 Anticipating
our Voyage 2001, we had the boat hauled on July 7th
for minor repairs, zinc replacements, and bottom painting. We
figured that we would do some cosmetic work also including new
rugs and a fresh gelcoat on the cabin top. After a wash-down of
the boat, we noticed water dripping from one of the light
fixtures. We explored the teak deck above the fixture and found
that the adhesive holding the planks to the deck had failed. In
many areas, the stainless steel fasteners had corroded to the
point that they could not be extracted. Life was not good! No
voyage 2001! Boat kitty will be depleted. Capt.Ann insists that
the decks be replaced (no glass decks for her!). In mid July,
Steve and Pat from Alpha Rigging unstep the main and mizzen
masts. The adventure begins!
 We
wanted to do as much of the work as possible ourselves. We
removed every piece of hardware from the deck including pulpits,
stanchions, prisms, and ventilators. We had to drill some holes
in the cabin roof to get at some of the hardware. Next came the
removal of the deck fasteners, about 1,400 of them. About every
10th screw broke at the head so extraction was not very pleasant.
The weather gods were kind (now early August) as it was not
unbearably hot.
 This
is not fun! Every day, we get deeper in depression as our pride
and joy is being torn apart. We take a week off from work and
home to finish the destruction. The planks come up easily as the
adhesive is exhaousted everywhere on the deck. We need to keep
the planks intact so the carpenters can reconstruct the
appearance of the deck. We have screws and planks everywhere!
 In
late August, the deck destruction task was nearly complete. We
had over 1,400 holes in the deck so we were praying for no rain
(turns out we had one of the driest periods on record). We had to
coordinate with the yard and Phipps Boat Works regarding
transporation of the boat to the carpenter's shop. We could not
get a firm date on the work's completion as they were fitting us
in as best they could. We still had some distant hope that we
could go South in the fall. It was now early September.
 Our
neighbors "on the hard" were Uli and Sue Wiederkehr
from South Africa. They had been cruising for 10 years and had
their boat on the market. Uli is an accomplished scrimshaw
artisan as well as a painter. We commissioned him to do a water
color of the Jule III. The first version had a triadic (a cable
aloft connecting the two masts). We don't have a triadic. Rather
than repair the painting, Uli painted another creation.
 They
were forecasting rain the day before our move date to Buster
Phipps shop. We decided to put the cover on the boat so our 1,400
holes would not allow water into the deck core. The process takes
about an hour so it was not too painful. We were hauled into
Buster's main bay in September 10th. Maybe time to go South after
all of the repairs?
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