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Since we first bought our Brewer 42, the first mate has been
clamoring for a Venezuelan paint job. My resolve was reconfirmed
every time I washed the boat with a high-pressure water hose
and watched paint flake off the deck. The previous owner had
applied a quick cosmetic fix with a one-part paint. A Venezuelan
paint job, while still a substantial dent in the budget, costs
about a third of a US job. We figured we'd better do it now
since we fully intend to sail back to Texas on our last dime
(heads up to parents).
On October 1st we hauled the boat at the PR boat yard in
Bahia Redonda. We also chose this opportunity to remove the
mizzen mast and make repairs to the surrounding deck. The
MaxProp was serviced during our trip to the States, the torn
shaft seal replaced, the prop shaft straightened, and a motor
mount replaced. While Nick spent his days in the boat yard
with the paint crew, I stayed busy in the apartment sewing
and varnishing. After two long months, with new paint all
around and looking shiny and new, Caribbean Soul splashed
on the last day of November. Still to come: putting it all
back together.
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Our new Caribbean Soul logo on the transom.
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Back in the slip. The job isn't over yet.
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Nick and Javier work on rebedding deck hardware,
a sometimes
challenging task since Nick doesn't speak Spanish and Javier
doesn't
speak English. (They can both say "caca" in the
other's language, but
how far does that get you?)
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One of Chavez's Russian-made war helicopters
flew over on the day of
the big referendum. Venezuelans defeated the referendum to
amend
the constitution and expand presidential powers.
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Now that the paint job is finished, all the
exterior teak has to be
revarnished. Doesn't this look like fun?
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