It’s a sunny day here in beautiful Trappe and it looks like the highs will be in the 50’s all week with only one day with the threat of rain. I am still at an extreme disadvantage photo-wise due to my inability to climb ladders and really don’t have any detail shots.  A lot of varnish shots end up on my desk but come on, enough of that for now!  Maybe next week I’ll be back on my game. Still lot’s going on here in the yard. One of the boats that we have been stripping and varnishing on (along with other work) will be launched this week and the owner is headed deep south. He has had scuba gear and other “fun stuff” being shipped in for two weeks in preparation for his trip and is anxiously waiting here in the yard to shake down the boat when it is launched. Also on the launch list is a GB42 motoryacht that is being launched for a survey and sea trial. As you may know, motoryachts are few and far between on the brokerage market but if you are looking for a true stateroom in a boat of this size, this is the boat to look at. If you have air conditioning – as most of your do, as part of your annual maintenance, you should pull the grates and clean those filters. They are there for a reason. You need to know There is a good chance that the State of Maryland will be banning the use of Zinc anodes. We tried a set of aluminum ones on a boat last year with absolutely no discernible difference between similar boats with zinc anodes – except that the aluminum ones are cheaper! There also is talk of phasing out copper based bottom paints in favor of less-toxic antifoulants. You can download a brief from the Maryland Marine Trade Association with more information on this matter.