I’m trying to update the website once a month just to keep a record of what we have been up to. February is quickly coming to a close so here goes…
The interior refinishing is coming along nicely. I finished the forward companionway and reinstalled the ladder, it looks fantastic. We removed the table from the saloon, brought it home and have begun to strip off 30 years of gunk. I have also cleaned out several mildewy compartments and primed and painted them with leftover bilge coat, they look amazing. We are replacing several vented loops in the plumbing systems. Vented loops prevent water from siphoning from the outside to the inside by breaking suction with a vent, a safety measure to keep the boat from sinking.
There are several other projects in the queue that I’ll be starting soon. Starting projects is the easy part, finishing is another topic. As with any boat project, you start with a plan and once you break into it you find three other things that need to be done in order to finish the first project. After much prodding, the wind generator is back in our hands. We also need to install our last two solar panels and our new boarding ladder. I’m ripping out the watermaker this week to tweak a few things, also going to move the control panel to a more accessible location. I still need to fix the generator exhaust. I’ve started refinishing the v-berth, so I have to finish that as well. The list goes on, but to be realistic, the only projects that “must” be done before we depart are wind generator and solar panel install, and the watermaker and generator repairs.
And the pictures…
The forward companionway “before” photo. The wood is coated with decades of “stuff”; you can barely see the wood grain:
Ladder removed. Yuk:
Cleaned and sanded:
First coat of spar varnish:
Shiny hard durable finish:
Look at that glowing wood:
We also decided to buy a new anchor and swivel. This is our 44 pound Rocna:
Got a new bow light for the dinghy, replacing a couple of cabin lights, stocking up on vent blowers and tons of other spare parts.
That’s it for now, see you next month!