Attention: this post contains boat porn! Reader be-advised. Photos of a bare bottom will be shown.
When we did the prepurchase haulout of Lollipop, the previous owner was surprised to find the ablative paint almost gone off the bottom, as he had it applied just after he bought the boat. After thinking and talking about the bottom paint, it was decided that it was just scraped off with a diver cleaning the bottom every month and the paint being ablative.
I knew that I would have to have the bottom painted, but at the moment, getting Lollipop out of Florida was the priority as the taxman would be after me. Also, I was heading to freshwater, where critters do not grow on the bottom of a boat.
While Lollipop was in Guntersville, AL, I got some quotes, and the best price was in Mobile, AL, at Turner Marine. So once we were there, we scheduled to have the bottom of Lollipop painted. Lollipop was hauled out on Tuesday morning, pressured washed, and then left to dry. Wednesday, two guys spent the day sanding and cleaning the whole boat to get the dust off. Thursday, the new paint went on with the expectation of putting her back in the water on Friday. However, Friday morning, the paint was not dry enough. Monday morning, the paint was dry, and Lollipop went in the lift. The guys painted the spots where the stands had held her. Mid-afternoon Monday when was lowered back into the water.
While the yard guys worked on the bottom, I replaced all the zincs, two on the bow thruster, each prop shaft, and the main on the stern. I also removed and reinstalled the nuts that held the props on the shafts because the nuts had been installed backward. So now Lollipop is ready to get back underway.
A few thoughts about living aboard on the “hard”:
1. It is not pleasant
2. No heat or air conditioning as the boat uses seawater for heating and cooling
3. Climbing to the very top of an eight-foot step ladder to board is not fun
4. Even less fun than boarding is climbing back down the ladder
5. My only power was a 15 amp extension cord on the hard.
But, now Lollipop has a new clean bottom. What more could you want?
