The decks are done

We’ve been consumed all week with the mammoth task of refinishing the decks. What a lot of fiddly little things there are on a boat! The taping alone took one day and a half. We had carefully chosen the colour from a chart in a catalogue to match the existing colour, but when it finally came to roller time it actually turned out to be much lighter and less green. So we now have slightly greyish decks, which are much cooler under foot than before.
The decks required one primer coat and two top coats. The paint for the top coat, a two-part poly urethane, required a working temperature of below 27C. In the morning, it took the decks until 9.30 to dry off from the heavy dew fall (and this with a lot of help from a towel) – by which time it was already 26.4 degrees! But we pressed on and luckily some clouds came in and helped us out. Of course, the night after the first top coat a rainstorm descended with the dreaded sand-bringing wind from the South. Luckily, the paint was already dry and there was only minimal sand, but we did have to finish the job in extremely high winds, only sheltered by a bed sheet rigged to the lifelines.
That was two days ago and since then things have relaxed a little. We’ve been doing lots of different jobs – refitting the cockpit gratings, swinging our new batteries on board, washing and putting up our sprayhood.
Tonight we will meet some previous owners of Fettler, the ones who sailed her here from England and spent years living on her in the Med. They will give us the lowdown on all the equipment, which will save us a lot of time and headache figuring things out. It’s funny, we feel as if we know them a little already, after a few weeks living in the same small space that they spent so many years in and fitted out so beautifully.
We haven’t had a lot of spare time but we did manage to get out one afternoon to a small park nearby to see what kind of birdlife is around. There were actually some very interesting ones, including the Hoopoe and a Sardinian warbler. Our regular animal companions here around the boat include a Little egret, Spotted flycatchers and fish of assorted sizes. The larger ones seem to jump out of the water a lot and repeatedly. A loud splash will catch one’s attention and looking over, the fish will frequently be seen leaping clear of the water another 3 or 4 times. I suppose something larger might be hunting them but have no idea what.
There are quite a few nice people around too and, whenever we feel active in the evening, it’s easy to find company to hang out with.
All things being equal, we should be in the water within the next few days.

The Sahara comes calling

Progress continues. The brightwork is all varnished and two fresh coats of anti-fouling (same word in Spanish, only pronounced anti-fooling) applied, so she´s looking very smart from ground level. Today, we commence preparations for the deck painting.
Two days ago was washday again. We had to wait until evening though, so that the varnish would be dry enough not to be bothered by a bit of water. That meant leaving everything out on the lines overnight. Sure enough, strong winds and a bit of rain came during the night. I was up on deck, stark naked, at 0400, gathering everything in. A good move. It was the south wind, or Xaloc, blowing and when we popped our heads out the hatch in the morning light, the decks, and everything else, were covered in a light coating of fine red sand. This is a regular occurence in late summer when the Xaloc blows frequently, bringing the Saharan sand with it. It doesn´t happen so often at this time of year, but it meant that we had to start the day by washing everything down. Let´s just hope it doesn´t come back before the deck paint is dry.

Wood working

We´ve settled into a good working routine now. No more lazy mornings, with a post-noon start. Now, it´s breakfast at 0800, a quick coffee at the bar over the road and then down to business. We typically break for lunch around 1300 and then for a coffee and beer between 1500 and 1600. The temperature then goes down a bit and it´s quite pleasant to work on until 1900 or 2000.
The varnishing is well in hand. A couple more days will see the brightwork done, only the cockpit gratings, which have needed numerous small repairs, will still be outstanding. Then there´s the antifouling, deck painting, mast and boom. A full schedule, but steady good weather and a full-time commitment to the job should get it all done within the next 2 weeks.
We´ve also met a couple of the other boat-owners in the yard and have a bit of a social scene together. Very pleasant, but still eagerly anticipating getting the boat in the water and sailing away.
By the way, please feel free to leave comments (just click on the comments link beneath the blog entries). It´s always nice to have a word or two in response!

Day trippers

Yesterday, Domingo, was our day of rest. The boatyard was closed, so we declared it wash day and got the week’s laundry done and dried on the lifelines pretty rapidly. Chatted with another British boat-owner doing a bit of maintenance on his vessel and gratefully accepted his offer of a cold can of Coke. I then hit on the happy idea of improving it a little with a shot of the Mallorcan rum we discovered amongst the multitude of useful items on board Fettler. All concerned were satisfied with the result.
Yesterday was also our last full day with the rental car, so we went exploring a bit in the afternoon. The old walled market town of Alcudia was a delight. It’s the usual mediaeval scene of narrow winding streets and a very tough-looking outer wall, complete with dried-up moat. Not sure who built it. The Moors, possibly, or the people after the Moors who wanted to keep the Moors from coming back. It was the middle of a scorching day, so people and animals on the move tended to cleave to the shade, while others simply lay in a stupor.
From there, we headed for the coast along the bay of Pollensa, rugged and beautiful with mountains to either side. The water temperature is still brisk, but pleasant in this heat. After a refreshing dip, we took a little stroll inland, through some forest and towards the mountains. No assaults on any summits were attempted, however, our water supply and footwear being inadequate for the task.
The cool of the evening was spent in the cockpit, gazing across the bay, with a bottle of tinto at our side.
Today – work.

PS
There´s a couple of new photos on earlier posts as well.

On Mallorca time

Not that we mind, you understand, but things here have to be done at a certain pace.
First of all, we´ve been finding it difficult to get anything of consequence accomplished before noon. Get up, take a bucket and scoop shower, air-dry in the sun. Get a fresh baguette. Have a cup of tea. Put up the cockpit awning, before the sun reaches its terrible zenith. Wander across to the bar over the road for a cup of coffee and use of the loo. Oh! It´s noon already.
Never mind, everybody needs to relax sometimes.
We spoke to the owner of the boatyard a couple of days ago, about the jobs we´ve got planned for Fettler, and he agreed to order the materials we need. Then he went somewhere else, not to return until Monday. Of course, nobody else in the yard seems to know anything about said materials so, mañana mañana, we´ll get it done.
The chaos belowdecks has been sorted, at least. We´ve talked to a rigger about checking the standing rigging and getting a new forestay to replace the roller furling, and one of the sails is at the sailmakers, being converted back from roller furling to hank-on. It´s had an interesting life, that sail.
We have the rental car until Monday, so took a drive along the spectacular northwestern coastline this evening and plan to explore a bit more tomorrow.
Photos soon, I promise.
The dolce vita, or vida dulce...
Buenas noches.

On the hard

Hola!
Just a brief note to mention that we have officially moved onto the boat. We had a pleasant first night on board last night. Things belowdecks are still somewhat chaotic, but all should be squared away by day's end today.
Talk about a prime location! We're right at the water's edge, with a view across the bay to the marina and the mountains beyond. Will try to get a photo or two up soon.
I took my bath this morning next to the boat with bucket and scoop - there's a tap nearby for our fresh water supply (luxury). Bakery across the street and a wee shop where we can purchase a cold bottle of beer at the end of the working day. Smashing!
Hasta luego.

Now entering phase 2

So. Here we are. In Mallorca. Sunny Mallorca, that is.
We arrived here yesterday evening, after a smooth n' easy journey. Unless you count the minor luggage crisis we had yesterday morning after reading the small print regarding luggage allowances on FlyGlobespan. We discovered, to our horror, that the luggage allowance of 20 kg INCLUDES carry-on bags. We set about shedding 15 kg, discarding many potentially useful items along the way (towels, for example). Of course they didn't even bother weighing our hand luggage, but never mind.
As it turns out, Fettler is well equipped in the basic necessities, including towels, tea and balsamic vinegar. We spent the day sorting through all the contents of the boat and, like mad dogs and Englishmen, working in the noonday sun. Lovely thing, the sun. Perhaps we'll tire of its company in the days and weeks ahead, but I doubt it.
When we arrived, Sonja's bag was the very first one to appear on the carousel and mine was only a few behind. Certainly the first time that has happened to us and hopefully a good omen.
We picked up the rental car (a Fiat Panda - much changed from earlier times, but still boxy) and drove across the island as the sun set behind the spectacular western peaks. After dropping our gear at the hostel, we were just in time to take part in the local dinner-hour - 2200. We went to the same bar where I had eaten back in December, just across from the boatyard. It's a tiny wee place but popular with the locals and the chef serves up some very fine tapas. Previously, I had supped on langostinos and frog's legs. This time, we had chorizo infierno (i.e. doused in brandy and set alight) and eel in garlic, followed by cheese and quince jelly for dessert. Sonja wasn't so keen on the eel at first, but I prevailed and she was entirely satisfied with the result.
After a long hard day rooting through lockers we followed the recommendation of our hostel keeper, Britta, and headed for a small beach nearby. Many were clearly shocked by the fact that we went into the water, but it was warmer than Lake Huron last summer, or the North Sea off St. Andrews at any time in summers past.
Just now, we're relaxing with a bottle of Mallorcan red (a snip at 2.5 Euros) and girding our loins for further adventures in the sun tomorrow. Salud!