Blue Bottom and a Red Stripe

Nine of Cups' bottom is now blue. We finished up three coats between intermittent showers and downpours. The hull was painted black last haul-out and actually we prefer black, but we alternate colors each time we paint her bottom. It makes it easier to tell when the ablative paint is wearing away. Anti-fouling paint, by the way, is a cuprous-oxide based paint (copper additive) which keeps barnacles and other obnoxious critters at bay and hopefully off the hull. Legend has it that a black hull attracts whales. So far Cups has received no amorous advances from horny ceteaceans, but you can't play it too safe.

David has just finished up put two coats of paint on the bootstripe and it's looking pretty fine.

Being out of the water and “on the hard” is always an unusual feeling. The deck is about 10-12 feet off the ground. The boatyard supplied a ladder high enough to reach our swim ladder, so we can board from the stern. This means ducking under the solar panels in a sort of crouch and getting your feet onto the deck in a rather ungraceful maneuver … tough for these old, non-pliable bodies … but it certainly beats climbing up on a rope!

We're the tallest boat in the yard and the birds are certainly pleased with our spreaders and masthead. David has spent quite a bit of time scaring away the murder of crows that seem to enjoy this boatyard habitat.

From our vantage point, we have a commanding view of the boatyard and the public marina. It's amazing how 10-12 feet can change your perspective.

We've got a long list of things to do while we're out of the water in addition to the anti-fouling and red bootstripe. We usually have to scrape, polish and paint the propeller. Last haul-out we used a product called PropSpeed and we're pleased to report that the prop is in great shape with no growth whatsoever. Instead of a product that is toxic to critters, the Prop Speed is too slippery for them to attach. Anyhow … no work necessary on the propeller except to change the anode.

David is changing out the hull zinc/anode as well and, boy, did it ever need it. He's also performing regular maintenance on the thru-hulls, all 13 of them.

We noted that our haul-out lift points were not quite in the right spot and David has put temporary marks at the new locations for the TravelLift straps. We'll use them as a guide for going back into the water. If they're correct, he'll paint them on the topsides.

With any luck, we'll splash in the next day or so. Heavy rain and big winds are predicted for the next few days … we'll see how it goes.