It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s ZTC!
We just spent our first night sleeping in a boatyard. If living on a boat was like this all the time, I doubt that I’d continue to do it. It was hot (and then cool) and we were plagued with mosquitos and noseeums. I miss my cooling breeze and my water bed! Fortunately it’s only for a few days.
While always a nervous proposition to see one’s boat flying through the air, our haulout went without a hitch. The guys at Grenada Marine have obviously done this a time or two, and the huge travel lift sure beats the crane that hauled our boat back in Canada.
The last time our boat was taken out of the water was back in Kingston and she has had no antifouling paint added to her bottom since 2009, just before we purchased her. As you can see in the pic below where she is being pressure washed, there are numerous bare spots. In spite of that, the lack of adhering to the common practice of hauling out annually did not seem to adversely affect her. At approximately $2000.00 for a haulout and application of bottom paint, I think we’re ahead of the game on that front.
We asked the lift operators to place ZTC in a spot near the back where she would not likely need to be moved again, and once she was in place, Rebecca and I immediately set to work to strip her down. Both the headsail and mainsail were removed, flaked and stored in their bags. All lines and blocks that could easily be removed were taken off, the hardware cleaned and lubricated before being labeled and stowed. Rebecca even went up the mast to take down our lazy jacks and remove our masthead wind instrument. While this type of dismantling is not super common, it is better to have it all stored below safely in the event of a big blow. We continue to work under the philosophy that we have more time to do these things than we have money to repair damages caused by our failure to do so!
Want to see a huge disappointment in marine products? This is the helm seat which was installed on ZTC when we bought her. This is not an original PDQ item. Rather, it was added on either by our boat’s previous owners or whoever had her before that. Take a look at the rusty state of the swiveling base. It has been leaking rust, marking up our bulkheads for ages. Now it is in the trash! I can’t imagine this base was designed for marine use but if it was, this kind of deterioration is shameful.
Today’s tasks will center around servicing our three outboard engines. They will be cleaned up, flushed with fresh water, the engine and gear oil will be changed, and the fuel will be drained from the carbs. I’m not certain how long all this will take but I suspect a good chunk of the day. If we do get it done early, we’ll start cleaning and waxing our hulls. Anyone in Grenada reading this who is bored today, feel free to come and join the party! 😉
