Harbortown - dinghy repair day

Very well kept area, good for dog walks too

I hauled the dinghy onto the dock to inspect the damage by the oyster beds to the soft underbelly of the dinghy. It's a hard bottom but it's not hard everywhere, the sides are still inflatable material and can be punctured - as I found out first hand.

Oysters! You do not want to touch these things with a soft dinghy!!

Looking at the dinghy, the damage was in the area of the dinghy where I had applied bottom paint. So the first task was to remove the black paint to expose the hypalon underneath. The patch must directly contact the hypalon to secure a good bond. Fast forwarding, after a hour or so, I had cleared enough of the black bottom paint away to apply a patch (oh so slowly as to not damage the hypalon underneath the paint). I had a spare can of repair adhesive which I broke open, applied two coats, cut the patch, rubbed it on with a roller and now it's out on the dock drying. Hopefully it's a good enough bond to be airtight and allow Hoolie and company good traveling to and from his favorite spots!

6 kts of current through here!!

It's warming up down here, finally. We're back to the high 70's but it's still in the 50's at night. On Sunday we're headed to Jacksonville downtown where Sadler Point Marina will install the new genset. It will probably take two to three days for the full installation so we'll rent a car one day to explore and provision while staying on the boat overnight. Ann has an Easter dinner planned with ham and all sorts of side dishes, should be good!