Into our third week at The Boat Works but it is our last! Our engine part has arrived and Trent at 143 Boat Building is installing it. All of a sudden we have a departure date! We will leave the marina on Monday 15th February, although we will float around in the river for a couple more days.
Finishing the boat jobs
Finally, things have fallen into place. Anui looks resplendent! Geoff from Millenium Marine Painting has done a great job with the paint touch ups. He erected a couple of tents to protect the surroundings from overspray. We did not envy him… temperature outside: 35oC, inside the tent: 50oC! Polishing came next and the job was completed a few days ago!
Not all painters are made equal! The beauty of using a skilled professional like Geoff is that you get a flawless finish – we can’t see where he has been! Such a difference with the way the hulls looked before. Now we’ll just have to clean the brown water line once we get away from the dirty river!
Our Sirocco dinghy has ben repaired and was delivered back to us. Perfect timing, as the Garmin EchoPlus sounder for the dinghy also arrived. Wade was in his element figuring out how to set it all up with our Power Dive battery in the dinghy. The idea is for him to get into the dinghy and survey unchartered areas with the Garmin while Chris circles on Anui, then bring the sounder back on board to guide our entry into a reef or lagoon while recording a track with our main navigation equipment. We will practise this at the Southern Reef before we head off to the Swains!
Inside, Mark from 143 Boat Building is adjusting our TV cabinet so the new Kogan fits in well. It is the last step in the long list of works. The varnishing of the cedar door will take multiple coats to match the finish of the rest of the timber in the boat. But we won’t need to be in a marina for this part and will float around for a few more days in the river.
Up to the Lamington National Park
This week, with nothing much left to do, we have been catching up with cruising friends, and over the weekend we were also able to get away. Our sailing buddies on Sengo recommended the Binna Burra trails in the Lamington National Park, Gold Coast Hinterland. Binna Burra was new to us and we loved it. We did a couple of walks and liked it so much that we are going back up there for more walks this coming weekend, before we leave the region.
Here is a glimpse of the vegetation: beautiful rainforest trees with buttress roots, Australian figs, delicate ferns… it was a real feast for the eyes and it was so good to get off the boat and exercise.
And back on the boat, a few unlikely visitors stopped by: a harlequin bug, a preying mantis…
This stretch of time at The Boat Works has been very tedious and costly, but we had to last the distance and tackle what needed to be done, while trying to make the pain short lived. The fun and laughter will soon return!
Sv-Anui 
It’s great! Means that soon you will be navigating and enjoying what Nature has for you. Take care, Chris. 🙂
Thanks HJ. We are itching to go and able to see the light at the end of this dark long tunnel we have been in for a couple of months.
Great news that the long job list is (nearly) completed. Glad you got to Binna Burra. It is one of my favorite bush spots and good for the soul.
Absolutely right Graham… ‘good for the soul’ is a very apt way of describing the feel you get. We are going back this weekend for more, and with a lighter mood now we know the end of the chores is near!
It is great news, Chris, that your newest round of repairs is soon coming to an end. I love your shots of the rainforest. That lush green color of the rainforest and the images of the insects remind me that spring will be here for us before long. I will be happy when the almost endless series of gray days comes to a close.
Funny, as you look forward to spring Mike, we can’t wait for summer to end and autumn to come, which heralds the approach of our tropical cruising season!
It really is cool that our blogs have such worldwide reach. No matter how mundane I may consider some of my postings, I can be pretty confident that the creatures and experiences will seem unusual and maybe even exotic to someone who lives in another part of the world.
Totally agree!
Freedom at last but soon. Binna Burra is beautiful and the walks are so wonderful, see any rainforest birds? I have been there a couple of times
Hi Sue – we could hear them but did not see any. May be we will this coming trip.
You must be so happy that you will finally be leaving The Boat Works! And so glad you loved Binna Burra. Enjoy your freedom next week! Cheers Trish
Binna Burra was great. We are going back tomorrow and Sunday! As for leaving Boat Works, it will be a relief!
It sounds like you just made it to Tassie in time with the border closures! Enjoy the huge circuit!
Good to hear you enjoyed Binna Burra ….. did you get see Springbrook NP? I like the name of a look-out there, ‘best of all look-outs’.
Happy sailing guys!
Hi Elgar, going back to Binna Burra Saturday and going to Springwood NP Sunday! Sailing will have to wait a little longer but things are looking up!