Friday morning (30th April) we were up very early and got everything stowed away in preparation for the boat coming out of the water. We got a call asking if we were ready as they had an earlier slot than scheduled so we left our berth and stooged around in the river until the travel lift was in position and then headed in. The operator was not sure we would fit going in bows first but we managed to resolve it in the end by tying off the strops to ensure that the front one would not slip from the leading edge of Morphie.

We were then lifted and got off and had a coffee whilst we watched the guys jet wash the hull which was covered in slime plus a heavy covering of barnacles from the time spent in the river.

At this point the heavens opened (and, of course, our jackets were on board) so we loitered around near to where she was going to be situated and tried to keep dry.

Eventually Morphie was in position and we were able to get back on board. We tidied up and then headed out to The Galley for an early lunch whilst the rain continued to fall heavily. After lunch we washed the hull down but rain stopped play again as the heavens opened and we had thunderstorms all around us so we just had a quiet night on board.

Saturday morning it had rained heavily overnight and the forecast was for showers throughout the day so we started early at 7.30 am. We both worked on removing all the barnacle residue from the boot stripe, which was a real mess and it took us quite a long time.

Afterwards Richard concentrated on rubbing down the antifoul which, for the most part, wasn’t in too bad a condition.

I started sanding the propeller and the rudder stock.

We both then used a compound to try and restore some of the boot stripe paint – this is in pretty poor order now and so we’ll probably get this taken off and repainted in the next year or so. By 4pm we were both pretty shattered so called it a day and had an early night.

Sunday morning we had another early start and, by 9am, it had started raining so we stopped for breakfast while we waited for the showers to pass through. We then climbed into our scissor lift and cleaned the stainless steel below the rail and the rubbing strip. We then followed this up by doing an initial cutting and cleaning of the hull’s gelcoat.

Once we had finished I rested up while Richard took himself off to Bunnings for more supplies and, along the way he was stopped by the police for a random breathalyser test. Richard had had a couple of beers the night before but wasn’t concerned by this and the policeman was very happy with his ‘no alcohol recorded’ result and let him go on his way. We then had a quiet night on board once we were cleaned up although the boat looked like a bomb had hit it with tools and materials scattered everywhere in the cockpit….

Monday morning we awoke to a nice sunny day so uncovered the rail which we had protected from the rain where we have prepared the wood for the new genoa track to be installed. The rain stayed away and we walked around the hull and looked at our efforts from the day before. Well the steel was gleaming but we still detected some chalkiness in the gelcoat so decided to go around again and used a heavier duty compound. We then went around again for a final wax and polish and were both very happy with the end result!

While we were working Ernest, from the boat behind us in the yard, came by to say hello. He had recognised our boat name and we realised that we had met this Australian guy in Havana, Cuba. What a small world! So after we had finished working we got together with him and his neighbour Neil and had sundowners in the yard. And yes Ernest is not normally blue – he was enjoying his beer before his evening shower LOL. Was a fun time.

Tuesday morning we were up early again and visited the on-site chandlery to buy the Propspeed (for the propellor and the rudder stock) and some barrier paint for the antifoul before treating ourselves to breakfast in the Galley.

Afterwards I headed out to the nearby Westfield mall to pick up some items for dinner (as we have no working fridge or freezer whilst out of the water) whilst Richard started rubbing down the ablative antifoul. The areas which had deteriorated the most were then painted with a primer so we now had a spotty hull LOL.

I finished sanding the propeller then Richard reinstalled the teardrop zinc so that I could continue with the next stage which was to apply the Propspeed. This was my first attempt at using this material which had quite specific mixing instructions, so fingers crossed! I found it a bit gloopy to apply but was pleased with the end result….

Once I finished doing this Richard applied some additional underwater sealant around the rudder stock and the propeller shaft. Richard then applied the first coat of antifoul and was quite blue when he finished LOL. Because of the dire forecast overnight we covered up the rails once again to stop water ingress into the screw holes.

Wednesday morning the forecast was dire with heavy rain forecast all day from around 9am. So Richard was up at 6am and started to apply the second coat plus a third coat on the leading edges and the waterline which he got finished before the heavens opened. Great effort!

In the meantime I was out shopping on a trip to Bunnings – this time for some pre-ordered rubber gaskets for the fridge and freezer – and then to the supermarket for dinner ingredients, followed by the liquor store for more supplies, finishing up with a visit to the neighbouring Gold Coast City Marina to pick up some new marine stainless steel screws for the zincs.

I came back and Richard was still working below the boat trying to keep out of the rain. He fixed the other zinc; removed the bow thruster, which I then cleaned up; and then cleaned up the refrigeration plates and the grounding plate. All three of these plates were heavily calcified and the end result is just amazing….

Have to say that Morphie was, by now, looking absolutely beautiful after her time in the boat spa and we really pleased with the results of our efforts so far.

Thursday morning was our date to return to the water. First thing I headed to the office to pay our bill as there is a no cash, no splash, rule here. I came away with a goodie bag and Richard is very happy that we now finally have Boatworks hats LOL.

On return I waxed the boot stripe (now that the masking tape had been removed) and Richard cleaned and tidied away all the tools. We got our spare fuel cans back on board too (although not reinstated as we still have to finish waxing and polishing the topsides first). The gelcoat man came to fix our minor stern damage – which we had largely managed to polish out – and started the work but didn’t finish by the time the travel lift turned up for us to be lifted up.

We were lifted up into the straps and then Richard was able to antifoul the patches caused by the stands and underneath the hull which had been sitting on the blocks. Morphie was left hanging for a while to give us some drying time while the guys had some lunch.

After an hour or so they were back and we were moved through the yard to the slipway.

We climbed back on board, we were splashed back in, and then reversed out towards our allocated slip around the corner. The guys were there to catch our lines and we were happily in position by around 2pm.

We then got ourselves cleaned up and headed to the doctors for our flu vaccinations. Afterwards we had a wander through the mall before going to our favourite Thai restaurant for a lovely meal to celebrate the end of another week of hard, but satisfying, manual labour. And if you think we look tired, that is because we were LOL.

This morning, Friday, we were supposed to be going to the hospital for Richard’s final consultation. However, during the week they changed it to a phone consultation instead, which is fine as it means we don’t have to rush down the M1 to Southport and we can carry on getting on with things. We are currently in the Cruisers’ Lounge where I’m blogging and we’re doing the laundry at the same time. Going forward we intend to stay in the marina for one more week as we have some jobs to complete so no rest for us quite yet!

We hope you are all well and enjoying the increasing freedoms at home and perhaps even dreaming of a holiday this year!?! Stay safe everyone, sending lots of love and hugs. Today you get another indigenous cutie, this time it is a tree kangaroo that can be found in northern Queensland. Not sure what they eat but he is definitely a bit tubby LOL.

Bye for now, Jan