Today it's raining, so outdoor painting has once again come to a standstill. Yesterday I managed to paint the rest of the head since the grout is dry enough to walk on. Only one more locker to paint there; with a respirator I can do that today. It's wet, but it's well above 60 degrees. I also scraped the loose paint out of the lazarette and the "no mans land" locker at the aft of the boat that usually holds spare anchors and line. I don't think I've ever seen the bottom of this locker before. We are even cleaning out a hidden spot behind the fuel tank that may be useful for something. Tom rerouted the hose that cut through the middle of this locker so you can actually climb into it. Before, I always worried that someone would put their foot through the hose and cause a leak. After going over all the interior surfaces of the boat with a scraper, I feel like I understand the boat's systems so much better. And we'll be gaining a lot of storage space by reclaiming all those forgotten lockers.
At the moment I'm reading a pulp fiction paperback from the clubhouse library, and drinking coffee (since the tent doesn't have adequate dish washing facilities, we've opted for individual coffee bags -- the horror -- actually they aren't as bad as you would think). Tom's parents are spending a few days at Serendipity in their motor home, so the kids have been spending a lot of time with them. So it's quiet. The unreliable wifi signal is displaying an astonishing three bars. At the edge of the parking lot usually two is the most we can count on. So we are hurrying to check our internet while we can.
Soon I won't be able to get away with lazing about the tent and will have to get back to work. I'll finish up painting the clothes lockers, clean out the lazarette and aft locker with soap and water, and caulk all the little nooks and exposed fiberglass that will be a problem to paint. We decided not to order vinyl stick on letters for the stern of the boat. They would cost us over $100 and I could buy some paint for less and DIY. When we get back to Georgetown I'll print out a copy of the name and hailing port in a good font, and trace it onto a sheet of vellum that can be used as a template. The only thing I am not sure about is how to attach the vellum to the boat without obscuring the letters.
Did I mention? We decided to name the dinghy the Star Fire, after Oliver's favorite pacifier. So I'll make lettering for that one as well. The dinghy is so much fun -- it is a Fatty Knees with a sailing rig. Tom has been taking it out every day for a quick sail. I'll post pictures if I can manage it. Arthur loves to steer the dinghy and Oliver likes to ride in it, but David refuses to go. He'll change his mind eventually...
