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.
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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.
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| 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.
