Days at the Yard…

They say, “A Picture Paints a Thousand Words”, and I say Thank God for that.  I started this blog while taking an online digital writing workshop and needless to say the weeks and days have been filled and I have neglected the blog.

I have to get down to the boatyard right now and commence work again because we just have days left at this point while we can be in the shed that allows us to work in any weather with our painting project.  We are grateful for the shed since literally I think we have had only one or two days in the entire last month that it has not rained at some point in the day.

I have been writing in fits and spurts and there will be a lot of editing that needs to happen…until then enjoy some pictures I have taken around the yard.  I need to take some shots now that we have three coats of primer on the hull.  Sweet s/v Alchemy now looks like a beautiful racer/cruiser with no name, and no builder identity, stripped of her quintessential Wauquiez royal blue stripe, she is like a grey ghost of the yard.

It has been a lot of work and Chris and I come home completely soaked in sweat most days since the shed is about five to ten degrees hotter than the overall temperature outside.  I have been doing a lot of laundry.

Chris has completed the bulk of the work of sanding, using alcohol to clean the hull of all oils left by the sandpaper, and spraying the primer.  We only have one really good sander and one paint sprayer so I am now the ‘mix master’ and have been mixing paint and assisting when necessary.  It has been a team effort and it has helped me get over some of the trauma of the storm and accident.  It was quite an experience and I found it extremely difficult to witness many aspects of what happened on July 1st when the unexpected ‘no-name’ storm blew in not predicted.  It was a game changer for me in many ways, and it has been a process to move through…but we are getting there.

Our last few weeks of gearing up to paint the boat ourselves has included sweating it out under the hull but as well, it has been punctuated by getting to know a new community which has been welcoming and kind, traveling back home to Annapolis, M.D. to visit with friends and family, and reuniting with friends here in the New Bern, Beaufort and the Oriental area.  Our days have been filled with hard work, reorientation, family and friendship, which just goes to prove when life throws a curve ball at what seems like the most inopportune time in one’s life, staying open and not making any assumptions may be the best plan of action.  These past weeks have been blessed with connection and support in ways I could have never predicted.  The paint with pigment arrives today…s/v Alchemy’s new cloak in gallon paint cans upon our doorstep…Praying to the paint gods that the paint flows smooth and true…

So here is a view from the yard…hope you enjoy following the progress…

The Bow

Measuring or Masking

Let the painting begin!

It takes all the right conditions, technique, paint mixture, and spray gun settings to get it ‘perfect’ – It is quite a challenge…

Priming the toe rail edge too which was damaged right after we had already painted it…

I am not the only ‘Mix Master’ at the yard…this resin station is in the tent we are working in…

s/v Alchemy would be having an identity crisis if it weren’t for that beauty of a hull shape….

Masking for overspray

Here is the gun that makes all the paint magic possible…[gallery orderby="title"]