Author Archives: bob

Big “Six Zero”

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Yup, 60.  Wow, that’s a number I would never had anticipated.  But, alas, it’s here.  So glad to be with a wonderful partner and with such fantastic parents, children and friends.

Ann prepared/cooked all day to get a great BBQ going with all the folks in the marina to join in celebration up at the gazebo.  THANK YOU ANN.  SUCH A LOVELY DAY/PRESENT!  A really fun evening and I was fortunate enough to have “Happy Birthday” sung in; Swedish (me and Ann), Danish, German and French.  Nice!

And to top it off when we got back to Charisma I found a lovely present from my family that Christine and Kelly put together – a book of “60 Things About Bob”.  Thank you so much to Christine and Kelly, my parents, Sue and Andy, Missy, Molly, Ann, Stephanie, Greg and Andy for such thoughtful comments all packaged with pictures in a wonderful present.  Can’t wait to get back and see the hard copy.

In the mean time I need a LOT more kleenex!

Splash Splash (by Ann)

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After ten grueling days of work Charisma is back in the water! Amen!

At 9am Karl and Shane , the experts at Riverside Drive Marina, drove the travel lift over to our corner of the boatyard and by 10 am not only had we been lifted out of the cradle but Bob had applied bottom paint to the spots where the keel rested on the cradle and…we were back in our slip.


I guess I did not really believe it would be a 9am lift because as I hurried down the ladder for one last time and saw the slings lift Charisma up

Shane, all around good guy!

I realized I had neglected to move the full coffee pot off of the table. One quick slip while Charisma was being carried across the boatyard to the launching dock and our salon could be full of coffee. Uh oh. Maybe I was just testing Karl’s driving skills. And we are thrilled to report that he is an ace drive and all was well on board.

Karl and Bob relax for a moment. Charisma topped the scales at just over 28,000 pounds! That cannon must weigh a lot!


It was a huge relief to be back in our slip and we are very pleased to have made our best turn around yet…just ten days. Grueling days but a huge sense of satisfaction when it is done.

So we celebrated, taking a day off (minus Bob getting a coat of varnish on the helm). Yep, we played! Lunch in town at our favorite cafe, a quick trip to get food for a birthday BBQ tomorrow for the captain, and even ice cream on the water front. And to make sure we knew how to play we hiked up Parihaka to enjoy the view to the ocean. A stunning day to play!

Of course not everything is done, but the work that required Charisma to be out of the water is complete. She is shiny and beautiful and we are smiling!

One More Day.

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Yup, tomorrow is our last day on the hard. We’re splashing before the 4 day Easter weekend.

Today we finished the wax/polish, are now one coat of varnish on the starboard side from done there, got the regalvanized anchor and chain back and are marking it before hauling it back up, greased the through hulls and some other stuff. It never ends, but the things you can only do out of the water are within an “inch” of completion! Supposedly tomorrow we even have a tanker truck coming with diesel!

Get the varnish on while we have the nice scaffolds!

Shiny regalvanized anchors and chain.

Behind the fence for now, but soon back in the water!

Varnish and Rain Don’t Mix

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It’s a little disheartening when days of work culminating in a gorgeous coat of varnish get rained out. As in rain on fresh varnish. Bummer. We might have saved it. By the time it rained the coat had kicked off a bit and we were able to very gently wipe the drops off, but there is some staining. I won’t really know until tomorrow after it dries overnight and we see how another coat goes over this one.

But, success on the waxing front. Ann finished buffing a coat of carnauba wax onto the starboard side.

How's this for real shine!

We also got the prop painted with PropSpeed, so we’re whittling the list of stuff that has to be done on the hard.

This stuff is the best anti-fouling for propellers I've used.


We splash this Thursday. We need two more days with no rain to finish the varnish. Cross fingers.

I’m Beat!

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Wow, good thing Ann’s still got some energy. She has been cleaning the hull and is almost done. Next step will be waxing, but she gets to use a buffer for that, although that does come with a weight penalty. You have to hold the beast up against the hull.

A lovely shine is taking place and the wax is not even on yet.

As for me, today would have been a GREAT varnishing day, except MetVew said it was going to rain, so I held off. Of course it was a beautiful day. 🙁

Instead I did a hated, nasty project I’ve been avoiding. Changing the raw water impeller on the engine. Doesn’t sound bad when I just say it, but to get to the bugger, I have to literally take apart the quarterberth just to expose the pump. Then, since it’s still buried on the side of the engine, you have to use a mirror to see the thing and take it apart “in reverse”. The old one should come out easily, but never does, etc, etc, swear, swear!

In retrospect, it was a good thing Ann was outside.

Anyway, got it done. Very happy to have that behind us. I’m now utterly exhausted and drinking a beer to recuperate!

Harrington's, a great beer from Christchurch, on the South Island. Not to start a war or anything, but the best Kiwi beer is from the Sourh Island.

And while I contemplate sleep, Ann is over next door with half the other Yachties around here in Room 7 at the adjacent motel, watching the final of the World Cup Cricket Match. Australia vs. New Zealand. The Internet is dog slow right now, so many people around here are watching.

Work, Work, Work

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Yup, more of the same.

Today, wet sanding the toe rails and rub rails to prepare for varnish. Almost forgot to also take off the dorades and prepare them as well. Fortunately Ann reminded me. It’s very tedious work, but no more tedious than her project – cleaning and polishing the topsides.

We’ll hope to splash this Friday if the weather cooperates and gives us a couple rain free days – not a sure thing in “Raingarei”.

At least we had a nice sunset.

And a game of cards with our "Charisma" cards. Unfortunately, Ann won. This time.

Bottom Painted; Check!

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Done! That’s a big one. Now we’re moving on to varnishing the toe-rails. So glad we did the other half of the boat varnishing before we left on our South Island adventure. I’m already exhausted from boat work and we’re not half done.

Ann's peaking out of the cockpit as the paint is not dry yet and she's already on to another project!

OK, gotta brag a little with this close up. Looks nice and we saved about $1200 doing it ourselves this year.

Prepping to Paint (by Ann)

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When I was 10 years old my parents, ever involved, had us help paint our local grade school, St John the Evangelist in Denver, Colorado. What could a ten year old do? Prep work and clean up. I hated both. I still hate both. Now that I am an adult I see the need for both but that does not lessen my dislike of both prep and clean up when it comes to painting.

Yesterday we were so excited when we saw how great the bottom paint looked on Charisma when we were lifted out of the water. Unfortunately that does not mean there is little work to do. We spent yesterday afternoon and all day today cleaning the propeller and bob-stay and cleaning the waterline so we could throw a quick coat of paint on and get on to the varnish work. It is NEVER that quick. Bob and I spent the whole day sanding and scraping. When I called it a day Bob looked at me and said, “You look awful! Go take a shower!” He was right. My dust mask provided little protection from the rain of powdered red dust that I was creating as I finished prepping the waterline. The pictures did not do it justice. Even after a long shower I noticed red lines on my knees…collections of red powder. The only solace is that we are saving a lot of money by prepping and painting…a job we hired out last year because it involved so much more work.

So the good news is that we are now waiting for a clear day to put a quick coat on the bottom and then on to the varnish work! Nothing is easy in cruising…you earn the fun times!

On the Hard And Back to Work!

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We got the green light at about noon today…time to haul! Deft maneuvering by the captain and Charisma was in the hauling bay and hoisted out. We had errands in town so returned to find Charisma snug in her cradle in the corner of the yard. Our view has changed but is still entertaining as we can watch the entire yard and the driveway. But only for an evening Charisma because tomorrow the real work begins.


Fortunately the bottom paint from last year looks fabulous! Only touch ups are needed. What a welcome surprise.

Bring out the “To Do List” and let the party begin!