Guildive Cruises Blog

                       We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel… well at least for now! The weather is shaping up really nicely for the rest of the week to get some bottom paint on and the stern tube in place, hurray.  Once those two big tasks are taken care of the rest is getting the engine back together and getting her in the water.  Then some more fun happens… rigging her up!

                   It was awesome to have a good friend, Marann, visiting from California last week.  Zander and I sailed with her when we were working on the Irving and Exy Johnson, two boats owned by LMAI – so she knows a thing or two about boats, which was SO nice she could just jump right in and help.  The first day we took in easy on her, as she was still getting over jet-lag, and she wrote a great blog entry about that day (the post just below!).  The next day we introduced her to the wonderful world of epoxy.  We were patching some of the sheathing that covers below the waterline so she probably mixed up about a gallon of epoxy that Zander and I spread around.  So by the end of the day we were all covered, I was doing some patch work below the keel which meant I was the lucky one to end up with it all in my hair (a little acetone wash and some serious brushing and I was all set to go).  After some great days of Guildive work we dropped her off in Baltimore to sail on the Pride of Baltimore, we are just trying to convince her to come back now when the boat is in the water!!!

                    The rainy weekend was great to get some indoor projects done, work on the new head down-below and the new bench we are putting in also the vinyl for the curtains was laid out and the border was pinned on, now they just need to be sewn.  Here is a picture of the new curtains taken from outside the boat (what Marann talks about in her blog).

New Curtians

                   So all in all things are looking up, so far.  We just need a few more hours in every day to get everything done.  We cannot thank my dad enough who has been putting in tons and tons of time to get some molding trim work done for the renovated heads, it will look great.  Also, we need to thank our friend Goldie who came down from the Sultana on his day off to help us paint – we are so lucky to have such great friends who like to do boat work!!

                      You can now join our (new) facebook page – Ketch Guildive  - and see some more pictures from last years season in Maine.

          Guest blogger strikes again!  Hi, all.  This is Marann, coming to you live from the amazing massage chair at the Kana house in lovely Easton, MD, having completed my first day of work on Guildive.  I am happy to report, she has new curtains!  

           Kate, Zander, and I spent a rainy day fighting the battle of the grommets.  It wasn’t all grommets and curtains, though. We had a fantastic visit with another LAMI vet – the wonderful Jochen Hoffmann. He came up from D.C. for a reunion, some great conversation, and (generously!) treated us to lunch at an eatery in Trappe. A note for the curious – the restaurant is named in honor of actor Robert Mitchum (if you haven’t seen The Enemy Below, I highly recommend it), a one-time resident of the tiny eastern shore hamlet. Food’s fantastic. If you’re ever in Trappe, hit up Mitchum’s!

             Trappe has another claim to fame these days: it happens to be where Guildive is currently on the “hard.” I use the word ‘hard’ grudgingly because the ‘hard’ is actually grass!  (It amuses me that, though we were on dry land, because we were on a boat, when we had to leave said boat to, ahem, answer nature’s call, we’d refer to our mission as going to the ‘shore head…’) I saw the boat for the first time in person today, and was impressed, despite her present state of… growth. She’s getting a new head, a new stern tube, and lots of prettifying. Which brings me back to the curtains.

           We began our task by pulling down the old yellow canvas and vinyl ones, and measuring the new ones against them, to determine placement for grommets.  That turned out to be only semi-productive.  The new curtains – tan canvas and mesh – weren’t as stretched-out as the old. The marks we made didn’t match the fasteners on the framework when we hung the new curtains in place. The job required a new tack.

           We’d hang them, stretch them into place, then mark the spot for the grommet on one side, and take them down.  Next came the process of affixing the grommet.  Using blocks of wood to absorb the punishment, we’d employ a punch – kindly on loan from the sail maker who constructed the curtains – to hole the canvas.  It was quite the challenge a few times, as we were having to muscle through about 8 layers of canvas and mesh.  That done, we’d put glue on the first side of canvas and attach the front of the grommet. Then it was time to flip the curtain and glue on the backing. The final step – push down 4 tabs that hold the backing and the front together.

             Grommet attached, we’d rehang the curtain, fasten the grommet into place, and stretch the opposite side across its fastener to measure where the next grommet would go.  Wasn’t always as easy as it sounds.  It involved a lot of pulling into tight corners. But we prevailed, and soon found a system.  Kate and I worked the starboard side – including the infamous top, forward grommet that liked to dispute whether or not it would cooperate – while Zander went to town on port.  We tried to work it so one ‘team’ would be bending on a grommet when the other was hanging and stretching.

               And so it went – hang, measure, take down, attach grommet, hang, measure other side, take down attach grommet, repeat…  Port, starboard, aft… We were a well-oiled machine by the end, and Zander’s side was on tightly enough that Kate and I coined a nickname for what it resembled: the trampoline.  As of now, Guildive looks snazzy and sharp with her new ‘window’ dressings!  Hopefully tomorrow the rain will go away and we can paint.  For now, I’m going to sleep.  Pictures to follow!

Here are a few shots taken last fall to get everyone inspired about this summer!  

The boat is still hauled out and will hopefully be launched in the next few weeks (fingers crossed!).

All photos taken by John Kaiser

Lots to say…

Days are getting much nicer

We have HELP (a good friend Paul Bracken from Rhode Island)

The old stern tube is all out – ready for the new insert

The top sides are sanded ready for a new coat of paint

The heads are getting more work done on them, and the new head is getting framed out

The sky lights are now re-bedded 

AND….

THE COVER IS OFF ready for the final push to get the boat back in the water

Paul and Zander planning down some Sipo (a type of african mahogany) we are using for the heads

In Action

Step 1 of taking the cover off

Taking off the piping

Almost done

Fresh air for Guildive

Paul and his cut finger....

Zander....

We are looking forward to the next few days of warm sunny weather!