July 30 - All the little things add up

We've spent the last few days doing a bunch of little stuff that was on our "to do" list. The storage locker has been emptied - yea! My mate Chris (Rumrunner II) helped me load the Yamaha 15, the Sailomat vane, and a large bag of spare lines (like about 40 pounds of spare lines....) into the bed of his rented mini pickup. After dropping off the Yamaha to the shop and picking up the Tohatsus 9.8, we then transferred everything to a dock cart and took it down the ramp and dock to Infini. I should mention that there are a lot of workers and two jackhammers presently breaking up the concrete right in front of our dock. The noise all day is terrible, and walking around and thru the rubble isn't much fun. At any rate, we hooked up the block and tackle for the outboard and it now sits on its rail mount. The vane is sitting on the side deck, as we'll have to launch the dinghy to mount it on the stern. The spare lines joined two other (smaller) spare line bags in the cockpit (temporarily). What else....the loose lazarette lid support studs were re-bedded and everything was placed back in the lazarette. Our spare set of oars was dropped off so the grips could be shaped to fit our hands; the oars are a larger diameter than our present ones and had never been worked on. The liner for one of our salon cabinets was reinstalled, as was the V-berth overhead as well. The 3/4" saltwater intake hose for the water maker and sink was rerouted to accommodate a better angle. Two broken stainless screws were drilled out (what fun...) and a ventilation plate attached properly. A new anchor snubber was made (remember all that spare line I carry?...) And lastly, today we installed one of our two new line clutches, this one on the mast for the jib halyard as its winch is not self-tailing. We've also gone swimming in the hotel pool the other day (nice)...and have had happy hours and dinners with Chris & Liz (Rumrunner II). You can still find us eating lunch at the food stalls.
Pic: The obstacle course to our dock.

July 25 - Unpacking and sorting

We've made great progress with stuff in our storage area. Each item is checked and cleaned before being put away. There's been a little bit of a musty smell in a few things, but not bad after 6 months. Tuesday saw the completion of our boat survey. Every 5-6 years most marine insurance companies require an out of the water survey, and we were due as a routine matter for reinsurance with our new company, Topsail Insurance. The cushions are now back aboard with their new slip covers (upholstery by Mr. Pey), and the cabin looks bright and cheerful with the new varnish and fabrics. Our friends Bruce & Alene (sv Migration) stopped by Tuesday afternoon for a visit; after an enjoyable dinner at Chili's (a local place here, not the restaurant chain in the USA), Sue & Alene went to yoga after. This afternoon we went for a massage here at the Waree Spa on campus. A one hour oil massage was 500 baht (about $16USD); our bodies really needed it after all the lifting and work we've been doing. I figure another 3-4 carloads (think Toyota Yaris) of stuff from storage and we'll have it all back aboard.
Pic: We're in the rainy season, and glad to have the condo unit for another week!

July 23 - Splash, no problems

The rain came down hard all night but finally let up about 0730 and the travel lift picked us up at 0800. Sue & I were aboard and took the ride to the slipway where Infini was gently lowered into the water. All systems checked out, the motor starting battery did its thing after not being used for over 6 months, and we motored to our slip and were secured by 0840. Two of the work crew are on the deck doing a wash down, so we're taking a bit of time off and eating a late breakfast. Another milestone reached: haul out was January 14th and it's always good to be back in the water with no drama. We're giving thanks. Pictures: Above: we're aboard as the travel lift slowly goes to the slip way; we're about half way there. Below: Infini at her slip at Boat Lagoon Marina.

July 22 - We're in cleaning mode

The vacuum's out; also lots of rags and water; every cabinet and bin is getting a going over. We've pulled out stuff I haven't seen in years; we even threw some of it away! We haven't even begun to unload the storage area; that should begin in a few days. Tomorrow morning is launch, but the rain is coming down hard and monsoon weather is predicted, so we hope there's enough slack in the rain and wind to allow us a weather window for the travel lift to get us in the water, after which we'll motor a few minutes into a slip. As to more mundane stuff, we switched cars to a Toyota Yaris, one we find a lot more responsive to our needs. We also went back to Jungcelon Mall in Patong where I gave back my S4 phone and got an S3 instead; wasn't impressed with the S4 at all. We continue to eat and enjoy lunch at the local food stalls here at Boat Lagoon where both of us eat for about $3USD; good stuff.

July 20 - We're in the slings and ready for launch

The bottom job is complete. Earlier, the travel-lift arrived to pick up the boat so the areas that she had been sitting on were able to be Interprotect epoxy primed and painted. For those interested, we used Chugoku ablative anti-foul paint, colors red-black-red. The sharp eyed-reader will have noticed that the bottom paint went on with only a 1" strip of 3M blue tape on the boot stripe to paint to. No bottom paint touched the white paint, no doubt due to the care the crew took using the 3" rollers. It's always exciting to be ready to go back in the water. Infini is really looking good. The deck and hull need a good washdown, and the interior needs a good clean-up, but overall, we're quite pleased. Monday is a Buddhist holiday here and the boatyard is closed, so splash is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

July 18 - Update

Two coats of black anti-fouling were applied today. We've decided to go back to the red for our final coats; finish color will probably be a dark red/dark brown kind of thing....

July 17 - Update

We sorted out our personal and boat visas yesterday; everything's good. Infini received her first coat of bottom paint today. It turned out that the red paint was reaally red...bright red, in fact....Tomorrow, the next few coats will be black....

July 16 - Rained out

This morning brought constant rain, so we're using the time to catch up to Internet stuff. There's no painting going on anywhere in the boatyard. We're having coffee and a smoothie at one of the local restaurants here that has strong wifi; the tour boats are still going out in spite of this dreary weather.

July 15 - A busy day

We left early to get down to the main Immigration and Customs offices in Phuket Town (open at 08:30); we're still sorting out some visa issues. In Thailand, as in many other countries, one's personal visa and the boat visa are issued for different amounts of time, costs and expiration dates. Keeping track of things here is challenging, as arriving by boat vs arriving by airplane results in two different visa specifics. More on all this later. Back at the boatyard by 10:00, I guided the crew as to the preparation for application of the epoxy barrier coat. By midafternoon, Infini had her first coat of epoxy applied, the bottom is now gray, and we're scheduled for the next application of epoxy tomorrow morning. The cradle support pads have to be moved, something which necessitated a visit to the marina office to arrange, as the epoxy (and bottom paint later) has to be applied to those areas presently underneath the wood support pads, and they don't want contractors or yacht owners messing about with the supports (can't blame them!).

July 13 - Update

We've done a lot of small projects these last few days. The GPS mount at the helm was taken off, wire brushed, primed and top coated. The spare set of dinghy oars I bought in Hawaii were finally cut down to the correct size, as they were about 2 feet too long. We marked the 350' of newly galvanized anchor chain with wire ties, and seized the shackles. The impeller for the boost pump of the watermaker was changed after seizing up. That's not quite accurate...actually, I put in our spare new pump, added shut off valves either side of the pump, and put the original pump in our spares bin. Most all of the wiring was led to the new autopilot brain; hook-up comes later. The lazarette was totally emptied and reorganized. Sue's cleaning lockers, an on-going job. A few loads of laundry were also done at the condo, convenient as the laundry service here at Boat Lagoon isn't inexpensive. We also arranged to have letters from the Marina office as well as our job contractor written on our behalf to Immigration, as our personal as well as boat visas expire next week, which will necessitate a visit to downtown Phuket. Lastly, I've moved up the date of splash; it's now tentatively scheduled for July 23rd, if everything is completed in a timely fashion.
Pic: We usually eat lunch at the food stalls; this local is on break.

July 11 - Update

We've spent the last few days getting organized. First off, we have a large rental unit for all our "stuff." Finding anything has been...challenging. We're not planning on putting anything back aboard until we're cleaned up, which will take place after launch. Launch has to be scheduled for a high tide; bottom paint is applied after applying an epoxy barrier coat...everything has a different time frame for application; it's like a long symphony with many different pieces and parts for the players...everything needs to be scheduled, a fudge factor for weather has to be applied, then you hope for the best during the week's worth of work. Prior to all this, the workers have been busy sanding the bottom in preparation. Aboard, other workers rebedded the starboard stanchions which were leaking and finished a few minor woodworking jobs down below that awaited our return. From our "to-do" list, I stayed busy removing the old Coursemaster autopilot and installing the new Simrad unit (testing and commissioning later). Check. A new larger Dynaplate (a grounding plate for lightening protection and better radio propagation) was then installed. Check. The wiring to the dual directional windlass solenoid was sorted out (check); our newly regalvanized anchor and chain will be delivered tomorrow. Our Tohatsu outboard engine has been stored at the shop while we've been gone, and when I stopped by to drop off a new water pump impeller, found out that the factory is sending out impellers that don't fit their engines! The mechanic has several outboards with wrong sized impellers; doesn't say much for quality control from Tohatsu. Just another thing to sort out. (Don't know if that's considered a "check"...) We've also had to go grocery shopping as well as pick up the Interprotect epoxy barrier coat and Chugoku bottom paint (that's a check); fortunately we have a rental car/truck. There's a small truck bed without a pass-through, and a very narrow rear bench seat; we're not planning long trips....Our rental condo unit here in Boat Lagoon is working out splendid. Our friends Liz and Chris of sv Rumrunner II stopped by for a visit and stayover, and we also met our landlords, Andrew and Lillian, a delightful couple from Australia and Malaysia. We've been hanging out with them the last few evenings and have really enjoyed their company. They've traveled much of SE Asia, and have lots of good stories to share. We're back to the food stalls for lunch, and met up with Alene and Bruce (sv Migration) who happened to come down to Boat Lagoon on some errands. So, back to the cruising life. Lots of stuff happening; great food and friends, interesting new people to meet and enough logistical challenges and things to do to keep us occupied!
Pic: New friends Lillian & Andrew; Chris & Liz

July 7 - Return to Phuket

We arrived back at Boat Lagoon about 1 AM and after a bit of unpacking and rest went to the boat and the storage area by mid-morning, stopping by to purchase cell phone minutes and a few bottled waters at the local 7-Eleven. We'll have to arrange transportation in order to go shopping and transfer stuff to the boat. Our "to do" list isn't that extensive so we're hoping to get back in the water "soon." Have to see how it all goes....
Pic: the view from our rental condo