Tinkering with Guppy

I don't know how long it'll take to figure out what kind of boat I want or to find it when I do.

There was some nice fall sailing weather ahead so I was playing with the idea of finding a reasonably priced slip and leaving Guppy in the water on the Neuse for a few months.

Before I could do that, she needed to have her bottom painted and I had to figure out the best way to protect the jib on the roller furler.

Bottom

I purchased a gallon of 'red' (more like a rust brown) ablative bottom paint from Jamestown Distributors online.  Ablative paint sluffs off microscopic layers when the boat is underway - keeping the hull free of marine growth. So they say.

Painting the bottom of the Sanibel on its trailer was a lot tricker than painting the Mariner had been.  

The Mariner's trailer had center rollers that supported the keel of the boat and bore the majority of its weight. Four vertical bunk boards about 16" long provided lateral support.  All I had to do was sand and paint all of the areas that weren't obstructed by the rollers or bunks and when the paint was dry, move the hull back 6" and get the bare spots.

Guppy's trailer had four long 2" x 8" horizontal bunks that bore the entire weight of the boat.  The keel was not supported at all.  It was necessary to jack up the keel until the hull cleared the bunks and then remove them while supporting the boat laterally.  It was tricky using a small floor jack but it worked.  I even dropped and painted the centerboard as well as the interior of the trunk.

Jib Sock

Generally, you have a strip of sacrificial canvas sewn to the leech and foot of the headsail to protect it from the sun when it's furled.  The local sail repair shop wanted $275 to do that.  I found another alternative called a jib sock while exploring online.  It's a tube made from canvass and velcro that you can use to cover the sail when docked.  I ordered some green canvass and velcro and June was kind enough to make me not only a jib sock but a tiller cover as well.  Cost - about $35 and all of the  'Honey do's' that June could think of for the next two weeks.

                                              

Slip

I found a slip, with power and water, for $80 monthly, no contract. It was located in Baird's Creek about half-way between New Bern and Oriental.  I plan to check it out on my next trip.