Day 1
At 10 o’clock we were first boat out
of the water today and our spot on a flat concrete base is at the
door to Big Ship chandlers. Very handy. As is the distance to our
apartment for the duration of the haul out. Five minutes to walk,
half that on our bikes and to a one bed apartment with terrace
overlooking the inner lagoon, a proper shower room and air
conditioning. It will be safer for Polly to stay here and far more
comfortable for us while we are working. We’ve stayed on board
during haul outs and it is like basic camping.
Our mission over the next week or so
is to polish the topsides, apply new anti foul and service bow
thruster, propeller and through hulls. David begins with three hours
of jet washing which removes a lot of the old anti foul from the hull
and we drop the anchor and chain onto a pallet under the bow to
reduce weight and give that a thorough clean too.
The rest of the day is setting up for
the tasks ahead.
Day 2
It’s a 6am start to beat the heat.
First job was acid washing the topsides to remove water/rust/exhaust
stains and then the start of the dirtiest part of the project,
sanding the old anti foul.
Mid morning we receive a delivery of
Jotun thinners and an undercoat called Viniguard from the shop where
we bought the last 20L pail of Jotun anti foul 2 months ago. If we’d
known they’d deliver….
We are liking this yard. It’s a
better environment compared to our last haul out in Spice
Island,Grenada which is sand, rocks and rubbish next to the fishing
boats grinding off GRP. Here we have a concrete base to work on,
yard supplied water, a choice of chandlers, services &
technicians, an amazing boulangerie for your morning croissant,
Carrefour supermarket and more than a dozen restaurants so I don’t
have to cook.
Day 3
Another pre dawn start but needed
because this is going to be a hectic day. On with our hazchem suits,
dust masks, protective goggles and gloves ready to sand the hull.
What makes anti foul an effective barrier coat against marine growth
is not good for humans.
An hour after we begin we find that
one of our two orbital sanders is failing. Nothing that can’t be
repaired with a 2” x 3” piece of plastic visa card and a 30
minute cycle ride to Jarry industrial zone to find a replacement.
Day 4
The usual early start. Bobby arrives
at 8am to begin polishing the topsides. We’ve been watching him
work on another boat, liked what we saw and hired him. Unlike us,
he’s very tall, strong, much younger than us and has promised to
complete the job in two days. It usually takes us 4 or 5 days and it
is hard, hard work.
6pm rolls around and I am beaten,
drained of any energy. Bobby’s polished one side and it looking
excellent. We’ve done more hull prep and David has sanded the
propeller.
We cycle back to our cool sanctuary,
make a fuss of Polly who has had an equally tough day sleeping on the
bed, take much needed showers and then a leisurely gin and tonic on
the terrace while I heat up a posh ready meal from Thiriet frozen
food. Guinea fowl in a white wine cream sauce is posh isn’t it?
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| apartment balcony |
Day 5
It is Friday. It is a public holiday
and the marina make no charge for public holidays, or for Sundays.
Incredible!
By the end of day we have made
significant progress. I’d hazard to say we are half way to
finishing. Bobby has finished polishing the topsides and Jackster is
gleaming brightly. David and I have finished the onerous task of
sanding the hull and David has applied a base coat, or a tie coat, of
Jotun Viniguard. We are now ready to apply the anti foul. |
| applying tie coat |
During the day we found time to set up
a For Sale pitch under Jackster: our old dinghy with the leaking seam
and a 10kg stainless steel anchor we’re not using. Tomorrow is
Saturday. It could be a good day to catch passing trade visiting the
chandlers in front of us.
Day 6
Turns out that Saturday is a good day
to sell items from the bilge. The sales assistant at the chandlers
is buying our dinghy and anchor. In return we buy from him a special
anti foul paint for propellers and a spray bottle of ceramic wax to
seal our newly polished hull. Unlike the 3M wax we used to apply with
an electric buffer pad this is simply a spray on / polish with a
cloth. Quicker and easier. Time will tell if it is any good.
As the sunsets we pat ourselves on the
back for a job well done: topsides completed, hull prep completed,
bow thruster serviced and some extra Euros for the project from
selling a couple of bits no longer needed on passage.
Day 7
We’re getting there. The propeller
was removed and the old oil drained and late in the afternoon when
the full heat of the sun was gone we rolled on the first coat of anti
foul. We were so late in the afternoon that the final painting was in
dark under the yards nights lights! There’ll be no heat blisters
in the first coat.
Day 8
An extra early start with the second
coat of anti foul applied before sunrise. While that was flashing
off we went ‘home’ for showers and breakfast and returned to fix
the propeller back in place and fill the oil reservoir with hypoid
gear oil. Then it was the turn of all through hulls to have their
bi-annual maintenance. This involves drenching in oil and opening
and closing to lubricate the mechanism.
Late in the day when the anti foul was
dry we moved the supporting hull chocks to new positions thus giving
access to 10 patched of un-sanded hull. When we’ve done this in
other yards it is the yard manager who directs his staff. This is
for safety. He doesn’t want a boat to fall over because a support
has been removed before a replacement is in place. In Bas du Fort
they thought it a strange request and David did it himself.
Fortunately he is very capable. Jackster is well, and safely,
supported.
So it was more sanding, more
undercoat, more anti foul for 100% hull coverage.
 |
| where the support had been |
Day 9
Tomorrow we are going back in the
water so today was preparing our fenders and making protective covers
to place between Jackster’s newly sparkling hull and the dirty,
scratchy lift slings.
Fender prep involved a lot of water,
soap and scrubbing. I also wrapped them in new soft plastic.
My sling protectors were a re-purposed
mattress protector that someone had thrown in the bin. It was 6’
long and sufficiently wide to be cut into 4 strips of greater width
then the lift straps. Hung from the guard rails with sail ties they
should work.
Day 10
Back in the water!
As always with Jackster the very last
job can only be done while we are suspended in the lift. This is
when David has to lie under the flat bottom of our winged keel,
whilst 20 tons of boat dangle just above chest height. He has to
prep and paint 2-3sq m of cast iron in the time we are allowed by the
lift handler. This time it is over the lunch break; lifted at midday
and on our way to the water 90 minutes later. Not a perfect scenario
for drying but it’s what we have.
We are going to have three days
alongside in the marina to put things away and remove the dust of the
yard.
This year has been one of the good
ones and a new personal best on time. Ten days compared to 12 in
Grenada in October ‘23. Hurrah!
