THE PREP IS FINISHED, THE PAINT IS GOING ON

The hull and bottom painting were finished a couple of weeks ago.  And today, Dan and Ken finally finished the last of the sanding. It seemed to go on forever.  

 

 Today they started putting paint onto the superstructure of the boat.  They got two full coats of paint on, but some of the repairs are still showing through so I guess it's going to need some more.  So the plans of this being the last work weekend are not to be.  

We will be working one more weekend.  The Boat still needs at least one more coat of paint.  Plus, Dan still has to replace the drive shaft packing.  We also have to re-rig our lines and bumpers.  

I GUESS WE CAN GET THROUGH ONE MORE WEEKEND.  

OUR FINAL WEEKEND IN THE HANGAR???

This may be our final weekend stuck in the hangar.  If all goes well and we get all the white paint onto the boat on Saturday and Sunday, then I will book our launch.  

I have certainly seen enough of the hangar, and all the painting and am anxious to join our friends and relax in the harbour as soon as possible. 

We were surprised on the weekend to find out that our dock mate Bob Inkster has had a mild heart attack and spent a few nights in the hospital to be stabilized.  But, he is out of the hospital now and he says we will see him at the marina on the weekend.  

You will see US at the marina sometime on the weekend as well.  We will be bringing our boarding stairs and our bumpers down and install them on our dock in preparation for our arrival. 

 We may still have some odds and ends to complete on the boat, but nothing that can't be puttered with throughout the summer.  

I'M SURE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT

BOATING??? ON THE LONG WEEKEND.

The crew accomplished a lot more again this weekend.  We are almost at the end of the sanding and prepping and the bottom paint is on the hull.  

 

We are still not quite ready to put paint on the super structure.  That will start happening next weekend.  

 

We went to the marina "Ice Breaker" on Saturday and had a Hot Dog and visited with friends.  

 The marina is filling up fast.  Misprint's new owners pulled her back into her usual spot today. 

Our empty dock looks forlorn, but we will bring our steps and bumpers down next weekend.  And get them installed. 

NOW IS THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT BOOKING OUR LAUNCH DATE

PREPPING FOR THE LONG WEEKEND

Well my daughter "TraciBeth" is willing to keep Sea-Enna for two sleep overs this coming weekend, so that is taken care of.  

Now it's on to pre-preparing meals for the workers for two nights on the boat.  Yesterday I made Chili for the Crock Pot.  That's in the fridge waiting to be put in the Slow Cooker, and add the beans to be simmered all day.  

Today I assembled a meat and pasta casserole that I will put in the Convection Oven on Sunday. That should keep the work crew happy for the weekend.  It's the least I can do, because I am useless when it comes to prepping the boat for launch.  

My real work begins once we get to Boundary Creek Marina, then I do a thorough cleaning of the boat from stem to stern.  

THE WORK AND THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES.  

     

HOW ARE WE DOING SO FAR??

Ken and Dan are still hard at it working on the boat.  We are not nearly ready to launch yet, and it's a good thing, as we are behind a lot of other boats,(see if you can see the Thunderbird), but that is about to change.  

They are moving boats out of the hangar fast and furious.

  

It is fascinating to watch.  It's amazing how Ed can pluck a boat out of there between all the other boats.  But then he has been doing it so long it's second nature to him.  

We got a lot accomplished again this weekend.  The hull has been scraped and masked and it ready for bottom paint.  

Next weekend we should be able to get the Port side of the boat prepped for paint as well, and maybe get the first of the paint on.  

I GUESS NEXT WEEKEND I SHOULD BOOK OUR LAUNCH DATE.  

WHAT TO COOK ON SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE HANGAR

It's always difficult to come up with something to feed the work crew for Saturday night out at the hangar.  It's not as if I don't have lots of recipes that Dan and Ken just love.  It's the lack of facilities that I have to work with.  Of course I can't use my gas stove on board, but I used to have a full electric stove in the hangar kitchen that was at my disposal each weekend.  That is now a thing of the past, as the oven no longer works and two of the burners no longer function.  

I do have a large electric frying pan on board that I use to make breakfast, plus I sometimes bring my Slow Cooker/Crockpot out and plug it in.  But all of these things make it a matter of planning.  I can't just grab something from Sobeys once I'm out in Gimli, without also considering, "How am I going to cook this?"

Of course all of this dilemma could be eliminated if we just went out to a restuarants every night, but I'm far to cheap for that.  Dan and I only go out to eat once or twice a summer.  I am willing to spend the money on the best of ingredients, but I am not willing to pay someone to cook them.  

 It's the same reason I don't go out to bars.  I'm willing to pay for the basic ingredients, but I'm not willing to pay the extra to have someone pour it in a glass for me.  I have far more important things to do with my money.  

  

I THINK IT WILL BE A CROCK POT MEAL THIS WEEKEND

ONE MORE DOWN, 3 MORE TO GO

A lot of the prep work is done, but there is still a lot more to do.

I keep being reassured that once the prep is finished, to their satisfaction, the painting will go much faster. 

I certainly hope so.  I'm getting anxious and my boating clock is ticking.  I hope they can get it done in 3 more weekends.  

JUNE AND MY SUMMER  IS FAST APPROACHING

OFF WE GO FOR ANOTHER WORK WEEKEND AT THE BOAT

Time is ticking by and we are getting distracted.  We have been talking for over a year now about moving out to the lake.  Well this year we have started that process and listed our condo for sale.  That has become a bit of a distraction from what we should be focused on. 
 

We find ourselves thinking of "Where should we look". "What should we look for", "How close to the marina"  How close to the stores and town?  We have driven out to the lake 3 times in the last few days.  We were there on the weekend working on the boat, then Tuesday we went out to look at cottages, then Wednesday we were back out there having another look at one we thought had possibilities and crossed it off of our list.  

We really must turn our focus back to the boat, May 7-8, May 14-15, May 21-22,  May 28-29, then we launch.  After that we will be living on board out in that area and can scout around for what we are looking for at our leisure.  It's time to concentrate and turn our focus back to painting the boat. 

WHERE WE ARE GOING TO LIVE CAN WAIT TILL JUNE

WEEKEND 2 AND WE ARE MAKING SOME PROGRESS

Dan and I were on our own this weekend.  That'll teach me not to pay the hired help in advance.  

But Dan got a lot of sanding and prepping done. I wish I could help him, but I hate to crawl around on the outside of the boat, when it's "on the hard".  It makes me really nervous.    When it's in the water, I will scramble all over it.  If anything happens So I fall in the water, No big deal, but in the hangar, that concrete floor is scary.  

 I think one more weekend and it will be ready to start to put some paint on.   

We took a run down to the harbour and there is some open water around the edges, but the rest looks like Slurpee.  

Outside the harbour is another story.  There is still a lot of ice out there.  I think we need some winds to slosh that ice back and forth across the lake.  That will break it up.  

BY THE TIME OUR 4 WEEKENDS OF WORK ARE DONE THIS ICE WILL BE HISTORY