"Boat work continues here on the 'BIG X,' wrote skipper Justin Fleck February 21, "with lots of projects going on. First things first though. We had our annual Coast Guard inspection this week and I am glad to report that the Excel is in good shape and we passed with no problems. ABS also made a stop by this week to check the quality level of our steel hull and fuel tanks and they too were impressed. While we are in the boat yard, our focus is on painting the hull, the transom, the bottom paint, zincs, and the through- hull valves. All of these things need to be completed before we go back into the water. As long as we do not have too much rain in the forecast, we should have most of this done by the end of the week."