Retail Therapy

Retail Therapy   …   Sunday 21st April 2013

It's astonishing what a transformation of the teak work can be achieved by two people, a couple of sanding blocks and two hours of labor.   Our teak toe rail that had we had stripped and varnished last summer was starting to show some small yellow spots.  Mike correctly assumed that this was a sign of "varnish failure" and set to work on sanding down the bad areas.  When I got out onto the deck about 15 minutes later,  I was shocked at the state of the starboard portion of the toe rail.  It had to be done but it certainly wasn't a pretty sight.  I set to work on the port side teak. By late afternoon we had worked our way back to the gates.  In the evening, we checked out our varnish and thinner supplies.  Sure enough, there was hardly any varnish or thinner left.  This is what led to the shopping expedition.

We hopped on the marina's shuttle at 11am and were transported to the plaza with West Marine, Harris Teeter (groceries) and a bank.  What more could a boater want?  We acquired varnish, the matching thinner (at three times the price of general varnish thinner), a good quality brush (for final coats only!), engine oil, an oil filter and one or two other gewgaws.  Then we enjoyed a browse around Harris Teeter--not that we have a thing about food.  A trip to the bank rounded out our Sunday morning devotional.  The shuttle reappeared and brought us back to the marina.  

The dinghy trip back to the boat was enhanced by substantial swells.  In fact, the wind seems to have been building all afternoon.  The National Weather Service is predicting winds of 35 knots for tonight.  The boat is rocking and rolling as well as creaking and groaning.  These aren't the evenings that I enjoy the most.    

Gloria

no photos today