Work, work, work!

First look! She looks great!

OK. Silly me. I was convinced that inside of two weeks we would have Faith cleaned up, put back together, the projects done, bottom painted, she'd be back in the water and ready for another season of fun in the sun. Hmmm. A bit too optimistic perhaps?

After leaving Tucson at 9 last Wednesday morning we arrived in San Carlos at 6 pm. This is normally a 5-1/2 hour drive but towing a trailer added another 2-1/2 hours to the trip. We pulled into the Totonaka RV Park on the outskirts of town just as the office was supposed to close but the manager was waiting for us thanks to our friends, Ken & Linde, who are also staying here, telling him to wait for us. Better still…by the time we got parked and set up it was after 7 but Ken & Linde had dinner and wine waiting for us. It was great! I just love cruisers!! They really do “pay it forward”.

Thursday morning, after a good night’s sleep, we got our first look at Faith and it was a bit of a good/bad thing. She looked wonderful at first glance. The wax job we had done before we put her to bed last Spring was still shiny and new looking and there was no outside damage from the storm. Once we got on top we discovered she was a total dirtball. Inside wasn’t too bad. We could see where water had gotten in from Hurricane Jimena but it appeared to be only a couple inches in the galley and aft part of the salon. The only damage we could really see was that some of the varnish had lifted off the cabin sole so we will have to re-finish a section of that. Not bad at all. When we inquired about getting her into the work yard we were told there was a waiting list. Harrumph! Since the flooding wiped out the work yard entirely (not to mention the road and parking lot) they have been working very, very hard to get it all put back together and I must say they have done an admirable job. Still, at this point only half of the work yard is usable but, because of the space shortage, the management has given the OK to work on boats in the storage area. Since there is no water or power available there we opted to wait until they could get us in and late Thursday afternoon they had us installed in the very back corner of the work area.

Friday morning, bright and early, we were at the boat with buckets, brushes and soap to start on the first project…getting the top layer of dirt off so we wouldn’t be tracking it inside. It is hard to believe how thick a layer of dust can accumulate in a few short months. We spent a good three hours just washing the topsides and then went below and while Chris checked all the batteries (Yippee!! All are perfect!) I scrubbed the section of floor that was muddied by the workers who pumped the water out. By 1:30 we were done working, had lunch and crashed back at the trailer! From then on we have been working pretty much 9 am to 1-2 pm every day doing as much as possible.

Chris spent a good part of today taking apart the steering so he could re-pack the rudder post. When he got it disassembled he discovered that this particular rudder is not made that way…there ISN’T a packing gland in it! Oh, well, he needed to check out the steering system anyway and was happy to see that it is in superb condition. His current project is filling up the holes in the deck from the old windlass and getting the new windlass installed. Brother, Lee, and Lee’s wife, Julie, are here in San Carlos as they rented a house for the winter and Lee has been down helping on the boat almost every day. We are quite happy to have him, especially since he is an excellent fiberglass man.

Friday we made arrangements to have the bottom painted and once we signed the papers the guys were there quickly to start sanding. By Saturday afternoon they had the whole bottom sanded and pressure washed and I thought, “Wow! This is going to be fast!” Alas…they don’t work on Sunday, Monday was a holiday (Revolution Day) and no one showed up today. I wonder if they forgot?

I almost feel like a piker since my jobs have entailed mostly cleaning, oiling the teak, putting things back in their proper places, etc. The operative word in that sentence is “almost” as both heads were quite icky and required some serious rubber gloves and chemicals. No…we didn’t leave them that way. In point of fact, just before the boat was hauled out we went out, dumped both holding tanks, added vinegar & water and then flushed that out so, presumably, they would be nice & clean & empty. Judging by the rings in both bowls there must have been some residual water still in the plumbing and as the water evaporated during the summer it left progressively heavier stains. Yecch!!! Do I even need to elucidate on the fun involved in cleaning that?

Sooo…we had planned to celebrate Thanksgiving in La Paz and have friends arriving there on the 29^th to spend a couple weeks with us. Will we make it? Only the Shadow knows!!