Never-ending boat list

Every cruiser has one. A boat list. It’s essentially a long
list of chores that one needs or wants to accomplish, some in the near-term,
some in the long-term. Oftentimes it includes future purchases that will make
the boat more comfortable or seaworthy or beautiful. If you ask a cruiser about
their boat list, they’ll laugh and tell you that for every item or task they
check off, they add at least two more. (Actually, on second thought, don’t ask
about the boat list. It’s this nagging thing that no one really likes to talk
about because as soon as someone brings it up you’re reminded of all the things that
you aren’t doing.) The list is constantly expanding, rather than contracting. The
work is never done. The boat is never complete. This is particularly true of
those of us on a budget who scrutinize every big purchase or who can’t easily
justify paying someone to do the work for us. Checking things off of the list
requires time, energy, money and a sense of urgency or desire – each of which
you have in various degrees at various points in time. Sometimes one piece of
the equation is missing altogether, usually money, and you keep kicking the
proverbial can down the road.

Some tasks have resided on our boat list for years with the
understanding that some day it will get done. Half of our boat list is
more of a wish list with items we may never be able to afford. They stay on the
list in the event that a) we come across one at a price point we just can’t
refuse or b) Jeff get’s it in his head to go the DIY approach and construct one
from parts he’s found lying about. In the mean time, we make do with what we’ve
got. We’ve made it this far, haven’t we?

Our time at Marina Chiapas has proven fruitful, with respect
to checking things off of our boat list. We’ve caught up to the can and decided
to refrain from abusing it for awhile. It’s nice to be attached to a dock and
to have room to spread out. We’re one of two couples calling Marina Chiapas
“home” for the summer, so there’s no one around to complain about our mess (a
definite bonus). Apparently the marinas will continue to get more and more
expensive as we head further south. Consequently, we will attempt to finish the
boat work that benefits from being attached to land (since we may not be able
to afford the marinas and the more wealthy clientele will be less likely to
abide our messes). The week since we’ve been home has been particularly
productive, once the daily deluge of rain let up and was replaced, once again,
with sunshine.

The first task on our boat list was to affix sticky
whiteboard material to one of our cabinets so that we could let our list flourish (we have another whiteboard, but it’s proven too small for our
list). Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far…it doesn’t look like much, but
each task took some serious doing:

• New Backstay. A
  rigging survey last year revealed that our backstay was a smaller diameter wire
  than the other stays (not sure how this fact eluded us for so many years),
  which made us a bit nervous since it bears a lot of the load (especially if and
  when we’re just sailing with a spinnaker or headsail). While in the US we purchased
  some shiny new stainless steel rigging wire as well as Sta-Lock
  connection fittings so that we could replace the backstay ourselves (this
  method doesn’t require swaging the connection point onto the wire).
  Unfortunately, the connection point at the top of the mast wasn’t going to work
  (two U brackets without a way to connect them). We spent an entire afternoon
  searching for a big hunk of stainless steel that we could drill holes in and
  use as a connector – we finally found a shop in Puerto Chiapas and they cut us
  a piece from what we expect to be an old bumper??? It’s a very serious piece of
  metal.

• Corrosion X on the
  Rigging. I went up the mast a total of four times before the new backstay
  was installed (I expected to only make the trip twice, but the rule of thumb
  with boat work is “double it” – double the cost, double the time, double the
  frustration, etc). On my final time up the mast I wiped Corrosion X on the
  rigging to clean it up and prevent/retard future corrosion. Although there’s a
  bit of surface corrosion, our rigging is looking pretty good! Plus, now with
  our old backstay removed we have some spare rigging…just in case…

• New Deck Paint.
  We have had a can of Kiwi Grip and a can of white enamel paint sitting in our
  gear locker for over a year. During that year the paint cans have rusted to the
  point of potential failure and we figured it was about time to use up the paint
  and give our deck a little facelift. We only had enough paint for the foredeck,
  but it looks spectacular (please keep in mind, my standards are low). We put
  the Kiwi Grip on our existing non-skid to improve its non-skid properties and
  also added it to a few places where we tend to slip and slide. The verdict on
  Kiwi Grip? We love it. It’s easy to work with, effective, and attractive.

• New Letters. The
  hot Mexican sun did a number on our boat name and hailing port displayed on our
  transom. The letters, which have been peeling up and off for months now, were
  nearly gone. As a temporary measure we colored in the letters with Sharpie, but
  that had also begun to fade. Fortunately we found some red enamel paint on the
  boat and Jeff touched them up. All we have to say is thank goodness for Papyrus
  font…it’s very forgiving.

• Inspect and Repair
  Sails. It’s been over a year since we spent some quality time with our
  sails. They’re in pretty good shape, considering what we’ve put them through,
  but we shored up some places that had lost some stitching. If we had our
  druthers we’d purchase a main sail since our current main sail is looking a
  little saggy, but that will have to wait for another day (in other words, it will remain on the list).

• Reseal Windows.
  We discovered during the three days of rain that our galley and head ports
  (i.e., windows) were leaking, so Jeff sealed them back up with some 4200
  sealant we had on board and during the last rainstorm we were able to confirm
  that they are no longer leaking.

• Wipedown Interior.
  During our brief absence we noticed that mold had moved in an claimed some or our surfaces. We wiped down all of the surfaces on the boat with vinegar, to be
  followed up with Teak oil.

We’ve accomplished all of this work in 90 degree heat, sweat
cascading from our bodies. I am happy to report, however, that our tans have reemerged, albeit in strange patterns.
Today we intend to reward ourselves with a trip to the beach (last night we
rewarded ourselves with dinner at the restaurant at the marina).

Before we leave we
have some other things we’d like to accomplish, but we’re also pretty eager to
do some more sailing and to get away from the mosquitos (we’re essentially parked
right next door to a wetland, i.e., a mosquito factory, and we’re on the menu
every night of the week). I would like to tell you that our boat list is
defying the laws of physics and actually shrinking…but then I would just be
jinxing us, so…I just won’t say anything.

 

Our boat list. New letters! All the blood went to Jeff’s head… Beautiful sunsets at Marina Chiapas! The piece we had made to connect the backstay to the mast. New backstay! For me, painting is a full body experience – paint everywhere. Note that my “painting uniform” is completely falling apart. Top of the mast! Jeff working down below. Tack’s contribution.