Boats have been damaged or destroyed during lift operations, so we’re always nervous whenever we haul Dirona out. We were impressed with the care Saxon Wharf took in the lift, including asking for exterior hull photos to could assess where to place the lifting straps. The operation went smoothly and by mid-morning we were safely on the hard. Overall the bottom looked unusually good—the work done at Cracker Boy in Florida appears to have been excellent.

Below are highlights from January 8th, 2018 at Saxon Wharf in Southampton, UK. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps

Moored for lifting Position: -1 22.65, 50 54.74 We moved over to the dock below the boat lift this morning in preparation for our lift.

Lines Position: -1 22.67, 50 54.73 Every other time we’ve been lifted, we’ve driven the boat into the lift area then disembarked before the actual lift. At Saxon they prefer to instead pull the boat into the lift with lines. That way there’s no risk that prop wash will rotate the lifting straps. We’re going in stern-to to allow easy access to the prop saft in the yard since it will be coming out for a cutlass bearing change.

Steve Moran Position: -1 22.67, 50 54.73 Steve Moran (left), the lift supervisor at Saxon, had asked for exterior hull photos of Dirona so he could assess where to place the lifting straps. Here he is referring to the photographs to position the straps. This was another first for us—we were impressed with their care and attention to detail. We like the care taken by Steve and the crew when moving boats.

Straps Position: -1 22.67, 50 54.73 The lifting straps going into place.

In the Air Position: -1 22.67, 50 54.73 Dirona high in the air above the water. This one of the risky parts of the operation—a strap failure here could total the boat.

Bottom Growth Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 We last had the bottom cleaned seven months ago in Newport, RI. There’s surprisingly little growth for that period, and mostly just near the water surface.

High-pressure spray Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 Saxon cleaning off the hull with a high-pressure washer before moving Dirona into the yard proper.

Jump Gone Bad Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.74 The new owner of this RIB had taken it out for the first time and some friends were out with him, jumping his wake in their jet skis. One of the jet ski operators made a giant boo-boo and landed on the back of the RIB, doing severe structural damage. Fortunately nobody was hurt. The boat will be back with the manufacturer for some time being repaired.

Blocking Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 Dirona in the yard “berth”, about to rest on large blocks of wood. Overall the bottom looks unusually good—everything is in great shape. The work done at Cracker Boy in Florida appears to have been excellent.

Zincs & Propspeed Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.72 The Propspeed foul release coating we applied to the wing and main propellers in Palm Beach is in great shape, as are their various zincs.

Paint Experiment Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 Everyone says not to paint the keel cooler because paint reduces the cooling efficiency of the cooler. But marine growth reduces it even more. So we experimented in Palm Beach and painted it. It has cooled well and the paint kept the growth off. So we plan to repaint it this time around. The zincs on each end are pretty much done.

Bow Thruster Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 The Propspeed on the bow thruster isn’t in quite as good shape as on the wing and main propellers.

Tools Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 James with a puller set at top and a lot of other tools attempting to remove the thruster propellers. They were on there really solidly with red Loctite. Removing them likely is going to require some heat, some patience, and a lot of skill.

Old Zincs Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 A pile of old zincs removed from Dirona.

Polishing Position: -1 22.69, 50 54.73 James polishing the wing propeller with a grinder. The best way to get Propspeed to adhere well is so start with a very clean base. Saxon is very safety-concious—everyone in the yard area, even if just walking around, must wear a high-visibility jacket or vest.

Prezzo Position: -1 23.90, 50 53.90 After a big day in the yard, we had an excellent meal over a bottle of D’Vine Cabernet at Prezzo Italian restaurant on Oxford Street, a short walk from our hotel. We knew we’d be back.

Dolphin Hotel Position: -1 24.22, 50 54.01 We finished the day with a relaxing Guinness in the pub at the Dolphin Hotel, where we are staying.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.