Friday, July 22, 2011

New Marina

     Well, I took the plunge and rented out a slip at a new marina today.  It is nicer, larger, has more amenities, and most importantly, is cheaper.  I went to the boat a little while ago to tidy up and was driven back home by the heat.  The temperature right now is 101 with a heat index of 113.  I'm not sure we're going to make it out tonight to move or if it will just wait until the 1st.

     I still have to mow the yard before leaving in the morning and that is looking like an insurmountable chore right now.  I'm not even sure I will be able to get myself back outside to go to the pool.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Backrest

     The photo pretty much sums up today's work.  I got the backrest sanded to fit correctly, temporarily installed, and the hatches cut out.  The cuts need to be sanded around all the edges and then primed/painted to match the inside.  I also need to install a couple of pieces of wood to act as stops so the bottom pieces don't fall back inside the storage area.  They won't fall out because the cushion will be in front of them.  The top cut outs will remain open like the port side with something across the center to help keep items from falling out.

     I also spent some time at the marina office today trying to get the price of my slip lower so I don't have to move.  They did come down, but only to match the price of the next marina over (which is much nicer).  I guess that means we are going to be moving.  The plan is to do it either on Friday or when we get back from our trip.  I can only imagine how out of place our boat is going to look at the chi chi marina.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Paint & phone work

     The little bit of time I spent at the boat today was filled with painting.  I got the first coat of paint on the area that will be behind the starboard side backrest, the shelves in there, and the backside of the actual backrest itself.   Unfortunately, I think it is going to need two, if not three, coats to cover well.  Bah.  Even with everything opened up the smell got to be horrific.  Between that and the fact that I couldn't do a whole lot working around wet paint I decided to call it a day out there. That and it is just plain out hot this week!  Tomorrow I am going to have to temporarily install the backrest.  It will be easy enough to pull back off for the next coat of paint and it will make what is coming up that much easier.  It will also allow me to mark out the cutouts to access the storage areas.

     I came home and spent a while on the phone with different marinas.  My slip fee is up at the end of the month and I really don't feel like paying what they want.  I have a bunch of different quotes from other places in the area, some of which are much nicer, that I plan on taking to the office tomorrow to see if they will work with me.  Cross your fingers for me.  I would really like to stay where I am because of the location and people I have met there, but if I have to move to save a grand I will.

     Come this weekend the wife and I are making a week long trip up north to visit family.  While I'm looking forward to getting out of this heat for a week it means all this marina fun is on a bit more of an accelerated pace than it should be.  If I have to move in the next couple of days I have a lot of work to be done.  Not only do I have to clean out a whole bunch of tools, plywood, and other assorted building materials, I also have to get a bunch of stuff back on the boat.

     That means it is time to go out to the barn and start digging through all the junk I pulled off the boat at the beginning of this thing and find some stuff I will need.  Flares, life jackets, anchor, chain, etc.  Well, maybe after this beer.  It is still hot out there!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Weekend

     I had the whole weekend off with the wife so very little got done on the boat.  Actually, only one thing was done.  We took the outboard over and put it in place.  Then we used the marina's pool for the rest of the afternoon.  Pretty productive eh?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Busy Day..

...but no pictures.  Forgot my phone and the camera.  Oh well.

     I got the new backrest sized and cut out.  It will need a little bit of sanding on the top to line it up correctly with the edge of the shelf, but that was done on purpose.  I also got the shelves cut out, sanded them to fit, and installed them.  Once this was done I got a coat of primer on the hull, the supports, the shelves, and the back side of the backrest.  I was hoping to go out tomorrow and get the first coat of paint on it all, but as I typed this I realized that I am going to need to caulk off the edges of the shelves and let it dry before I can do any painting.  Going to make a short day at the boat tomorrow unless I can come up with something else to work on.  Something tells me that isn't going to be a problem.  

Monday, July 11, 2011

     Today, with the help of a few marina friends, I installed the main sail and cover for it.  One step closer to sailing!  The genoa is next, but I figured one sail was good enough for today.  Plus I need someone to explain the roller furling to me before I attempt it.  I did discover a couple of broken pieces in the rigging that will need to be fixed as well.  One thing always leads to another doesn't it?

     Working  inside the boat didn't last as long as I was hoping for today.  It is too damn hot to be stuck inside that cabin for very long.  I was sweating bullets.  I did get a little bit of work accomplished though.  I got the bottom half of the two backrest supports epoxied in place as well as getting the shelf supports cut and put in place.  A couple pieces of cardboard were used to make the shelf templates but I didn't actually get those cut out yet.  I am planning on using the old backrest, but first I am going to be using it as a template for the new backrest so I didn't want to cut it up yet.  I need to prime everything before putting them in place as well so no biggie.  I  want to use the part that has 234 engraved in it; I figure it would be kind of nice to leave it.  Who knows, maybe in 20 years or so someone else will be redoing the boat and get as excited to find these numbers as I did.

Organizing Sails

     This post actually should have been up yesterday but the wife decided we should go swimming and have strawberry daiquiris instead.  Who am I to argue with that kind of logic?

     Earlier in the day we started going through all the sails trying to figure out what we had, what was good, was wasn't, and what goes where.  There is a brand new genoa and main sail in the black bags on the right of the picture.  I  brought those and three separate jibs out to the boat along with the main sail cover.  All the other stuff I tried to organize a bit and put back in the barn.  I know some of it is trash and should be thrown out, but I am a little leery of doing so right now.  I don't want to get rid of something I might need in the future.

     One of the neat things I found was the old main sail.  It seems to be pretty beat up and in pretty rough shape but I love the additions on it.  It has the #234 on it as well as the Triton logo up above it.  I would love to remove these and have them put on the new sail.  I have no idea if that it feasible or not but I think I'm going to look in to having it done.  Either that or maybe new copies.

     The wife and I took all this stuff out to the boat and then used the marinas pool.  I hate the thought of having to re up the contract here because of the price but I sure do like having the boat and a pool so close to home.  The slip fee is due the first of the month if I want to keep it here.  Time to make some decisions or win the lotto.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Backrest supports

     Today was spent cutting out, shaping, and starting to install the backrest supports for the starboard side seating area.  I'm getting pretty good at this cardboard template to plywood thing; I only had to make a couple of minor sanding adjustments before they fit in place.  I used the old back rest to hold them in place while I epoxied the top of them to the hull.  Once that cures I can do the bottom half that I couldn't reach today and start working on the shelves.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Odds & Ends

     This is where the picture of my work would go if my phone would cooperate and upload the photo.  Oh well, it wasn't too exciting anyways.


     I started off today by finishing the track replacement.  It turns out all I needed to hold the goose neck in place was a machine screw with a rounded head instead of the flat.  Nothing like something so obvious to make you feel a little stupid.

     The second job done today was sealing off the drain in the icebox with some silicone.  Now it should be waterproof, but I don't want to test it until I finish the shut off valve on the drain.  That shouldn't be too hard to do, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

     I then moved over to the starboard side seating area.  I have tried so many things to get the left over funk off the side and nothing has worked.  Today I broke down and bought a 80 grit sanding disk thingy that attaches to my grinder.  Messy as hell, but it sure took that funk off.  Now I have a bare slate to stick stuff to and paint.

     With that done I laid the old backrest in place to use as a template and worked on sizing out the supports and shelving that will fit behind it.  Back to cutting cardboard.  The whole thing will be similar to the port side, but instead of having a piece coming up for the electronics, there will be a cutout in the rear that will allow use of a trash bag or small trash can without having to open any hatches.  That is the plan anyways, we'll see how it works out.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Gooseneck track

I found a 7/8" piece of track to replace the one I removed at a local consignment shop for $2.00.  Sold!  It is a different style but the dimensions are correct.  Of course the holes didn't line up so I had to drill and tap new holes.  A little sealant, a little lock tight, a couple of new screws and it is back on.

Now for some reason though the boom just slides right off the bottom of the track.  I can't remember what used to hold it in place.  I walked around the marina looking for anything similar but couldn't find anything remotely like mine.  All newer and flashier boats.  Not many 50 year old boats around here it seems.

I was hoping on getting a bit more done today but it is just too damn hot.  I decided to go home and find something to do in the AC.  I'll leave you with the pictures of old vs new.