A lovely sign we saw an old granny march with when we lived in London. She was demonstrating for her rights to sexual freedom, and the contrast between her proper and typical "English granny" look with her sign stuck in my mind ever since.
I hope you got what you wanted granny....
For Enfin, happiness is a clean under hull. The last time we hauled out was in 2018 and it was way past time for a whole new bottom paint job. Luckily Salpare Marina is in a mix of fresh and salt water depending on the tides, so the usual hull critters find it difficult to survive. As a result our hull wasn't as dirty and foul as one could expect after such a long period.
The fact we'd used top quality underwater paint didn't hurt either.
We had scheduled the haul at at Rocky Pointe Marina and Yard for the morning of St Valentine's Day and I took the boat down on my own, with Princess' help, while Di brought our rental car down.
The yard doesn't allow living on board when hauled out, and in any case, so many systems rely on being in the water to function that we couldn't really live there, even if allowed. Where would the sink water go? No water to circulate in the AC system, and more.
So, bright and early on a rainy morning we watched with fingers crossed as our home and all our worldly possessions got put into a a couple of slings and hauled out very high above the river.
Up and up Enfin went, reaching dizzying heights.
Once high enough Enfin was brought ashore.
A first pressure washer treatment gave Enfin's bottom its red color back. Note that the waste water is recovered and filtered so no pollution is sent to the river.
Once clean, the guys moved Enfin into the yard, before depositing her on wooden blocks.
There's nothing scary at all about watching your 22 tonnes home being lowered on 28 pieces of wood. Yes, I counted!
Note the plastic tarp to control pollution.
Then, it's "just" a matter of balancing the boat right, and securing it it strongly so it cannot tip and fall over in high winds.
Once again I watched with eagle eyes as the yard crew handled this task, and I must say they clearly knew what they were doing.
They took their time adjusting every block correctly and then securing them with strong chains so they couldn't slip away.
I'll admit I must have exhaled a huge sigh of relief once the boat was safely ashore, blocked and secured correctly.
The yard had told us they would try and finish all the work for a Friday launch, so we had reserved a car and hotel until the Saturday and Monday respectively, to allow for a little slippage.
Getting a hotel also gave us a few days of being able to use full power showers, get real baths and sleep in real beds, things we don't get to do all that often living on our boat.
There ended up being no slippage. If anything the guys were a little early and by Friday morning the boat was ready to be put back in. Happy with a brand new red bottom, new anodes, prop, rudder and bearings checked.
The yard needed the space to lauch another boat, so we didn't waste time and I made my way back with Princess to our home dock at Salpare marina on a beautifully clear day.
Once we all reunited back at the marina, I drove the car back to the rental agency, getting a 3 day credit back on top of the 1 night credit we got from the hotel.
New batteries are scheduled to be installed on the 16th March. The water maker should be restarted soon too. Once that is done we should be real close to be ready for longer cruises.
We're starting to think Alaska might be in our future, or simply the top of Canada. Time will tell.