Independence is in the water!

We launched on Wednesday, October 27th as planned; all went well, no leaks and no surprises.  It has been a very busy few days since then but the list has a lot crossed off.

The decks have new non skid paint, the fridge has a new compressor and is very cold, the electrical system has been tested and tweaked and works well - the new panel is very impressive- the engine is running like a top after its rebuild and the dinghy is ready to launch.

We have lots of cleaning to do tomorrow, and then on Monday we will put all the snorkel gear and cushions aboard and everything else that makes a boat comfortable and ready to charter ... Things like the makings of our rum punch, the trays we serve lunch on, the sun shower for rinsing off after time in the water and a myriad of other details.  Then, on Tuesday, we do our first post-haul-out charter with old friends who have sailed with us for years; it will be a great test run.

A major haul-out and refit is always stressful. I had nightmares that we were heading out on our first sail and I told Ray to raise the mainsail and I had forgotten the sails!!! Don't worry ...We bent on all the sails, which were   overhauled by our favourite sailmaker - Manfred Dietrich - and delivered the day after the launch, no more nightmares!

I still will have varnishing to do but the boat looks and runs great, we are thrilled with the results of this big refit and can't wait to show off Independence so come on down and lets go sailing!

Independence is out of the tent!!

It has been a long, hot few weeks but great progress has been made and our launch date is in sight, we can't wait to go sailing!

Independence is out of her tent and Hodgie did a great job, he is still doing some polishing and had to fix the mess we made of our boot stripe, we took out two through hull fittings that were in the stripe, you would think we would do that before the painter did his job but, oh no, we waited until after.  Hodgie was very polite but a little frustrated with us I think; he really has done a beautiful job of painting the hull.

All the interior work is 95% finished. We have a varnish production line going at the house to get all the trim ready to reinstall and we are ready to put the floor boards and the stairs back in. Getting from fore to aft inside now is a series of lunges, a good thing too as I haven't had time to get to the gym in weeks!

The new teak toe rail is oiled and installed and we are waiting on two new stanchions for the boarding gate; they will be done as soon as the post office delivers one more piece of stainless steel! Pieter has almost finished all the engine work; there are a few hoses left to install and it will be aligned once we are in the water.  The new fridge compressor goes in after we launch and that is when we will paint the non skid on the deck.

My last big project, trying to emulate Hodgie's talent only with a roller and a brush instead of a spray gun, is to paint the cabin and pilot house sides, the hatches and the water way. Our son Paul has a couple of boats in the yard as well and has volunteered to help me with that. All the sanding, priming, sanding and taping has been done so now we just have to dust and dust and dust again and then paint.

THE LAUNCH DATE  IS  OCTOBER 27, that is this Wednesday and we are on schedule, so we are getting excited.  Once the in the water projects are done we will load all the charter gear, snorkels and masks, fins and floats, life jackets and cushions and a myriad of other stuff and then we CAN GO SAILING AGAIN!!!!  We have a trip booked for November 3rd, still have 3 spots available, and will accept bookings starting on November 1st.  Can't wait, or did I already mention that!