Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana!

Well, two weeks in the town basin marina in Whangarei have gone by quickly! Linda is back into her daily hiking routine and managed to get me out along the river on at least one occasion. Lots of great trails around here, up and down and through the Kauri forests.

But we are now back up on the hard in Rudolph's yard next to Dockland 5. The lift was uneventful, just the way we like it, and after a half hour motor down river at high tide, we are back on the stand. But this time, since we will be sandblasting the underwater section, we have moved into a suite in a house on the top of the hill. Great view of the town and a few minutes walk to anything we need. But the car is very handy for getting around to the yard.

This morning they started the sandblasting. Weather is not critical at this stage as the first blast is a wetblast. But when all the old paint is removed and nothing but shiny metal is showing, they will follow this with a dryblast of very fine red sand to remove the moisture and etch the surface for the first coat of primer. This is where the weather plays a larger role. The temperature and humidity have to be right in order for the paint to stick. Forecast is iffy at the moment, mixed sun, cloud and showers and that seems to be the pattern for the week. But with the wind from the South, it is cooler and that tends to keep the humidity down so we are hopeful we can make progress.

I will try to post updates as they occur!