Enee Gets a Clean Bottom

Mission accomplished! We took Enee to the Marathon Marina and Boat Yard (actually goes by the new name now - Cay Club Marina) around 9 AM on Monday. The boys were ready for us and like so many boat yards, the workers seem happy with their jobs and friendly to the customers. We pulled up to the wall by the pit for the travel lift and the main guy gave me the bad news. . . Yes, I would need to BACK the boat into the pit. Not my specialty but after about 3 tries I got her in to the slings. It is a little tricky hauling this boat because the aft sling has to go in the narrow region just aft of the keel but before the propeller. I used a picture of Enee in the slings from Ft. Lauderdale to show them how to arrange them. No problem. Up she comes. The boys gave her a good power wash and there was some nasty stuff growing down there. I know Enee is an old boat but should she really be growing a beard? After setting her down on the tarp we spent the next couple of hours preparing the surface for painting. Sue washed the whole thing with a scrubber to get the last of the little green stuff off. I sanded here and there, patched a few places, and gave Sue plenty of direction.

We also took advantage of being out of the water to replace the zinc. Wow, that was time! I also dissasembled an old through - hull that wasn't being used (for the non working air conditioning) and put a cap on it. One less leaky valve to worry about.


We had about a third of a gallon of paint left from last time in Ft. Lauderdale. At that time I found this very expensive paint on sale for half price and bought it. Now I need to stick with the paint and, of course, it ain't on sale now. So, I bought 1 gallon . . . ah but first a West Marine story. . .

Before leaving Ramrod key we called the West Marine in Marathon to see if they had the paint we wanted. Yes they had one can. We asked if they could hold it for us and they said, 'No problem'. You see where this is going, right? We went to West Marine on the day we said we'd be there to pick up our paint and, yeah, they had sold it. The guy seemed surprised that I was upset. I really don't care whether they can hold stuff or not just don't tell me one thing and then do the other! I was reminded of Seinfeld and the 'holding' of the car reservation. Needless to say I put down the other items I was going to buy there and left. Luckily our friends Joe and Peg have a car here and we used that to drive all the way back to Stock Island (almost all the way to Key West) to get our paint.

I thinned the paint as much as I thought I should and we managed to almost stretch it to make one coat. I left a little 2' x 2' patch on the starboard quarter uncovered. Another coat would have been nice but $$$$$$$$$ so we'll go with this for another year and see what happens. I think we'll be fine if we stay out of Ft. Myers and if we keep moving and not sit so much and that certainly is the plan. Looks good. . . from about 20 yards away!

Today we should get a new thermostat for the frig in the mail and see if that fixes the darn thing. Schlepping ice is not so bad but it would be nice to have the option. Also hope to play with my SSB some more now that it is working.

Another front has come through so we are experiencing the usualy 20-25 knot north winds probably through the weekend. Earliest departure for the Bahamas then would be Monday. Won't that be fun!