Refit Completed (September 2014)

Repainted Mast and Boom (September 24, 2014): Summer of 2014 has just ended, and so did our refit work on the boat. The August sun was broiling here, and just to make it even better, we were overwhelmed, frustrated, tired, sunburnt, bug bitten, and etc. During the last two months, we didn’t think much. We just worked and worked, nonstop seven days a week! All we could do was to get up, do whatever work we had to, and go to bed in order to get out of the boatyard as soon as possible. Our original plan was to be at Bock Marine for a month to complete everything but it ended up being two months. Thinking back, one month schedule was way underestimating the time and complexity of the project. When we started, we didn’t have a clue on how to do all the work but the result is magic. We completed!
***Bock marine: John has been in many different boat yards, this has so far been his favorite. The yard is well run, the shower facilities and bathroom are clean, the ships store is well stocked and very reasonable, there is a courtesy car where you only have to put in the gas you use, they have an onsite crane, the power pedestals are 15 amp, 30 amp, and 50 amp so you can plug your entire boat in. The yard is do it yourself but there are many contractors as well as on site employees so you can do as much or as little as you want.

—–Detailed Refit Tasks in Summer of 2014—–

Boat Bottom Paint Job (One Week): (1) Sand the bottom–worst task, John’s nightmare! He became covered in black dust at the end of the day after sanding the old black bottom paint. (2) Repair the bottom with epoxy (apply, let it dry, and sand it multiple times), and (3) Repaint four layers of paint–it dried real quickly but we needed good sunny days for painting.

Paint Water Line Boot Stripe with Green and Yellow Stripe in the Middle (Five Days): We wanted to practice using Awlgrip paint prior to working on the Mast/Boom Paint. Sand and paint multiple times. We failed it first (roll and tip). We removed all and redid.

Paint Mast (65 feet), Boom (15 feet), Four Spreaders, and Misc. Parts (Three Weeks): (1) Remove anything attached to the mast/boom-it took days to remove certain bolts even with impact tool (broke three impact tools, imagine how sore hands are after using this tool?), (2) Degrease the aluminum mast/boom, (3) Sand with sandpaper, (4) Sand blast with fine sand (we ended up buying a compressor-super positive investment), (5) Fix corrosion spots, (6) Sand again with smooth sandpaper, (7) Wash the mast/boom with water, (8) Apply Alodine, (9) Rinse with water, (10) Paint it with gray prime and sand, (11) Paint it with white prime and sand (repeat three times), (12) Wet sand with 220 grits, (13) Wash the mast/boom with water, (14) Final paint (three layers) before 1 P.M. (15) Also added painted top 10 feet of Mast in green. (16) Finally, bring Mast/Boom on Boat by the same crane it removed. (Used lots of new fuzzy towels to protect new paint job from scratches.)
Reassemble Boom/Furler/Mast, Install New Mast Track and New Rigging, Install Electrical Cables (Two Weeks): This was fun work because we can see the final outcome.
Remove Old Labels (Boat Name) and Install New labels (Two Days): On Boom with Premium 3M Label and on Mast with Premium Reflective Label, Added two one foot Premium Reflective Labels on the top portion of the mast to easily find the boat at night. New font name: ‘Machine’–looks speedy for sailboat!

***We ordered some self-adhesive vinyl boat names from http://doityourselflettering.com/ in a variety of vinyl styles. The company advertises that if you mess up the installation they will send you a new letter or an entire new decal. They were not kidding. We messed up one total decal, and a single letter on another decal. A simple phone call and the replacement arrived no questions asked. Big recommendation for these guys who stand behind what they sell. (If you install a large decal use the spray bottle technique)

Miscellaneous Tasks (Five Days): (1) Repair Keel, (2) Clean and grease propeller, (3) Replace broken transducer, (4) Install spurs line cutter, (5) Install new zincs, (6) Clean all the parts (Vinegar and Dawn dishwasher soap) prior to reinstalling the boom and mast, (7) Wash all the ropes with fabric softener, (8) Sand and repaint radar, (9) Install new spreader lights, (10) Replace tri color anchor light lamp cover, (11) Install new pumping system (plumbing), (12) Reinstall wiring of electrical devices, (13) Replace glue 5200 on eight chain plates.–This was my nightmare! 5200 works great but it took forever to remove. I felt hand arthritis after removing the old 5200. John used this glue to fix a hole on his Crocs shoes where the bottom was thin. So far so good, after one month of wearing the fixed Crocs shoes with glue 5200!

“No matter what, you just don’t quit!!!”