A large task done

After lot and lots and lots of sanding and a final coat of Interlux Brightside I’m calling SWALLOW’S topsides reconditioning done.

I’m happy with the results. The hope is I did all the steps correctly and I’ll not need to do do more than occasional touch ups for many years.

I now need to work in the bottom: sand, seal, fair and then paint. Mother Nature seems to have called an end to the unseasonably warm and dry weather. March temps were more like May/June it was dry like July. A wet more normal cycle is returning. Will need to see what I can do between the raindrops.

The outboard was serviced and only one issue was found: I’d had cold idle issues in late December and January. The electronic idle/choke control was found to be broken. With that replaced all seems good and the Honda has been listed as being in great shape.

The boomkin and head of the rudder have also received a few coats of varnish.

During the rain I do have other ‘indoor’ tasks to keep me busy: install a woodstove damper, repair one of the dinghy oars and paint & varnish both, clean the water tank, install a new rope clutch for the headsail furler control line, debate changing the mainsheet hardware and consider installing some USB charging ports into the cabin.

So there are things to keep me busy though most could be done if I was out of the costly boat yard and anchored in a nice bay!