Front page · Harbour Boatyard
Barnacles off, paint on, and down the slipway with a splash
Haul them up, scrape them, hose them, paint them, give them back their names and launch them. Skipper Jo says the harbour has never looked so smart.
Boats come in to the slipway one at a time, and each owner says what she needs. Haul her up the slipway and you are stood beside her, with a tool on a long pole.
Swipe across the barnacles to knock them off (the big clumps take a couple of goes), then sweep the hose along her and the green muck runs off. If she wants new antifouling, tape along the waterline, roll the paint on below it, then peel the tape off for a crisp, straight line. If her name has worn off, hold up the stencil and rub the brush over it until the letters are back.
Then her owner hops aboard, you knock out the chocks and let the bottle swing into her bow. Down the slipway she goes, faster and faster, and into the water with a splash. Buy the Paint Locker and now and then an owner asks for a new colour too, and you get to pick it.
