Wiskun was hauled out in late 2008 and sat in the Samal boatyard next to the Samal Ferry terminal (Davao Gulf, Southern Philippines). For almost 3 years, there were a lot of work done on her. Not that she needed repairs, but more because Kjartan needed projects to do to keep busy. Some projects of course were real repairs when we found the damage - such as dry rots in the wood and rusting problems.

Dry rots:

• The masts were taken off as soon as we hauled Wiskun out. We found some dry rotting and the spreaders needed to be replaced. This project is ongoing.
• Deck boxes were rotting away. New and better desiged boxes were built.
• Deck housing, especially the area where it connects to the deck had some dry rot. This probably caused some of our leaking problems below deck.

Rusts:

• Our biggest problem since leaving Vancouver was the rust oozing off our gunwales. They became a nightmare when we reached the tropics due to the high salinity in this area. We tried so many ways to stop it and listened to so many advice. All to no avail. The rust kept on coming back. We knew that we had to somehow seal the metal embedded in the gunwale real well. But just imagining all the work covering about 100 feet all around was so daunting. Finally, Kjartan started this big project in Samal. He placed several biaxial fiberglass cloth on, sanded and sanded, painted and painted. When you look at the gunwales now, you will never know that there are several layers of fiberglassing over them. Now I dare the oxygen to penetrate and find a way into the metal part.
• Rudder post rust started to destroy part of the rudder. This too got repaired with several layers of cloth and epoxy. Probably overdone again by Kjartan, but better be safe than sorry. It is much cumbersome to repair areas under water so it is better to make sure the repair is longlasting.

Miscellaneous:

• Engine - taken out and got overhauled. Engine room got new insulation.
• Bilge area - super cleaned and painted with 2 part epoxy paint. It now looks so clean you can live in there.
• Deck - the whole deck area was smoothened, epoxied and primed. We will paint it all in white. There is a big difference in keeping it cool this way.
• Keel - lots of blistering problem areas repaired. With over 2 years of drying out time, we hope this time the repairs will last.
• Bowsprit - taken off for the time being and is already nicely painted.
• Deck boxes - newly built ones and better designed to prevent water from entering.
• Masts and spreaders - taken off and dry rot still to be repaired. New spreaders were made ready for installation.
• Body work - all scratches, nicks and imperfections were fixed and Wiskun got a new paint job.
• Waterline - Wiskun always looked port and aft heavy. Finally, we got the waterline corrected.

The decision to launch Wiskun back to the water was made because Kjartan is now busy building the 50 ft. catamaran with our friend Bill from Vancouver. Being away, Wiskun was gathering too much dust where she sat, from the ferry traffic next door and the boatyard operations all around. Also, the metal of the shed was shedding too much rust onto her deck. The moment of truth came on August 15th when she was launched. The engine purred and the gears worked! We motored slowly to Oceanview marina. While I steered the boat, Kjartan went below to check everything. Everything seemed fine, and the insulation worked so well, I couldn't hear the engine as loud as before. The only thing weird about it all was that Wiskun had no masts, no bowsprit, no sails and no anchors.

Now Wiskun sits in her new home - in Holiday Oceanview Marina. There are still lots of projects to do below deck and some things in my wish list have yet to materialize. Oh well, in due time. For now, cleaning away all the dust some of which are 3 years old plus more and throwing away many many things. By the way, I found out that batteries melted in the heat. Luckily I thought of emptying all the electronic gadgets of batteries when we hauled out.