H2O was really concentrating on getting the job done. When we arrived back at the boat on Thursday, five people were working on the boat, laboriously chipping off the failed epoxy by hand. Some of it had come off easily but in other places it was well stuck. Monday morning came word that on Tuesday a man would be coming up from Lyon with a “gomage” machine; basically a sophisticated sandblaster that uses a mixture of air and a little water to propel the sand. It’s much more precise and, since there’s water in the mixture, doesn’t have to be done in a enclosed space because the sand doesn’t fly all around. Phillippe, the yard general manager had been wanting to test out the machine for awhile and, along with our boat, there was another he wanted to try it on.
Tuesday was a disappointment. The “Gomage Man” hurt his back and couldn’t make the drive up from Lyon. However, the rep from International Paint turned up and tested out some sections of the hull to make sure the prep was being done properly and to make sure that the magic machine would appear on Wednesday. About 1 pm we hit the road to Dijon for some serious pillaging and the Ikea.
Angelique, the yard paint supervisor and the International Paint Rep consult
Wednesday morning the machine did appear and after a brief test on another boat at the other end of the yard, it was Oldtimer’s turn.
After about 15 minutes working on the bottom it was apparent that this was the solution to our (and the yard’s) problems. Phillippe appeared to check out the process and gave it a thumbs up. The only question was wether the paint could be applied over the very thin film of rust left on the hull by the water used in the process. Phone calls were made to the paint rep but, this being France, he was at lunch and couldn’t be reached until after 2. Phillippe said he would call us when he got word but, when no call came, we headed off to the grocery store. The wine supply was getting low.
About 4 pm while in the store the phone rang. It was a message from Phillippe. The rep said no problem with the paint but they shouldn’t let the hull sit unpainted overnight so they were blasting and painting the hull now. We hurried back to the boat to find sandblasting well underway.
During the test
We escaped the noise to town for a beer, picked up some friends from the train station about 6 and returned to the boat. They were
still working! How very un-French!
We invited ourselves over to Jean Francoise and Dianne’s boat for an aperitif because staying at the boat would be impossible. About 8 pm we returned to find the 4 yard guys just finishing up the first coat of paint. Another coat would be applied on Thursday and we would be in the water on Friday. Happy dance!
