Back in Alabama

Yesterday was a good work day. The weather was sunny, but cold. I finished painting the dinghy bottom with some coats of paint around 1:30 in the afternoon, then again about 7 yesterday evening. The afternoon painting was affected by the wind, so I bought another can of spray paint and put some more paint on after dinner when the wind was basically calm.

The evening painting session was supervised by several of our dock neighbors. Much discussion was conducted about the pros and cons of using off the shelf spay paint by Rustoleum and Valspar that I purchased at Lowes, vs very expensive marine paint. Just as long as it doesn't come off is my motto! Heck it's just an inflatable dinghy with an aluminum hull. The overall job is passable and will serve the function for which it was intended. The boat name will go on when we get back to JAX to start the trip. Gotta give the paint a chance to get hard.

I also put some retaining devices on the shelf areas in the engine room, then set plastic tubs into the spaces to use to store pet food and other consumables that we need to take. I had gotten supplies the day before, but naturally I had missed some things, so this meant a trip back to the store yesterday afternoon to complete the project. I have done all I am going to do on this deal.

Today I got up early and cleaned the protection paper and tape from the dinghy hull. I used Gorilla Tape and that stuff is sticky! I was concerned that the tape would not stick to the Hypalon material of which the dinghy is made. Don't need to worry about that again! It stuck like a champ!

I also finished some other loose ends this morning, re-tied the boat forward in the slip, filled the water tank, loaded the car, then cleaned the decks. The bugs kept coming back after I would hose them down. They love the beige color of our boat, I guess. Even with the temps in the low 40's this morning, the bugs kept coming. They are hearty souls!

Left the marina about 10:20 AM Eastern and arrived back at the house here in Alabama about 3:45 PM Central. Traffic on I-75 was brutal! Ran into rain between Albany and Columbus, and carried it with me until I got home.

So, it was a good week in JAX. I got most of what I needed to do done. I am impressed with the freezer and the inverter. I have a better knowledge of the mechanical systems than I did last week-at least I have a knowledge of what I want to tackle and what I don't want to do. We are about ready for the trip........at last!

Thanks for reading.

Two pictures below of the finished paint on the dinghy