Closing in on Launch Day

I keep forgetting to blog about my weekends working on the boat. I have made some progress, but launch day is coming up on Thursday, and I won't have everything on the list done. I cleverly miscalculated the end of the semester, so I arranged for launch during finals week instead of after grading.

So what have I done?

I have varnished the handrails on the cabin top, port and starboard. I have a lot of other sanding and varnishing to do, but that will probably have to wait a while. I have painted the boottop as well most of the bottom (with anti-fouling paint). The plan for Thursday is that they will come an pick up the boat just before lunchtime and hoist it in the slings. Then they will go off to lunch while I finish painting the bottom. I can't reach part of the bottom, most of the keel, and the patches where the trailer hull supports are at the moment, but they will all be easy to paint over the lunch hour. I guess I'm just assuming that it will dry sufficiently before launch!

One thing that is taking a while is trying to deal with the damage from the water that got into the cabin over the winter. Things definitely swelled, and putting drying crystals in the cabin hasn't helped. One drawer still does not open while another sticks badly. The floorboards don't quire fit, so I have been sanding them down a little at at a time. Other places are noticeably warped. Much of it, I'll just have to live with, I guess. Fortunately, it hasn't affected the electrical system at all. Everything that worked before still seems to: AC power, battery charging, stereo, VHF radio, cabin lights, refrigerator. Oh, and the automatic bilge pump. Can't forget that; is the most important thing on the list. This year I will try to repair the navigation lights, water pump, and a couple of other things.

I also polished the hull, but as it is 33 years old, it doesn't really help much. What I really need to do is learn how to repair minor nicks and scrapes. That could make a real cosmetic difference, and help keep water out of the core.

So, looks like I need to go up there on Wednesday. I'll stow things securely, remove masking tape, prepare the paint and rollers for bottom painting, see if I can finally get the floorboards to fit again. But I'll need to update the lists before then.