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| Access Ladder while in the Boat Yard |
As mentioned in the previous
blog posting, we were allowed to live aboard our boat at KKMI boat yard while
we had some routine maintenance completed.
Living in a boat yard has its advantages as well as some inconveniences. Climbing up and down a ladder to access your
boat takes some care, especially when you’re holding a bucket full of dishes to
be washed in the yard’s bathroom sink. Sink
drains on boats are open to the outside so I didn’t want the workers below to
receive an unwanted shower while applying bottom paint! Of course using the boat’s toilet wasn’t an issue since
there’s a holding tank, but Java needed regular trips to the flower bed to do her
business.
The
advantages, however, outweighed the inconveniences. We could work on the boat and take care of
projects that are best done when the boat is out of the water such as scraping off
barnacles, changing the zincs, cleaning and waxing along the waterline, and
cleaning under the swim step and changing out rusting screws.
We also sprayed the propellers with "Barnacle Block" which
helps prevent barnacle growth. Another
project involved laying out the anchor chain so we could clean out the anchor
locker. While the chain was laid out on the
ground, we sprayed the links with WD40 and added new markers for every 30 feet
of chain.
We worked really hard each day from
7am to 7pm and much appreciated the on-site shower rooms which we used on a
regular basis. The yard even has an
on-site marine supply store; if we purchased an item that didn’t fit, it was a
quick visit to the shop for the correct part.
Another convenience was the ability to clean out the air filters for the engines,
a messy job that releases dirt and oil into the environment if not contained. Our assigned project manager,
Jock, was kind enough to offer the use of their "washing station" which includes
an environmentally friendly system to capture dirt and oil.
Each customer of the yard is assigned a
project manager to coordinate all the various jobs for each particular boat;
our assigned manager, Jock, did a wonderful job keeping our projects moving
along in a timely manner.
In addition to
sanding and applying new bottom paint, yard workers also installed a divider in
the anchor locker in order to stow our second back-up anchor chain and rode. We also had additional sound-proofing
installed in the engine room and shrouds installed around the shaft seals.
The final project completed was the addition
of a barrel-bolt latch for the sliding hatch door which leads to the boat deck
above – no more releasing or rattling in heavy seas! We were very pleased with all the work
completed by KKMI and enjoyed working with the knowledgeable and talented staff. Living in the boat yard also proved to be very
entertaining with so many different types of boats and jobs in progress – a 215
foot sailboat from Europe was the center of attention, but that’s another story
yet to be told. After seven days in the boat
yard, we “splashed” on August 28th and spent the day cleaning the
boat inside and out from all of the dust that had collected from the boat yard. As a parting gift, Jock had given us a bottle
of wine with a KKMI label; he said it would help relieve the sticker shock when
we saw the invoice, ha. We motored back
to our slip at Brisbane Marina the following day and caught up on some much
needed sleep! The next day we finally
worked up our nerve to look at the invoice and were pleased to discover it was
what we had expected - a reasonable cost for the work done, thanks KKMI.
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| New Rudder Zincs |
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| New Bow Thruster Zinc(s) |
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| New Prop Zinc(s) |
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| "Barnacle Block" sprayed on Propellers |
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| Laying out the Anchor Chain |
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| Cleaning the Air Filters - Washing Station |
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| Washing Station - oil containment system |
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| Bottom Painting |
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| Anchor Locker with New Divider |
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| Time to Celebrate |
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