This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy): La Saga PLOUF [Episode 13] : Tous sur le Pont!

^{As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.}

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but Vincent Le Roy (@vincentleroy), a French guy.

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Note: "Plouf", in French, is an onomatopoeia that phonetically imitates the sound of an object that falls in the water. The equivalent in English would be "Plop" or "Splash". That is a strange name for a boat!

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Brief summary of previous episodes

In January 2016, I am given a boat, a tiny sailboat. A kid's dream. Her name is Plouf. And in fact the canoe is in a state not possible and I do not know much except sailing. I tell you the journey that I traveled with this small boat, that have become my fourth baby! After many outings, the last phase of the renovation before going on regatta!

Episode 13: Everybody on deck!

Sure, the deck is clean after the great cleaning, especially that I brush it after each outing, but I must be honest: the paint applied by Julien in 2010 is slightly damaged. And above all, there is no area with anti slip. The wooden edge deserves a good sanding and a few coats of varnish too.

Summer is ideal for doing this kind of work. The ideal is precisely one of my faults. I want, I want a lot, I want everything but I have not measured the extent of the project. And again my boat is microscopic. A girlfriend volunteered to help me. "No, no, don't worry, I love this!" She is the only one ... Myself, I am motivated but already tired at the idea of ​​sanding the whole deck ...

In short, two days later, the boat is scoured and once completely degreased, we attack the scotches everywhere and the primary. This phase is going fast. It will then be necessary to pass three layers of lacquer and delimit the anti slip zones. I also decided to switch to gray for better viewing. There you measure that certainly he slams well but close, it will never be the same as a spray painting or in cabin. When I tell you that I want everything ...

The wooden rim (perimeter) will be sanded manually then with a circular sander with a very fine grain. 7 layers of marine varnish on it. The tiller is entitled to the same treatment! In three years, a new layer will be necessary but here it is definitely brand new!

primary phase with scotch






Anti-slip areas and varnish done!

This job will take us eight days. The most frustrating, in the middle of summer, is not being able to sail on it! On the other hand we are in a low tide period and the port is closed! As for Plouf, it will be just beautiful for the race that arrives in September: the Binicaise! As long as we were there, I took the opportunity to remove the engine, make it overhaul and repaint it completely, with protection in the submerged part. It is not young at all, but it works well and then it's a 4-stroke. No need to mix and for 350 Euros, I'm not going to complain! In short, we are ready for the Binicaise!

Regarding the restoration, it will stop there, except for some outdoor equipment that I will add later. The cabin is still not habitable but invest about 1500 Euros in a cabin that will remain uninhabitable by definition ... I prefer to keep this budget for later. Besides when I go out at sea on a night or a big day, I borrow another bigger boat (a 6m).

Speaking of which, it's time to take you to sea and regatta, and show you that little Plouf is not afraid of the big boys!

Continue to Part 14

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8
Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12

All photos are property of @vincentleroy and under copyright