Jordan's Ghost covered in muck

I've been living in the boatyard for nearly two weeks. It's loud, commercial, full of marine poison finishes, spray paints, epoxies, glass fibers and other toxic substances. I've been up to my elbows in paint for days. I've ruined most of my clothes. It feels like living in a sort of post apocalyptic junkyard, complete with dead birds, mangy dogs and rowdy tenants. Between materials, haul out, launching and blocking (putting the boat on stilts), it's cost me an arm and a leg.

Stripping paint is a messy, tedious business.

Jordan's Ghost, though, is looking pretty good. I've gotten a variety of things done. Most of what I wanted to, really:

• Ground down the bottom side all the way to gelcoat and built it back up with a semi-ablative bottom paint
• Stripped then refinished the exterior woodwork
• Fabricated a new fiberglass lip for my main hatch
• Removed the old lettering, sanded and repainted the topside
• Installed a larger holding tank and improved plumbing system with a locking diverter valve
• Plumbed an icebox drain pipe which should enable clean, simple onboard cold storage
• Ordered new lettering to be placed on the transom, leaving the sides looking simple, white and clean

Jordan's Ghost on stilts with the bottom stripped

I've had plenty of help from other boaters. Inordinate amounts of help, in some cases. I was given a large quantity of expensive harsh environment wood finish, was supplied with goggles, dust masks, scrapers, caulk and a roller arm, and was subjected to all kinds of advice on various project related topics. I probably started some thirty conversations with the words Hey so-and-so, I've got a question for you. Like always, people have been happy to help.

The work took me a week and a few days in all. The topside paint turned out pretty poorly, mainly because I'm inexperienced with finish painting. The two part epoxy paint is supposed to be applied using a method called rolling and tipping, wherein the paint is first rolled on with a roller, then smoothed with single direction strokes from a paintbrush. This requires a brush thinner agent, which I failed to understand. The result was that the paint was too thick to roll and tip, so I applied it using just a roller. While the finish is certainly durable it's streaky and not super attractive. I really like the flat look and am not much for a high sheen, but next time I'll have to do something about the streaks. Live and learn.

Maintenance complete

I should be launching tomorrow. I've a few plumbing details to wrap up, a dinghy purchase to look into and plenty of stuff (books) to ship out to Colorado. Other than that, I'm basically waiting for a weather window. A cold front moved in earlier this week, but it should be ebbing away by tomorrow. I'll be leaving the boat virtually empty, as a friend of mine will be living in it while I'm away.

Working on the boat has been fun. I'll definitely miss boat life over the next several months, but am also, as always, looking forward to change.