Am I BLUE????

[TJ-LJ Champion]

Every morning I check into this website to catch up on all I've missed since yesterday. I enjoy reading the various entries and suggestions that are available to us newbies, heck knows we need all the help we can get!Are we allowed to vent? I read about other "Smurf" sailers as we're prepping our bottoms for new paint this '07 season, and being female I wanna know....us ladies that pitch in everyday scraping sanding and becoming more and more like fullbacks with huge muscular shoulders from the abuse of 10 coats of paint, what are some people thinking? How in blasted heck can a captain continue abusing his/her boat by neglecting and slapping on paint/varnish/repairs without making sure he/she is doing this properly? If I had a dollar for every passer by that stops and kids me about the grueling process of freeing the (seems like) hundreds of coats of paint to my sweet girl (Lonesome Dove)s bottom hull!!!!! It is nearly criminal the neglect these beautiful vessels endure over time. I suppose it's no different then home owners doing schlock self improvement projects to their residences. At the very least maybe my Marina will award me with the "Most Improved Yacht" of Forked River NJ!I can remember shopping for our first sailboat and looking at a 41' 2002 Beneteau. Oh was she GORGOUS, but so over our heads in so many ways. When we opted for the 85' Hunter Cutter rig being size and price appropriate I never in my wildest dreams imagined the sweat it would take to restore her. If my father could only see me now...oh, but I think he can and chuckling as his 50 year old little girl awakes each day stiff as a statue but ready for more abuse to her aching body!Not that I don't love what I'm doing, and it is pure love that those of us who trim the sails and strive for that perfect close haul will stop at nothing short of hari kari while preserving our boats. The process being cathartic and challenging emits release from our past emotional and physical screw ups over the many years. As I'm getting ready to pack up and leave yet again this morning, I acknowledge having a love/hate relationship with this endeavor and thank GOD the sun shines and glimmering waters beackon me to turn BLUE one more day! The things we do for the wind at our backs, but living has never been so good.Happy scraping and sanding to all!Laurie

 

[Landsend]

Why are you scraping?

When you coud be blasting...sand blasting and pressure washing. You're doing it the had way...and the reason is?

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

Laurie, I really enjoyed reading your post

All the years my husband and I have sailed together I have noticed that whether we are racing or cruising there are not a lot of other women around. Either the gals are not interested at all or if they do show up they seem to have an arms length relationship with the boat and with sailing. I don't get it. How could you not love it?? Like you, I have noticed that when helping with boat work my husband always get comments from the other guys that they wish there wives were so interested. Do you see the same thing? Even on this board most of the people I chat with are men. All my friends up at the marina are men. Almost all of my sailing buddies are men. It's not that I seek out men but you do tend to make friends where you share interests, right? Anyway, sorry for the rant. Running across your post kind of touched a nerve. Where are all the women and why don't they like sailing like I do?

 

[Alice A.]

love everything about the boat

Hi, all. There are many women besides myself at our marina who are full partners with their husbands, not only with getting the boat ready to launch, but also the sailing. We are just as proficient as helmspersons and sail trimmers although we may not have the arm strength that our husbands have. Many women sailors I know take the boats in and out of the slip in all kinds of conditions without mishap. Our husbands realize that they will probably be better at line handling especially in heavy wind conditions. I am very lucky that my husband taught me how to dock the boat way back in '76 when we had a Catalina 27. He must have had nerves of steel He always says he is very confident in my abilities and he means it. I just wanted you to know there are lots of us out there who can't wait to go sailing soon. Alice

 

[TJ-LJ Champion]

my little pity party....

Thanks Nick for the pep talk, I know the season will more than payoff and I've surely earned my right to sunbathe on deck whilst TJ handles some of the traditional duties. Your boat is a beauty and I'm sure well deserved now that you're retired. I'm hoping that by our retirement we can also step into something new with less restoration needed yearly. Best wishes to you for a super season!Landsend,....Trust me I've tried getting around this pain staking process, we tried peel-a-way last fall and it wasn't warm enough to work, I purchased interstrip from Interlux, soy stripper from Franmar and powered up a sander with vaccumn attached. If I could have had her soda blasted when she came out I would have, but my marina doesn't offer this service and we never imagined the bottom would be so bad and difficult to do. The only way is to scrape, sharpen the edges(scraper) continually and plough through the process. We've learned our lesson, just because some jobs seem too costly for the pocketbook, sometimes you just gotta get real and acknowledge saving your back is more precious then your mutual funds that it took to pay for the job!Thanks Princess for saying hello! Yes, I've noticed this hobby is predominantly male, AND....? How fabulous is that? We can rub shoulders with the best of them and still remain feminine, well...maybe. If I keep going the way I've been going my shoulders will be the size of the Incredible Hulk (not very attractive)! Funny thing is I'm the sailer of us duo, TJ never sailed before meeting me (always a power boater). I figure being committed to all the boat care is the least I can do since he's willing to refrain from using an engine. But yes I agree, there should be more women out there sailing and shame on them for not knowing it's beauty or rewarding tranquility.Now for another silly topic. Can anyone tell me how to post a photo using this site? I'm fairly computer savvy but no where does this site give you directions on how to post photos. Do you have to use HTML commands to do so? Can anyone help me with this? I'd love to post our ugly mugs at some point and the progress of our baby.Many thanks, Laurie

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

To post a picture is pretty easy

When you post, there is a place to check that you have a photo to post. Write your reply, check the box and then hit submit. The next window that comes up tells you how to upload your photo. It's easy. Believe me, if I can do it anyone can!!Thanks for the replies, Laurie and Alice. It's nice to know you gals are out there. I don't mean to grumble. The guys that I have become friends with are some of the best in the world and I am really grateful to them.

 

[gpd955]

Ah, paint

When I did mine last year, I wore a Tyvek suit, gloves, mask, goggles, etc. If terrorists had attacked, I would have been A-OK with all the stuff I was wearing!After prepping, 2 coats of black Petit hard paint, I went to the restroom and passed a mirror...well Al Jolson had nothing on me!!! Not fun at the time, but it makes for good stories and laughs later on...as does EVERYTHING that you do with you boat...good or bad!I love my boat, most of the time. I loved it most of the day yesterday (when we were the only ones out there on a calm Atlantic, warm NW breeze and 82 degree weather, and then hated it for an hour or so when my forward gear kept slipping. It's like any relationship, but in the end, your boat gives back to you what you give to it.It's OK to hate your boat. Hate is an emotion and you have to love something to hate it. It's when you become indifferent toward it that you should start worrying!When you get back into the water, head south and stop by Farley State Marina and we'll buy you a few beers!!Jack ManningS/V Victim of FateAtlantic City, NJ

 

[Marcia]

Two Little Helpers

Tylenol PM - - - works WONDERS and you'll get a great night's sleep to start over tomorrow. =)

 

[Seattle Scott]

Hey Laurie I have the same boat

Before I ever sailed it I spent about 40 hours stripping down to gel coat, since the hull surface looked like allegator skin. I stared with power sanding but it was to slow and loud. I went with hardware store gel/paste stripper, about $15 a gal. Just painted it on a sq yard of surface, waited 20 minutes, and then started scraping, while another square yard of surface was softening up with the stripper applied. Headphone with tunes or books on tape is key.Maintenance is beter than "repair" any day.

 

[Nice N Easy]

You'll be better off for it

Couple of years ago I met a couple at a marina down around Rockport, Texas. She was a very attractive woman, nice tan, not an ounce of fat on her, and when I shook hands with her, it was like sticking my hand in a vice. Her SO then told me she was 60 years old, and would jump up on the foredeck without a thought and change a headsail in 10 foot seas. Absolutely amazing. So, you see, there are advantages besides a nice boat, to getting your hands dirty, your muscles sore, and waking up in the morning stiff and sore. And I have come to the opinion that hands toughened by actually working on a boat, and maybe with some dirt under the nails are kind of sexy. MORE POWER TO YOU

 

[Clyde]

Soda Blasting

The Sodablast System LLC is a mobile soda blasting franchise out of Houston, Texas; they have franchises in NJ. They use a portable compressor trailer pulled by a pickup truck. They'll do the blasting at your marine once you haul-out your boat. They usually sign-up boats at different marines in their franchise area and drive over to do the blasting. I saw that they are three sodablast contractors within 50 miles of Forked River, NJ. You can call them and ask how much it'll cost and if they'll be in your area. You should ask for references, check with the BBB and your state consumer protection agency, and make sure that they are licensed and bonded.Even with soda blasting, you still have some sanding to do, but a hell of a lot less.Fair Winds,ClydeSodablast Contractors NJhttp://www.sodablastcontractors.com/showlist.php?cstate=NJ

 

[Bill Roosa]

Well ladies

As one of those guys who wishes he had a SO who "loves it enough to get tired", I'm hoping that you are spreading the word to your sex that guys dig women like that. Sure it gets our testosterone poisoning going to see our boat babe sitting on the bow in a bikini but I have to admit one guy on another post was showing off his wife covered in teak dust sanding a hand hold and I was seriously jealous.Happy Sanding!

 

[Seattle Scott]

Laurie, saw your project post

check out the anchor locker modification myself and other have done on the 37C in the project forum. A geat upgrade. Boy, you guys are into a big project.

 

[Nice N Easy]

Hey Lonesome Dove

Hey Lonesome Dove,Where is Forked River. Bought our new to us Seidelman 37 up there last fall. It was in Keyport. Which is across Raritan Bay from NYC. Seems like I remember seeing it on the charts but for the life of me can't place it. That is pretty country up that way, but for me only in the summer time. We left for La. mid Oct. and froze our buns off. I like the idea of year round sailing, and not having to go through the hassle of pulling the boat for the winter every year.

 

[KathyL]

Why is it???

...that I hire a cleaning service for my home, but yesterday I was cleaning the waterline of a 30 footer with a toothbrush and loving every minute of it? And after helping with the bottom painting, I need to get a manicure to cover my smurf blue fingernails! But I wouldn't have it any other way.Can't wait to relaunch!