Winter Projects

Since Plan B got tucked away for winter I really haven't done much boat-wise. However, now it's the end of February and it's time to start planning. This is also the time of the year to try to get house projects done. Luckily we are relatively caught-up on inside projects. I do have to install a new counter over the new front-load washer and dryer in the laundry room but that shouldn't be a huge ordeal.

So, back to that all important boat list.

The projects really had not progressed through the summer. In fact we spent the whole season with the door to our cabin at home – having been removed for veneering that never got done. So the list really falls into 2 categories:

• The ongoing update of the interior
• Repairs

For the updates;

Get our cabin door veneered both sides and stained / varnished.

Remove the trim beads in the main cabin cubbies over the settee and re-finish then the brushed nickel colour.

Replace that ghastly picture on the main bulkhead.

Install a finished wood panel behind the settee in place of the panel with the mirrors in.

Refinish the remaining switch plates in the main head and master cabin.

Strip, stain and refinish the wood trim in the master cabin to match the rest of the wood.

Remove the bumper pad around the master bed and re-cover.

Order a new mattress for our cabin

Buy a new bed spread and have it altered to for the same way the original Sea Ray one fits the shaped mattress.

Door handles – I had used a metal paint on them last spring and it was far from durable so they need to be refinished.

Order new push knobs and trim rings for all the cupboard doors. Like the handles the re-finish was not a great success so they need to be replaced. If you recall they were all a gold finish that I don’t like at all.

Cut and sew a shore power cover using some of the tan Sunbrella I have left over.

Add some of the “burled wood” laminate at the helm below the radar pod to cover some screw holes – I suspect before the electronics upgrade the previous owner added a GPS unit there since the original radar was not GPS capable.

Order some LED lights for the cockpit to reduce battery consumption.

So, where are we with that list;

Master cabin door – done! Ready to install.

This is the master cabin door veneered, stained and varnished. I screwed the hinges to the workshop wall stud so I could varnish both sides at the same time. It also helped stop dust settling on the wet varnish.

Handles – re-finished. We will see if this is more durable.

Shore power cover is done – looks pretty decent in my opinion.

Master cabin mirrored locker doors – wood trim is stripped and stained.

Main salon wood panel – finished.

Master cabin mattress – on order.

Well, that’s it to date. But a start non-the-less.

Salon wood trim panel - substrate was cut and fitted at the boat and then veneered. Shown here it is sanded and ready for staining.

This is the small mirrored locker door from the master cabin. Wood trim is stripped and sanded here ready for staining.

Here is the trim panel and main locker door stained and varnished - ready to be re-installed at the boat. I think this colour of stain really updates the boat. The blonde wood finish is a bit out of date.

As for repairs;

Need to replace the main deck hatch struts that broke on Lake Erie during the holidays.

Need to replace the steaming / anchor light base I broke during the shrink wrapping (clever Glen, real clever).

Stove knobs – one has cracked on the inside so will not turn one of the elements on.

VHF – need to remove and send to Ray Marine for repair. It stopped working on Holidays (not sure I mentioned that before).

Cabin entry door – we need new handles. The cockpit side has cracked trim, the cabin side is not even the original handle and keeps falling off.

I also need to schedule JJ to look at a small oil leak I see by the starboard engine raw water pump.

So, where are we on that list…

I have the hatch struts ordered through Sea Ray – Needhams Marine in Sarnia.

I have the stove knobs ordered and delivered. These were ordered directly from Kenyon.

I have the cabin entry door handles ordered and delivered.

I have ordered the new push knobs and trim rings for the cabin – 20 of them with the satin nickel finish – ordered and delivered. Both these and the cabin entry door handles were ordered from Flounder Pounder - FP Marine in Florida. These guys are great and have tons of Sea Ray parts - especially older items you can't get from Sea Ray any more. FP buy up all the surplus stock http://www.searay-parts.com/

I have the VHF removed shipped back to the Raymarine repair centre. Raymarine have a flat-rate repair for non-current electronics so since this is a really decent VHF and since it fits perfectly in the dash panel it makes sense to repair it.......I hope.

Well – that sit so far. Will update as winter drags on, and on and on and on………….

Powering Up

I think I mentioned earlier in the blog that the marina shut down the power and we had to schedule a day to get it turned on. Well, after much back and forth with the marina a day was finally settled upon – Friday Jan 28th.

I had the day off work and William had a mid-term exam that morning. He was finished by 9:45 so I picked him up from school and we headed up to the boat. It turned out to be quite a nice day in Sarnia – temps warming up to near freezing and the sun out although it started out very cold.

We opened up the boat and set to with the extension cords. Since we were only plugging into a basic household 15 amp plug I ran 2 cords – one to power up the boat and one to run the small electric heater to try to coax some warmth into the cabin. We powered up the onboard 120v system and got the battery charger going. I was surprised at how much power was still in the batteries since they had been sitting in the cold since the end of October. Once that was done and the heater was cranked to full we got to work in the cabin. We removed the trim beads around the storage bins over the settee, the master head and cabin switch plates (these were still the brassy gold colour) and the 2 mirrored locker doors in the master cabin. These were to be brought home to refinish the wood to match the new stain. I also tested and fitted the panel behind the settee that would cover the oval mirrors. As always this takes longer on a boat than one would think – and for sure the cold does not help. But we were done by noon and after some lunch and warmth at a local restaurant we continued with the to-do list in the cockpit. We got the VHF removed so we can send it back to Ray Marine, measured for an estimate for Flex-Teak at eh helm and the swim platform, measured the cockpit table so one of these days I can make a nice teak one. Then it was time to pack up. I did a quick check in the engine room – nothing untoward was evident so I have to assume the winterizing has been successful…….

As we completed closing up the zipper on the door in the cover decided enough was enough and broke. It had been a bit troublesome since we got the cover on this year but I had hoped it would hang in. But no way so we hastily taped the door closed as best we could. I have my doubts it will stand up to the assault of snow we continue to see every day. The only bright spot is that it really only leaves the swim platform exposed if the tape fails.