stop loss

Work came to a stop and I lost a little time as I came down with a virus for a few days.  No, not that virus.  I've turned the corner, feeling better, still tired.  Got several coats of Bristol Finish on the masts and spars yesterday and today.  

A summer-like squall came through just as the final coat hardened off on the front porch.  I still need to put the gooseneck back in place on the main boom, reave the lines, do a few other odds and ends.  Next comes painting the cockpit, cranking up the new outboard and bending on the new sails.  

With that work, plus waiting on the new sail covers, I don't expect to have SPARTINA on the water until early April.  So next month will be the spring shake-down with time to make adjustments on both the new sails and new outboard.  The outboard should be simple enough, getting the sails right will take a little longer.  

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And speaking of stop loss, here's a nice product from Duckworks.  That's a StopLossBag for saving unused paint.  I've always found, no matter how hard I've tried, that unused paint in the can goes bad after a while.  The idea of buying a $50+ can of marine paint, using half of it and then watching the rest go bad drives me crazy.  For under $20 you can get four bags, the funnel for transferring paint and extra caps for storing that leftover paint until it is needed.  It's worth taking a look at.  This is the first time I've used one of the bags, I've got high hopes that they will work.  Here's a little video about the product.