tree trunk

....nice one!

Glow worm caves hike!

Spent a delightful few hours with Linda Wyntersea exploring caves.  We parked along a country road, followed a trail to a pasture and the cow path to the entrances.  The rock formations in the fields were spectacular and we finally solved the age old problem of whether the grass is really greener on the other side of the fence!

spelunking we did go!

...down into three such caves with streams running through and waterfalls, stalactites/mites...

glow worms

....all over the ceilings and walls...this is a close up with an arrow pointing out the worm..(click on the picture to enlarge it)....the dangling sticky tendrils are to capture the bugs flying into the caves, attracted by the glow....food for thought!

eons of erosion

leave exotic formations in the stone

strange exotic animals...

...watching our every move...

even stranger rock formations...

...litter the fields....look volcanic but weathered like limestone....

Is the grass greener on the other side of the fence?

.....obviously!

Back in the water!

Survived the second haulout and are back in the Whangarei townbasin for a bit.  Very pleased with the job they did at Rudolph's yard but it is nice to be back in the water.

 

Maybe we will go and buy some charts for Fiji!

shiny prop!

the prop has not looked this good in years!

the fix!

....so we sanded the bootstripe off and sprayed it with the green paint we carried....will have to do until the proceeds from that novel I have not written begin to pour in....

Rudolph's Day 9

......just when we thought we were out of the yard....disaster strikes!

 

All done, last coat of paint and we rip the masking tape off the waterline.....the bootstripe and green topsides came with it!

 

2 steps forward, 1 step back....

Rudolph's Day 8

....black anti fouling is applied....

Rudolph's Day 7

.....on the 6th day they rested....but on the 7th day, being Monday...they managed a coat of red ablative antifouling......only one more coat of black to go.....then we let it set for a few days and hopefully back in the water on Friday!

Taking a hike! eh!

Between paint layers we managed to find these beautiful trails along a river and through a forest of Kauri trees to a waterfall!

the river

.....great trails in Whangarei that follow streams like this...

the trail

.....through the kauri...

hiking

....the waterfall at the end of the trail....

Rudolph's Day 5

.....a great day.....following the second coat of epoxy with the first coat of hard anti-fouling.....horrible green colour but done so that when the ablative anti-fouling wears down, we know it is time to put more on!

Rudolph's Day 5

.....second coat of epoxy (grey) being applied....

Rudolph's Day 4

....first coat (black) of epoxy going on....

And the good news is!

The entire hull is sound. Very well constructed and no sign of rust anywhere is the verdict. We'll take it!

So far, touch wood, the project is making good progress!

Rudolph's Day 3

....primer completed....with dark clouds hovering all around....and the odd shower....

Rudolph's Day 3

....primer going on.....

Rudolph's Day 3

Topsides masked for paint overspray.  Dry blasting has begun on the bottom.  They plan to do it in sections as the weather is not good with showers off and on.

Rudolph's Day 2

All of the paint on the bottom has been sandblasted off.  The bare metal forms a protective rust coating within hours.

Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana!

Well, two weeks in the town basin marina in Whangarei have gone by quickly! Linda is back into her daily hiking routine and managed to get me out along the river on at least one occasion. Lots of great trails around here, up and down and through the Kauri forests.

But we are now back up on the hard in Rudolph's yard next to Dockland 5. The lift was uneventful, just the way we like it, and after a half hour motor down river at high tide, we are back on the stand. But this time, since we will be sandblasting the underwater section, we have moved into a suite in a house on the top of the hill. Great view of the town and a few minutes walk to anything we need. But the car is very handy for getting around to the yard.

This morning they started the sandblasting. Weather is not critical at this stage as the first blast is a wetblast. But when all the old paint is removed and nothing but shiny metal is showing, they will follow this with a dryblast of very fine red sand to remove the moisture and etch the surface for the first coat of primer. This is where the weather plays a larger role. The temperature and humidity have to be right in order for the paint to stick. Forecast is iffy at the moment, mixed sun, cloud and showers and that seems to be the pattern for the week. But with the wind from the South, it is cooler and that tends to keep the humidity down so we are hopeful we can make progress.

I will try to post updates as they occur!

the view

...looking out over the Whangarei town basin...

....elbow room...

....TV with 4 stations.....wow!

How 'suite' it is...

...the kitchen view....

Rudolph's

...on the hard....again.....in Whangarei, NZ!

sandblasting

...the blaster at work....

...to a bare hull....

...with apologies to Ferenc Mate! 

 

The first section sandblasted to bare metal....