Dolphin on the Hard

The Dolphin was put in the Multnomah Yacht Harbor yard on July 21st to have her bottom scraped and sanded.  She was then to get two coats of barrier paint and one of anti-fouling paint.  Her center board was to be freed from the barnacles growing on the board and in the center board trunk in the keel.

No one is allowed in the boat yard.  I would drop by at night and commune with her through the fence.  Notice that The Dolphin has become a SHE.

 The first time I went by she was still on her trailer.  The second visit she had been blocked up and the old paint removed.  I had consulted with the yard boss and decided to remove the cove stripe and paint up to the top edge of where it had been.  Barnacles had grown into the cove stripe.  The blue tape is were the paint will go.

The next evening visit showed definite promise of progress.  The paint was on and she was looking good from where I was outside the fence.  It sort of reminded me of visiting someone in the ICU in a hospital.  Things ground to a halt after that with a heat wave, smoky air from Canadian wild fires and the breakdown of the yard lift.  She had to be lifted and propped up so the center board could be worked on. 

I visited one day earlier this week and she was sitting high and dry with a poor yard worker scraping away on the now dropped center board.  I didn't have the camera, but I really didn't want a picture of such hard, hot hand labor.

Tonight, Thursday, I went to see my patient about 7:00 PM and there she was, raring to go home.  I expect the hospital, boat yard, to release her tomorrow.  I did have good news today.  The new main and jib are in from the North Sails factory in Sri Lanka or Ceylon.  I will go ransom them in the morning.  I paid half down.

The boat yard had put three hours in the quote for scraping barnacles.  Debra in the office warned me they were over ten on the much wedged and barnacled center board.  Like I told her, "I sure couldn't do it."  I will bring a big bag of money when they call me to collect my patient.

Now I have to figure out where to park my partner of 30 years, Jean Marie.  It isn't easy being a two yacht owner.  Sigh.