Done, finished, thank goodness that's over with!

Boat yard chic.

Oh what a glamorous 3 day weekend I've had working side by side with Mr G to scrape, strip, clean, paint and polish Southern Belle!  It's only when you have to work down one side of the boat - all 42 feet - and then start all over again on the other side that you/we realise just how big this dream boat of ours really is....84 feet to do all that work!

As you can see from my attire not only did I have the obligatory hat and sunnies but I also had the additional, and so very lovely, white face mask in place. This mask is a must to keep the toxic anti-foul paint out of throat and lungs. 



Mr G rolling on the paint.

Saturday was hard.  The weather was in the high 30s (HOT) and sunny....I added about a gazillion more freckles during the day.  Heaven arrived about 3:30 in the form of a southerly change which brought a welcome cloud cover and some sprinkles of rain.

When we got home on Saturday night I didn't have the strength to blog.  But I did write to Jae about how I felt...... What a day! We've just arrived home...both of us barely able to walk. Mr G's back is really hurting.

Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in Downton Abbey...or lived like them for days like this. To have someone peel the sweaty, grimy, dirty clothes off you...run your bath ... scrub your aching body and then dress you in something clean that smells nice (the boat yard smells of paint and thinners and waxing paste - and I wore a paper mask all day). AND THEN....when you have a lovely chilled wine in your hand they come and say, "dinner is served m'lady". I want staff.

 

Sunday wasn't supposed to be as hard - Mr G promised - but it was still really busy.  The weather was nice and cool and cloudy.  On Saturday I had polished the entire boat - all 84 feet.  Sunday was buffing that off.  Not easy for me.  I just couldn't hold the buffer hard enough against the hull.  Mr G - bless him - did most of that while I hand buffed the bow section where the boat name was.  Then we had to put the final coat of anti-foul paint on and then finally wax and hand buff the entire water line - which was my job.

 

I can honestly say that my dedication to the gym all these years paid off this weekend.   The work, combined with moving and climbing on and off scaffolding, would have killed me if I wasn't relatively fit.  Oh and one more thing...I was the only woman at the boat yard.  We got several comments from the men there that their wives, "wouldn't be caught dead doing this".  That gave me a strange sense of pride that I was there doing my share...even with the heat, smell and grime .... I was proud of myself for being equal to the guys.  Misplaced?  Maybe.

 

Anyway, we finished on Sunday about 4:30 just before the sky opened up and we had our best rain since Christmas Day.  Whew....just in time.  Monday morning we were booked in to go back into the water at 7:30am.  The boat looks fantastic.  Done, finished and we don't have to go through that again for at least 18 months to 2 years.

 

All clean and beautiful and headed for the water.