Deltaville Boatyard

We hauled out last Friday - first thing in the morning.  Poor Hold Fast was covered in barnacles.  It was quick work though - with three of us scraping we knocked them all off in 25 minutes.  The boats in the yard are blocked two and sometimes three deep.  We are in the immediate access row, which feels like the middle of the road.  At least twice a day the lift goes by with only inches to spare from our steering vane. 

As soon as the hull was dry on Friday, we commenced sanding on the bottom to scuff up the copper/epoxy and to remove the remaining footprint of the scraped barnacles.  It was a tag team effort.  Wow – this is when I realize that Hold Fast is full-bodied girl!!  We called it a day’s end when we could no longer raise our arms.  I received one marriage proposal – men sometimes lose their heads when they see a woman sanding the bottom of a boat.  The physically demanding task was completed yesterday, making it a six day effort since we took off Sunday for church and meals with friends.  God intended for us to rest one day a week and trust Him that the other days are sufficient to accomplish the tasks at hand.  And just to make sure we took the day off, He brought a nice rain!

One morning it was quite cold (upper 40’s) and we had to put on a few layers plus our knit caps.  Other than one day of cold and a little rain, the weather has been glorious.  We hope it stays that way through the third week in October.  We expect to be done in the yard about then and ready to launch.  We still have some work to do on the bottom before she gets new bottom paint, plus a couple of other items.  Myron has already rebuilt the helm – the last item in the steering system that he had not rebuilt or replaced.   We thank God that the rebuild seems to have taken as the cost differential for replacement is many, many multiplies.  Myron has also reworked a through hull and replaced some vents.  I fear we are falling victims to scope creep, a frequent occurrence in a boat yard.  No worries.  It is much easier to get things done when we are in project mode in a yard than when we are surrounded by crystal blue water.

We have established a routine of managing life on board on the hard.  It is like living in a tree house, with a lot of other occupied tree houses around.  The camaraderie among the cruisers is good and we get to chat now and again with Michael (Wind in the Willows).  Michael turned 86 this year.  He still gets from Deltaville, VA to Georgetown, Exumas (Bahamas).  Many of us wonder if this is his last year. 

By the way, the marina/yard’s crab fest was fantastic.  They have it every year if you can make it.  I had five crabs – a lot for me.  Myron was out-pacing me four or five to my one.  Bob (Arwyn) and David (Jammin) held Myron’s pace.  More than three flats of crabs were dropped at our table.  At evening’s end, there was one bushel left – almost begging.  Plenty to go around.

I probably will not update until we are out of the yard, unless I can get some pictures up.  You might find our track interesting.  Myron left the GPS on and it tracked Hold Fast’s journey across land!

Love to all,

Dena