From the Mountains to the Sea: Season Wrap-up, and Current Status

The beginning of last fall was dominated by this big party we threw in October (our wedding) so we didn't have as much time for sailing, mountain biking, or really anything but wedding planning and preparations. We had hoped to sail away on Tri-oomph, accompanied by our wedding photographer, immediately following the wedding ceremony, but it was sort of cold, the tide was coming in pretty fast (didn't want to get my dress wet!) and we were sort of over it. We did have her anchored right next to where the ceremony took place on the marsh, colors flying, for optimal scenic effect. It was all really beautiful.

The day after the wedding we did get out for a quick sail with some of our guests who had stayed an extra day or two to visit with us. It was pretty brisk, though, so we didn't stay out for too long, and as it was we were all chilled and it was dark by the time we got home.

Cody was sent away for work for a few days the week after the wedding, and my dad and his guest stuck around for a few days. We had some decent weather so I took them for a sail on Friday. The wind was blowing though, and it was my first time taking the boat out without Cody. We survived! Kudos to my dad and Suzanne for not asking me a million times "are you sure you know what you're doing?" We didn't sail much, and I only flew the jib, but it was nice to get on the water, and super confidence-boosting that I didn't run us into the rocks that the wind was trying to push us against. Also, I was able to raise and lower the motor myself (not an easy task, thanks Crossfit!) and get it started. And motor us home against a stiff north wind and an outgoing tide. And get us back on the mooring. I know, it doesn't sound impressive, but those things are actually really difficult, and I stayed cool and never freaked out. So, you know, when me and Cody get sick of each other somewhere down in the Abacos and I strand him on a sand bar, I'll know how to get the boat home.

After the last of our guests departed and Cody came home from work we got out for our last overnighter of the season. It was getting cold and we wanted to pull the boat out of the water for the season so we could start getting it ready for our summer plans. We anchored behind Plum Island where it was very cold and very beautiful. Almost all the boats off of Great Neck had been brought in save a couple lobster boats and we didn't see another soul on the water. We spent an extremely cold night, then woke up and made pancakes and coffee. Waking up on our boat is basically the best feeling. We sailed a bit and then headed in when we got hungry, happy that we'd gotten out one last time in our inaugural season of boat ownership.

What now?

We found a place to store Tri-oomph up at the Cape Ann Industrial Park for next to nothing (as far as boat storage is goes) and there she's sat since December. We have an extensive list of renovations we are making and repairs that need doing before we depart in (OMGOMGOMG!) about 5 weeks. We don't have any projects that are yet 100% done, but when the whole thing is set I'll take some good pictures and explain everything we've done.

This past weekend we organized a boat painting party, although it was really more of a marathon. On Thursday Tucker and our Danish friend Jake removed the pontoons and sanded with Cody all day. I had class until 2 and then came over to help finish it up. That night after the sanding was done we did any epoxy work that needed to be done in the hopes that it would be fully cured by the next day.

On Friday we primed anything that would be getting painted green - the work on the bottom of the boat will have to wait until this weekend or next because we need to jack it up and do some glass work on the skeg.

On Saturday we taped off the areas we would be applying non-skid coating to, and did our first layer of paint. Cody's mom, Kevin, and Noble came to help. The non-skid coating is a powder or sand (depending), and it gets thickly dusted onto the first layer of wet paint. Cody had bought us some really nice, rubberized non-skid, but we quickly ran out. I ran down to Rose Marine where they sold me a quart of sand for $17. They joked that I should just go to the beach. Well, it was super fancy, clean sand at any rate. Near the end of the day we ran out AGAIN and Rose Marine was closed for the day. I called Ace Hardware and they had a product that one might use on stairs or other surfaces you want to be non-skid and I made it in 15 minutes before they closed so we could finish the damn first coat. So! Now we have 3 different types of non-skid coating. If anyone is doing this to their boat and need some advice, we're here for you!

On Sunday we applied the second coat of paint. I had a class to go to in the afternoon so this was mostly all Cody, Noble, and our friend Andrew. We had masked off the non-skid areas so those actually received their first coat, and it was difficult to not spread any loose non-skid around into the areas that weren't supposed to have it. It also took a ton of paint to get into all those nooks and crannies. The area where we'd applied the sand from Rose Marine is so rough that you could easily take the skin off the soles of your feet, and you can still see that the sand is black through the paint. We'll likely be applying a third coat on these areas to save our skin and hopefully obscure the color of the sand. Hmm. Well, we'll see.

So, huge thanks to everyone that came out to help us, and loaned us equipment, and were generally awesome and supportive. It was huge deal to get the boat (mostly) all painted and it looks terrific! It's remarkable how much the paint had faded over the years and how ridiculously bright and shiny she is now. I don't think I have to tell you that she'll be the hottest boat in the water (not that she wasn't before).