Dry Dock - SV GIRI

It's that time of the year. Boat work and bottom painting. Tom had my sailboat hoisted out at the boat yard. The paint job from last year has done well. A new coat of bottom paint will be all that's needed. The zincs will be replaced though they've survived pretty well too.

Finally the prop and shaft can be repaired. Jim finished the new autopilot and now all that was needed was for the prop problem to be solved. Nothing major found out of whack just a few little things all of which conspired to slow the GIRI progress in water. One of the prop fins is very slightly dinged and this can be fixed by the machinist. A new prop has been ordered but won't arrive in time for installation this haul out. So it will be the spare and my present prop is still in pretty good shape with lots more years wear. Spares are always important.

Couldn't help but reminisce about all the times I've had the boat 'on the hard'. I remembered the first time Sherry and I had it out on the Tide Grid at the Fisherman's dock with ropes holding it in place because we were misalligned and the ship threatened to fall off the grid. We all painted the bottom fast that time. In those early years we had the boat out on a tide grid a few times as well as on the hard at Granville Island.

Then there was the motley crew of barely sober painters that Joe brought along one year to do the job, the heat of the sun causing several to leave after the first hour.

Sherry and I had the GIRI sandblasted in Thunderbird Marina North Vancouver, living aboard using the portapotty and hauling water from the ground faucet. We had it sand blasted and painted too when we sailed to Mexico and had the boat out on land in La Paz.

Tom was with me painting the bottom with Laura's help on Granville Island. Then the two of us were grinding and painting the bottom in Kona, Hawaii. It was on land for the welding at Mosquito Creek and bottom painting a few times.

It's amazing but it's been a dozen times at least in the last roughly 25 years years I've owned the GIRI. Each time it's a strange experience, I imagine, like one would experience, if they saw their house being hauled away on a trailer.

I'm thankful these last few years that Tom's taken on the challenge of managing the work. I'm happy to be the 'owner' and glad to remember all the times I had paint in my face or sweated under the hull in the heat grinding away rust. I can't say I enjoy the expense. Haul outs have gone up 10 fold since I began and the tide grids have become fewer. That said there's a lot of pleasure in the continuity and having cared for something so extraordinary as an ocean going blue water ship for nearly a quarter of a century.

With this work done , there's only really cosmetics or minor improvements to be achieved as the GIRI is again restored to her capacity to cross oceans. That said, all I'm really looking forward to doing is some island hopping, fishing and anchoring off the islands in the Strait of Georgia.














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