And it is finally time to start prepping Isabell for another boating season. Easter weekend is usually the time to take off the winter shelter and start fixing things on board. The weather so far has been great. On last Thursday I removed the cover from the deck. Since, the new rudder hinge has been put in place. It will still need some polyester work, but the hinge is good. I had bought solid round bronze bars with a 25 mm diameter, that fit perfectly into the bronze hinges. Then I removed the anchor rolling mechanism from the bow and bent it back into its original shape. This was necessary after the collision with a pole in Lemmer, last summer. Started removing loose paint on the underwater body. Will get out the old vacuum cleaner and sanding machine to polish off the old antifouling paint (P60-80 grain sandpaper). After that is done, the primer is put on to finish off with one or two thin layers of hard antifouling. Have to wait until it gets a bit warmer outside. In the meantime, I will install two new genua sheet winches. Almost like the original Lewmar 40’s, only the new ones are selftailing, Lewmar 40ST ocean chrome-bronze winches. They fit nicely on the same holes as the old winches had.
Replaced a few rigging details, and invested in a new decklight, now all the lights are LED-type. The rest of the boat is in rather good shape. Maintenance on the engine is ready, already done in the fall 2020. Looking forward to a great new boating season! Happy Easter!