A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2025

[OverEasy]

I think I need to send a bill for you using my couch and venting.

It’s all good captain.

Where do I mail the nickel?

[OverEasy]

Hi Russ!

Thanks! I appreciate the “on-the-ground” reporting!
It sorta gives me hope while at the same time confirms my suspicion about it being cold in Montana.

Yeah when ice sailing a Mac I can see that one would have the lake to oneself!

Most places are what one chooses to make of them… save for the places where outdated unrealistic stereotypical presumptions pseudo intelligent mindsets are fostered… like on Yellowstone where they don’t deal with reality. The house prices are unbelievable and make it hard to see how it can be sustained..anywhere, not just In Montana.

You might want to consider South Carolina in your potential list of places to move to. Particularly around Beaufort!
The easy access to great waterways, decent infrastructures and reasonably affordable housing are several reasons to consider it.



In general yes it get hot in the peak of summer (but generally not excessive) and it can get down to freezing (occasionally for a day or so) but most of the time it’s really rather pleasant … especially when out on the water.
Sorta like today… mid high 70s, clear skies and just a very light intermittent breeze…perfect weather for working on repairing the siding on the back of the house where the replacement windows went in. (Conversely today in New Hampshire it was below freezing and there’s wet snow on the ground .)

I’ve been fortunate to have lived in several states and visited a lot of places over the years.
I admit I was rather skeptical about moving here at first but the temperate climate and waterways in this area of South Carolina have been winning me over. I’m not quite ready to say it will be our final retirement home vs our home in New Hampshire but it sure is nice. Each place has its draws but like you I like seeing the ground and at my age I find being cold not so much . For now being a semi failed snowbird has been working out.

Our daughter is aiming at Bozeman and Big Sky…yeah and there’s a mountain between them. She’s never had to work and commute in the cold before so it will be a learning experience for her…(it was for me anyway dealing with New Hampshire winters 🫣 after the sunny warm well developed infrastructure of the San Francisco Bay Area but work and career leads you to where you find it ).
It’s always best to find a way to make lemonade….wherever one finds oneself and enjoy what you can while you can with what you can… within reason of course. I figure my ‘lifetime warranty’ expired a long long time ago so I try to enjoy the days as they come and make wherever I am better in my own limited way.

Again, Thanks!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Russ]

Our daughter is aiming at Bozeman and Big Sky…yeah and there’s a mountain between them.

She's aiming at the two most expensive places in the state to live. Bozeman is in the valley and Big Sky is in the mountains. Big Sky is the playground for the rich and famous. The Yellowstone club is the playground of the likes of Bill Gates, Tom Brady and Justin Timberlake. They all have big homes up there. On Fridays it's fun to go out to the airport and watch the private jets fly in.

There are lots of people who commute from Bozeman to Big Sky. It's only 30 miles south of here. However, it's a winding canyon road that gets nasty with a little weather and construction workers who have had a few beers and head home. Lots of nasty wrecks in that canyon.

What does she do?

[OverEasy]

She's aiming at the two most expensive places in the state to live.

🫣 sheesh….. Now I find out …….

There are lots of people who commute from Bozeman to Big Sky. It's only 30 miles south of here.

Well at least she’ll have company rather than an empty seldom used route. That means it should get patrolled, plowed and salted & sanded regularly… Right?

However, it's a winding canyon road that gets nasty with a little weather ……. Lots of nasty wrecks in that canyon.

🫣 Now THAT is concerning! Not exactly what a Dad wants to hear….. but not entirely unanticipated.
I can feel the additional hairs turning grey already….. Phhhpt!

Up until the finger break and surgery aspect this week she had her work planned but she’s rethinking it at the moment….

Thanks for the heads up! It’s appreciated!

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Russ]

Well at least she’ll have company rather than an empty seldom used route. That means it should get patrolled, plowed and salted & sanded regularly… Right?

This is Montana.

It's a 2 lane windy road through the canyon. Not a lot of traffic, but a few idiot drivers.

Plowed? eventually
Salted? Never. They don't use salt. It runs off into the rivers and kills fish. Also, it doesn't work when temps are extremely low.
Sand? Sometimes they will put down a sandy dirt substance on certain areas and intersections.

We are in Bozeman. If she's looking to come out this way, have her look us up and we can give her some help.
Last winter was brutal. A La Nina or some whatever it's called. This year is an El Nino or whatever it's called and hopefully will be milder.

I don't put snow tires on my cars, but newbies....probably should and stud them. They key is to just slow down. Imports used to highways and high speeds are the ones in the wrecks.

[OverEasy]

Merry Christmas Eve and Holiday Season 2023 Everyone!

We sincerely hope everyone is having a Happy and Merry Holiday Season wherever you may find yourselves this time of year.
The year has again flown by us and here we find ourselves looking at the Christmas tree with a tangle of wires and lights and tinsel and various ornaments bedecking its boughs. The fireplace cackles with the familiar flickering flames and the Admiral is in the kitchen preparing an small feast for us and our older daughter who should be arriving any minute now... We are grateful for this very special time and for our opportunity to just be in the moment again.

This year we find ourselves in New Hampshire (NH) having come up from South Carolina (SC) a week ago. the trip up was in our "new to us" van. the trip was easy and relatively uneventful. we did try out the reclining back bench that converts to a bed of sorts. (Not all that bad but if we do this on a regular basis some more padding is gonna be needed ) we took there two removable captain seats out and left them in SC to allow for more interior space. That was a good move and made it much more comfortable for us and the pets. The only minor SNAFU was our 12 VDC Coleman Thermistor cooler fan seems to have reached its useful life point and started making whirred bearing noises. (Three years for $20 bucks at a garage sale...I'll have to find and order new ones once we get back to SC...Probably another $20 in parts )

The weather here in NH is pleasant enough with clear skies and freezing temperatures... No SNOW though which means I haven't had to dig out the snowblower and sand wagon as yet... (wonder where I put the shovels away to..... )... When we left SC the temps were in the mid 60s to 70s as I replaced the cedar siding boards and painted the back exterior wall where we'd had the windows and patio doors replaced. really can get to enjoying the warmer souther weather!

Plan is to stay North to mid January before heading back South again until April where it will be back North again.
Meanwhile down there will be the obligatory Doctor visits that come from lasting beyond my "Best if Used By Date" .

We finally hauled out Over Easy on the last day of November without any issues. It was a beautiful and long boating season for us starting in April...Eight Months on the water... November was very much a bonus month for us with many day trios and a cruise around Paris Island (~40 miles). This season we averaged two to three days a week out on the water with day trips out and about. a couple trips to Hilton Head and a week long Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) trip up to Charleston SC...two days up, three days there in Charleston Bay and two days back.. A great trip. makes us want to do more and go further afield expanding our horizons.

We did manage to accomplish some of the 2023 projects on our Southern "To-Do-List" such as:
= getting the polybutylene house plumbing changed out to PEX and the various fixtures replaced with new Moon fixtures that happen to be serendipiously on sale at Lowes
= removing several dozen cubic yards of the jungle vines in surrounding our property with the help of our wonderful neighbor and our lawn guy
= getting several rotten exterior windows and doors replaced that were long over due
= residing of the afore mentioned back exterior wall (the old siding sorta gave up with all the fussing of the windows and doors)
= getting out two or more time a week on our boat
= getting out on our first extended ICW trip

When we get back South between January and April there are still several house projects to attend to like:
- Swap out the Johnson 50 for our old Tohatsu 50 and replace the carbs and fuel pump for Scrambled our 15 foot 1991 runabout
- Clean, Prep and paint the upper deck and hull of Scrambled
- Exterior siding repairs
- Exterior house cleaning, priming and painting
- Interior house painting
- Interior flooring removal/replacement
- Exterior deck bench covering with TREX
- Two Exterior deck stairways
- Exterior deck edge skirting lattice installation
- and the long delayed kitchen tear out & renovation
Now while that is a huge(for me) "To-Do-List" I'll feel great if I can get even one or two of them done in this limited window... I'm generally happy making whatever progress I can

The current plan is to get back up North in April to focus on some major house projects up there:
- Make new footing, post and support beam for the rear exterior deck
- Remove & replace the exterior second floor balcony
- Remove, infill/level, add retaining walls and renovate the driveway and parking area (its currently a steeply sloped moonscape )
- make retaining walls and add infill to level the back yard and add drainage control
- finish the started basement electrical and lighting project
We're going to be busy from April to September... Again the intent is to get as much as we can physically and financially accomplish... Ahh to be twenty something again

Getting back South in September we are planning on getting Over Easy back out on our local Southern waters. Trips back to Charleston SC, Savana GA and beyond on the ICW dance in our thoughts. (As well as the Southern TO-DO List )

There are also the boat projects to enjoy such as making our mast Pintle pivot, New aft canopy arch, new anchor roller, new drum roller winch and finish up on the air purge of the ballast tank system and shore AC power interface/distribution/protection system. On another tack there is also the need to add a significant project to Clean/Prep/Paint the top deck as well as prepared and apply new bottom antifoul paint ( the prior one was applied back in 2021 and has had about 180+ months of regular use on Bothe salt/brackish/fresh water exposure along with over 300 engine operational hours... its time.

Well I've got to take a break for supper right about now.... To be Continued...

Hi, were back!
Wonderful supper with our older daughter who arrived with her beautiful 4 year old poodle who is sort of like a small kid most of the time. Joyous, curious and very loving. Smart too! (and yes, I'm biased )
supper was a hearty fish/potato/leek New England Fish Soup and the Admirals Traditional Stuffed Clam Shells.... More to come later....(Just as well as I'm stuffed! )

Most importantly I'd like to take a moment to express how grateful I am for the Gift of this MacGregor Sailor Forum and all the wonderful participants and sponsors. while one only has the moment one finds oneself in I am grateful Mohave been able to find and participate in this forum. there are so many experienced, knowledgeable, considerate and creative individuals here willing to share their experiences, insights and opinions constructively. Thank you! Thank You! Thank you!

Best Regards to You All and May Aou All have a Safe Happy Enjoyable and Wonderful Holiday Season as 2023 has been a Rewarding and Memorable year.
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

We survived the holidays!
Hope the same can be said for everyone on the forum too!

Looks like the “MacGregor Gathering of the Faithful” was a smashing success!
Congratulations on what looks like a wonderful meet up!
Kudos to those that made this happen.
While travel plans didn’t allow us to get there we’re very glad that those that did had a great time!

We made it back down to SC just in time to participate in the named winter storms that moved slowly up the Eastern States with lots of snow/ice and other messy freezing weather. Traveling with our “New-to-Us” Explorer Transit Van was an adventure. We again utilized the convertible rear bench bed to overnight in one of those fancy State Welcome Centers to sit out the worst of the stormy weather. A hot fast food supper as well as a hot breakfast the next day were appreciated (as well as the other facility amenities) were appreciated ( such as a nice warm wide open dry area to stretch our legs). Overnighting was a snap and the occasional warm-up with the engine made for a very tolerable, if not pleasant, night and morning. Waiting out the storms was a good move as the highways on both sides were littered with disabled vehicles that had slid from the road as well as the remnants of even less fortunate events 🫣. The old adage of “Discretion is the better part of valor” rings true on land as well as at sea.

Upon reaching out home in SC we tucked in with a good local pizza we picked up for supper and slept in the next day. Good to be here!
Fortunately there was no storm damages other than a couple large branches that fell in the yard which a chain saw made short work of to clear out. Sunshine and temps in the mid-60s were very welcome compared to the wintery condition we’d left up north (about a foot or more of snow had fallen while we traveled🫣 south). We are yet again failed snow birds as yet again we were north while the snows fell, .

The past week has been a bit of R&R from the trip and holidays.
Over Easy looks to be intact but needs the leave accumulating in the cockpit blown out.
The same goes for the runabout Scrambled.

Started on a lumber list to make the cribbing to safely support Over Easy for its hull cleaning and application of new anti fouling bottom paint. We’ll be using the “teeter-totter’” method to get her up off the trailer to fully expose her hull.
I believe that a good power wash and some lite sanding should be sufficient to prep before painting.
The 2 layers of marine epoxy barrier undercoat we had applied back in 2021 looks to be in excellent shape.
It’s just the ablative layer that seem to have run it’s course.

We will also be ordering the new carbs and engine fuel pump for the old 50 hp Tohatsu engine that came off Over Easy when we upgraded to the 60 hp Suzuki in 2022. Once the carbs and fuel pump are installed we will be swapping out the existing 1991 Johnson 50 hp on Scrambled for the refurbished Tohatsu. (The Tohatsu is a 2001 with automatic oil injection and electric lift/trim…. aspects that the old Johnson lacks and I’m getting too old to be lifting up/down manually anymore . The Tohatsu is also a fair bit lighter as well and is a bit more fuel efficient. Mind you this is just a runabout for going fishing locally, but if time allows, we might use it as a practice project to try our hand at painting it before getting to do Over Easy’s topside ( the gel coat is getting a bit worn ).

As the weather has cooled off the two crepe myrtles we have are now dormant. It’s been at least 30 years since they were planted and have never been trimmed which has allowed them to grow nearly straight upwards. So now is the time to trim them back down to a more reasonable height and hopefully encourage more new lateral growth and greater blooming in the coming years. (I’m afraid that if I delayed and put it off any longer I might not be able physically to do it later.) The cut off branches look so interesting and elegant that I’m afraid I’ve made myself another project in finding a way to artistically utilize them in some way or other… Suggestions anyone?

This week I get serious about the existing project list items… a quick check of the weather forecast favors the outdoor items.

Time to go.

Best Regards to All,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Hope everyone is well and happily preparing for the coming 2024 boating season!

Finally got a couple house projects knocked off the house “TO-DO LIST”!
Dug out, made an in ground planter and planted 8 thornless blackberry plants.

Dug out, made an in ground planter and planted 4 different varieties of blueberry bushes.

Cleared out another huge pile of vines from the trees around the property.
Reorganized the garage to get some work space (anyone else have a self filling garage???).
Ordered the new bottom paint…Interlux ACT seemed to be better choice from the research I’ve been able to do.
Ordered the Annual Maintenance Kit for our Suzuki DF60AV … that’s gonna be fun to do 🫣
Ordered enough engine and lower unit oil and oil filters for the next 200 hours of operation… MFR recommends every 100 hours
Ordered a pair of Garmin Cables to see if I can gett a better routing setup for the transducer

Now I can get on to some of the boat prep work!!!
First on the list is redoing the bottom paint myself this year…..
It can be a bit more involved than that simple task sounds.
I made a rear support frame from pressure treated lumber… hopefully to get several more years out of it





Next was figuring out how to levitate Over Easy up above its trailer.
First make sure the wheel cocks were in place and the hitch Jack wheel was securely captured.
( Note: Harbor Freight has some good solid rubber cocks for about $7 each... got 4 of them)
This was a bit more involved than I anticipated as the dual axle trailer doesn’t teeter-totter as much as I’d hoped.
The first go round of lowering in hitch end all the way down to teeter the stern up - slipping the rear support frame in place - then jacking the hitch end all the way up totter the boat off the trailer bunks —- good intentions but the springs of the trailer just took up the slack and remained in contact with the hull 🫣
So Plan B ( always helps to have a couple of fall forward plans ) went into effect.
Lowered the trailer hitch Jack all the way down again.
Out came the 6 ton Jack stands and the 3 ton hydraulic truck floor Jack.
Placed the Jack under the rear of the trailer frame port side and raised it up to the max height of the Jack stands.
Repeated for the starboard side.
Removed the rear support frame… added more contact support cross section.
Then placed and screwed on a pair of 2 x 6 to the saddle … slipped the frame back in place … then jacked up the hitch up again this time with the assistance of the floor Jack under the tongue.
SUCCESS! The trailer bunks were finally free from boat hull by more than enough to fit a roller brush!

Now it was time to mask off the trailer so I don’t spatter the nice trailer random blobs of bottom paint.
I chose to utilize an old trick of wrapping the trailer frame with “Stretch-Tite” … took 3 rolls and a bit of a fourth.
Lots of crawling around and squirming my not so svelte 6’1” tall frame under the trailer axles ….

That done out came the scrapers to clear all the residual barnacles and hard crud from the hull bottom.
This was followed by an aggressive high pressure washing twice over.
Took advantage of having the pressure washer out and gave the upper hull to the rub rail a good once over as well.
That showed me that the over winter mildewish stuff was tougher than before and the “tea-staining” at the waterline from last year’s extended season needed more work.🫣 Especially before doing the bottom paint work.
After getting set back $28 for a bottle of “Star-Brite” and a couple of “Magic Erasers “ I gave the hull a good cleaning and rinse off to neutralize the acid in the Star-Brite. I was also able to remove the various inevitable fender and dock rub rashes.

I hadn’t been planning on it but judging by the streaking on the old bottom paint I’m gonna go ahead and scrub the top deck as well before actually doing the new bottom paint. Sooo there goes my schedule plans…🫣…for the week.
Serendipity comes into play as the “Interlux ACT” bottom paint delivery has been delayed for some reason or other… time to roll with it.

Here are a couple pictures of our “flying” Over Easy….









Tomorrow’s another day…

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Russ]

Nice work.

It's hard to tell from photos, but your bottom paint doesn't look that bad. However, you've come this far.

The starbrite hull cleaner works wonders. It's basically Muratic Acid like you get at the hardware store.
Be careful using magic erasers. They can be very abrasive. I learned this using them on glass.

[OverEasy]

Hi Russ!

Thanks! The bottom looks good now that it’s been pressure washed
The ablative has been on for about 2-1/2+ years.
The scum and barnacles and mussels were getting a foothold by the end of last year’s extended season.
The ablative paint not only ablates but it also has a chemical repellent aspect that degrades over time in water.

Recall we had a mature dense marine growth forest when we first put Over Easy in our South Carolina locale back in 2021 with the old bottom paint that we inherited with our purchase ( Yuck ) . It looked ~ok’ish~ but really was a bit of a mess. At that time we had Marsh Harbor Boat Yard do the abrasive wet blast hull cleaning and new two coats of grey epoxy primer and two coats of good ablative bottom paint. Since then We’ve gotten over 300+ hours of on water of active running time mainly in brackish saltwater as well as fresh water. Static slip time in water is cumulatively well over a year during which we hauled out and pressure washed several times. It’s time.

Yes, the Star-bright affects the wax as does the Magic Eraser!
We had sort of understood this was a potential going into this…. But whil3 more than we anticipated it’s not all that bad actually.
The Magic Eraser was the only thing that would get the scuff marks off. We tried several other options…Scotchbrite styrene pad, brushes, compound, Barkeepers friend, etc… all without success.

So some polishing & buffing is gonna be part of the plan and was generally anticipated.
To that end we went over to the Hime Depot in Hilton Head and picked up a cordless Roybi variable speed random orbit buffer.
I like cordless and it’s a lot lighter than the corded versions I’ve previously looked at.
Given the vertical surfaces and my physical limitations lighter is better.

We got a couple jars of “On-Off” gel to do the top deck surface areas above the rub rail to get all of that mildew and pine pollen gunk off.
We’ll post how it goes… not ruling out borax, or vinegar, Oxiclean solutions. That’s for the next work day.

After that gets cleaned up it’s gonna be time to polish/wax/buff.
Any suggestions, tips, tricks, traps, materials and advice are appreciated!!!

Target is to be water ready before the 1st of April when our slip becomes available.
We want to make the most of the next three months on the water here before heading north in July to NH where we have several major (for us anyway) home projects to get accomplished. Gonna be a busy Summer and Fall up there…. And somehow I thought retirement was gonna be restful

Tomorrow is another day….

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Russ]

Interesting that the cordless is lighter. I have 2 heavy corded buffers that wear my arms out. I totally understand the need for less weight.

One of the WORST items to remove from surfaces is tree sap. I parked my small Force 5 boat under a pine tree once. Oy vey. What a chore to get that stuff off. Regular mildew and grime will come off easily with a power washer.

I've never used the "gel" form of On & Off. The standard On & Off stuff works wonders. Like I said, it's basically muriatic acid so use it well ventilated with a light breeze and preferably a mask and eye protection.

I'm in Fresh Water 100% of the time and have never painted or coated the bottom. It gets pretty slimy and hairy if we've had a warm season. Power washing works just so much. I've turned to buying a gallon of muriatic acid and spraying the bottom (with a light breeze and PPE), let it soak for 10 minutes and then brush and hose it off. Melts the stuff away.

The On & Off product works very well on removing stains on the white hull for me.

I stumbled onto Drakes Detail youtube channel a while back. This is a guy who details boats for a living and knows his stuff. I spent hours watching his videos and learning so much. Using an random orbit polisher to apply the product is so much easier than by hand. Simply wipe off with a microfiber towel.

For years I used various types of wax.
The biggest tip I learned was to use Jescar Power Lock polymer vs any kind of wax. Why?

Obviously the blue hull Mac is vastly faster than the white hull. I've enjoyed many compliments on how sharp the color looks. But it is the most impractical color hull. I would never buy a dark hull again. Besides for heating up with the sun, it shows every kind of water spot and streak. It looks amazing right after polishing, however after one outing getting splashed with sea water, white spots appear and it no longer looks nice.

What the Jescar product does is SHEET water away rather than leave spots that dry into white marks. I've used this product now for a couple of years and the spots are minimal as water sheets and dries better.

I've now used this stuff on EVERYTHING from my cars to that glass shower door that gets water spots (and now has micro scratches from magic eraser ) I find dirt doesn't stick to my cars and shower doors don't build up hard water stains.

Per Drakes video I bought a Dual Action Polisher from Harbor Freight. I wish they made a light cordless model. Using a microfiber applicator (per Drakes video) I apply the Jescar Power Lock, let sit for 30 minutes and wipe off with microfiber. The boat is good to go for a season and the water spots are minimal.

The stuff is pricey but lasts a LONG time. A bottle will "wax" my boat 2 times and probably a few applications to my cars. I use it on windshields to shed rain better.

Link to Jescar Power Lock
https://www.amazon.com/Jescar-Power-Pol ... B076ZWMD2G

Check out Drakes youtube channel. I learned much from it. He has many other topics.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Executive decision…. Gonna pass on doing the application and rinse of the ‘On-Off Cleaner’ for the top deck this year.
I did a moderate power wash of the top deck yesterday to knock off most of the loose dirt, pollen and grime.
Lots better! Yes there are still spots but substantially better than before the power wash!
Yes the top deck gelcoat has seen better days by far but for a 2001 boat in 2024 it’s not unexpected.

So we’re just gonna do the polymer wax substitute and buff it out for another season. Next year is the painting of the top deck and it makes more sense to do the in-depth clean, Dewax & other prep work need for painting.

Moving onto other required projects like the engine annual stuff of oil & filter & plug changes as well as the water pump impeller change for the new season. A friend is coming over on Sunday afternoon to help with a second set of hands to help with getting the lower unit off and back on. Should be fun!

Still awaiting the arrival of the bottom ablative paint. FedEx bollixed the shipment and apparently pranked the paint cans so the supplier is sending a new set of paint cans… S/B here Friday… same as the polymeric wax stuff… it’s cutting it tight for the 1st of April launch target!

One day at a time…..

Best R3gards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Still awaiting delivery of bottom paint…three weeks up in the air and counting…phbbbt!
The shipper has manager to Bolivian it up twice by damaging the shipment and then returning it to the supplier!!!
The shipper also previously said they couldn’t find the delivery address which makes no sense as it’s been here for over 30+ years and is clearly marked. Seems FedEx either has inept delivery drivers who can’t enter an address correctly &/or incapable of properly handle packages. The supplier Wholesale Marine have done you an service in getting replacements shipped out but this is getting tedious now that we’re awaiting the third shipment attempt. It’s supposed to arrive sometime this Thursday… I’ve given up holding my breath. It’s just rather annoying…..…as at this point it looks like we won’t be able to launch and get into our slip the first week of April as planned… wasting a week’s rent expense…maybe two if the weather doesn’t cooperate with the delayed painting 🫣

Meanwhile, out of sequence we’ve gone ahead with the other seasonal preparations like the annual serving of the engine.
The “complete” annual/100 hour Suzuki maintenance kit only came with 3 replacement anodes whereas the engine requires no less than 8 anodes. There are 3 bolted to removable covers and 1 additional anode bolted inside the engine which is accessed after removal of one of the aforementioned covers…sneaky. There are 3 more anodes on the transom mount and another 1 bolted to the outside of the lower unit. That makes 8 replaceable anodes… so why does a complete kit only have 3 anodes??? Yeah I know this is small potatoes but it’s still annoying having to scramble about finding them locally.

Good thing is my neighbor who recently retired from the Navy who specialized in small engines and outboards came over to help. He’s GREAT! Learned several good things from him on the how-to’s and what to look-four’s that aren’t in manuals! Again, he’s GREAT!
The extra hands dropping the lower unit to replace the water pump impeller assembly and then getting it back up in place were VERY appreciated. Then the disconnect/reconnect/adjustment of the shifter rod was also appreciated. New spark plugs, oil & fuel filters and upper/lower oil changes went much more smoothly as well. GREAT neighbor!

Next is the keel removal and replacement of the pivot bracket & pin. Had hoped to do this with the boat back on the trailer instead of up in the air but I’m running out of time. Same goes for the interior start of season wipe down/clean up. While the boat is stable it’s still only now supported at the stern and at the bow… I really hadn’t intended to be up in the boat doing all that stuff while it is suspended. Fribble!!! So much for getting started a month plus before launch for what should have been a two week max project. The inept shipper has eaten away at three weeks of margin already. It is what it is…just gotta keep moving along…..

Currently it raining and the forecast is for intermittent rainfall over the next week or more…hoping I get a three day window of warm dry weather this week (if the paint actually arrives ) …one day to dry up, one day to paint and a day to cure. My local boat yard has a recommendation of Week or more for paint cure in dry warm weather if at all possible with any bottom paint, especially ablatives, to help ensure one gets the longest operational life out of it. This is what we did 3 years ago and it appears to have worked. This year might be much more abbreviated 🫣.

After the bottom painting is finished I still have to apply and buff the polymer ’wax’ to the hull and top deck taking care not to get any of it on the new bottom paint. Then strip the masking off the trailer and get the boat lowered back down onto the trailer again. I hate being in a time bind … especially when it’s due to the ineptitude of a shipper….. fribble…phbbbt……… it is what it is…play on…

Hope everyone else is doing well with their new boat season preparations and are moving right along .

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Well today has been an odd one….
Checking the FedEx shipment tracker this morning it stated that the 3rd shipment attempt to get my bottom coat paint had yet again been ‘damaged in shipment’ and was being returned to the supplier yet again!!!🫣 Fer crying out loud……
So called the supplier and they too verified that “FumblEx” was indeed returning this 3rd attempt back with damage.
The supplier was upset too!

The supplier was great though as they were willing to split up the shipment into 3 separate heavy duty packages for separate shipment.
That was at around 9 AM…. Come to about 11 AM and whose at the front door but ‘FumblEx” with the cans of paint!?!?! Hooray!
Finally! When asked the ‘FumblEx’ driver said that ‘the system is screwy’.

I quickly opened the box and found my two cans of ACT bottom paint and one can of thinner fully intact!
Fantastic!!! Not I had to let the supplier know so as to stop the 4th shipment set from going out.
Luckily we were able to catch it on the outbound loading dock.

Now the challenge is going to find a couple warm dry days to dry off the hull and get started! (Easier said than done!)
Then two dry days to apply and at least 2 dry days to cure…. Unfortunately that’s not what the forecast has to offer…

One day at a time……

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Dougiestyle]

Sounds like my title work. whos on first, whats on second and I dont knows on third . Good Luck with all that.