With less than 70 days left until we are free to roam the oceans, the work continues. The good news is we have slowed down taking things apart and are beginning to put some areas of the boat back together.
Inverter wire upgrade is complete and the transfer switch is in. I was able to locate the issue with the hydraulic swim step and repair that in short order. (It turned out to be a bad butt splice) I hate it when that happens! Update – Now the hydraulic cylinders decided to squirt a bit of fluid…… -1 / +1 And the beat goes on….. 🙂
We just got the cushions back from Christiane at In Canvas in Everett, WA. Every experience with her is better than the one before. Our expectations are high but she always manages to exceed them. We can’t thank her and her team enough for the wonderful work she has done on our boat. If you are looking for canvas or upholstery work, this is the place to go.
We installed a new mirror in the rear head. I broke the last one over a year ago. Don’t ask.
That was quite the engineering feat just trying to hold it in place until the glue dried!
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We are still working with the windows. I managed to re-bed the starboard port lite in the aft cabin. I have two more of these to do. Update – There are more than just three… Argh! We hired a professional to deal with the salon windows. Just waiting on some dry weather.
The other large project is redoing the lifelines and stabilizing the stanchions. Stanchions need to be very strong especially when heading off shore so there is a lot of thought needed to make sure everything is done correctly. I have a plan. Had a plan. Ok, a plan is forming…. (I think)
And of course the foward shower mixing valve started a drip, drip, drip drip. I’m under strict orders to get that remieded right away. One look at the shower and I know I’m in deep weeds. There is absolutly no access. I get lucky and there is a name on the handle. The fixtures are from Hansgrohe. So much for luck. Never hear of them. This boat was built in the UK so most brands on this vessel I’ve never heard of. I’ve got to tell you this internet thing is pretty amazing. I Google Hansgrohe and at least find a contact in the US. I send an email with no information. Just to see if they respond. I do see an exploded view of something similar and that will get me started. I get the unit apart, find a few numbers like only the Germans do. They put a part number on everything! I Google search a few of the numbers and bingo! I find the part. This is on Saturday. The very next day (Sunday) I have an Amazon package on my porch with my valve in it.
I get home and open the package; yup, looks like the one I took out. I scan my emails and there is a response from the company asking for more details. I responded with thanks but I already have the correct part on my counter.
In the midst of all the boat projects we have taken a little time to do some planning for our upcoming trips. This is a lot more fun than working on the boat!
The first will be a trip to Friday Harbor and then down into Hood Canal.
Owen is practicing his galley skills and will be joining us the first weekend of April in Friday Harbor. Not sure we want him cooking his hand. We will go over galley SOP later this month covering safety in the galley!
The rest of April will be cruising down into Hood Canal . Linda has never been down that way and I have only been as far as Pleasent Harbor. It will give us some time to blend into acutally living on the boat and yet not too far from home should we need to skoot back for any reason.
The month of May finds us traveling to South Carolina to visit our friends, Michael and Sara, who we sailed the Gulf Islands with last summer. When we return from our trip out East we begin our circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. (At least that is the plan for now)
The first leg will begin in Vancouver, BC. We will meet Damon and his bride, Leslie for a 2 week excursion into Princess Louisa and then across the Strait of Georgia to Comox. We spent an evening planning our trip a few weeks ago where Leslie taught us how to make sushi rolls. What a fun night.
Damon initially taught me all about sailing and has been mentoring me ever since. He shared his gift of sailing with us years ago and we have enjoyed traveling with he and Leslie ever since.
Well, that should get us all caught up for now. We are getting pretty excited. As time allows I will work on getting our blog formatted. Web site design is not a skill set I possess but as my time commitments change so will my attention to this site.
The new profile on the web site is a picture of my Christmas present from my Nephew Brady. He found that sailboat at a craft fair last year.
Walt & Linda
SV Pellucidar 