Green Cove Springs

October 18, 2010

And so a new season begins....
Today we drove 3 hours to Green Cove Springs to check out Kinvara on the hard. She was moved from the storage yard to the work yard. This is step one in launching Kinvara for another season of travel. The last time we saw her was the end of April.

Surprise!! Kinvara was in great shape. We were concerned about storing her in the Florida heat & humidity. Peter spread the "sun cloth" over the entire deck to protect from the UV rays. It supposedly cuts out 65-75% of UV rays. Below decks Jane had evey door and hatch propped open and all cushions were propped up like a house of cards. We then put bounce dryer sheets in every crevice, bowls of charcoal in every cabin, and spread bay leaves all over the place to repel insects. All this was advice from Canadian friends who store their boats in Florida for hurricane season. Well, it seems to have worked!! There was no mildew smell below, no signs of mold or insects. However we haven't put the below decks in order yet!! The sun cloth came off and other than being very dirty, the topsides was in great condition! We arranged to have the bottom sanded and painted this week and we are going back to stay the weekend on Friday to continue cleaning and organizing the interior. We have never lived on a boat on the hard so this will be a new experience for us (and Pretzel too) Wish us luck!

Pretzel met a new friend, Annie, a 10 week old terrier. She is living aboard s/v Mojo which is registered in Newport, RI. John & Barbara live in Glouster, MA in the off season. They are on the hard next to us also working to get launched.