I know, I know…we haven’t posted in a loooong time. When I sat down to write this post I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about because I didn’t think we had worked on many projects around the boat. I recently bought an Aeropress coffee maker and was going to write about that. Then I started making a list of the projects we’ve recently finished and it seems we have been busy; much busier than I thought. Rich started a new job in October and the big projects have come to a standstill; however, we’ve kicked butt on the little projects. Before Rich started his new job, he did finish several pesky projects that have hung out there for a long time. Here’s the rundown on what we did while we weren’t posting for over a month:
Installed the new Garhauer Traveler
We bought the new traveler months and months ago and finally installed it in October. The reason we waited so long was because we had to take the headliner down and that’s a real sucky job. So we decide to do all the things that required the headliner to be down at one time (see items 2, 3 and 4 below).
Moved the starboard side staysail winch
A year or more ago we removed this winch and then reinstalled it in the original location. After pondering on it for a while Rich decided he wanted to move it to match the port side. And since we had the headliner down anyway, it seemed like a good time.
Installed the grab rails
The teak grab rails were one of the first things we took off the boat. After sanding and sealing them they looked as good as new. We reinstalled them and sealed the screw holes with 4000 sealant. So far no leaks.
Installed the new (homemade) sea hood
The old sea hood was huge and heavy teak. Rich made a smaller, smart-looking fiberglass one and we finally got it bolted down.
Painted the cabin top with Epoxy Primecoat
After we scraped all the old one-part non-skid off the cabin top, we decided to put two coats of primer on for the winter. Even though it’s just primer, it looks amazing compared to the old shitty non-skid the boat came with.
Installed one water tank
We removed the original, leaking, stainless steel water tank two years ago and have lived off the marina’s pressure water system ever since. For the most part it’s been fine. But when the power goes out or the well pump fails we have no water. We bought new water tanks in 2013 and I’ve asked Rich every winter, spring and fall since then to install the water tanks (I didn’t ask in the summer, because the power doesn’t go out as much in the summer). A few Saturdays ago the harbor master informed us that we would be without water for about 36 hours while they performed maintenance on the system. So Rich decided it sounded like a good time to install the water tanks. We ended up getting only one done, and it’s not permanently installed yet (still have to glass in the support struts to the sides of the bilge), but we now have water if the power goes out. Apparently, necessity is the only thing that can get Rich to do something; pleading over and over has no effect.
Fixed the propane locker
Our propane locker drainage system was a mess when we bought the boat. The drain hose had a loop in it that would trap water so any propane leak would pool inside the locker. So Rich switched out the old hose and reconfigured it so it now drains properly (no photos of this, it was a fairly mundane task aside from Rich grunting and groaning trying to get to the fittings wedged in the cockpit locker).
Fixed the compass guard
When we took the pedestal off to have it powder coated we had to take apart the compass guard. The horizontal bracing was monkeyed together and looked real shitty. Rich replaced it with new stainless tubing and now it’s stronger and looks right.
Serviced one of the Barlow 23-26 halyard winches on the mast
We have five winches on the mast that need to be serviced. I found myself with nothing to do one day so decided to tackle the winches. It took me almost the entire day just to do one. Since I’ve already taken the cockpit winches apart and put them back together again, this task went pretty smoothly. The guts of the winch looked just like the winches I previously serviced. One down and four to go.
We bought a dock box
We never wanted to get a dock box because it seemed so permanent. But we’ve resigned ourselves to being here for at least another couple of years before heading off into the sunset so I decided to buy a dock box for all the shit that litters the deck of our boat when we’re working on projects (plus some toys like my inflatable kayak). Now we don’t look so trashy.
We also had some fun while we weren’t writing blog posts this past month. We went to the marina’s Halloween party where Rich took first prize and $100 for his costume as Lieutenant Dangle from the TV show Reno 911. Rich really committed to the role. He even shaved his beard and just left the mustache for an authentic look. The marina owners hired a caricature artist who was really good and it was fun to see what he came up with for everyone.
I bought a new camera and finally retired my old Canon 20D. I decided to go with the Sony a6000. I bought two lenses: a Sigma 19mm f/2.8 wide-angle and a Sony 55-210 f/4.5-6.3 zoom. The camera is amazing. Unfortunately, my old 2009 MacBook Pro just can’t keep up with progress. My old Canon was an 8mp camera. The new Sony is 24mp. The first time I tried to download a bunch of raw files I thought my computer was going to explode. A new MacBook Pro is on the list of things to buy (hopefully in early 2016).
I also bought an Aeropress coffee maker for the boat. I quit coffee and switched to tea when we moved aboard. We had a coffee maker for a couple of months, but it was such a pain to have around. It was too big, took up too much space, and was a hassle to clean. Since I wasn’t drinking coffee, all the coffee-making and cleaning fell on Rich and he soon tired of the responsibility and switched to tea as well. I read a long time ago on the Sundowner’s website that they use the Aeropress. I promptly forgot all about it until I saw it as World Market the other day. I decided to give it a try and I gotta say it’s amazing. The coffee is quick to make, delicious (and this is coming from someone who liked but didn’t love coffee), and cleanup is a breeze (even Rich won’t tire of this chore I think).
We still need to update the projects pages with all the random crap we’ve checked off the list. With the cold and sometimes wet weather here our motivation for working on boat projects is waning for the winter. Hopefully we’ll get some details jotted down on the projects pages just in time for spring.