I didn't really even have a chance to get to the port side.
What I know is this. My boat, with full water and fuel tanks weighs 22,000 pounds. I used two and almost a half gallons of bottom paint doing two coats. Wood boats need more time to cure after the first coat before you apply the second coat (no 'hot coating') and bottom paint cure time on wood boats is longer. Thus, for me the extra day in the yard.
Also, shaft size is now known to be 1 1/8th. Next year I send a diver down and haul out again in two providing I don't abuse the bottom anywhere anytime in the next year.
Alas, everything and everybody you need is available to you at Westport Marina in Sidney. Including the lovely Eileen in the marine store. When I entered distraught one morning, feeling defeated she asked me one simple question that put my mind at ease.
"Is it fixable?"
Yes, it most definitely was. A shout out of thanks to all!