I have always considered ORION’s haul-out as the beginning of the following year’s sailing season, and now that the holidays have come and gone, I’m able to think a bit more about all things Mariner. I’ve been making a mental list of all the things I need to do this winter, and here they are:
Remove and repair centerboard. It has been a number of years since I took the board out of the boat, and I’d really like to address some of the missing chunks of iron after smacking a couple underwater rocks a few years ago southeast of Mason Island, Mystic. When I dropped the board at anchor during the summer and swam underneath the boat to check it out, it seems to be in great shape since the last overhaul - I just want to clean up the leading edge and paint it. If I don’t get to it this year, I won’t be devastated.
Varnish wood hatchboards and trim. Last year, I sanded the coaming tops and tiller down to bare wood and started from scratch, applying eight coats of varnish. This year, I’ll just need to do a couple maintenance coats.
Strip bottom paint. I don’t look forward to this job, but it must be done. I’ve been sanding and recoating since I bought ORION in 2007, but the time has come to take it all off and start fresh. Old paint is flaking off, making for a very rough surface, and I pushed the bottom paint to four seasons instead of my regular two.
Repair or replace motor mount. I’ve repaired the motor mount before using plastic spacers to help cut down on corrosion, but two of the spacers wore through this season, and I need to check it out and see if it can be repaired again or if the whole thing needs to be replaced.
There will be more to this list as time goes on, I’m sure!
