I think there’s a special Sunday each year when those who need to ready their boats for the season suddenly rush down to the moorings and get to work – I call it Antifouling Sunday, but you won’t find it in any church’s calendar.
My guess is that what happens for many is that the first days of sunshine and the promise of spring get the sap rising in the boating enthusiast’s veins, but their consciences (and perhaps their families) insist they first complete a selection of household jobs on the Saturday. But then Sunday is their own…
Last Sunday I was down there with the rest of them, rubbing and scrubbing and getting antifouling in my hair and on my sunglasses, and wondering which particular kind of magic stuff to try on my woodwork next (nothing I’ve ever tried has lived up to its promise, no matter what the magazines say) and what other jobs I really need to do.
It might have been hard work but, in that setting and with the sense of community moorings and yards have, it was a great place to be.
There were a companionable lot of us down at Hollowshore, near Faversham, and these photos show just a few of the things that were going on – I was particularly impressed by the chap swinging about on a bosun’s chair sorting out shrouds for his Maurice Griffiths-designed yacht. I hate heights…
Try "Melkfett" (milking grease). I know some folks who swear on it. it's completly natural and very environment friendly. Normally you use it for dry skin. I can only imagine how it works, maybe that it makes the hull so slippery that no plant can hold on the surface.