* Taken off the tarpaulins covering the boat
* Sanded the main cabin and given it three coats of paint
* Set the boat back up to live in after the winter and the painting
* Done the initial supermarket shop to make sure we have the cooking and cleaning basics on board
* Sanded the hull back to the bare gel coat (two full and disgusting days’ work under the boat!) and given it one coat of primer and two and a half coats of antifouling paint
* Caught up with old friends: Cedric and Suzy (off Peabody), Chris (Liberté) , Brian (De Laak), Steve and Treena (Evolutie), Dave and Heather (Narden)…and made some new ones
* Welcomed on board our first guest for the summer - Jo Higgins - who will stay until next Wednesday or Thursday.
We have a beautiful new canopy on the back of the boat and we’ve managed to acquire a new Wonder Washer to replace the one that died at the end of last season. One on the best things about it is the fact that it didn’t cost us a cent J - Philippe at Blanquart’s yard had it lying around and was happy to give it to us for nothing. I think he was also surprised at our utter delight given that it’s a manual, tumbler rather than an electrical one but it suits us perfectly. We’ve also spent a week “commuting” from Dijon and been invited out for several meals (more about that in another post soon).
The boat is still up on the hard and we are very keen to get it into the water, where it belongs and where living is much easier in many respects. Not possible, of course, before the hull was anti-fouled but we are also still waiting for Blanquart’s to replace the somewhat shaky, home-built platform on the back of the boat. We had hoped this work would be done over the winter but arrived to find that the platform had been ordered and was expected soon… “Soon” is supposed to be on Tuesday (Monday is yet another public holiday in France - the fourth in the space of a month). Our fingers are crossed.
