The bottom paint is done!  Yay!  

 I always love it when the back steps are so neat and clean....

 Duane was busy too, I just didn't stop to take any photos!  He changed the dinghy engine oil and got the props all primed and painted with special anti-foul paint.  

Next we need to do a bunch of clean-up in the cockpit and interior because the boat just becomes a wreck when you're in the boatyard! 

Bridgeton/Oriental, NC

 We're making good progress at the boatyard.

After some trial/error, we got the 3" blue vinyl stripe applied all around.

 

And after a cool tip from Charm, we applied a 1" white stripe.  This makes the waterline look very nice and the added bonus is that the vinyl surface is MUCH easier to wipe off with a mask and snorkle once it starts to grow algae, as it always does.

 

Duane has been working on the saildrive installing new seals.  Thought I'd give you a visual.  He's almost done with that now.  Plus he's removed a rudder and changed a leaky seal on that to - a tough job in tight quarters!

 

I applied wax and did some preliminary painting on the bottom. 

One more day of nice weather - we'll apply the bottom paint before we get temps in the 30's at night!  Almost done.

Bridgeton/Oriental, NC

 Ed and Cathy are staying in their RV for a few more days....and they have graciously allowed us to call What If home while we're hauled out!  It seems so weird to see the dock with just What If....no Charm, Sojourn or Breathe hanging out....

 

Up and out, back to the boat yard!  Removing the stripe, adhesive and leftover grime took the entire day!

Got the area prepped to install new stripes.  All the discolored area at the waterline is smooth - it will be covered with the new stripes.

 

And Duane spent most of the day sanding the bottom paint....

I know, not too exciting!!  

Back to What If for the evening - a beautiful moon with our soon-to-be-new neighbors on True North in the foreground.  

Bridgeton, NC

 We had a pleasant night at anchor - temperature is just lovely. 

After breakfast we slowly made or way over to the boatyard for our 9am haulout. 

 

Up we go!

 

They were busy pressure washing the bottom.  Looks pretty good - no barnacles, just a lot of green slime from sitting too long in one spot over the summer!  Pretty pleased with the SeaHawk bottom paint so far.

 

While we waited for them to get the boat washed and blocked, we wandered around and checked in at the office.  Instead of some yippy dogs, this year they have a brand new little kitty.  So sweet, they found her alone around the yard and have adopted her.

 

They put Sojourn in a nice, accessible spot. Absolutely beautiful day - time to get busy.

 

Duane got busy with sanding the bottom - we'll give it a coat of paint since we're already here.  Tomorrow he'll get to the main work - replacing the sail drive seals that are the real reason for this haulout!

 

One of the major things I'll be doing is replacing this ugly vinyl stripe at the waterline.  It's been patched and re-patched....time for a re-do.

 

It took me hours to get it removed....brittle thin vinyl.  I used a heat gun to soften it but it still gave me fits - and my thumbs are rebelling now!!  An added "plus" was that the vinyl left behind a good bit of it's ancient adhesive material on the side of the boat.  It comes off with acetone - but what a pain!!

The adventure will continue tomorrow!

New Bern, NC

 

Time is winding down for our friends at our dock.  Kris & Dean were finished with their dinghy chaps - time to splash the dink.  Since we didn't have a vehicle with a trailer hitch, Jerry was called upon to come over and tow the trailer next door to the ramp.

 

Kris bringing the new dinghy/chaps/motor ensemble back to their boat.  Look at that calm still water and lovely heavy duty chaps! 

 

Everyone chatting on the dock for a bit.

 

Then it was time to say our goodbyes to Kris and Dean - time for us to head to Bridgeton Boatworks for haul out tomorrow.  (We'll see everyone else briefly when we return after haulout.)

 

Uneventful motoring up the Neuse River - no wind at all.  Passing the Minnesott ferry...

 

And approaching the bridges at New Bern.

 

We splashed the dinghy just to test it out.  Cranked right up after being stored all summer!  Fun to be out on the water again.

 

Beautiful sunset looking towards New Bern. 

 

Oriental, NC

 Final thing to do at home....book club!  We read the Killers of the Flower Moon this month.  It's about the Osage Native American tribe and murders related to their oil money (and is now a major motion picture, haha).   Great book about a part of American history that I knew nothing about.  And fun ladies! (the meeting was at airport neighbor Jean's house)

 

First thing this morning we headed back to the boat.  Almost all of our appointments are finished.  One final thing I'll have to return to Pittsboro for my permanent crown to be installed in a week or so....

Our buddies on What If and Charm welcomed us back.  They've both been hard at work with their various projects.  Both are wrapping things up soon.

We did bring a good bit of the provisions with us - everything we could safely haul.....

 

Getting ready to do the haulout on Friday.....Duane (literally) dove right in to check on our props.  

 

 

 We've been sitting in the same spot most of the summer.  Often this leads to barnacles attaching themselves to our prop.  So Duane wanted to check out the prop paint that we applied last year at haulout.  He borrowed the Hooka breathing machine from Charm so that he didn't have to set up his BC and SCUBA tank.  So nice and simple - a compressor that feeds the regulator on a 100' hose.  Great for boat work.

 

 

Happily, Duane reported that we did have some barnacles on the props but that they easily were dislodged and didn't appear to be attached to the paint.  That was pretty much exactly what the expensive paint was supposed to do!

After some chatting on the dock, Kris and Dean invited us all over to their boat for Tacos...I guess Taco Wednesday....fun evening and we'll be saying bye to them tomorrow at least temporarily until we see them again further south....

Hendersonville,NC

 Wrapping up our mountain visit.  Had a nice dinner out with Keith and Denise. On the way back to their house we drove around Mills River - we pulled into the church where Duane and I were married 40+ years ago!  Little has changed about the actual building but the congregation no longer meets there regularly like they did when I was growing up  they’ve built a gaudy modern church a few hundred feet away.  Fun to revisit the old neighborhood.  It’s surprisingly unchanged  

Mills River, NC

 Just a visiting day….

Breakfast and chat with Mom….view across the river.  

And view at the entrance to Hendersonville Rehab where Granny is convalescing. Pretty place. Beautiful fall weather but it’s starting to get chilly!

Mills River, NC

 We've started some preliminary provisioning!  It's a bit early but this stuff is all shelf stable so doesn't really matter when we get it.

 

I found porta bella mushrooms on sale for $1.29 per container....I couldn't pass up the opportunity to mix up some veggies to freeze for later use.  I love having the combo of green peppers/onions/mushrooms already chopped for sauces and stews.  Vacuum packed, frozen and ready for easy use.

 

Some semi-irritating news is that we have to do a unexpected haul-out at the end of next week.  Duane was doing all the oil changes for the winter season the other day and found a large amount of milky oil in  one of the sail drives.  So we have to haul the boat out of the water for him to be able to drain all the bad oil and replace the saildrive seals.

In the meantime - we're going to spend the next few days up in the mountains visiting the relatives!  

Pretty views on the drive up.  Leaves are changing - not peak yet but still pretty.  Beautiful fall day.

 

Pittsboro, NC

 We've got lots of chores and appointments....Duane researched a new Verizon plan and we went into Raleigh to activate a new mobile hotspot.....

And we arranged to meet Robert for a nice long lunch!!!  Fun to catch up, he's happy and busy.

And then in the late afternoon I had an appointment with my doctor to remove a small knot on my lower leg.  He'd removed it about 10 years ago but it grew back.  It's benign but very irritating if touched.

Two stitches - not much pain for him to take out a massive "plug" of my flesh.....oh what fun!!  Nice that the gauze matches my shoes and shirt, haha.

Next up, new dental appointment to see about a sharp pain when I bite on my back molar....I expect a root canal will be needed - don't want to be in the Bahamas with a tooth flare-up so will get this fixed before the winter.

Oriental, NC

 Kris and Dean have a new dinghy and need to make dinghy chaps - much easier when the dinghy is on land instead of floating!

Dean and Duane went over to the neighbors lot to discuss/ask permission to use their boat ramp.

 

A little while later, boat trailer hooked up and dinghy onboard.

 

Now the dinghy is in a great location for Kris to do her magic sewing!

 

Unfortunately, we've got a couple of weeks of chores/appointments at home so we mowed the grass one more time and headed to Pittsboro for a while!  The Charm and What If crews will hold down the fort at Fork Point Road while we're away.....

Oriental, NC

 Yay!!  The sailbag is complete!

Really pleased with how the sail falls into the bag so easily.

 

 Since I believe the old cover was 20 years old - this should last a while!

 

Oriental, NC

 The sailbag is nearing completion....just a few final measurements to be able to sew the final seams at the aft end.

The first fitting - I'm really pleased with it so far.  This is not the final look - it's not really attached to the boom yet so looser than the final fit will be.

 

Had to stop a few minutes to welcome Charm back to the neighborhood!!

They've been in New Bern for the past week helping Breathe install a new lithium battery bank.  Now they're waiting on their Starlink package to arrive! 

 

And we all went to Silo's for 2-Fer Tuesday pizza night!!  Good fun - crews from What If, Bluejacket, Charm and Sojourn!