Back at the Helm in Freo

We’re back in Fremantle on our boat Katmai after spending most of the last year setting up our post retirement home, garden and workshop on Orcas Island.  We are delighted to be back at the Fremantle Sailing Club (FSC) for the southern summer.  It has been especially wonderful to see so many long term friends.  Our life here is very social, with many club events and friends in the area.

Katmai being lifted out of the
water for routine maintenance

During the first weeks back on the boat we have been hard at work, but then a wise friend once told me that all sailing is hard work, and I suppose that is true. Most of the work is really enjoyable though.

The least favorite part of boat ownership is the maintenance done ‘on the hard’.  Yes, ‘sailing’ on the asphalt of a marine work yard to do the routine, every other year, maintenance.   Tasks include cleaning, sanding and reapplying the boat bottom antifouling paint, buffing and polishing the ‘top sides’, the white shiny part that is above the water, cleaning the propeller and applying a special antifouling to the metal, checking all the though hulls, cleaning and reinstalling all the sensors that penetrate the hull such as depth and speed sensors, and checking the rudder and keel.

Work on the bottom paint goes pretty quickly on Katmai.  We normally have minimal sanding to do.  Considering she did not sail during most of 2016 we are pleasantly surprised to see very little marine growth on her bottom.  Nothing a power wash did not solve. 

Eric preparing the hull to paint with anitfoul

This year we gave her two coats of an antifoul known to do well locally, Altex #5.  We were happy though with the performance of the Jotun we used last time.  When we first got to Australia, at great expense, we found the same antifouling paint that did well for us in Alaska, International's Micron.  It did not do well in Australia; the critters in the warmer water were not discouraged.  So we learned the lesson of antifouling.  Ask what the local boats are using.  We are so fortunate to have a friendly and helpful chandlery(boat part store) on the edge of the works area, Wilson Marine.  The staff have been fantastic about getting us parts we need and are so convenient for that special bold or screw that one needs in the middle of a project.

Can you spot the snow man? 
Ha, Ha- it is near 100F!
Painting antifouling using a
respirator and other safety gear.

What really was a pleasant surprise was the fantastic condition of the propeller and shaft.  Normally these are crusted over with carbonaceous marine growth that takes a couple days of scrubbing and sanding to remove.  When she was out of the water for maintenance in 2015, we had the prop and shaft treated with ‘Prop-Speed’ and clearly it worked.  Expensive, but worth it in the long run.  Even the sacrificial zincs were in great shape: the 2 year old shaft zinc is nearly like new and the prop zinc I did replace but only because of slight erosion.

Cleaning the propeller to add a new zinc.

In Alaska, we seemed to go through a set of zincs in 6 months to one year.  Here they last many years.  I suspect it is due to the “Fail-Safe” galvanic isolator we added when Katmai first arrived in Australia as part of the broader rewiring of the whole boat.

One of the most challenging chores is the buffing and polishing of the top sides.  It is really like waxing your car, except Katmai is 25% longer than a school bus, and of course, up on stands.  So imagine a school bus up in the air 10 feet.  To get to the sides, Eric has to work 6-8 feet up in the air on scaffolding.  Holding a 15 lb electric buffer mostly over his head to buff the hull, then every 8 feet, scamper down to slide the scaffold over for the next 8 feet.  Then once more around to wax.  All in all, this part takes 2 days.

Finally, time to go back in the water

Finally, after a long, dusty, sweaty week, the sound of the 75 metric ton hoist coming for us is like music. Within 30 minutes, Katmai is picked up off the stands, and gently placed back afloat in the water. For me, the best part of being back in the water is to be able to sleep at sea-level again, rather than up in the stand 12 feet above the ground.  Unless it is really hot, we have always stayed on the boat during maintenance.   I think it makes us get it done and over with!

Back in the water, but gear to be cleaned

 Now, back in the water, we are organizing Katmai, finalizing the rigging and getting ready to sail down the coast to the wine country of Western Australia with several other boats from the FSC over the holidays. 


Donning climbing harness
for a ride to the top

Eric has been up the mast several times in the last few weeks, but today is the last for a while.  Today he went up to lubricate the fittings before we did the final tensioning with the mast jack.  A final rig check before we go out…Can’t wait.  I promise sailing photos soon!

Eric near top of the mast
for final check

We are always ever so glad to be back in the water, in our slip (pen). Can you tell?  The next day or two are spent cleaning the boat which is always covered with dirt and grime as are our clothes and all gear used in the process.  Even the water hose and electrical cords get a cleaning with soft scrub and fresh water before being allow back on the boat.  My tennis shoes are still quarantined in a bucket on the dock waiting for a cleaning.  Eric threw his (old) shoes out!

As type this, it is Christmas Eve in Australia, so Merry Christmas to everyone and best wishes for a fabulous, joy-filled, healthy 2017.