Ever have those days when it seems as if every time you wrap up one loose end another one unravels?
Just after rebuilding the salt-water pump for our toilet, the freshwater pump for the sink goes out; just after getting the propane tanks refilled and regulated, the solenoid switch stops functioning; just after getting a new piece welded for the chain locker, the windlass must be dismantled in order to fix a defective part; as soon as I patch a leak in our water tank, we notice a leak in our inflatable dinghy.
So we hunker down and stay at it. Days turn into weeks, which becomes a month. We’re putting out little fires here and there as we piece together the painting, which first requires filling all the nicks, cracks, and crannies.
“Just paint it!” quickly becomes CJ’s mantra, while I—ever the craftsman—am forced to patiently explain that it’s worthless putting good paint over problematic areas.
“And while we’re mixing epoxy,” I go on to reason, “We may as well cover-over that hole there, and repair a bit of rot over here, and rebuild that sagging box-lid there.” She rolls her eyes and finds something else to occupy her time, like cooking amazing food.
Truly, repainting the “cat’s spew” beige decks has been on Clare’s wish-list since the day we bought the boat. But before we can change the color, we need to first address all of the smooth white boarder areas, where the existing paint literally flakes off every time we take a wave. Once complete, we run tape over our fresh new white areas in order to protect them while we turn the knobby nonskid into our self-mixed color of “arctic fox.” Only problem is, we can’t find any “blue” tape here in Tunisia and instead have to use white masking tape, which after almost a week in sun does not want to let go, or at least not without pulling chunks of the underlying just-repainted white along with it. And then all of the leftover sticky residue must be laboriously hand-cleaned with copious amounts of noxious solvent.
No matter, we get the job done and Champagne looks better than ever! (She damn well better.) Just in time too, We’ve got more family to meet, this time Clare’s brother and his girlfriend in Sicily, and we can’t afford to be late. Hopefully we can remember how to sail.
To overdue face lifts.
