Looking back over the past couple of weeks… In order to get the boat in the water we had to accomplish quite a bit, this is just a sample.

Prep and prime the masts:

Paint the masts:

The paint came out quite nice. Bob is installing and wiring the tv antenna and wind generator mounts:

He also installed sail track on the main mast so we can store the spinnaker pole vertically rather than across the deck:

 Rigging the masts (in the pouring rain):

Get the dinghy ready. Mom washed it, Tanya and Joan prepped and bottom painted:

We finally finished stripping 34 years of paint off the bottom:

Then we had to fair the bottom, removing the majority of surface imperfections:

Then we applied a waterproof epoxy barrier coat, first white then gray. We (Tanya, my sister and I) applied four coats:

 That first coat gave us a real psychological boost. It was nice to see one solid color:

We waited the appropriate dry time then started a new coat of gray:

Painful wrist, but the bottom sure looks nice:

Then we applied two coats of anti-fouling bottom paint:

If you notice in the back it is pouring rain. You’re not supposed to paint in the rain or with high humidity. We didn’t have a choice, we were not missing our launch date, so we painted anyway. I sprayed three coats of Awlgrip Aristo Blue and it came out quite nice considering the conditions at the time:

Completely new exhaust system exiting through a new three inch stainless exhaust outlet which Tanya installed:

We finished installing the chain plates and covers:

I’m sure I missed quite a bit but that’s a brief summary of what it took to get the boat back in the water. Thanks to everyone for helping us meet that deadline!!!

We will add the launch pics in a few days.