The varnish was shot so I have scraped and sanded and it's just beginning to look acceptable again. The cover boards and cabin top are done, just the rest to go....then it's time to start again and apply more coats. At least you can get Epiphanes here, and I've now discovered Epiphanes easy flow as an additive as in this heat the varnish is more like treacle.
It's been interesting applying varnish in 37degrees and high humidity. Some days you just can't do it and if you manage to get a coat of varnish on it works better to leave it an extra day to go off. At least I can build up the layers during the hurricane season , which is quiet.
Tristan has had the hardest job building the mast step and additional floors to replace the bronze floors, makes my tasks seem like a leisurely afternoons entertainment.
It took me back to the days in the yard at Mylor. We had to rivet the frames where the old strap floors were. Tristan played all day holding the Dolly, cursing my attempts to peen the washer onto the bronze rivet. Unrepeatable thoughts passed through my mind with each swing of the hammer.....enough said.
We finally attached everything together in stages.
Day one was the four floors with the assistance of Bonzo Dog Doodah Band accompanied by Sue on size 13 spanners, until I was shouted at, I then used wooden dowel!
Day two was the mast step to the Pogues which was definitely less relaxing. I had to keep quiet as Tristan and Shane McGowan were cursing enough between them.
It's time now to gradually rebuild the interior and sometime in the not to distant future we will have somewhere to sit.
A lick of danbolin and varnish and we suddenly begin to look normal again.
We hope to go back on the water as soon as the hurricane season is over, it will be much cooler and not so many mossies.
The wildlife on St. Martin is spartan compared to many of the Caribbean Islands we have visited as the island is well developed and there is a lot of traffic everywhere. The verges were full of wild flowers but they disappeared when the grass was cut short to reduce mossies. That was deifinitely a difficult call for me, but being mossie bait, I settled for enjoying the flowers while I could.
The boatyard has a resident population of Green iguanas which casually walk past our work space, but actually live in the grounds of the sewage works near the lifting bridge to the lagoon.
The green iguanas were introduced to the island during 1995 when they were flown into St. Martin in crates for either food or the pet trade. These were never picked up and an airport worker opened the crates. There is a brilliant book on the wildlife of these islands by Mark Yokoyama.
The boat yard provides a refuge for many species of birds. Bananaquit, Carib grackles and herons are common. The grackles sit on the stainless in the morning and provide a wake up call.
With high humidity and temperatures, the sound of birds and tree frogs, in the distance the Sunday morning singing from the chapel, reggae music blasting out of open windows, the scuttle of lizards, there is no mistaking summer in the tropics. Topped off with balmy evenings at the picnic tables drinking Presedente beer and Pastis.
When we left the UK I said to Tristan we wouldn't need wiring for fans....how wrong was I? Sleeping is only possible with fans blowing all night and we have a fan on constantly during the day. There would be no way we could work in the saloon without it.
