Category Archives: Boat Details

Spa Time to Beat the Boatyard Blues

BIMINI SUPPORTS

The support poles get a lot of rubbing from our jib sheets and the paint has just worn down over the last 18 years. So, since she is on the hard and the bimini is raised to thread the solar panels wires, we decided to get the job done. We hired Bristol Marine to do several projects for us.

They masked off all areas, sanded and removed all flaking paint and glue residue, prepared metal with acid wash Alumiprep 33, rolled/brushed Zinchromate Yellow, Primer, applied Epoxy Primer White, sanded, and then painted by brush, 2 coats of Stark White AwlGrip (should have been cloud white, but they are close enough).

Before photos of Bimini Supports

Photos below below show bimini supports with primer (lovely green), the cockpit table is gone (being sanded) and the entryway is being varnished.

Bimini Supports with Primer

We had to have the team redo some pieces because they were not done to our satisfaction. But to Ben’s credit, they re-sanded and re-painted until we were happy.

Here are some shots where there was paint drip, low paint coverage, yellow primer on the bimini track, and bubbles in the varnish. Matt even got in on the action to show them how it he wanted it done (and they call me the “perfectionist”)

Few places to fix on the bimini supports

And now it is simply smooth and lovely:

Bimini Supports Completed

ENTRYWAY

Back in 2013, we had “Vision” varnish our entryway in St. Lucia. It has had many a feet stomp across wearing it down and it was time to refresh it. After all it is the first thing you see as you enter our dwelling.

This process requires a lot of masking as the old varnish is stripped way with a heat gun and scraper. Haner, our worker said that it is a bit more difficult as we have a thin layer of varnish. He has to be very gentle as not to overheat or burn the natural wood while removing the varnish. If there was a thick coat, he could make better use of the heat gun.

The photo on the right shows where he removed some varnish and then shows the depleted varnish.

Repairing the Varnish on the Entryway

Once all of the old varnish was removed, they block sanded it, cleaned, applied yellow primer AwlWood and 10 coats of gloss (while sanding in between coats).

Entryway Completed and looking marvelous.

Entryway Half Way Mark

COCKPIT TABLE

Our cockpit table is protected with a wood stain, but it tends to need updating every other month. The sun fades the stain and exposes the wood which could cause damage. We decided to have the team sand the table and apply Semco Oil Natural Color to see if this will last a bit longer.

We really liked the look of the entryway at the half way mark and asked Bristol what the cost would be to do the same treatment to the cockpit table. Unfortunately, it was way out of our budget at $2500 so we opted to go back to the Semco Oil Natural Color.

This is a photo of the table using StarBrite Stain. It actually is not really bad now, with the exception of the center edge where the flaps leave exposed surface.

Before Photo: Cockpit Table StarBrite Stain

The cockpit table all sanded and ready for Simco Oil

All ready to host dinner parties: Super pretty!

TEAK ENGINE HATCH COVERS

Both the Port and Starboard Engine Teak is coming up off the cover. We decided to remove them so we could properly glue them down. It was so bad that when it rained it leaked a little bit into the engine room – and we can’t have a wet engine room.

Photo shows corner teak coming up and 2nd photo is Matt stepping on it and you can see the water seeping out.

Engine Teak Coming Up on Cover

Bristol sanded both hatches, so now we need to sand down the other teak steps on each sugar scoop before sealing with Star Brite.

The boatyard blues are always made better when your home looks good. It’s a slow process, but soon Sugar Shack will shake off her boatyard blues and be back in the water. Who said that the boatyard blues can’t be productive?

BEFORE AND AFTER SHOTS:

Here are some before and after shots of the interior cabin during work and after the boat has been put back together.

Before and After forward cabin and main salon

Main or master cabin

Master cabin head (bathroom)

Aft cabin / office:

After cabin office before and after.

Sweetie Gets A Clean Bottom-Boat Chores

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The yard at Marina Pez Vela is really nice. However, as with most things that sit outside for an extended period of time, the boat gets really, really dirty. So, in between managing our insurance claim, we have been busy working on lots boat chores.

Marina Pez Vela

Everything had to be removed from under our settees to enable the workers access to our house batteries, inverter/charger, COIs, and switches. So, all of those items were moved to our master head. In addition, the beds had to be opened up to get to the carts and bilge pumps, and cabinets had to be emptied to get to the fridge and freezer pumps. All of that “stuff” plus our settee cushions that are normally stowed are now stuffed in other places.

It’s heartbreaking to see your home in such disarray. So, we do what we can to keep it clean and organized as much as possible.

Before and After Photos

The salon photo below was taken “before” we put some nice artwork up behind the settees, but you get the general idea of how clean we keep our boat on a daily basis. The bottom photo has all cushions removed, and our two sails (main and jib) in the salon.

Salon before and after photos

The master cabin before photo was again taken before we put up our beautiful artwork. The after shot has the bed folded up for easy access to equipment underneath.

Master cabin before and after

I love our starboard master head because it is roomy, white, and breezy. Sometimes it is the coolest place inside the boat. We keep it spotless because that is just how we are, but now it is stacked with stuff.

Master Head (Bathroom) before and after

The port aft cabin is a office / cabin. Typically we use this room as our “work room” so we may have some tools and our sewing projects out if we don’t have guests. Now it is a bit of a disaster with stuff coming out of all areas.

Office / Cabin Before and After

The port forward cabin is full of our salon settee cushions

Port Forward Cabin After

A few of the boat projects we have completed while on the hard….waiting. Most of these chores or projects have been done two or three times due to the mold and constant mess from various workers.

All this work, on top of managing the insurance claim, three vendors, large budget, shipment of parts, visa renewals, extended cruising permit, Galapagos permit, and long stay visa for French Polynesia – good thing I’m a project manager.

Interior Chores:

Wiped down all surfaces to remove dirt, dust, mold
Cleaned all interior wood work and apply Howard Feed & Wax BeesWax
Removed mold with bleach and apply Concrobium Mold Control
Aired out all closets, cupboards, drawers
Removed silicone from ceiling panels and ceiling (access solar cables)
Cleaned and wipe down all bilges
Cleaned all areas of debris after workers left, daily

Mold grows within weeks of being clean as it rains every day here creating a great breeding environment. So, you have to stay on top of it.

Exterior Chores:

Scrubbed teak hatches, sugar scoops, and swim ladder steps. Then apply Star brite Teak Oil.
Restored all stainless steel by cleaning with ospho
Removed and replaced silicone around front & back bimini rails and around bimini port, back, starboard wood accents.
Cleaned up both props using muradic acid (smelly job) see photo below

Cleaning props with muradic acid

Scrub both sides of all three sunshades that were covered in dirt and muck after a few months on the hard in the yard. Had to do this twice due to the excessive dirt.

Chores: Cleaning the Sunshades

Scrubbed, sanded, and applied Star Brite Teak Oil on all exterior wood accents.

Wood accents chores

The bottom of the dinghy is always a challenge to clean. Most cruisers will take her to a beach, flip her over and clean with sand and soapy water. However, our outboard is so big and heavy that we cannot taker it off/on easily, so we cannot flip “Sweetie” over.

With the boat on the hard and the outboard on the stanchion, we could easily flip her over so I could clean her bottom. This was not nearly as bad as many other dinghies we’ve seen, but this was bad for “Sweetie.” Using a lot of elbow grease, soapy water, scrub brush and “On Off” on the fiberglass hull she came clean after 6 hours of hard labor.

Sweetie’s Bottom job

We left our helm seat cushions out for a comfortable place to sit and within a few weeks we had mold. It rains here every day, for hours. So, they had to be scrubbed clean before being stowed inside. No more cushions outside.

Helm cushions moldy from rain.

Matt has been extremely busy as well.

Cleaning both engine rooms
Re-welded Starboard engine mount that holds alternator
Repaired leak in dinghy pontoon using Inland Marine’s Sealant Kit
Removed several ceiling panels to access solar panel wiring
Replaced big and small zincs on both props
Scrubbed down the topsides (over and over and over again)
Cleaned and lubed both props
Used ospho on stainless on the mast (since it is down and easy to reach and clean)
Cleaned out all storage areas.
Repaired two drain fittings that were leaking

Check out these clean props, freshly lubed and sporting new small and large zincs!

New Zincs on Both Props

We removed our SSB plates to clean them.

Keel Coolers and SSB Plates Maintenance

Since we have been waiting to finish up this claim, we have had 5 months to do chores. Since, I first wrote this post, we have completed more boat chores … at least we will be busy while we wait:

Created pattern to replace damaged ceiling panel in master state room
Cleaned and prepped ceiling area for new ceiling panels (three panels in master and 1 panel in office)
Applied VHB tape to ceiling panels and put them back up (4 months later)
Sewing projects: repaired wench covers, dinghy fuel tank cover, sail bag, hat.
Sewing project: created new sunbrella cockpit covers to keep the rain out
Cleaned wench handle holders
Repeated all projects above for Christine on Interior and Exterior before launch

New Boat Cards and Stickers

On the plus side, we did manage to create new boat cards and stickers. We often trade boat cards with other cruisers so we can stay in touch as we travel. These are much cleaner, with more information, and has a fabulous photo of us.

Sugar Shack Boat Cards

Matt created two designs for our boat stickers. We ended up going with the top graphic with images. Lots of places let you put your sticker up at their establishment which is fun to represent Texas.

Sugar Shack Stickers

Sugar Shack on the Hard in Marina Pez Vela. Her boom lies across her bow, her mast is on the ground behind her and all her sails, rigging, sail bag, spreaders, etc…are down. She desperately needs a new bottom job (even though her current one is less than 18 months young)…the elements will do that to your ablative paint.

Sugar Shack on the Hard MPV

Manuel Antonio Estates: Short-Term Rental

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How did we end up living with the monkeys at Manuel Antonio Estates? Well, Sugar Shack was struck by lighting (a story we will share once the boat is repaired) and had to be hauled out. Once she was hauled out, we became homeless because Marina Pez Vela does not allow live aboards on the yard.

The marina arranged a room for us at the Best Western Kamuk at a discounted rate for the first couple of nights. This was great for the weekend, as they were close to the marina. But at $68 per night , for 3 months, it would break the already broken bank.

The first three nights we stayed in a small room over a crowded street, but the last night we moved to the top floor which notably had a great view of the beach.

View from Best Western Kamuk Hotel

The marina connected us with real estate guru, Alvin who showed us a few short term rental properties. We ended up at Manuel Antonio Estates which offered AC, wifi, a pool, and a full kitchen. Remarkably, most apartments don’t have ovens. I have grand plans of baking for our boat workers so an oven was a must have.

We negotiated a lower rate which included all of the utilities, maid service twice a week, and moved in the next day.

Nestled in the trees are 9 apartments overlooking a pool and the dense foliage below. Once you pass the guard gate, you walk up a hill, past the Rain Drop Spa (top left), to the main reception area (top right).

Then you climb up another hill to the apartment units (2nd row, left) which overlooks the pool. We have lots of wildlife, including iguanas, geckos, monkeys, toucans, and tons of birds.

Manuel Antonio Estates

The hike up the hill in the heat often requires a dip in the pool to cool off. With this in mind, it is not a hardship to get home.

Crazy Neighbors

The apartments are located near the Manuel Antonio Park and are nestled in the trees. So, we have lots of wildlife around. We’ve seen scarlet macaws fly by and one toucan sighting. Tons of other birds, lizards, geckos, iguanas, Capuchin monkey family, squirrel monkey family, and even a few dogs and cats.

We get visitors around sunset – they are a playful bunch of monkeys. Crawling, leaping, jumping all over the place. The monkeys are so curious, they kept peeking over the roof and hanging from the rain gutters to look at us. Generally speaking, they are more afraid of us then we are of them. These are Capuchin monkeys but we also get squirrel monkey family as well.

White Faced Capuchin Monkeys

Waterfall Hike on Property

There is a pretty challenging hike to a small waterfall on the property. The first 1.5 miles is up and down many hills on a paved road. At the end of the road, make a left at the dirt pile, then right past the tree onto a “water runoff.” The little, muddy trail down only takes about 30 minutes and you are rewarded with beautiful views, a waterfall, and a refreshing body of water.

Manuel Antonio Estates Cascadas

Movers and Shakers

We have moved around a lot at Manuel Antonio Estates. We started in unit 8 which is on the top floor. After about 5 weeks we had to move to unit 5. The top units have a better view, more ventilation and direct sun so they can rent them easier than the other units. However, we found unit 5 to be just as fabulous. We stayed in this 2nd unit for about a month when we decided we wanted to move to unit 2. We had some “unusual” neighbors who smoked a lot on their patio and we wanted to move further away (plus unit 2 had a bigger couch). As Manuel Antonio Estates busy season came to an end more units opened up. So, after about a month we were offered unit 7 which is back on the top floor. Sweet. Great views from here with a cool breeze.

View from Unit 7 at Manuel Antonio Estates

They were doing maintenance on the pool which is why it is only 1/2 full but normally it is a fabulous place to cool off.

We love our team at Manuel Antonio Estates! Dorit is an amazing property manager handling everything from repairs, rental cars, tours, and local advice. Giselle and Reina keep all the apartments clean and comfortable and Tariq runs a smooth operation. Thank all for making us feel welcome and at home!

The Adventures of Sugar Shack

– Sailing Aboard a Catana 471