Did any of you notice that I said I
had to get out of town in my last post? Well I really did. Our baby broke. Kind of. Don't be scared, I'm going to break down all boat terms into Gillianese so we'll all be on the same page. The Ms. Linda had a blistered bottom. I kid you not. That's what it's called. Last month we had our boat lifted out of the water for an inspection and a power wash. We're crazy, obsessive boat owners and we want our baby to be perfect so that's why. What we found was b.a.d!
Sometimes the fiberglass on the hull of a boat will "bubble" on a boat bottom and cause what looks like a blister. This is potentially awful because they let water in. Without a boat bottom you don't have a boat so this sucks. The blisters had to go and the Ms. Linda needed a whole new bottom job. We need new paint, sanding, and repairs. The only problem? Corey had to fix one girl of his while getting rid of the other one. Me!
This, my friends, is why. Very, very uncool. Our baby would be placed in the boat yard for at least 4 days to get the work done. The only way to get on the boat is to climb up a ladder and crawl through our tuna door. She's only running on half her power to. While most stuff works, there's no heat, or air, or fun stuff like cable, wifi, and Netflix. There's no way Corey is going to tolerate living with me on a boat, on LAND, without entertainment or heat. His solution was the best birthday present ever...
Bam! Disney! You already know how I was disposed of though so lets get back to what Corey was doing. He was busy! I called every day to check on him and our "baby" only to hear that we were a little behind schedule. All our old bottom paint was sanded down and then he repaired all the blisters. There were more then we thought so it took him a long time and I returned to this.
We're still in the boat yard. Darn. On a good note, notice our new black paint! Almost done! Guys, she looks gorgeous. All problem areas have been fixed and thanks to the fact that we both work in this particular boat yard we got a weekend date to go back in the water. I for one was
very grateful to not have to wait till Monday. The giant blue thing you see in this picture is a boat lift. It's what picks up that monster boat of ours and moves it all around.
Look at our pretty props and shafts! The silver "bling" you see snapped everywhere are called zincs. They corrode away instead of the metal parts of the Ms. Linda. You place them all over your running gear to protect it from the crud. This may sound silly guys but looking at this just makes me happy. I'm officially insane for loving this that much. You know that little hum women make when they look at jewelry? I still do, but I make the same happy noise when I see beautifully maintained boats.
I can't explain it. It has to do with elegance and symmetry and all tied up with how they're maintained and improved by the people that own them. I just plain like them and always have. Simply put, boats are pretty. So there.
Here is my handsome and handy husband ambling around to the bow of our boat to guide the lift into place. That's a looong way down! We both aren't bothered by heights so amble it is.
Lifted! The creaks and groans had me pacing like a worried momma but she was fine. The yellow straps go all the way around the boat and the cardboard you see stuffed between the straps and the boat are there to protect our new paint.
Corey is very worried. She handled the lift fine, but the ride down to the water was a nail biter. She made it back to our slip without a scratch to her new paint so we're happy!
Also worried, Chuck. I came home to this pitiful critter wandering around and crying at everything and everyone. Reason 437 that I love Corey would be that while I was out of town he fed him and actually carried him onto the boat so that he would know where it was. No dice, Chuck is traumatized. We've reached full on stalker mode since I've been back. If you see me in the marina these days you'll find Chuck within a 10 foot radius and if not he's sitting on some of my stuff somewhere. Corey and I have no idea how to cure pitiful so it looks like I'll be dealing with an oversensitive cat for a while.
That's it! My week, Corey's, and poor Chuck's all in two big, fat blog posts. I'm going back to Googling a cool birthday present for Corey. He deserves it! Ideas???
That's me down there! I look so itsy bitsy! That's one of my favorite little t shirts and I miss it. It's packed in the Summer box just waiting to come back out. This picture is a bit of a cheat. I didn't know it was being taken (If I had I wouldn't have my arm poking out like a chicken wing.) but that's OUR boat! A buddy of mine took it before they docked. I'm at the fuel dock of my marina and I'm pretty sure I'm about to do something really cool to you non boaters and really boring to you mariners. Catch a boat, hop nimbly aboard, and fuel. Thrilling huh? Nope, not really. It does crack me up when people pull up and ooh and ah though. They like the boats, the birds, and the scenery. They LOVE the whole marine world so it puts things in perspective. This IS fun. Who wouldn't be thrilled to spend a day here? 
I take it back. Who wouldn't want to spend a day HERE? Ah, much better. I've got a ton of pictures of the bow of my boat pointing towards water but I have a soft spot for this one. I was laying out down there on a hot, sticky summer day. Corey was happy as a crab driving and I was half asleep on my towel on the bow. One of those crazy summer showers popped up and I ran for the bridge to hide from the rain. I was sitting by Corey, SOAKED, when the sun came back out. It was so beautiful I had to take a picture. Through the rain and the sun, the temperature never dropped out of the high 90's. This was one of those great days. It was just Corey and I, driving in circles and chasing sun. We had nothing to do and nowhere to be. Summer. It's fabulous isn't it?
