Boat Work is a Family Affair

Latitude editors aren’t out every weekend enjoying their boats on the water, though it may seem like it by reading our reports on the Big Boat Series or weekending at China Camp or cruising Southern California. So what do we do when we’re not out sailing? Why, work on boats, of course.

This editor spent this past weekend working on her parents’ Cascade 36 in lovely and temperate Toledo, Oregon (just up the Yaquina River from Newport). With temps in the high-70s, our Tyvek ‘zoot suits’ made for sauna-like conditions but the sacrifice was worth not being covered in bottom paint dust at the end of each day. In fact, we highly recommend that anyone working on their boat cover themselves head-to-toe in protective gear — Tyvek suit, goggles, respirator and gloves — not only to expedite clean-up but also to prevent potential reactions to the chemicals in boat products.

Since LaDonna (yes, it’s named after me and no, I wasn’t a spoiled brat growing up!) has an iron keel, special care had to be taken in prepping it correctly, including some intense grinding and fairing, and a special protective coating to prevent rust and corrosion. Unfortunately, my brother missed the lesson on protective gear and wound up with severely irritated eyes. He was better the next day, but he was just plain lucky he didn’t have to go to the hospital to have metal flakes removed from his corneas.

In the end, it took just two days to complete LaDonna‘s bottom job, mostly because at least four of us were working on her nonstop for both days. So for your next DIY haulout, take a tip from us: work around the schedules of family and friends who enjoy sailing on your boat so you can get as many as possible to help out. Then supply them with good protective gear, and plenty of food and cold drinks. It may cost a few more bucks than if you do it alone, but the work will go faster and you’ll have a lot more fun doing it.