S/V Mandolin Working on Mandolin

Working on Mandolin

Day 53:

Ellen: Even though we got to bed by 11:00 PM, we had a tough time getting
going this morning. Working all day and then playing all evening makes
for tired Todds and Ellens.

Todd has been assisting the new Internet café here in Marina Palmira.
They had some serious problems two days ago and they had to reinstall
Windows 98. This also meant that dialpad.com was no longer working. Todd
downloaded from the Internet the software needed to make dialpad.com work
and I critiqued Carlos's new espresso machine.

We finally got started on Mandolin around noon when I sprayed off the
hull. Then, of course, we had to let it dry, which meant we could take a
nap. We had been planning on filling the low spots with thickened epoxy,
but on further inspection, decided on a fairing day. Our arms and bodies
are tired. We will decide in the morning whether tomorrow will be filling
or fairing.

Todd asked me tonight, "If I ever get a wild hair to build a boat, will
you remind me about this job. I don't ever want to work for years on a
project I can't enjoy until I'm done." Here, here I say. I think we need
to take up Grover's offer to go sailing some time soon.

Day 54:

Todd: Well, it's March 9th. The significance of this date is that our
friend Tim lost a bet with a friend of his because we are still in the
boat yard. Sorry Tim, we didn't plan on being in the yard this long. The
reasons are many: we are trying to do a good job without taking shortcuts,
we are also suffering from yard workers who take what appear to be
shortcuts such as sanding with too course of sandpaper creating divots
around each blister etc. etc. These actions require us to do second and
third passes of fillings to get the hull fair. Fairing a hull is an ideal
example of the less you do the better the outcome. If you fill the
blisters properly and fair them properly with a palm sander and a fairing
board you will be done, but when you have to start filling around blisters
and sanding then you lose the fair shape of the hull. Things rapidly
become overwhelming as you are faced with large sections of the hull where
it is difficult to tell if it high or low or flat or wavy. That is where
I am at today: Overwhelmed. I am frustrated with the terrible job one of
the workers did grinding on the stern and mad at Lalo for applying too
much filler to one side of the boat, costing us a week while I try to
bring it back to the level of the hull without going too deep. Well,
enough background. The plan this morning was to go around the boat to
decide what needed more epoxy filler and then fill. We spent the whole
morning on the Starboard side with a pencil, straight edge, fairing board
and a piece of sandpaper. We would look at a low spot, put the straight
edge on it to see if it really was low. If this spot happened to be
between two blisters we would sand with the fairing board to try to bring
the blisters down fair, then hopefully the low spot is no longer low and
we continue. If it is still low, then we sand it lightly with the
sandpaper so the epoxy will bond, then circle it with the pencil, which
marks it for later filling. By 1:00 we were wiped out physically and
mentally. After lunch, we started on the Port side and did the same
thing. At about 4:00 I was so frustrated and upset that I couldn't hold
the fairing board any more even though we still had both sides of the keel
and the waterline to do. I guess we aren't epoxying today. Fortunately
Ellen was able to keep her good encouraging mood or we really would have
been in trouble. To top all this off, on our way to take showers some guy
asks if we are still working on our boat, then proceeds with some comment
about homesteading on the plot of land under Mandolin in the yard.
Thanks. Ellen and I both slam our respective bathroom doors and try to
keep the filth from flying out of our mouths. Ellen is going to write a
guide on what is acceptable and what not to say to someone who has been
working in the boat yard for about two months. This comment falls in the
latter category. I feel like a zombie as Ellen and I send some emails off
at the Internet café. We do finish the day on a good note as we potluck
with Anne aboard Cassiopeia and have a movie night. We watched Horatio
Hornblower; not only were they sailing the high seas, they were also
blowing each other out of the water!

Cutter Jones is bottom painting and should be in the water very soon.
They have been working on their blister job for over 10 months. Our bank
account is requiring that we finish sooner than that if we want to
continue cruising. I apologize if these updates are not as cheery as they
were last year. If you want us to unsubscribe you and resubscribe you
when we are back in the water living the cruising dream instead of the
boatyard nightmare, just send us an email. Now off to bed so we can be
bright eyed and bushy tailed for another day of work tomorrow.

Day 55:

Ellen: Hurray, we finally filled the rest of the blisters and the low
spots with thickened epoxy. This morning we finished evaluating the hull,
deciding where to fill and where to sand down more. Two and a half days
of evaluation, which included quite a bit of fairing, was a mentally
sapping experience. I was surprised at how long it took and how draining
it was. However, I am very glad we spent the time to decide what truly
needed more epoxy. Because we evaluated thoroughly, we filled places we
might have missed and didn't fill others that didn't need it. We were
frugal with our third pass. So this morning we finished the evaluation
and this afternoon we did epoxy. Todd calls me his Epoxy Girl. Epoxy
Girl even comes with a uniform: shorts, grubby T-shirt, and baseball cap.
The baseball cap is to keep me from sticking my hair into the epoxy once
it's applied to the hull. Todd wears a baseball cap as well.

We were both wiped out, but not too tired to go watch Horatio Hornblower
over at Anne's boat. There are four episodes all together. We not only
watched episode two; we also watched episode three. Movie Marathon! It
was great to take our minds of the boat yard and remind ourselves that
sailboats really do sail.

When we got home, Todd suggested looking at the hull with the light to see
how well we had filled with epoxy. I suggested we preserve our good moods
and take them to bed with us. Todd agreed.

Day 56:

Todd: An unintended day off. We volunteered to donate blood for a lady
who is having hip replacement surgery. No breakfast, then it turns out
that Ellen can't donate because her veins are too small, and then we find
out that neither of us could anyway because we had a hepatitis vaccination
shot within a year. So most of the day was wasted. But we tried.

Day 57:

Ellen: I woke up early and dragged Anne and her visiting friend, Sandy,
into town. I promised to show them where the Mercado is; we agreed to
take the 8:00 am shuttle into town. I played pool the night before and
watched them pound margaritas. I stayed sober since I gave up alcohol for
lent. So I wasn't too surprised that they weren't ready in time for the
8am shuttle. They had La Cruda; literally The Crud, as in Hung Over.

So we took a taxi into town, which Anne paid for. I was looking for more
hardware supplies. Finally found spray adhesive. It's Sunday and town
was even more dead than normal for a Sunday morning. The hardware stores
that normally are open at 8am, even on Sunday were closed. Luckily, I
found out that one would open at 10am. I happily found spray adhesive and
a drill attachment for mixing paint. Many shops don't open on Sundays and
I think that even fewer open on Sundays during Lent. After wandering
through the market and waiting for the free marina shuttle that never
came, we finally made it home again by 1pm. Only took me 5 hours to get
two items.

Todd faired on the hull and removed the last bit of bootstripe paint. In
the afternoon, I did three loads of laundry. We then caught the 5pm
shuttle to Marina de La Paz and had dinner on our friend Grover's boat.
He is out at anchor. How wonderful to be on a boat at anchor again! Todd
and I made a Caesar's Salad completely from scratch to compliment Grover's
terrific pasta. The pasta came complete with pine nuts and garlic. Yum,
yum. Todd then helped Grover with his laptop computer and amateur radio.

Walking back to Marina Palmira, we of course had to get some of the best
ice cream in town.

Day 58:

A work filled day. Inside, Mandolin had become more and more of a
disaster. Once one thing gets set on the table, more and more items
collect. The more mass of stuff there is on the table, but greater the
attraction for more stuff to join it. This phenomenon extends to the
settee and floor, as well. Our living space needed a serious cleaning.
So while Todd, Grover and a new worker, Omar, faired on the hull, I put
away the laundry, found homes for all the stuff strewn about, did dishes,
shook out carpets and cleaned the floor. Our interior is finally
presentable again. I think my women's work tired me out as much as Todd's
men's work tired him out. It's 9pm and time for bed.

We did get a break today. Our friend on Cutter Jones, after 10 months out
of the water - 8 of which they were working on their boat - finally went
back into the water. It was an exciting day. It gives us hope that we
will one day - soon? - join them in floating bliss.

Back to main page

Home - Logs - Stories - Photos - Statistics