Wow, it has been a long time since I posted an update! While work has been keeping me busy, and any serious work will have to wait until spring, ORION has never been too far from my thoughts, and I continue to dream about being on the water again and potential trips.
A couple projects in the pipeline:
Tipping ORION on her side with my grandfather's help to inspect the bottom shortly after she was first brought to Niantic; June, 2007. (Yes, it’s raining. Not sure why we chose this particular day.)
New bottom paint. I use Pettit Trinidad, a hard, modified epoxy anti-fouling paint. The version I first started using back in the day was Trinidad SR 1877, but that has since been replaced by several variations over the years. The latest incarnation is Trinidad XSR, an unbelievably expensive product ($400 a gallon!) with three biocide formulas. Although there are other, less-expensive anti-fouling paints, I feel like you get what you pay for, and I have always had good luck with Pettit Trinidad. After years of experimentation, I have found I can get three full seasons out of one application (two coats) of bottom paint, provided I give the bottom a scrub mid-season each year. This past year - the third season for the current bottom paint - I neglected to do so, and I had a lot of growth on the bottom by the fall, especially around the waterline. I learned my lesson. Who knows - I may even try tackling the job of stripping off all the old bottom paint first, something I have never done before in all my years of ORION ownership. It’s probably time to start fresh.
Launching ORION back in 2014.
New trailer. I’m starting to worry a bit about ORION’s trailer. There are a few concerning spots that are rusted through, and I have already had to repair the frame a few times, including welding back together a sizeable split. While it seems to be stable enough to transport ORION to and from the Niantic launch ramp, I question whether or not it would be up for a trip back to Maine as we did in 2016. It would be devastating to have something happen to it during a big trip like that, and at the very least, I would be worrying about it the whole time. I’m seriously considering buying a new trailer which would be a huge investment but would bring complete peace of mind, perhaps even allowing me to consider trailering ORION more frequently.
Those are a couple of the big things on my mind at the moment, but once again, it might still be a few months before I get to them. In the meantime, I’d like to take care of a few smaller things including (finally) creating the Navigation Lights page that has been empty this whole time. While I don’t use my running lights often, the ones I have work very well, and I would recommend them to anyone. More on that later.
ORION in her boatshed, patiently awaiting work in the spring.