How did we miss this one? (Thursday - March 18, 2010)

We should be so excited... the engine has started... this boat that has sat here at least two years... her engine started up and ran for an hour! That is monumental, right?

I don’t know how we missed this one... I honestly don't... it's a biggie.

Jim and I have been doing extensive research since we purchased 'Hotspur' in mid January... taking copious notes along the way. Already knowing that we had to do something about the leaking fuel tank prior to buying 'Hostpur', we had already probed the possibilities: What kind of epoxy should we use on the leaky fuel tank if we seal it instead of replace it? Or would it be better to have the old fuel tank cut out completely and start from scratch? Can we get materials here in Mazatlan to repair the existing fuel tank? You get the idea. So, in the end we decided we could repair the old steel 128 gallon fuel tank by emptying out the remaining muck, grinding out the rust, and then clean Clean CLEAN some more with potent solvent... a very nasty job, but somebody had to do it (Jim).

The epoxy we chose was a Hempel two-part paint that smelled wicked and took days to apply. Jim had paint in his hair, along the backsides of his arms, on his nose... because the only way he had to apply it was through a very small vent hole that we had cut out on the topside of the tank, which was why Jim was assigned the job and not me... his arms are longer . Finally, the task was completed and we sat back counting the days that we could sail the boat away. Only 5 days away, right?

I’m not sure why... perhaps we inhaled a few too many paint fumes... perhaps we have too much on our plate at one time... or maybe we're just getting old... but no doubt - our memories failed us. Somewhere... somehow... we forgot that his stuff takes 25-30 days to cure!!! Jim and I looked at each other... real stupid-like... and I asked him, "Did you know this?" and he replied slowly, "No... did you?"

So, as far as getting out of here in the next month... well, it ain't happening. All because we forgot how long this stuff has to cure. Oh well, we have lots of small projects that we can be working on while we wait. Fun.