Happy is he who wins for himself
fair fame and kindly words;
but uneasy is that which a man doth own
while it lies in another's breast.

Håvamål 8
Wisdom for Wanderers and Counsel to Guests

Picture Gallery

Other "Munin" Pictures

About

"Hast thou a friend whom thou trustest well,
from whom thou cravest good?
Share thy mind with him, gifts exchange with him,
fare to find him oft."

Håvamål 44
Wisdom for Wanderers and Counsel to Guests

Munin Haul Out May 2009

Viking ships are sturdy vessels and can last along time, but only if you look after them. So it is with "Munin" too and the team has tried different ways to make the annual maintenance as quick and efficient as possible.

We have found that trailering is a lot harder on the hull than we thought at first. For that reason we try to avoid the unnecessary wear and tear.

Now we need alternatives. The simple solution was to think back - what did the Vikings do? They sure did not have trailers. Well, the answer is they beached their vessels and did what they had to do right there on the beach of their choice.

Our exterior hull maintenance isn't very complicated: haul, scrape below the water line, wait for the planking to dry, paint on antifouling and cover the top sides with linseed oil.

All in all, Munin has stood up well. Here's a look catching also the name plate on the port side. Not bad looking for coming up on 8 years young when this picture was taken

Standing and running rigging needs upkeep, too. This block is still in good shape and looks great with a still decent halyard rove through it.

Talking about the mast, here's a close up of the mast rune.

We'll be missing this rune when the mast eventually gets replaced. The old one has served us well, but is starting to crack up badly. It's like the mast is unwinding itself. So we started to look around for a replacement. Through some contacts we found a stand of likely candidates and marked one out. The new stick will need some time to season before we put it in, but it'll likely be ready in 2011 at the 10 year mark.

Now, here are some pictures from the May 2009 haul out. Being Vancouver, it rained so tarps were rigged to keep things as dry as we could make it. Then it was racing through the work before the tide rolled back in.

At the dock

The big day arrived for the annual hull cleaning and bottom painting and it rained. Never fails, but that's the West Coast for you. Old tarps tied around the hull were removed to be used to protect the beach from being messed up while working on the hull.

You'd get a serious case of wet-butt taking this one out across the waters to the haul out beach. Good thing we didn't have far to go.

On the beach

Here we are - pulled up on the beach and covered as best we could against the rain.

The dogs were happy - and got in the way about average.

Here's the team getting into it. You can see the tarps galore both above and below.

Getting a coat on the topsides

"Munin" has gotten a lot darker over the years. And each year we add to the patina. Oiling a hull is an ancient but effective way to preserve it. Little has changed - scrape first and then slap it on. No fuss, no bother, just grease up the elbows and have at it.

Getting a coat of antifouling bottom paint

Laying on the bottom paint on the beach like this gets a little more acrobatic. And it gets in your hair no matter what you do, so just roll with it.

Back in the water after a long day

When the tide rolled in, it was time for "Munin" get back off the beach and into the water, it's natural element. Ready for another season.

And so ended a long day; a row back home to the dock with a tired but content crew. One year till next time with another chance of actually doing this in the sun. Gotta think we'll strike it lucky sometime.