by Judy Handley | Mar 7, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 136, Year 4: Waiting Is Soooooooo Hard
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2009
Weather: Partly Sunny Day; Thunder and Threatening Rain Evening
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Painting on Windbird is complete (YEA!) but we have to wait until Monday to take off the plastic and see the results. Both the nonskid and the boat name were painted today. But waiting to see the final results is sooooooo hard even though we have plenty to keep us busy until the unveiling on Monday. We watched this morning as hour after hour Pong smoothed the edges of the logo so there would be no seepage of paint. As always, we are just amazed at the attention to detail and care with which each step is done. At the end of the day today, the crew looked very pleased so we hope that is a good sign. We will have to have a celebration on Monday evening if everything looks as good as we hope. Neil and Ley of Crystal Blues did have a little celebration with their crew at the end of the work day today. Their boat waterline was painted late yesterday, so the paint work on the boat is also done. Like us, the bottom and the mast painting is yet to come, but it is such a wonderful feeling to have the hull and deck-side done.
My brother and sister called on Skype this morning to wish me a happy birthday. They were getting together for dinner so we had prearranged this as a call time. It is just so wonderful to get to talk to them. And tonight we talked with Heather, Jed, and Sam. It was their morning and Sam was a very busy little man. But he took time out to show us special things so I thought I would show him a special thing. I have his sand bucket here in the apartment, still full of shells he collected while he was here, so I showed him that. And, of course, he said, “I need that.” I think I really need to make a commercial for Skype. When you are far away from family, Skype really bridges the gap. Add to that the fact that it is free, and you have a really unbelievable service.
Tomorrow Mark and I will unpack the stainless that has been stored away under the boat. The dodger and bimini frame need to be polished so they will be ready to go on the boat on Monday. Getting used to working outside again is going to be interesting. As we have been sitting in an air-conditioned apartment for a month, the outside temperature has been creeping up and up and up. So we will take it easy tomorrow, working as long as we can and then escaping back into the apartment. Since I have always hated air conditioning, it is interesting that I have become so dependent on it. But it has been wonderful the past month and now we will slowly wean ourselves as we get used to the heat once again.
by Judy Handley | Mar 6, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 135, Year 4: Getting Ready for Painting Nonskid
Date: Friday, March 6, 2009
Weather: Absolutely Beautiful Day; Very Hot
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Windbird has been wrapped in plastic for two days now and we are very anxious to get that plastic wrap off. There are certain thin plastics that can harm the paint surface, but we are assured by Oh that he uses the higher grade that will not harm the paint. Luck, Lock, and Pond worked all day under the cellophane tent that is inside the big white tent preparing Windbird’s cabin top and cockpit for the nonskid painting tomorrow. For those of you who are not boaters, nonskid is a paint with either sand or some synthetic fiber in it that is applied to surfaces where you do not want to slip on a wet deck. This is almost everyplace, but for looks you want some smooth surfaces, thus the painting, then the masking off with tape, and then the repainting with nonskid. Mark was fascinated with the way Luck cuts masking tape into very thin strips to outline the areas, making absolutely perfect circles around fittings. Just this year, we learned that we could buy this very thin masking tape, but
that is expensive so they cut their own.
The nonskid will be applied tomorrow and hopefully the boat name will be painted. Once that happens, all the painting from the waterline up will be done!!!!!!! On Monday, we can start putting Windbird back together while the crew sands the bottom and the mast. In the meantime, we are finding more and more hardware to clean. Mark went into Windbird today for the first time in a couple of weeks. He dug deep into our spares supply and found things that he thinks we might use. He also got the aluminum mast step and stainless steel plate that sits under it. We had left those inside and needed to get them to clean and then have Oh’s crew paint the cast aluminum piece. So we cleaned these pieces and hardware on a few lines that we had bagged and forgotten about. Tomorrow we will just have to wait patiently and then on Sunday we can start by cleaning the big pieces of stainless that have been stored under Windbird during the painting-the supports for the dodger and bimini, the windvane steering that we hope to sell, the sissy bars that go around the mast, the boom crutch that sits behind the cockpit. On Monday, we will put all of these big pieces of stainless back on top so Muzza can start the canvas work and Nop’s crew can install the new arch. So after tomorrow, our “lazy” days are over. We will be working out in this heat all day everyday, and I have a feeling we will start using the pools here more frequently to cool off mid-day.
After working most of the afternoon on cleaning stainless pieces, we got a call from Neil and Ley of Crystal Blues. They wanted to drop by our apartment to drop something off. This something was a birthday gift of homemade mango chutney, make on my birthday by Ley. What a special gift. Thank you, Ley and Neil. And then this afternoon, Mark saw Linda and Pieter of Dutch Touch. This is a boat that crossed the Pacific at the same time as we did. Arrangements were made for us to meet for dinner. And then Tory and Piet Hein of Double Dutch called and said they were coming to visit and hoping to have dinner. They have a “Dutch” connection with Dutch Touch so it was a perfect time for all of us to get together. Tory and Piet Hein will be leaving on Monday or Tuesday for their Indian Ocean crossing and Pieter and Linda are here to provision and will be leaving in about a week. It was great fun getting together. Tory and Piet Hein are counting on us going around South Africa so we can visit them at home in Cape Town. We’re just not ready to make that decision yet, but Tory is counting on the visit.
by Judy Handley | Mar 5, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 134, Year 4: Windbird’s Cabin Top and Cockpit Painted – Happy Birthday Judy!
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; Threat of Rain All Day
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Today was a bit tense. The morning started out sunny, but shortly after the painting started on Windbird, threatening clouds appeared and stayed with us all day. We visited the boat early this morning when Oh and Luck were cleaning the paint guns. We went over to see Neil and Ley’s boat, Crystal Blues. Her hull was painted yesterday and she looks fantastic. We went back to the apartment and cleaned more things and named more pictures. When we walked by the boat around 12:30, Oh was outside for a breather between coats 2 and 3 and he was looking at the dark gray clouds and appealing to someone higher to make the clouds go away. Well, they didn’t, but it didn’t rain. So the weather wasn’t perfect for painting, but we avoided the worst. The cabin top and cockpit got their three coats of AwlGrip. Tomorrow the masking will be done for the nonskid and it will be put on Saturday. Late this afternoon the template was being applied to both sides of the back of the boat so the boat name and home port can be painted, probably tomorrow. It looks like it might be Sunday before we can get inside Windbird, and then is when the reassembly process will begin.. Mark will work with Luck tomorrow making sure the nonskid taping is done just the way we want it. So lots of good things are happening.
We left a little late for getting to Patong Beach in time for dinner, so we ended up eating at a little Thai place across from the theater. We’ll have to go back to Patong one more time before we leave just have dinner there and watch the street show. But we did have a good time at the Simon Show. It is done in a Las Vegas showgirl style. Neither Mark nor I have ever seen a show in Vegas, but I am just sure they are much like we saw tonight. The scenery and costumes were both outrageous and spectacular and we really enjoyed the show. It was a great birthday treat for both Susan and myself.
by Judy Handley | Mar 4, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 133, Year 4: Windbird Back in a Cocoon of Plastic
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; Late Evening Torrential Rain
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Windbird is looking beautiful, but we won’t be going onboard for my birthday tomorrow. She is literally wrapped in plastic with plastic tent sides going up and down and over top of her. Cabin top and cockpit painting will happen early in the morning so she will have drying time before possible late afternoon rain. I am just so thankful that our hull was painted before the rains started. That was either luck or possibly the reason Oh wanted the hull painted first. Anyway, I’m really hoping the plastic cocoon might be removed in the afternoon before we take off for my birthday fling in Patong Beach, but if not, we will just have to wait. We are so excited that the painting is almost done. Non-skid will go on Saturday so by early next week we can be putting the boat back together. We thought it would be closer to the end of March before we would get to start this, so we are very happy with the progress. We have completed the cleaning of all the stainless hardware we have here in the apartment and I have only one more Australia photo file before I move on to Indonesia, so progress is being made.
We had an early morning Skype Chat with Justin. He wanted to wish me a happy birthday and tell me that he and his sister have gone together to get me the ultimate birthday present-two new grandchildren. That is the best birthday present I could ever ask for. I also got a Skype call from Helaine Kanegsberg back in Concord. She said they got fifteen inches of snow yesterday. That is hard to imagine from here. Sounds beautiful but I’m glad I’m here and not there. After working all morning, we realized it was past time for lunch, so we walked over to what I call “food alley” and had the pleasant surprise of finding Ley and Neil there. We haven’t seen them since our get together at their house last Friday, so it was great to catch up. Their hull was painted today so after lunch we walked over to take a look. It looks beautiful. So another successful paint job down.
It is now 8:30 pm here and the rain that started about 7:00 is now in full swing. We are getting the equivalent of a Nor’easter, just that ours is rain and not snow. Late tomorrow we head to Patong Beach with Susan and Richard of Sea Bunny. We are going to the Phuket Simon Cabaret to celebrate the double 62nd birthdays-Susan and I. This show is advertised as an entertaining transvestite show. The theatre holds 600 people. It is supposed to be grand and the costumes of the ladyboys are reportedly gorgeous. I know it sounds a little crazy, but this is a part of Thai culture that we are told you cannot leave without experiencing. So we are looking forward to a crazy, but fun, evening in Patong.
by Judy Handley | Mar 3, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 132, Year 4: A Bump in the Road
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Weather: Back to Normal-Beautiful Day, No Dark Afternoon Clouds
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
When I reread last night’s log, it was obvious that it was late when I wrote it and the usual detail was not included. I mentioned that the heavens opened up and poured rain but I didn’t mention that we were walking to Royal Phuket Marina when that happened. Luckily there was a temporary tin shed (contractor’s outhouse) where we could get out of the torrential downpour. I also didn’t mention anything about boatwork, but that was intentional. We had our first disappointment yesterday with the paint job and I just wasn’t sure what to say. Now that we’ve had twenty-four hours to think about it, I can write about it.
Yesterday when we went to the boat, Luck was wet sanding the green waterline stripe on the starboard side with 2000 grit sandpaper. I was mortified. What was wrong? He explained that while they were spraying a big wind came and there were dust particles in the green stripe. Mark and I had not noticed this. But now for the second time a little part of the new paint was being sanded and then rubbed out with 3-M Perfect It III Extra Cut Rubbing Compound. Before I had a panic attack, Oh arrived and we expressed our fears about degradation in the area where Luck was sanding. Oh really believes that there will not be early degradation. Since we have three coats of AwlGrip instead of the usual two coats, he says this is no problem. All of the contractors here say the same thing, but naturally they would as they all have to do the same thing when a paint job is not perfect. We went back to the apartment and researched as much as we could. We’re still not sure what to do about this, but for now we are just leaving it as is. If more problems arise, then we might have to be more aggressive in our dealings, but for now we continue to trust what Oh is saying and are going along with his “fixes.” Mark and I never even saw the dust specks so we obviously need to put on our magnifying glasses. I cannot tell where Luck did the little fix, so I guess the good thing coming out of this is that we are learning what to do when we hit the dock and get our first ding in the paint. I will most certainly carry 2000 grit sandpaper and the 3M product for future fixes because you sure can’t see where the work has been done..
My goal today was to finally, really finish cleaning and polishing all stainless and every screw, bolt, nut, and washer from Windbird. Well, I didn’t quite make it. By mid-afternoon I was going crazy with boredom of doing the same thing all day, so I switched gears and went back to editing and naming photos. Maybe I’ll make the goal tomorrow and maybe I won’t, but I will certainly be glad when that work is done. At the end of this log, I have outlined my process for cleaning stainless, aluminum, and screws, bolts, nuts, and washers covered in caulk and rust. If anyone has a better way, please let us know!
I started this log earlier and it is now about 9 pm. I just heard thunder, so our rainy weather must be back. Windbird’s cabin top and cockpit are to be painted tomorrow or the next day, depending on weather. Even though we are under a tent, you don’t paint when it is raining. Rain usually comes in the afternoon and a morning painting would be fine, but tonight’s thunder show is different. I guess we’ll find out in the morning what is to happen about painting.
Stainless
I have been using a product from New Zealand called Grunt which you paint on, let sit for fifteen minutes, and then wash off. It is a gel, like Vaseline, and probably contains phosphoric acid although it does not say. But the rust really does go away. But we have found that things cleaned with Grunt rust more readily even though the product says that it leaves a protective coating. After every piece of stainless has been cleaned with Grunt, we then apply a product called Mirage. It is a polish that you can buy at boat shows in the US and we really think it extends the life of the stainless cleaning. Since I am just about out of Grunt, I have purchased a product here called Permatex Rust Dissolving Gel which does contain phosphoric acid. It is more like a liquid than a gel and does not work quite as well as Grunt, but it is what we can find here.
Aluminum
We have a lot of anodized aluminum on the boat and I have no idea how to clean that. But for the aluminum that is not anodized, I found a product here called Duro Aluminum Jelly Cleaner and Brightener. It does an adequate job, but I have had to apply it three or four times to get a decent result.
Cleaning Screws, Bolts, Nuts, and Washers
These little guys are a challenge. We removed hundreds from Windbird and all were heavily covered with black caulk and some were rusted badly. We have worked hard to find replacements for most, but I am still cleaning the old ones for future use. We first soak them in paint thinner, scrub them with a wire brush, then coat them with Grunt or the Permatex Jelly. After they are rinsed and dried, we then apply Mirage to each and every little piece. That is what is so painstaking.
by Judy Handley | Mar 2, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, Thailand Refit |
Day 131, Year 4: The Day That the Rains Came Down
Date: Monday, March 2, 2009
Weather: Mixed Sunshine with Clouds; Then Rain
Location: Boat Lagoon Marina, Phuket Island
Our day began as usual, but then things went a little crazy. We left Boat Lagoon in our rental jeep with a hefty agenda. We knew we needed to return the jeep by 2 pm, so we went on a hunt and kill mission to get as many things as we could think of. In Old Phuket town we went from hardware store to chandlery and found little of what we were looking for, but we did manage to lock ourselves out of our jeep. It took us a bit to find someone to break into our jeep, but for very little money we were
off and running again. We bought the food and drink supplies that we knew we could fit into our little apartment and returned the jeep by the 2 pm deadline. When we returned home, we had an email from Rendezvous Cay saying they were leaving Royal Phuket tomorrow morning, but at the same time we learned that Patti and David of This Way Up were hoping to have dinner with us and Sea Bunny and Amoenitis. Despite the fact that the heavens decided to open and pour down on us late today, we did manage
to get together with everyone for dinner.
