Haul out at Shelter Bay Marina, Panama

 Talaria being lifted out of the water is a creepy moment. But the fun thing about working so hard on your boat is friends like Maureen, Dick and Pierre. We all have a good work ethic and pitched in to help one another with sanding and painting. Dick is the most knowledgeable and provided everyone with consultations on work being done. Being smart sailors we also know how to eat and drink well together after a day in the work yard. As each boat took it's turn out of the water, the crew of the other boats hosted dinner to restore our strength for the next day.

blisters in the gelcoat

hard working yard boy

Rick filling blisters with epoxy

Talaria with black bottom paint

Shelter Bay Marina has a great staff working the lift and in the yard. When the boat is out of the water it is called "on the hard". One of the reasons is that it is hard to climb up and down the ladder multiple times a day to get in and out of the boat. At least that is my take on it. Another hard thing is that the boats rocked slightly in high winds 2 of the nights and I didn't like that at all. We stayed in the luxurious hotel rooms for a couple of nights for a break, pampering ourselves. Another hard thing is sanding and painting the bottom and washing and waxing the sides. Rick sweated over cutting a new hole in the boat - I couldn't watch - to put in a second depth sounder. In the end the boat went back into the water with no leaks. It is always great to be back in the water after several days "on the HARD".