Cleaning and Reorganizing and lots of Cleaning

You know what’s fun? Cleaning. Especially cleaning something that probably hasn’t been cleaned since Reagan. The boat has been sitting largely untouched for many years. There actually wasn’t too much mildew, but there was a ton of gunk. And junk.

While Lauren spent hours upon days deep scrubbing every nook and cranny she could access, I went through all the stuff that came with the boat. Some stuff was actually useful, like an outboard motor that works. Other stuff was… less necessary, like a leaf blower. I assume for situations where the wind died down, you could fire up the leaf blower and fill the sails.

On a side note, look at this before and after. Give Lauren a scrub brush and some all purpose cleaner and dirt doesn’t stand a chance.

It also enabled us to figure out where everything is, as well as find problem areas. Some of the bolts for the chainplates have rusted. It looks like the chainplates themselves are in good condition at least.

We probably threw away eight large trash bags of junk. Everything from rope that had long since died, to three rusted telescoping shower curtain rods. We found three different types of paddles. We threw out so much, the boat sits 3 inches higher in the water.

The paint on most of the boat is old, cracked, and desperately needs to be replaced. Before we repaint, however, we will need to do some small fiberglass repair. That’s not including the cabin walls that have rotted to the point of unsalvageable. They will need to be recored. That raises quite a few problems because of the logistics involved. I’ll have to replace the core in sections so the roof doesn’t cave in. Which means I will have to have time so the fiberglass can cure. Which means I’ll need good weather. In Seattle.