November 2024

Torrevieja - Days between dust, copper and epoxy resin

Text: Christian / Pictures & short films: Carola

Our lady wants a wellness program after 1.5 years in the water.

The renewal of the underwater hull is on the to-do list, as well as other small jobs. Just the usual periodic maintenance of a boat.

We drive into the dry dock

We cast off from our berth on Monday morning, November 11, and drive the short distance in the large harbor to the crane basin near the dry dock.

As agreed, Caro reverses into the basin while I stand ready with the lines. We are to moor on the starboard side of the wall. Once there, the crane operator and other shipyard employees are already waiting for us. Our boat is moored to the bollards with the prepared lines. We now have to quickly close the engine's seawater valves and get out. The crew then put the carrying straps around the hull and prepare the boat for lifting. Suspended from the crane, our Blue Wave is driven to its new position after pressure washing. It is carefully set down on the pallets that have been prepared (= carrying equipment for shipbuilding). There she stands on dry land for the next two weeks.

We have cast off and are heading for the crane basin

Our boat is slowly being lifted

The “floating blue wave”

Cleaning the underwater hull

On the way to the “parking lot”

Parked position for the next 2 weeks

For us, it means moving once. So we move from the boat to a small apartment next to the dry dock. We move over with bag and baggage and get used to life on solid ground again after many months on the boat. The sunny terrace makes the changeover easy.

 

The apartment

Sunny terrace with harbor view

Evening mood

We decided to have the old layers of soft antifouling removed and replace them with a coppercoat. This has three main advantages for us:

  1. After sandblasting, we can check our underwater hull for any damage, such as osmosis.
  2. With the new copper coating, we have peace of mind for the coming years, which means that no new annual coatings are necessary.
  3. Our underwater hull is now protected against possible osmosis thanks to the epoxy-containing copper coating.

This means that the boat will only need to be cleaned for many years to come and lightly sanded (activated) again after a few years, in addition to the annual check of the anodes, of course.

The initially more cost-effective option would have been to apply a new coat of antifouling, which would then have to be renewed every year. In addition, regulations are becoming ever stricter, making such environmentally harmful work increasingly difficult. Calculated over the years, the greater initial outlay for the Coppercoat will certainly be worth it.

Our boat gets a peeling

A tent is formed around our hull with plastic sheeting. A man in a full protective suit carefully starts work in it with a fine sandblasting machine. A dirty job. Sheet by sheet, the old layers of antifouling come off. The gelcoat and an old epoxy primer become more and more visible.

The plastic foil is ready

The fuselage is covered with the plastic film

Sandblasting begins

First results

The plastic film is removed a day later

Final result of sandblasting

After a good day's work, Caro and I can check our bare hull together with Dennis, the British shipyard manager.

The moisture content in the hull is measured and is low. This is probably not least because the first owner had the gelcoat coated with an epoxy primer at the time.

Nevertheless, two repairs to the hull are necessary. At the stern, an old small “parking damage” has come to light and the tube from the bow thruster is not properly connected to the bow, a small crack is visible. We have this work repaired with epoxy resin and fiberglass. At the same time, the zinc anodes are removed and the propeller is cleaned, as are the propellers of the bow thruster.

An “old parking damage” is discovered

Rain cover to protect the repaired area from possible rain

patched area

A small crack on the bow thruster. The area is dried with a hot air dryer as water has escaped.

Everything is reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy resin

Looks very solid

A boat in dry dock also means checking all the sea valves and replacing them if necessary. One of our bow toilets had been operating with some difficulty for a year and recently it could no longer be closed completely tightly. We decide to replace both toilet valves (inlet and outlet) with new ones.

New diffusers and valves

Final result with new manual hand pump

In the meantime, our old refrigerator cooling unit is being taken care of. We have already had the coolant topped up twice in the past season as the cooling performance had weakened. There must be a small, invisible leak in the circuit somewhere. This is not a permanent condition. We decide to replace the old unit with an identical one, so we have peace of mind again.

New “cool box”

New “cooling unit”

Our boat gets a copper coat

The cleaned hull is now ready for application of the copper-based epoxy paint. The individual coats must be applied quickly. Several coats follow one after the other on top of the previous coat, which has not yet fully cured.

Everything is ready

The first layer of Coppercoat is applied

Final result after 5 layers of Coppercoat

Now our muscle power is in demand

Now comes Caro and my part. Two days of hull polishing and waxing on the rolling frame are the order of the day. A strenuous job, but one that is immediately rewarded with a beautifully shiny end result.

Polishing - a physical effort and a challenge

A difference is recognizable

Fun is essential

Pure meditation

End of the day

Like a small family, we work together with Michael and Darren (the two shipyard workers) on our boat. They show us various tricks and we learn lots of new things.

On Friday of the second week, it's time to say goodbye to the dry dock and our little apartment with its beautiful sun terrace. We return to the boat with bag and baggage.

Back on the boat with bag and baggage

The crane is ready. But before it definitely goes into the water...

...the areas where the supports were still need to be activated. This is all done hand in hand.

The propeller shines with a new silicone coating (propeller antifouling)

New anodes (fitted to both sides of the hull)

Is everything leak-proof?

We check one last time that all the seawater valves are closed and that the screw collars on the two transducers are tightened properly. We are a little tense again.

This time it's back into the water in reverse order. Still hanging on to the straps in the water, the shipyard worker jumps into the boat to check the tightness of the two new seawater valves. Thumbs up, everything is fine. The straps are removed and we tie our boat to the side with lines.

The stuffing box is now vented, the engine and shaft seacocks are opened and the engine can be started. It is running. Together with Darren, I watch the air coming out of the sight glass from the replaced diesel pre-filter.

The “repatriation” begins

Caro has an eye on everything

Just a few seconds until the “touch down”

Then she's back in her element

All valves are tight, she floats and we return on board

glad

We are now moving faster

Caro and I decide to go for a short test drive to check everything out. We enjoy a slight increase in speed. At our usual cruising speed of 1800 rpm, we now reach 0.8 knots more speed than before. A clean and smooth hull pays off.

One small drawback remains. Our bow thruster now pushes us in the opposite direction when the joystick is operated. The propellers were apparently swapped during assembly. But this will be rectified.

Tired but happy, we dock at our mooring again and treat ourselves to a crispy pizza to round off a successful day.

After 2 weeks we leave the dry dock

Happy

A great feeling to be back on the water

Conclusion from the test drive

Back at the berth

At the end of the day

We spend the remaining days in Torrevieja in sunny and warm fall weather until our flight home. Minor boat work, paperwork and excursions round off our time here.

Torrevieja promenade

A pre-Christmas atmosphere is on the way

Trip to Alicante

Torrevieja has a varied gastronomy to offer

We spend the 1st Advent at the beach

Sea always works

This marks the end of our 2024 sailing season. We are somewhat reluctantly thinking about the impending cold weather at home, but are looking forward to being back with family and friends after such a long time.

After a short winter hibernation, our Blue Wave journey will continue again in spring 2025.

“You have to travel to learn.” - Mark Twain

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Gerold

    Nach der Riesenarbeit an Boot und Technik könnt ihr euch wieder auf neue Reisen freuen „Schiff ahoi“

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