Disapearing shit

     I spent this morning in Annapolis running some errends, so while I was up there I finally broke down and bought some insulation to start working on the ice box again.  I ended up going with a piece of two inch thick "blueboard" with a claimed rating of R-14.  Doubled up this should be more than enough. 

      Of course it turned into quite the adventure trying to get it home.  I had the wifes car so I had more room, but still not near enough.  After cutting it in half I stuck it in the trunk, tied the trunk as close to closed as I could get it, and stuffed a sleeping bag (conveniently in the trunk from the NOLA trip) in the remaining gap to keep it from bouncing up and down.  I brought this stuff out to the boat only to discover I had to cut the pieces down even more to get them through the hatch and into the boat.  This would have been so much easier if I had just measured the opening to begin with.  Then I could have cut it into smaller pieces at Home Depot to begin with and not deal with the slow drive home.

     I didn't stay long because a nasty storm was blowing in and on the way out I noticed something wrong about the cockpit.  It took me a while to figure out what it was.  Remember the waste holding tank I removed that still had some leftovers in it?  Turns out someone decided it belonged to them and removed it for me.  I guess I don't need to figure out how to empty it afterall, and it makes the decision about reusing it a lot easier. It also made a great name for this post.

Back at it

     Yesterday I was a lazy slug and didn't even leave the house let alone go work on the boat.  It's nice to be able to do that now and then.  Being nice and refreshed, I spent about six hours today working at the marina.

     I broke down and cut out an opening for the electrical panel to start.  I started sanding out the new cuts and kept right on sanding.  I got pretty much the entire port side of the salon area before running out of sandpaper.  After lots of cleaning, letting dust settle, and cleaning some more, I primed it all.  What an amazing differance.

     After priming I started playing around with the wood around the main hatch.  Several  of the pieces are broken and need some attention so I dug out the plugs and started trying to remove some pieces to see how it all goes together.  This turned into a nightmare.  Nothing wanted to come out like it should and multiple cracks and breaks made themselves visable.  There is a lot of previous repair work done here and I think I might just try to build all new.  As if I don't already have enough to do out here.

Notta

     No boat work this weekend.  I spent the afternoon with the wife and spending the night at work.  Apparently wind storms play havoc with brush fires and I got called and asked to come in.  If I get any sleep tonight I'll be spending tomorrow with the wife and then back to work on Monday.

     See you on Tuesday.

More holes

     Today was gorgeous outside, so work proceeded a little bit slower that it should have.  Lots of people hanging out at the marina shooting the breeze.  The nice part about the warmer weather was that I finally got around to filling 18 holes with epoxy.  Of course on the way home I saw a couple that I missed.  Next time.  Hopefully this will help with the leaks.

     I also removed the remaining three handrails to take home and refinish.  The inside ones aren't terrible if you ignore the yellow paint splattered all over them, but the one from the outside was horrible.  "R" had refinished the other outside one earlier and it looks amazing.  Hopefully I can get this one to match.  Having these removed will make the interior painting much easier.  I thought I was going to have to dig out rotted core and epoxy in the holes, but it seems one of the previous owners had already done the exterior one I removed, and "R" did the other.  Nice!  So for now I just have some painters tape covering the holes.

     While I was in the filling in holes mood, I got out the wood filler and patched up a bunch of holes in the port side forward bulkhead, including the patch I made earlier for the speaker hole.  I then sat back with a beer and watched the filler dry for a good half hour.  Hard work I tell ya.

     Before calling it quits for the day I did a lot of picking up.  I'm such a slob out there it was getting hard finding the tools I needed.  The engine compartment is doing duty as a catch all storage area now and it helps a bunch.

Making holes

     Today I decided to make some holes.  It seems like I am always filling them in, so it was a nice change of pace.  I used my Dremel Trio (thanks baby!) to cut out the openings in the backrest.  The only one I didn't get done was for the electrical panel, because I still can't decide how I want to do it.  The three hatches in the bottom will be covered by the back cushion so I did these first to get the hang of it.  Surprisingly I didn't have any miscuts.  The bare wood you can see on the sides are supports I added so they don't fall back inside.  They will eventually be primed and painted the same as the outside of the backrest, whatever color that will be.  I also used a 3/4 bit to cut a hole in the center of each piece to aid removal.  Now I need to figure out if (and then how) to have these latch.

     The access holes on the top were cut out the same way, but I didn't install any catches on the backside.  I am debating on how to do these.  The ways I am thinking about are having a hinged cover, having caned covers like on Glissando, or just smoothing them up and leaving them the way they are.  I have about a 2 1/2 inch lip all the way around and I was thinking I could run a bungee cord across the middle to help keep stuff in place.  Anyone have a vote?

     Sorry about the dark picture.  It was getting late in the day and the sun starts doing weird things out there.  I'll try to be quicker next time. 

     Tomorrow is supposed to be around 60 so I might actually get to do some epoxy work and fill in more holes.  I'm planing on removing and redoing the handrails (the 3 out of 4 that are on), so I should probably do that first so I can fill those holes as well.  We all know how reliable the weather predictions can be though.

     I'm off to grill up some burgers and endive for dinner.  Cross your fingers for me for good weather.

Starting back up

     I just got back from New Orleans last night, so back to the boat I go.  I didn't have any specific work planned for today which turned out to be good.  I seem to have left most of my tools in the trunk of the car my wife took to work today.  Oops.  I did stop out for a bit today but couldn't do a whole lot.  Instead I grabbed a bunch of sandpaper and headed back home. 

     The weather was wonderful, so I hung out on the back porch with the dog, cranked up the radio and started sanding down the two pieces of wood used to hold the cushions in place.  Unfortunately I forgot to get a "before" picture before I started.  The back side of the port side piece is covered with all sorts of sticky residue from where it was taped before a paint job.  This tape then proceeded to sit there for who knows how many years and is proving difficult to get off.  Anyone know a good cleaner to help with this?  How about a good varnish to use when I'm finished?

    
     Back to work tomorrow, then hopefully back at it on Wednesday.

I lied

     I know I said I was done for the next week and a half or so, but I snuck out to the boat yesterday afternoon.  I had about an hour to kill, so I installed the port side backrest and primed the outside of it.  The fumes were so bad the wife made me throw my clothes in the wash and jump in the shower as soon as I got home. 

     I'm working today and heading out in the morning for the nice 18 hour drive, so no updates for a bit.  Hope everyone has fun while I'm gone.

I smell like paint

     So the weatherman predicted 40 degree weather today.  I figured that meant I could fill in the holes from all the exterior hardware I removed with some epoxy.  I should know better than to trust the stupid weather report.  It was too cold to work outside and have the epoxy cure properly, so I cranked up the heater and went to work inside.

     I almost used up the quart of Brightsides, but it was worth it.  It always amazes me how much of a difference a coat of paint can make.  I got the top shelf, behind the backrest, and the back side of the backrest painted.  I'm hoping I didn't miss any spots and that one coat will work here as well as it did underneath the galley area.  This part of the project would be so much nicer in warm weather.  I had to have the hatch open to let out the fumes, but my little heater couldn't really keep up that way.  It was cold and smelly, but worth it.  It is always nice seeing something start to come together.

     The next step with this is to install a couple of cleats on the bottom for support (that I may have forgotten to do before painting), and then screw the backrest into place.  I still haven't decided exactly where or how I want to do the cut outs for access yet, and I'm hoping with it put in place something will strike my fancy.  Anyone have any suggestions?  I'm kind of new to this whole boat thing and would hate to spend years staring at something I did thinking "I should have...". 

     This concludes my boat adventure for the next week and a half or so.  The misses and I are going to be taking a trip down to New Orleans.  Before you get excited, we are going for work, not play.  OK, maybe a little bit of playing, but mostly work.  Our tenants are leaving so we have to go do any needed repairs, a little sprucing up, and find some new people to pay the mortgage on this anchor.  Like the little boat pun?  Unfortunately, the house will be empty.  This means that anything we want to have with us like tools, cooking stuff, cleaning supplies, and whatever we decide to do for sleeping needs to be carted down there with us.  Add in the problem of not having a dog sitter and it looks like we are driving.  Eighteen hours (each way) with the dog in the backseat.  I can hardly contain myself.

Backrest and leaks

     Today I worked on the backrest for the port side.  The first step was to sand down the whole backrest to make sure it fits properly.  With that done I moved on to what will be behind it.  I built shelves for the two front sections and left the aft one as one large area.  I used cardboard to make up some templates and traced them on to the old backrest to cut out.  Much nicer to reuse some of the old stuff rather than having to buy new.  I made sure to get the scribed 234 from this on the bottom side of the front shelf.  Maybe forty years from now when it is being redone someone will get as excited about finding it as I did.  Sorry about the dark picture, the sun was shining in and causing some problems. 

     After these were cut out they had to be trimmed up and sanded to get to fit properly as well.  The inside hull of the boat is nowhere near straight so this took awhile.  I installed them on supports and screwed them in to place.  Everything got a coat of primer, including the back side of the entire backrest.  More than likely I will finish all of this off with the same paint I used under the galley and in the engine box.  After the primer dried I used some marine sealant to fill the seams between the shelves and the hull, as well as the vertical supports and the hull.

     With everything inside drying I moved outside.  It was nice and sunny there for a bit so I figured I should use it.  I removed a couple of pieces of hardware that were leaking and covered them up with some duct tape.  I need to buy some epoxy and fill them, but money is an issue right now (stupid tenants leaving early).  The picture to the right shows the leaking pieces next to the cooler entrance.  I'm pretty sure they are to run a rope over top of the hatch to keep it in place.  I don't think I will need them once the insulation is installed, but I can always redo them later.  I also removed a couple of similar pieces up near the front of the boat.  Every time it rains I get puddles on the shelves in the v berth and I think this is where they were coming from.  I'm going to have to wait until it rains again to be sure.

Slacker

     My boat work today was a little weak.  I stopped by Home Depot and bought a replacement for a drill bit I broke and a hinge for the icebox.  Pretty impressive huh?

     To be fair, we had a pretty good house fire last night and I didn't get to bed until around 3 in the morning.  Cold weather, ice, and lots of water leads to a pretty vicious work environment, and my backside is feeling it.  I may have fallen a time or 12.  To help make up for it I just had some soup and a home brewed copper ale (thanks R!) for lunch, and the rest of my day is going to involve laying on the couch, in bed, or a combination of both.

     Tomorrow I plan on getting the port side backrest trimmed down to size and primed.  After that who knows.  I have had some ideas about stuff I have already done and want to improve on, so maybe I'll go backwards a bit.  I want to cut the top of the engine box and install a hinge so it can swivel up out of the way, and some sort of track so that the front can slide up and out when needed.  The top piece will hold it in place with some sort of latch.  Never ends, does it?

     Until tomorrow....