Work, work, work!

After a nice Australian vacation, it was time to get down to the nitty gritty and get some big boat chores done. The biggest job was to clean and paint the bottom of the boat.



Now, I know all you fellow boaties know how this is done, but for the benefit of our landlubbing friends, I'll attempt to explain a little. In order to get Malachi out of the water, we need to drive her into a man made, rectangular, boat sized bay. There is a huge lift that straddles the bay. Heavy straps are submerged before the boat drives over them, then they are cinched up against the hull just in front of and behind the keel. The 70 ton lift then hoists us out of the water then drives over to a wash bay where a pressure wash can be done to remove excess slime and growth. FYI, Malachi weighs 23 tons, about the same as 5 1/2 full grown African elephants!

Then it's off to our temporary home in the yard. A steel cradle constructed of heavy I beams and metal arms and pads, supports the boat which rests on the keel while on the hard. Extra supports are put in place since we still live aboard during this time, using a ladder to get on and off. Not so bad, except when you have to use the bathroom!


We came out just before the wind picked up.


Wet sanding all the rough spots


One last rinse before the primer


Jenny cleaning the shaft


Jocelyn on prop detail

We were out of the water for a total of six days during which time, we scrubbed, scraped, sanded and painted the bottom. Jay put alot of effort into polishing the hull too, now Malachi looks better than ever!


Malachi on the cradle, with the bottom all done


Looking good! Jay adds the last bit of paint to the resting points


Off come the slings and we're good to go!

Now we're back in our slip in Whangarei, home-sweet-home, at least for the next three weeks or so. Malachi will be setting sail once again around the beginning of April as we start the long trip home to Vancouver.