Daggers Down spent 1 month and 2 days at Mile 533 Marine Ways in Aransas Pass. This was the same time frame it took to sail home from Martinique. So that seems to be a lucky amount of time for Daggers Down.
While she was on the hard, she got a face lift inside and out. The marina spent a great deal of time repairing the fiberglass. They fixed some hairline cracks and a hole that was discovered when they power-washed her. In addition, they fiber glassed the seam between the two sides of each hull. Their Cuban employees were diligent, meticulous and did amazing work. One reason it took so long to finish the job was that, because of Covid, deliveries were delayed as the gel coat took over 10 days to arrive. After the gelcoat, they primed and painted the bottom a nice blue color.
They also repaired a number of small cracks on the topside—I had a very hard time finding where these cracks had been repaired. Incredible Work! In addition, they replaced several through hulls as required by our insurance company.
We also spent several weeks working on the boat. I cleaned the stainless inside and out using Flitz. Flitz is supposed to not only clean the stainless, but also protects it from corrosion.
So all the lifeline stanchions as well as locker handles and winches were included in the cleaning process. It was tedious work and probably no one will notice but me; nevertheless, it was satisfying to have it done both inside and out.
I also used Corrosion X on all the pelican hooks as some were very difficult to open and showed corrosion.
This is another super product and easy to apply.
Next, we addressed the teak in the cockpit. Ben cleaned the teak and I sealed it with Semco.
I love this product as it is super easy to apply, it is not tacky and does not have to be sanded to reapply (just clean and apply). It is so simple but performs perfectly.
Meanwhile, Ben upgraded our radio to a Sirius XM radio and weather.
We are very excited about this upgrade as it will allow us to have Doppler radar on the chart plotter. This feature would have been when useful when we were trying to dodge storms in the Gulf.
Afterwards I caulked the joint between the hull and deck on both sides and Ben caulked all the windows. We also recaulked a couple of hatches that seemed to leak when water was forced over the bow. We used Life Seal Sealant, which was surprisingly difficult to find. The first tubes we bought in the store were all dried up. So we ended up having to order it from Amazon.
We also found a company in Rockport, C Cushions, that sold Ensolite Closed Cell Foam. We bought the foam and used an electric knife to cut it to fit all our outdoor cushion covers.
This was a very inexpensive way to upgrade the cushions since our covers were in good condition. Ben washed the covers in a large garbage can prior to inserting the new foam. Thus, all the diesel fumes and “butt” indentions from the old foam were alleviated.
Also during our second trip, the Marina lifted out the starboard dagger. They put the boat in the sling for stability and then lifted the dagger out with a cherry picker.
It was quite the process and they requested that Ben be available during this time to assure it was untied correctly and no damages were sustained. They then fiber glassed a few dings on it and applied the same primer and paint as they applied to the bottom.
Look at this short video–Dagger out
Cuz John was very insistent that Daggers Down needed a new fresh look rather than just a name change. So we worked with Sonny Rodriquez of CR3 Wraps and Design, to have the outside of the boat wrapped with new boot stripes, window coverings, name logo and Catana logo. You must agree that he did an excellent job and Daggers Down is now ready for the long-awaited name change ceremony just as soon as we can get her back into the water.
