BUsy Work! Busy Work! Busy Work! Busy Work! ! ! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

       Basically, everything is ready for the launch except for the return and installation of the wind generator for which I wait with great anticipation. As a result, I spend my time whittling down the never-ending projects list, necessary but not vitally important things that need doing. None would prevent the launch. All could be done in the water. Everyone is a pain in the butt, but since I have the time, I might as well knock off a few.

     There were five(5) significant gouges in the topsides that need to be filled and fared and painted. Considering the bullet-proof nature of the hull, it wasn't the case of preventing sinking the boat, indeed all were way above the waterline, but rather they would be more in the nature of a cosmetic fix. It is a pretty straight forward procedure: a.) clean out the gouges; b.) outline with masking tape; c.) mix up some epoxy filler and apply it to the gouges; d.) smooth the filler; e.) let the filler harden; f.) sand off the excess and fare it; g.) remove residue with paint thinner; h.) paint. With all the dings and scratches on the hull that have been filled and paint and those which have not, it is getting to the time when a new paint job might be in ABISHAG's future. . . . . .right after Publishers Clearing House finds me!

     Having re-caulked the seam in the cockpit Friday, I had to trim it out. This again had me removing the outline of masking tape, which prevents the caulking from just going anywhere it wants, and trimming away globs of stuff where it had unintentionally collected.Then the cockpit grating was put back in place and no one will ever be the wiser.

     I am trying to get one more season out of the Bimini. It is old. It is made of vinyl. It had been exposed to the sun too long and has become brittle and inflexible and prone to tearing. There was one major tear where it rubs against part of the support frame and if left untreated, it will tear completely across. There are also several "pre-tears" that need to be addressed before the become the real thing. I could find nothing to deal with the situation, plus fact that I didn't have the coins to make the purchase of such a product . . . if it existed. There probably is something out there but I haven't found it. In the end, I used a roll of boot-stripe tape that I had in the "what-not" spare parts locker. It's the wrong color but "any port in a storm." It might work but then again it might not, I'll just have to wait and see. Doing the tape job was relatively easy as I took the Bimini off its frame. The toughest part was getting it back on again by myself. It just didn't want to cooperate at all and getting it done took longer than the entire "fixing part" of the project.If this tape works, i will try it on the cockpit cushions which are as old as the Bimini and in as rough shape.

     Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will wash and wax the hull, which should insure some serious rain during the week.