Bud, I'm scheduling a haul-out for Second Wind (I know, I'm overdue - my bad) and since it's my first I don't know what to expect.  Obviously I need to have fresh anti-fouling paint and all my tools at hand before it's hauled, but will immediate power washing strip most of the marine crap off the bottom, or can I expect to have to do some serious barnacle scraping?  In my dives I've not seen much barnacle growth other than on a few spots near the prop (of course the prop is covered in the bloody things and I have to scrape it every couple of months) and a couple of spots on the keel where groundings on the ICW scraped off some of the anti-fouling paint.  I'm figuring on a week on the hard for cleaning, sanding, inspecting and repainting.  

Any wisdom you can share would be appreciated!  -Tom Koehl

Hey Tom,

I'm currently hauled at Harbortown. Let the marina do the scraping when they power wash. They will normally do it for no charge or a nominal fee unless there is excessive growth. It's harder to get them off after they simmer in the heat for a while. I ran into some unexpected problems so keep your timeline flexible if you can.

My normal work list:

Bottom Paint

Disassemble and grease through hulls

2 coats of wax on the hull

Varnish rub rail

New zincs on prop and bobstay fitting

I allow about two weeks for just normal stuff since I take frequent breaks to admire my work.

My unexpected work list:

Remove and replace prop shaft

Remove and re-bed stern tube

New shaft (cutlass) bearing

New packing gland hose, clamps and packing

Getting the shaft out required removal of the water lift muffler and the coupling from the reverse gear. Getting the shaft and shaft bearing separated from the coupler and stern tube was quite an ordeal.

I also plan to do the Never Wet on the prop. Since I never got around to experiment with it on the spare prop, I've decided to gather empirical data on the real deal.

Bottom line is, it may take longer than expected.

Werner

And then, of course, there's the dreaded project creep.....