Today we start sanding. Before that though I go on the Cruiser’s net VHF and ask if anyone can help with our motor issue. A couple people mention people we’ve already tried but Hal from Main Bris (sp?) says to stay on afterwards and he’ll talk us through a few tests.

Hal is very helpful and he gives me a list of 3 electrical checks to make. We go off air and plan to reconnect after I run the checks. Well I’m on the second check when I discover something I didn’t see before, the black wire from the starter solenoid to the starter itself is completely fried and burnt up. Smells terrible, in fact, once I take the motor off I won’t get the stink off my hands until tomorrow. I tell Hal this back on VHF and he gives me the number of a guy that rebuilds starters and alternators. You drop off your old one to Fonda at the Nissan dealer, he takes it to Al who repairs it. Great! I call Al and Fonda but Fonda is not at work anymore today and won’t be until Tuesday – it’s another long weekend in Grenada.

Nothing for it but to dig into the sanding. We decide to walk to Ace and Hanraddy’s (?) to see if they have a sander we can buy. Tried all the rental companies, they don’t have anything suitable.

We get to Hanraddy’s and they have a great little Makita for about EC$240! That’s not much more than you would pay in Canada. There is one beside it, almost the same specs for EC$450. We don’t know why, the sales guy doesn’t know why but we hide one behind the display and go to Ace just to be sure.

Nothing comparable at Ace so we go back to Hanraddy’s and buy the sander and I also buy a soft disk attachment for my grinder. Back at Milu, of course the grinder attachment is metric and won’t fit on the grinder unless I McGiver the hole a bit bigger. Sigh. That done and the grinder takes off barnacles like nothing. The sander does too but is a bit slower. Have to be REAL careful with the grinder or you go right through to the gelcoat.

Christy goes on the shopping bus while I start the sanding/grinding. After doing a section I calculate it will take 25 hours of work to sand the whole bottom. Yuck.

Just keep sanding, just keep sanding …

Christy eventually returns and turns out she is very good with the sander. We grind we sand we grind we sand. Generally call it quits in the early afternoon due to exhaustion and the extraordinary heat. It’s an unbelievable feeling to get back to the apartment air con and have a shower. We are showering twice a day as we often go back in the late afternoon to grind more, sand more.

We had planned to walk to the Container Park for dinner but can’t muster the energy. Maybe a good decision anyway cuz it starts pouring. We watch the finale of Lord of the Rings instead. Followed by a bunch of weird new Survivoresque reality shows. Perhaps the weirdest is Naked and Afraid where groups of 3 people are stranded somewhere buck naked and have to survive.

TV has gotten strange in our absence.