Once the glass work was done, the boat had five coats of barrier paint and then two final coats of blue Trinidad done. We decided to go with a hard paint rather then ablative this time for several reasons and was told if we decide to switch back it can be done easier then if we had gone ablative and decided on hard later on. Here she sits with one of five barrier coats on.
Boy, we still can't get over how much shine we were able to give the ole girl. On Friday the 7th we headed back down to Panama City to have the boat splashed. We got there around lunch and found our girl in the sling waiting for us to inspect her. 
We also wanted to be left in the slings once we were in the water till we could check out the thru hull work that Dirk had done. No leaks, that's a very good sign. So off we went heading back to the marina, Dirk kept going below just to re-check his work for signs of water. It was all good and we made it back to our slip without any excitement. Saturday was a major clean up day as the boat has been sitting in a dusty, sandy boat yard. The boat yard did a decent job of hosing off the boat topside for us but its never done to where we as owners want it done. So Dirk worked outside as I tackled the inside taking the time to wipe all surfaces down. I also managed to put another coat of varnish on my topside teak I have been working on.
Monday we took off out of the slip so that we could shake the sails out and enjoy the breeze. We had anywhere from 5 to 14 knots of wind so it was a pleasant but chilly outing. We are happy to report that we have actually gained some speed with the new bottom job. Once we got back to the slip I decided to tackle the stair project. Our entry steps were not the prettiest but they have to be functional as to provide an anti slip surface. Last thing you want to do is bust your rear going below decks. This is the present look of the steps with anti-skid paint.
We purchased some low pile rubber backed runner carpet from our local home improvement store. I then used double sided carpet tape on the top four sides and one strip under the step. After measuring and cutting the exact size for the top I left extra to go underneath the step and then using a heavy duty staple gun, attached it.
I chose the low pile carpet because I feel once we begin cruising any sand that finds its way past the door mat will hopefully be caught here before it makes its way onto the wood floors. Our cat Butters also has his favorite perch which is the top step, and I will be able to vacuum his hair from this much better then a higher pile. Plus, It's not just practical, I like the way it looks. In other news Dirk and I got our first chart of the Bahamas so that we could start planning. Gosh there are so many places we want to go, and that's just the Bahamas. When most people think of the Bahamas, what comes to mind is Nassau and Freeport. Like me, they don't realize there are about 700 Islands and Cays, pronounced Keys to explore. So we have our work cut out for us trying to decide how to spend our time there before we will have to head further south for the following hurricane season. 224 days and counting till Dirk's done with work and we can move onto the boat. We have a tentative date of Oct. 13th to cut the dock lines and head out, but as we all know that's a date subject to change. We can always hope though.
Monday we took off out of the slip so that we could shake the sails out and enjoy the breeze. We had anywhere from 5 to 14 knots of wind so it was a pleasant but chilly outing. We are happy to report that we have actually gained some speed with the new bottom job. Once we got back to the slip I decided to tackle the stair project. Our entry steps were not the prettiest but they have to be functional as to provide an anti slip surface. Last thing you want to do is bust your rear going below decks. This is the present look of the steps with anti-skid paint.
We purchased some low pile rubber backed runner carpet from our local home improvement store. I then used double sided carpet tape on the top four sides and one strip under the step. After measuring and cutting the exact size for the top I left extra to go underneath the step and then using a heavy duty staple gun, attached it.
I chose the low pile carpet because I feel once we begin cruising any sand that finds its way past the door mat will hopefully be caught here before it makes its way onto the wood floors. Our cat Butters also has his favorite perch which is the top step, and I will be able to vacuum his hair from this much better then a higher pile. Plus, It's not just practical, I like the way it looks. In other news Dirk and I got our first chart of the Bahamas so that we could start planning. Gosh there are so many places we want to go, and that's just the Bahamas. When most people think of the Bahamas, what comes to mind is Nassau and Freeport. Like me, they don't realize there are about 700 Islands and Cays, pronounced Keys to explore. So we have our work cut out for us trying to decide how to spend our time there before we will have to head further south for the following hurricane season. 224 days and counting till Dirk's done with work and we can move onto the boat. We have a tentative date of Oct. 13th to cut the dock lines and head out, but as we all know that's a date subject to change. We can always hope though.
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