Those Little Boat Projects

Dave usually takes care of polishing our prop each spring. I have a new respect for this job which I took on this year. I spent three hours rubbing WD-40 and elbow grease onto a very oxidized prop until the beautiful brass color was revealed. Other than a few small dings, it's in pretty good shape, especially considering how hard cruising is on boats. It does have several "scars" from barnacles that we picked up in the south during our Great Loop adventure. Polishing out the prop is just one of the spring tasks on our list each year.

Patina Before Polishing

Polished Prop

Our boot stripe or water line was looking pretty rough with chips from barnacles and several deep scratches. We'd talked about repainting last fall, but only went as far as buying the blue topside paint. In between other projects, we prepared the area by sanding out the old paint and filling the low spots before taping and rolling on a new coat. It took two of us to complete the applications. I rolled the paint on while Dave followed closely behind tipping or smoothing the orange peel texture that a roller leaves behind. Essentially, Dave dragged a foam brush through the paint that I applied. After three coats with sanding and retaping in between, it looked great, one more item off our list.

Taping the chipped water line

Epoxy filler over chipped paint

First coat of fresh paint

Three coats on the boot stripe

Mystic gets a new coat of ablative or self polishing bottom paint each spring. It wears away slowly over the summer which exposes the hull to anti-foaling elements that help keep Mystic's hull from gathering moss, so to speak. Without it, Mystic would be covered in algae, weeds, and scum by fall. A new coat always looks so good and is especially attractive this year with the new boot stripe paint up against it.

Dave applying bottom paint

Mystic looking ready for summer

In addition to the little projects, we spend time doing regular maintenance. Each task is required to get the new season rolling. Our list included:

clean (wire brush) sacrificial anodes

replace sacrificial winter halyards

move anchors from locker to anchor roller

clean and inspect the bilge

put our sails on

reinstall fire extinguishers

reinstall CO2 and smoke detectors

reinstall water pump impellor

wash and wax hull

install horseshoe buoy hardware

reinstall propane tank

clean and fill water tanks

Dave went up in the bosun chair to check on the following:

install the tri-sail halyard

install lazy jack halyard

install the flag halyard

check spreaders for wear

check spreader lights (new bulbs)

check anchor light (new bulb)

inspect rigging

Owning and maintaining any kind of boat is a lot of work. Some days are easier than others just as some projects are easier and quicker to complete. It all has to get done! In the end, if you aren't diligent, you'll end up with a project boat that no one wants.