The main purpose of that Oahu trip was the haul-out and the bottom paint. I never did it myself, and it was long overdue. We had some damage with a previous buoy, and the old one was anyway totally inefficient.
It was meant to be an adventure, indeed.
I lived on a yard before, in Oxnard, while preparing Traces for the Pacific crossing. It is uncomfortable, noisy, dusty, without easy access to clean water or shower.
This time was a bit better, mostly because the Hawaiian sun allows you to take a shower at the hose, outside, in shorts.
But the sun made it really uncomfortable to work during mid-day hours, sweating under the protective suit.
The hard part in a bottom paint is the sanding, depending how deep you want to go. I went pretty deep because I knew I would not do it again soon. Depending how many blisters you got. I had a few hundreds of them. Started to be better at them toward the end, but I did a couple of major mistakes that took hours to fix.
Learning curve.
And I got rid of an annoying vinyl decorative band that was in really bad shape but a real pain in the butt to take off.
The paint job is straightforward. A bit tiring for the back as the curve of the hull force you in awkward positions toward the keel, but it is very gratifying.
Going back to the marina after the work, forced to motor all the way due to lack of wind, I realized that the engine issue - rpm dropping slowly - likely fuel starvation - was getting - if not worst - not better.
Something had to be done.
My first attempt to isolate the leak ended up causing another leak - major, on the inlet of the injector pump. Few days later, I eventually fixed that one with new parts, call it a day and flew back home.
Has been one month short have been off Maui and far from family, it was time to take a break.
Looking back, a lot has been done during that month, and on the 'major' items list, only few remains.
- Engine
- Garmin Windvane (changed to a wired one after endless disconnection issues)
- Mast lights
Those can wait March. I need a break.
But We are closing in.
 |
| 1-2-3, Lift ! |
This time was a bit better, mostly because the Hawaiian sun allows you to take a shower at the hose, outside, in shorts.
But the sun made it really uncomfortable to work during mid-day hours, sweating under the protective suit.
 |
| 1-2-3, ready |
Learning curve.
And I got rid of an annoying vinyl decorative band that was in really bad shape but a real pain in the butt to take off.
 |
| Sanding, Sanding, Sanding ... |
 |
| Voila ! |
Something had to be done.
 |
| On the way back to Ala Wai, under (failing) engine |
Has been one month short have been off Maui and far from family, it was time to take a break.
Looking back, a lot has been done during that month, and on the 'major' items list, only few remains.
- Engine
- Garmin Windvane (changed to a wired one after endless disconnection issues)
- Mast lights
Those can wait March. I need a break.
But We are closing in.
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