Check out these before and after shots of our floor and trim! We’re sooo excited to have a wood floor. We can’t afford to do the rest of the boat but we can dream.
Shit hot!!
countdown to choof off
22 days, roughly until we plan to leave. That all depends on weather of course. We have such a long list of projects to get accomplished in that time. We are feeling extremely overwhelmed and don’t know how it’s all going to be done. The boat is far from sea worthy. From no GPS, to steering wheel to lee clothes and leaking hatches. We’re going to have to buy up a bunch on parts so we can complete a lot of the projects from the Bahamas. I know it would be easier to stay here another month but it’s getting cold and I think when that deadline arises we’ll be in the same boat – so to speak – not having all we want done. Sometimes you just have to get up and go. There are plenty of boats out there that are in far worse condition than ours (functioning systems). Just bite the bullet and make a run for it. I think we’ve pretty much talked one of our friends into coming with us for the 2-3 day trip to Marsh Harbour, he is a mega yacht captain so I’m sure the living conditions aren’t going to be quite up to his standards. He’s just going to have to think of it as a camping adventure.
Carl has about 4 pages of projects that have to be completed but here’s what I believe that needs to be done:
1. GPS installed and operational
2. Steering completed – with a wheel and not a toggle
3. Generator installed
4. Sofa completed
5. V-Berth built in the forward cabin
6. Watermaker installed
7. Water filtration system installed
8. Electric winch wired (mast)
9. Dodger and Bimini built
10. Flooring installed
11. Motors serviced
12. Sewing projects: mosquito nets, finish curtains, lee clothes, rope pockets outside
13. Install hatches
14. Fix freezer
….. plenty more
Safe to say we are going NOWHERE!!
projects
Carl has been a busy bee tearing out the old steering system and putting in the new one, this way we can run an auto pilot no worries. We have gained a lot of space in the laz by taking the huge one out. Now we have room for a generator – yey. Where Carl is working is right behind our master bed and between the transom steps.
Pri has been begging us for a purple room so I bought some sticky removable wallpaper to cover up the Formica walls. I did a checker board effect or else the room would have been too dark. Of course she doesn’t like it because it’s not ALL purple, can not please this princess!!! Maybe I’ll try and find a mauve or light pink to fill in the other spots. That’s pretty far down on my list.
We had a couple of carpenters working on the boat today, great guys. We removed the captains chair and are getting them to build a bench seat instead. A sofa will go behind the bench to fill in some useless space and add more storage – not that we need it. It’s going to look fabulous and be a very functional sea berth. Sally our canvas lady will be making cushions for it all, I’d give it a go but it would probably take me until next Christmas to finish and we don’t have that time.
We have replaced majority of the windows in the salon. We found a great local place just up the road from us that used the old ones as a template. The new lexan ones look amazing but will scratch easy. We are officially a fish bowl!!! I’ve already bought the material and Monday I will start on the curtains. Hopefully Sally will supply me with some rubber backing for the sun, heat and cold. We mounted a TV in one of the windows and I’ll put a curtain behind it so it won’t stick out like a sore thumb. We don’t watch a lot of TV anymore, the kids and the boat take up all our time. But we are missing the Walking Dead and it is KILLING US. I have a hard drive with kids shows and movies on it so the girls get there Calliou and Scooby Doo fix. But most of the time they keep themselves entertained with odd stuff lying around. Hopefully we’ll have the netting up on the boat next week to contain the wild animals.
We seem to be in a good routine these days. Preschool in the mornings, park in the arvo then Carl entertains them while I cook dinner. While they’re at preschool I run around like a crazy person doing errands and boat projects. An hour in the arvo spent at the park seems to wear them out good. One the weekends we chill on the boat doing odd projects and finding good local icecream. They like to be in somewhat of a routine so come the end of November our lives will be thrown into a tizzy again, but a good one – off to the Bahamas. I’m excited that my mum from Australia and sister from Italy will be flying in when we’re there. Cant wait to have #3 bubba and chill out in the cockpit with a beer. Ahhh beer – it’s what keeps me going! No I’m not drinking beer now, the thought of it keeps me going.
best door in the world (part II)
The door has been installed! And WOW what a difference it makes. We both slept much better last night, it cuts down on the noise as well as the mega heat coming from the laz. Not sure whether we’re going to stain or paint it, she is a thing of beauty. We are hiring a carpenter to build the other 5 doors needed.
We have on order a bunch of soundown to insulate the laz from further noise and heat. We decided to get a cheaper generator that doesn’t have the casing so the door and soundown will help that our a lot too. High five for the bestest, mostest skilled husband on the planet. xxx
best door in the world
This afternoon Carl took on the project of making a door for our lazarette. That blasted diesel water heater is not keeping up awake tonight!! Pri put her artful touch on the new door. No expense was spared with high tech door making tools. 8pm and Carl is still out on the dock with a light trying to get it finished.
For weeks now we’ve been meeting with carpenters to make a couch, put in a few doors and do some trim work. Nothing fancy, we just don’t have the time to mess with it. But no one wants the job, maybe because it’s too simple and not portfolio material? Funny thing was today Carl was on his way to Lowes to get materials for the new door when a stranger called letting him know that they have his ipad – must have fallen off the roof of the car sometime today. Anyways he met up with them at their house in Carolina Beach and the LUCK!!! He’s a carpenter that works out of his house, full workshop and everything. Can you believe it? To start with he was honest and called Carl about the ipad and second a carpenter (with skills) fell straight into our laps. It was destiny. We will be meeting up with him tomorrow.
I’m also very excited, I ordered a hanging oil cabin lamp for above our table and it comes in tomorrow. I’ve been dying for one. I’ll make sure to post pictures of the finished door and lamp later.
Off shopping for curtain material tomorrow. All our saloon windows will start to be removed tomorrow and replaced with new lexan ones. We are going to be a fish bowl.
Wilmington living
We have finally got internet hooked up!
As I write this Carl is screaming all sorts of blasphemies in the master, he’s fixing the head. Ewwww!
Well the car ride from MS to NC was miserable to say the least with two toddlers that pee every hour, to think Carl made better time pulling a heavy trailer and running just under the speed limit. But we finally got here and are happier for it. We stayed in a hotel for 4 nights, was meant to be for one but that was wishful thinking. The boat yards sand blaster broke down and set us back a few days. I’m sorry but there was no way I was staying out of the water with 2 toddlers and a pregnant woman’s bladder.
We got the bottom sand blasted and new zincs put on. We also had the wind vane taken off the stern, a boat this size is too big for wind vanes. Fixed a few problem areas and put a few layers of paint on. Bearing Marine was a great yard to deal with, they stated a price and actually stood by it. Pretty rare in a boat yard.
We still haven’t unloaded the trailer yet and I’m sure it’ll take until we finally leave, how did we accumulate so much stuff?
We put some rugs on the floor (no flooring yet or maybe ever). The girls picked out some bedding and stickers for their room and Carl got to work fixing the forward head, shower and galley sink.
All is well on board and we are quite happy and the girls are dealing with the change like troopers. The larger boat is far less stressful with the girls on deck then the Skye. Far less clutter on the deck and handrails are 3’ tall. We are all rednecked up with a huge tarp covering us. All the deck hatches leak which is no big deal because we planned on replacing them all before we leave.
Carl has also removed the forward cabin bed to create a chain locker. Who knows why they built the boat with the chain exposed to the rest of the boat. Stinky stinky! I could just image baby crabs crawling around the salon in the middle of the night. Still need to weld in the wall and put the bed back and we are in business for Grandma and Grandpa to visit for Thanksgiving.
Kisses from Salty Kisses
Bottoms up
Salty’s getting her hull blasted and painted. She should be back in the water by the time we road trip it up to her in a week and a half. Count down is on – like donkey kong!
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