Compound & Wax

Island Spirit, an IP 35 Under Shrink Wrap

Finally we have begun the spring prep on Island Spirit with a weekend of compounding and waxing the boat. We have done this now for 20 years, and every year I say NEVER AGAIN....but then I forget and I do it anyway. Well, let me tell you, compounding and waxing an Island Packet 35' sailboat is like waxing a tractor trailer. I am always glad we did not buy a larger boat at this time of the year.


Last year was the best year for doing this job because we WROTE A CHECK! Jeff, my good buddy and I decided we had enough of this waxing process and called Clazey Detailing who gave us a two boat discount and charged us $325.00 to compound and wax. WHAT A DEAL, but this year, no deals, the fee was $500 and we decided to do it our self once again. It really does not take that long, but it is tough on your back, arms and shoulders. The times it takes is....2 hrs to compound one side and 1 hr to wax one side, for a total job of 6 hours. So for $500 that equals $83/hr for my work. Not great, but I will take the savings.

Here are some photos of the fun....

Radeen helps with SLX fiberglass cleaner and etches and cleans the waterline

Cut the cover up to the deck, and wash the hull. This give us a few more weeks under cover.

Climb up on scaffolding and compound the hull, round one

Round two....wax the entire hull, we use Collinite Cleaner and then Fiberglass Wax

Radeen with Island Spirit

These small buffers get heavy after a few hours of working overhead

VERY rare scene....Island Spirit is LAST in the empty boat yard

NEXT TASK....Fly to BERMUDA and crew on an Island Packet 40 called Larking About sailing her back home to Rock Hall, MD. Our Trans-Atlantic voyage on her has been canceled due to a very serious illness in the owner's family. We will cross the Atlantic next summer.

So, we will stay on schedule with our flights out to Bermuda on June 13 and instead of heading EAST out of St. Georges Harbor, we will head WEST for the Chesapeake Bay some 650 miles away. Once back, we will launch Island Spirit on June 21, first day of SUMMER and our program will begin.

Summer plans are to enjoy Rock Hall through the July 4th events and then sail for Acadia Maine for the summer...in the Fall we will move to Annapolis, MD and then November we will make the run south to the Bahamas. ....welcome to Island Spirit season #10....the blog is up and running again!