Tag Archives: bottom job

Sugar Shack gets a new skirt

Raiatea Carenage: Bottom Job

Busy, busy! The Raiatea Carenage team worked hard on Sugar Shack.  They had to complete the wash and wax of the hulls, before we start the bottom job.  You may be thinking, what is a bottom job?  It does not have anything to do with my buttocks or the head (“toilette”).  It is what we call a new paint job on the bottom of the boat.  This usually occurs every 2-2.5 years as it requires the boat to be hauled out and can be pretty darn expensive.

We wanted to get a full wash and wax before we started on the bottom job.  So, two workers got started on washing the boat.  They used a new compound that removes the “yellow” tint from the hull.  Sweet! They apply it like paint using a roller on a long stick, then rinse it off with water.  They do this process several times.  These two workers could only do the starboard inside and outside hull and the inside of the port hull.  Since we were doing fiberglass work on the outside of the port hull. The last side will get done as soon as the fiberglass work is complete.

Pressure washing Sugar Shack

Pressure washing Sugar Shack

After 4 hours they broke for lunch.  When they returned it was time to start the waxing and polishing process.  This is certainly something that Matt and I could do, but ugh we did not want to!  It is a pain staking process standing on wood suspended on metal platforms.  No thank you!

First, you apply a small amount of compound, then you use a buffer to apply it.  After a short period, you circle back and buff it off.  Basically, you touch every part of the boat at least 3 or 4 times with the buffer.

The first photo shows a before and after.  The 3rd photo shows Noel standing on a barrel on a piece of wood on the platform.

Polishing the boat

Polishing the boat

Paint Fiasco

While we were negotiating the scope of work for our haul out we discussed the price of bottom paint.  In the U.S. you can buy Sea hawk Island 44+ for about $280 per gal.  We knew it would be more expensive here because it is French Polynesia and they have to import and ship it here.  But, we did not expect it to be 2 or 3 times as expensive.

The yard said they offered two kinds of Island 44, we wanted the “plus.”  Dominique, the owner, asked me, “did you see the price and notice it is more expensive?” I replied, yes, but that is what my husband wants.  Fast forward to the next quote where we discovered one gallon of paint was 92157xpf ($927) per can!  Holy $hit!  I called and asked if it was a mistake and he said no, remember I asked you about the cost.  What did I do – I must have converted it wrong originally but I had no idea.  I asked them to hold off ordering the paint.

Ocean 2000 in Tahiti sells this same paint. So, I contacted them and they had 6 cans in stock!  Great, how much is it?  They sold it for 70890xpf ($708) per can.  However, if I bought 6 cans they would give it to me for 20% off at 56712 ($567).  Well that is much better than $927 per can!  but still almost 50% more than in the U.S..

After we paid for the paint, Ocean 2000 put it on the next ship to Raiatea for a whopping 2500xpf ($25) shipment cost.  We arrived to the yard with our paint waiting for us – a savings of almost $2200.  Phew.

The good news was that the yard did not care.  We thought there may be repercussions with us bringing in our own paint but they just wanted us to be happy with the paint of our choice.  They even picked up the paint from the supply ship for us as we were not here when it arrived.  Everyone’s happy.

Sugar Shack gets a new skirt!

Sugar Shack got a high pressure wash immediately after being hauled out.  This removes soft growth, hard growth, barnacles (if we had any which we did not), excess ablative paint, dirt, grime, and most anything.  It is the first step in getting a new bottom job.

Pressure washing the grime away

Pressure washing the grime away

Matt and I try to change the color of the bottom paint each time we have the work done.  One, it is like changing your dress and gives you a whole new look.  Yes, I am a girl and I just wrote that!  But more importantly it allows us to know how much ablative paint has come off and what layer we are on.  In other words, it tells us when to get a new bottom job.

In Costa Rica we had them apply a dark blue paint.  However, the first coat was more of a light blue and I flipped a gasket.  They said, not to worry, we will apply the proper color on the 2nd coat.  Ugh, not what we wanted.  Within 6 months Sugar Shack was sporting two colors on the bottom (dark blue and light blue).  Not sure if the paint was bad or watered down or if the water we were in just sucked the paint off.

Another 6 months later and we were seeing dark blue, light blue, and red.  Another 6 months later and we were seeing another dark blue and then the turquoise.  Ugh.  We had to wait to do the bottom job until we got to the Society Islands (where the yards are located).  Fast forward to today and the psychedelia bottom job we’ve been sporting around town.

Putting on her skirt – painting begins

The team offered to come in on a Saturday, their day off!  Imagine the type of leadership it possess to have your employees offer to come in on a Saturday to get caught up in the work!

2nd and 3rd Layer of Paint

We bought a little too much paint.  Sort of a bummer as it is really expensive, but it just means a few extra layers on the boat.  In between coats, Noel lightly sands the hulls to ensure a good stick for the next layer.

The before and after are amazing.

She looks lovely

And she got new shoes to go with her new dress (special paint for the props)

Expert Maneuvering

There are at least a half dozen pieces of machinery in the yard.  Several fork lifts, the large travel lift, the travel trailer, and more.  It is amazing to see the team maneuver around the yard with this large machinery.  It takes patience, expertise, and precision.

For example, the large travel lift has to maneuver between the monohull, its stands, and our boat to get close enough to this small boat to move it.  Look closely and you can see the driver and its cage is actually between our hulls!  Nothing scratched or moved.  Precision!

Raiatea Carenage Leadership

Dominque is a true leader, not just a boss.  He instills a sense of passion, dedication, respect, and love of boats in all of his workers.  He does everything that he asks his workers to do – everything.  We saw him driving the fork lift, trailer lift, platform lift.  We saw him showing his workers how to polish, paint, and work the fiberglass.  He has his hands in everything.

Matt and I bought a case of beer for the workers who came in on Saturday to work on Sugar Shack.

If you missed Part I of this series click here “Raiatea Carenage Haul Out” or Part II “Raiatea Carenage Fiberglass Repair.”

The events of this blog post occurred on 15-22 September 2020.  The blog post are 4-6 weeks behind our adventures.

Marina Pez Vela

Sweetie Gets A Clean Bottom-Boat Chores

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

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

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

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

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

Office / Cabin Before and After

The port forward cabin is full of our salon settee cushions

Port Forward Cabin After

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

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.
Cleaning the Sunshades

Chores: Cleaning the Sunshades

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

Wood accents chores

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

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.

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

New Zincs on Both Props

We removed our SSB plates to clean them.

Keel Coolers and SSB Plates Maintenance

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

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 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

Sugar Shack on the Hard MPV