Good morning everyone. Once again I write this at night because I will be off to the ship yard early in the morning. We hauled out on the railway yesterday morning at 0730 and began the long process of cleaning the bottom of the hull. The bottom was remarkably clean but we pressure washed and scrubbed the bottom just the same. These windjammers get pampered like nothing the old timers would ever have dreamed of. Matt and Jason, a couple of friends from the fire department are helping and have scraped most of the entire bottom of the schooner. They are heroes to the crew.
Today the Coast Guard came by to inspect the hull planking and the internal framing. A hull exam is a semi-annual process for wooden vessels in this area. Another periodic inspection involves pulling a random selection of the spikes fasteners that hold the planks to the frames. This process happens every six years here in northern New England and Mary Day was due this year. Mary Day passed with flying colors. The inspector spent nearly 4 hours going over every square inch of the schooner, inside and out. I am grateful for his diligence and expertise.
The crew worked late into last evening and all day today, even in the pouring rain this afternoon. The forecast for the next few days looks absolutely miserable with rain or showers everyday from here 'til Monday. Oh well... we will do what we can and have plenty to do while we wait for the weather to break.
Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
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