Sail Far Live Free

(Note: This blog post appeared in Latitudes & Attitudes - The Seafaring Lifestyle magazine on page 46 of the April 2008 edition) A clean, well-kept bilge says a lot about a boat's overall condition in my book. Clean bilges let you know that the ship's captain doesn't live by the philosophy of "Out of sight, out of mind". Sure, bilges inherently get dirty and wet quickly and easily. But if you start with a good foundation, they are easier to keep clean and much more hospitable during those claustrophobic moments when you have to cram yourself deep into the bowels of the vessel for maintenance and repair. I began restoring our boat's bilge by first removing any debris and lost hardware that had fallen in over the years. Then I scrubbed mightily with a solution of Comet, bleach and warm water. Next, I used my shop-vac to suck up smaller particles and make certain the entire bilge was dry. Luckily, about 99% of the bilge is fairly accessible on a Helms 25...

Today I started filling in the chipped areas of the gelcoat on the boat's hull. Most of the chips appear to be purely cosmetic, but there are a couple that are deep enough to expose the fiberglass matte underneath. I used two-part expoxy paste to fill in the chips. The paste goes on fairly easily with a disposable putty knife. Later, I'll sand the hardened epoxy smooth so that the hull is ready for a couple layers of new urethene paint in the spring.

Here's this week's quote: "You can't run from the wind. You trim your sails, face the music and keep going." - Captain Christopher Shelton, S/V Albatross (from the movie White Squall) White Squall is one of my all-time favorite movies. Yes, I love the fact that it takes place on a sailboat in the Caribbean. But I also love the story of boys becoming men and people coming together as a tight-knit team to overcome extraordinary circumstances. Captain Christopher Shelton (brilliantly played by Jeff Bridges) has a very stern sense of wisdom. Almost all of his lines in the movie make for memorable quotes. I particularly like the life applications of the quote shown above. Life isn't about what happens to you, but rather how you react to what happens in your life.

Today I began sanding some of the spots on the hull and deck that I earlier had patched with epoxy paste and putty. Frankly, I'm amazed with the ease of use and durability of these two epoxy products. Both go on easily, set in 2 hours and cure fully in 24 hours. They can even be applied, set and cured underwater. Amazing stuff! I first sanded the epoxy patches with 100 grit sandpaper on a sanding block and then smoothed things out with a finer grit sanding sponge. The picture above shows the deck looking much happier. Since patching, the deck seems sturdier and the cabin is dry. So far so good!