More progress towards the 2011 launch

April 9th

Back top the boat and better progress all around. Got the bolster adjusted through the week and it now fits great. The marina called Friday to let me know the power would be on all week-end so I was able to get the vacuum going and clean the cabin up proper. I also got the mirror fitted the salon bulkhead and the wood panel behind the settee installed.

I fitted new ‘O’ rings to the water tank outlet hose – hopefully it is sealed when we pressurize the system. I think overall the interior is basically done – I do have to finish the wood trim piece that goes above the new panel – I will take photos of this once the cover is off and the cabin is not a funny blue colour!

Out in the cockpit I vacuumed and washed the floors and seats and generally cleaned up. Radio is now re-installed and seems to be working fine.

In the engine room I fitted new ‘O’ rings to the water tank in and out lines and checked the main engine strainer measurements to order the Perko seal kits.




April 17th:

Weather report – freakin’ cold, windy and snowy – will it ever turn nice? We are less than 3 weeks away from my launch date and the weather has been crappy – so much so that the cover is still on and thus I can not wax or touch-up the bottom. OK – mini rant over for today!

The middle of April and still snow coming down

Will and I went up to knock off a few more jobs. I had hoped to get the bilges in the cabin painted but with no power at the marina and a very overcast dull day meant that it was too dark down below to do a decent job.

However, we did get things ready to take the cover off – Cleaned and waxed the radar arch, and Glomex antenna, replaced the fitting on the steaming / anchor light and sealed the gap in the moulding that holds the zippers in place on the arch. There was one gap that dripped every time it rained – hopefully this fixed that. William also replaced the cabin entry door handles with the factory correct set.

Lastly we set about to remove the ice maker in the cockpit. We have never used this contraption and frankly can’t understand the need to have that much ice – especially ice that will taste like “boat ice”. Yuck! I picked up a small mini-bar fridge last fall that according to my measurements will fit……………. We would rather have cold drinks on hand – especially when people are dripping wet from swimming at anchor.

Well, getting the ice box out went OK. Disconnect the water in, remove about a dozen screws from the surround frame, remove the lower door latches and with 2 people at it we soon had the beast in the cockpit. Getting out of the small “Hobbit” door in the shrink wrap was a challenge and we ended up heaving it out of the door onto the parking lot below – quite satisfying really. Thankfully the ice box plugged in to a normal 2 outlet plug so getting power to the new fridge should be easy. We took the frame surround home to start the modifications. I also need to get the right fittings to plug the water line.

Next job should be to get the cover off – assuming the weather will cooperate. Better stop now – I feel another weather rant coming on.

The old ice maker ready to be tossed - literally

April 21st

Booked the day off work – forecasting a reasonable weather day at last. Natalie and I went up to the boat to get the cover off. All went well – cut the cover away, put together all the electronics on the arch, got the canvas bows up and the canvas back on. It did flurry for a few minutes but finally the sun came out. Starting to feel like a boat again. I was very pleased how clean the shrink wrap kept the boat – even the second year.

The Admiral (aka - Nat). You will notice a lack of pictures of her in this blog. She hates having pictures taken and starts moaning and complaining every time she sees the camera. In fact Nat will not be well pleased to see this picture but I had to add one of her helping get the cover off.

Cover off and the frame being dis-assembled. Sping is finally here...I think!

April 23rd

Forecast to be a nice day and the marina confirmed power / water are now on - so Will and I were back to the boat for wash and wax and whatever else we can get done. Temperatures soured to 22°C! Got the hull washed down and applied the wax with a power buffer, took it off with a second buffer and then went back and hand polished. It feels like a big boat to wax this way and challenging in the tight quarters trying to squeeze the ladder between boats but the results were worth it. However, by the end of the waxing Will and I were thinking a 20 footer was a great way to go!

Anyway, we got the waxing done and I got the bottom touched up. I think next year we need to do a full bottom coat but this year we can get away with it. While I was doing this Will put the cockpit together – carpets and cushions. So, a good hard days work but she is looking good and almost ready to launch. Need one more day and then we should be ready. What a difference a nice day makes in making progress.

Start with a good wash and towel dry





This is what I refer to as tight quarters. They really pack 'em in. It is too narrow to get the ladder down this area.






Now that is what I call a shine. Will is applying the wax with the power buffer. Plan B really shines - hard to telll she is 14 years old!









Ah, the joy of laying under the boat applying anti-fouling. And you can tell by the puddles in the background that this is not a really dry place to be laying. However, it needed to be done.















Spring prep on a warm sunny day. It really feels good at the marina at this time of year.

Progress Update

Master cabin wood trim has been refinished. I do plan too do something with that old TV but later this year.

So, I got up to the boat again on Sunday April 3rd. First order of business was to tackle the re-installation of the bolster pads. As I predicted a few weeks ago, they came off easy but the install…….. I got the port one on no problem. Then when I went to fit the starboard one, it would not fit – it seemed to be too long. I tried fitting one end first, then the other. I took the port one off and tried fitting them together but there was no way they would both fit. I think what happened is that with covering over the existing material and all the tucks and folds each end of the bolster “grew” about 1 /4”. Add that in 4 places and we don’t fit by close to an inch. So I think we are going to have to remove the coverings at both ends of the starboard bolster (which is now back at home) trim the wood ½” on each end and re-attach the coverings.

This mess is our cabin with the newly covered (and yet unfited when this was taken) bolsters, the cockpit cushions and no mattress. At the top of the picture is one of the broken hatch struts hanging down that has to be replaced.

So, an hour later and I moved on to installing all the galley doors with the new push knobs in. That actually went well. I finally removed the ugly picture off the bulkhead – mostly to see how it was attached. I want to try to use the same holes and make some attachment brackets to allow that.

Then it was down into the engine room. First item was to undo a water line coupling to get the “o” ring off. This will be the sample to buy new ones – specifically for the water tank fitting where the “o” ring had disappeared into the bilge for ever. But I think I will put new ones on all the fittings I undid for winterizing. Then I checked the raw water strainers. I think the starboard one is leaking while we are underway since there is obvious water corrosion on the bronze and we get water in the bilge while running that is not there when we are moored up. I think the cork gasket is not sealing well any more and when underway the strainer builds up pressure and drips. Anyway, my plan was to get the model number and order new seals. It is a Perko unit and the markings were “FIG 493. Ok – that should be enough info. But back at home I found out that all the Perko strainers of that style are the same number – you have to know the physical dimensions to order the right parts. Great – I will have to measure next time I am at the boat.

So, overall progress is slow. But I have to say the interior is close for now.

The list as of today is:

Fix bolster and re-install Mattress – still waiting for it to be completed.

Hatch struts – I need the cover and frame off first to be able to open the hatch to replace them.

Install mirror on bulkhead

Finish salon wood trim and attach

I also would like to repaint the bilge storage in the cabin – a coat of light grey will certainly freshen those areas up. As always in those type of areas, it is tricky to do it well around bilge pumps, shower sumps etc. But with care it can be done without getting paint on everything else.

Once I get the cabin done for spring I have the cockpit and engine room lists to deal with…….more to come.