Teak Schedule

We are docked in a BARN....

Our routine: We get up at at day break (living in a condo) and after breakfast, we make lunches and pack them into a cooler and load up the car. We drive 45 minutes from Siesta Key Beach to Snead Island Boat Works in Palmetto Florida where our boat is safely docked inside a barn and in the water!

This is a dream situation for working on teak as there is no dew, no sun and yet a nice breeze blows through the building. It takes about 1 hour to sand the previous coast of varnish with both of us sanding. Then it takes 30 minutes to dust off the sanding dust. In another 30 minutes, we can wipe down all the varnish with a rag and denatured alcohol. At this point, we are ready to start the next coat of Epifanes.

I love Girls with pretty curves :-)

I pour the varnish into a measured cup and add the right proportions, 15% of brushing liquid / thinner, and start the next coast. Four to five hours later I have the next coast of varnish on all the surfaces. I start at the bow pulpit and work back to the stern on the starboard side. Then I work around the stern to the port stern and work my way back up to the bow. By now, my back is about broken! After that, I launch the dinghy and, while standing in it, I can varnish the outside edge of teak and also get under this edge. The last part to varnish is the companionway doors and door trim and then it is clean up time.

Varnish coat #3 and looking good

Brushes are cleaned with mineral spirits and then stored in diesel fuel cups. All paints and supplies are stored. The dinghy is lifted back up into the davits and we offload to the car. By now, it is near 4 pm. We drive home in time to hit the pool for some swimming and maybe a sunset walk on the beach before making dinner in the condo kitchen.

This has been our schedule for the past week and a half. We hope to be finished with this varnish work this week, and then we can begin to reload and rebuild the boat.

We had several pleasant changes to our routine today due to wonderful cruising friends. We are very grateful to all of them!  First, was a surprise visit from Loretta and Jim of IP380 Plan C. Thank you for stopping by!  Next, we took our life raft to a Zodiac service center in Tampa. Thanks to a very good friend, Greg, who is loaning us his raft until he buys his next sailboat, we now have a 4 person coastal life raft. See photos below.Thank you, GREG! Our day ended with a lively dinner in St. Pete Beach with Larry and Phyllis, former owners of IP40 LARK. Thank you for fitting us into your busy schedule!

Here are some photos of the work...

I enjoy looking at these curves, beautiful lines on a pretty boat

WOW, that is coat #3 and it looks so good, amazing finish.

All the stainless steel rub rails are off, so finishing the outside is easier.

Inspecting the Zodiac 4 person life raft

We hope and pray that we will NEVER need this, but it is here if we do.
This is a 4 person coastal Zodiac Life Raft, 2006 model.
Perfect condition, like new.

So, another great day "yachting" and "living da cruising life" as sailor bums. Radeen and I do enjoy sharing in the work and helping each other. It is not all about sailing, it is about teamwork and being together, focused on a unified goal. That is what makes this life so much fun. Thanks for following....