Author Archives: Melissa

Aft Cabin Finale

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In the history of our ownership of Galapagos, there have been two projects that have felt never-ending. One was the engine exhaust elbow drama, and the other has been the aft cabin remodel. For your reading convenience, clicking on the link takes you to the first post in the series, way back in February, and from there you can link to the next post, etc.

In our last episode of the story of the remodel, we had finally taken possession of the beautiful new mattresses: 8″ of good night’s sleep. My task was to find bedding for that space. If that sounds simple to you, you do not own a boat.

This is where we are starting as we begin this post.

The situation: three separate pieces of mattress in three different shapes and sizes. Two of the pieces are fairly large and heavy. In creating a ‘bedding system’ for this space I had several goals:

  1. It had to be easy to use, and by that I mean that changing the sheets had to require very little ‘boat yoga’, and preferably I would not have to be moving the mattresses around much. I wanted something simple and fast.
  2. The sheets had to fit snugly on the mattresses. I pretty much hate rumpled sheets at home, and I’m not very likely to enjoy them on the boat, either. Two words that describe comfort in the bed are cool and crisp.  It’s going to be hot enough in the tropics without having to mess around with too much sheet fabric that just holds the heat next to you.
  3. It had to look good. When I walk into that aft cabin, I want to look at that bed and be happy. Beauty and function. I want them to play well together.

These are the kinds of design situations that can keep a boat owner up at night, staring at the ceiling, imagining all the possibilities and envisioning the final product. You’ll notice I said nothing about cost in my list of goals. That’s because I already knew, from previous research on the marine bedding industry, that I was absolutely not going to pay someone else to make custom sheets for my bed. You can buy ready-made ‘one size fits all’ cinch sheets for marine berths, but they run about $140 a set for a full size, and that’s on the low end. That’s for one set. I have three different mattresses, not to mention two other cabins. So that would be at least $300 just for two sheet sets. That doesn’t include mattress pads. No. Can. Do.

In the end, I bought two nice mattress pads at Costco, about 35$ each, cut them to fit the top, and bound the edges with extra upholstery fabric. I purchased a set of bamboo sheets at the Canned Food Outlet  for $30 (yeah, who knew? They actually feel like silk. Seriously.), and a second set of cotton sheets at Ross for $20. I cut pieces to fit the top, plus a couple of extra inches, hemmed them and they were good to go. To make duvet covers, I got two sets of microfiber sheets in cheerful patterns for $20 each. I cut them down to size, sewed them up, used plastic snap tape to make closures,  then cut our blankets to fit inside. Done. Nothing too interesting about how to do this stuff, it was just simply cutting and sewing. The total cost for two sets of sheets, pillow cases, and two duvet covers was $160. That’s how I roll.

Not totally happy with the edging on this, but it works fine and at least matches the upholstery.

As an aside, I’m actually thinking these mattress pads are going to be fine for living aboard in the marina this year, but when we go south, they are going to be too hot. I  have some ideas for  quick and easy replacements for these when I find the right deal. But for now, these work great and are very comfortable.

All of this is fairly straight forward. Where the interesting part comes in is in how I hold the sheets onto the mattresses. This research had me drilling down deeply into Google to find sturdy plastic clips that would hold tight, survive the marine environment, and not break under the weight of sleeping bodies, all without causing harm to the fabric. Oh, and they had to look good.

I started with tarp clips, but really they were just too big and bulky. I finally found the clips that saved the day at Hold Up Suspender Company. They sell some sheet straps that looked beefy and, in particular, I liked the clip they had. No one had clips like this place. They are 1 1/2″ wide, and heavy duty.

I put in an order for a set of their sheet holders, which were fairly pricey at 22$ for two straps, plus 6$ shipping. I knew I would need more than two straps for each mattress if I wanted a snug fit that stayed in place. I figured I needed two straps for the middle mattress, and three straps on each of the other mattresses, preferably 4.  If I ordered all 10 straps from the company, that would be over 100$ plus shipping. OK, maybe I should have just ordered them all but at the time, I was into money saving mode on this whole deal.

When the order came, they included an old-school paper catalog and thumbing through it I saw that they sold the clips individually. You can’t find them sold like that on line, only in the catalog. I placed an order for 18 of the clips at $2.75 each. Yes I was kind of in shock at the per/clip price, but sometimes you get what you pay for and these clips are unique.  I figured I would want to keep an extra supply on hand in case some broke in the future or if I needed them for another project. For this project, I used 10 of them, plus the straps from the original order. I have extras to make the straps for the middle piece, and then that will leave 4 extras.

Here’s a warning about this supplier: they have good quality, but I’m not impressed with their ordering. I called to place the order, and when it arrived, it was the wrong item. Completely wrong. They sent me metal clips. Um, can you say ‘rust’ on my new upholstery fabric?  I returned them, and they sent me the right clips in the wrong color. By that time I was just sick of messing around, so I kept the black ones.

I bought heavy 1 1/2″ elastic at Hobby Lobby on sale for 50% off, so that cost me about 8$. In all, the ‘tie down’s’ for this project cost me about 60$ plus change. So I saved maybe 40$ or so making them myself. Not sure that was worth the effort involved, but then I do have some extra clips in case I need them in the future.  They hold the sheet and mattress pad together on the mattress snugly, I don’t have to move the mattress to change the sheets, and I made a little covering for the ones that show so they would match the upholstery. My friend Carolyn over at The Boat Galley did hers sheet holders another way.

 

Making new sheets when we need them will be dead easy, as there are no seams or corners, just a flat piece, cut to shape and hemmed, that is held on with these clips. One could reasonable ask why  I didn’t go for the usual drawstring approach to the sheets, where you have a giant sheet that covers the entire mattress and is cinched tight with a drawstring. The answer is that these will fit tighter, and be easier to handle. With our mattress shapes and sizes, there would inevitably be a lot of extra fabric floating around the edges with sheets like that.

I didn’t have enough mattress pad material to do the middle section, but when I replace them before we leave, that will be done at the same time, with sheets and straps as well.

Heave a big sigh of relief. We have a cabin with comfy, attractive beds.  Now, do I have the energy to deal with bedding for the v-berth? Maybe I will just wait until we have guests and then figure it out.

Apparently photos are disappearing off the blog overnight and people cannot see the last three. I can’t figure it out yet. So meanwhile I’m posting the photos to our LCP Facebook page. Go HERE to see them. Sorry.

 

 

Bearing Witness

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Graduations, births, marriages, promotions; these are happy occasions where we invite our community to come together to bear witness. There is power in people holding space for each other as we move through important points in our lives. In the boating community, one such opportunity is the naming of a beloved vessel. Thus we were invited to participate and witness in the highest and best, and most entertaining, way the re-naming of S/V Ella Minnow Pea, owned by friends Trish Harkess and Trevor McInnis down at the Foss Harbor Marina. Soon we will be calling them neighbors!

Ella Minnow Pea is a Cape Dory Intrepid 9 meter sailboat. In spite of her smaller size, I’m always a little envious of Ella because of her underbody. She was built with the same robust features that the original Cape Dory’s are built with, but she has a fin keel, making her more maneuverable than the full-keeled versions. Many is the time I wish Galapagos had more of a fin keel. Alas…compromise.

We were pleased as can be to be invited to the renaming party. It was our first ‘marina community’ event and made us feel that when we move aboard, soon, we will have a ready-made neighborhood of people who welcome us into their fold. It’s something we’ve looked forward to for quite some time and lessens the sting of leaving our comfort zone in suburbia.  The marina community gathered together for food and drink up in the common area before heading down to the dock for the ceremony.

Trish watches as Trevor reads the invocation.

You know, sailing is fraught with superstitions. Or, maybe better stated, opportunities to examine your personal belief systems. We like to practice a little thing called ‘better safe than sorry’ on board Galapagos, so we invoke the protection of our gods and goddesses on a regular basis, and we’ve been known to offer sacrifices, even when virgins are nowhere to be found.

As with many things boaty and religious, there is a tried and true ceremony that is used in the naming or re-naming of a vessel. But it’s kind of, well, just a bit patriarchal. And, you know, traditions change!  I loved the way Trevor re-wrote their ceremony to include homage to goddesses of the sea while keeping the historical tone of the ancient words; bridging the best part of the past with the values of the here and now. The sea is our great mother, as part of our earth. We are connected to her in flesh and in spirit. It is fitting that the goddesses be honored and invoked and to leave them out surely would be asking for trouble. Many cultures invoke the protection of the goddess, in many forms. If you want to use her ceremony in naming your own boat, Trevor would be honored. Be sure to write and tell us about it!

The invocation. Photo credit to Kelly MIlls.

Trish and Trevor did the appropriate thing for their vessel by removing from her all references to previous names.  They waited a year for her and for the gods to settle down before going for the renaming. When we named Galapagos, we removed all references to previous names, and then we did the DE-naming ceremony rather than waiting the full year. When the heart is pure, there are many paths to the goal.

On the day of her renaming, Ella Minnow Pea was dressed in her best flag-waving attire. I’ve never seen her look so saucy. It was as though she knew she was special, that all eyes would be on her as she waited patiently for her baptism. We all carried champagne to the dock to toast to the sea as Trevor took her place on deck and prepared to speak the ancient words. The ritual of the speaking of the words, the connection to our hearts, the purity of the desire, and the witnessing of the community. All were present on a beautiful sunny day. Supplied with horns, celebratory leis, libations, and even a hand drum, the party was ready to usher Ella Minnow Pea safely into the annals of Neptune.

Glasses filled all ’round, Trevor spoke the invocation.  Our toasts, ‘To The Sea!’ , shouted loud and strong, we drank. There was, perhaps, plenty of toasting. Champagne was thrown to the winds, and to the sea, and on the decks of the beautiful Ella Minnow Pea. At last, her baptism complete, her name was unveiled on the stern. And that’s when Trish and Trevor won the marina. Could a name and logo be any cuter than this? Could it be any more appropriate for a boat that is saucy, and sea worthy, and spirited, and can swoop and turn like a kingfisher? I submit it cannot.

Here’s to Ella Minnow Pea. Here’s to Trish and Trevor. Long may you sail together.  Thank you so much for inviting us to be part of your world and for helping us feel a connection of belonging to our new community.

Ceremonies make us wax nostalgic. Want to remember with us the renaming ceremony of Galapagos? We toasted to the winds and the gods of the sea out on the Pacific Ocean, as was appropriate for our plans. It was a memorable day where we learned that you can’t sail north from Oregon. And the goddesses? They are represented by my mermaids, hanging around the boat.

 

Field Trip to Emerald Galvanizing and Lake Union

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Whenever Mike and I get to go someplace new to do a boat task, we feel like we are going on a field trip. We always learn so much about things we’ve never been exposed to before. Our major project of the month is the anchoring system, including refurbishing/rebuilding the windlass locker and getting the 300 feet of chain we carry regalvanized. Time for a field trip to Emerald Galvanizing in Seattle, the only game in town.DSC03205

The previous week, we had removed the chain from the chain locker and had it stowed securely in the back of our little red beater truck. My thought was that I would take it up to Seattle on Friday, but Mike didn’t want me to have all the fun by myself. He took a half day off from work, I picked him up, and we tootled up to Seattle.

Emerald Galvanizing is in a small building that you’ll miss if you blink. It literally looks like nothing until you get behind it, where the action it. Then all the mystery is solved and we realized how dead simple it actually was to have this done. When things are unknown, they don’t seem simple. They seem daunting and complex. This was none of the above.

When we drove into the yard, a very nice man (in the photo above)  put a pallet on his truck lift, drove it over to our truck, and removed our chain by hand, piling it on the lift. He’s been at Emerald for 39 years and is getting ready to retire. Makes our time in the saddle pale by comparison.  He was able to tell us right then that our chain was in really good condition. One small area, that we had been concerned about, was just now ready for regalvanizing. This was excellent news as replacing the quality of chain we have would have been a ton of money, as usual. He said the chain would be ready in a week, took our name and phone number, then offered us a tour of the workshop. Fieldtrip! Yay! If only my good camera were not in the shop being cleaned.

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Is that the glow from the Crack of Doom?

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Don’t even think of putting your hand in there.

This galvanizing business is hot and dirty work. We watched the guys for awhile as they handled the large metal buckets of parts and dunked things into the molten zinc bath. Standing in the work area, we could have been in the depths of Mordor with the molten zinc bath glowing orange, surrounded by dim and grey.  No Orcs in sight, but should I ever come upon a magic ring that keeps evil in power,  I’ll know where to dispose of it.  The mind reels with possibilities.

But no, the workmen were all smiles and waves. And I had to wonder: Do these guys who work here ever get their skin actually clean?

Our chain will be put into the pool of molten zinc, then it will go in a centrifuge that will spin the excess zinc off. We should have it back long before we are finished with the windlass locker, which is turning into quite the project. More on that later. Meanwhile…epoxy epoxy epoxy.

When we finished dropping off the chain, it was mid afternoon on a Friday in summer.  Which means that rush hour starts before 3:00. In Seattle, in rush hour, you aren’t going anywhere. You’re going to be sitting in traffic. No, thank you very much. We were pretty much stuck.  Yes, that’s right, stuck in Seattle on a really nice day. The horror.

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The steampunk-looking boiler on the Virginia V.

We decided to seize the day, park the car by Lake Union near the Center for Wooden Boats and go walk around the lake, look at boats,and generally take in the atmosphere. Our favorite Starbucks with its delicious coffee and excellent bathroom for middle aged tourists is close by,  and we could say hello to one of our favorite boats: M/V Lotus, which is docked right there behind the museum. Boats, coffee, bathrooms open to the public. It was a dream date.

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in the bowels of the steam engine.

South Lake Union is really a fun place to just walk around and people/boat watch, but you shouldn’t miss seeing the Virginia V, docked right there behind the museum. Launched in 1922, the steamship Virginia V delivered people and goods from Seattle down the water to Tacoma via the west coast of Vashon Island.  She is built entirely of clear Douglass Fir and her steam engine is something to behold, like something out of a steampunk novel, except real.

Our tour guide was an extremely competent young man named Ed. Ed knows probably everything there is to know about this ship, as well as the other boats on the dock. He’s pretty impressive and answers any and all questions with factual information including numbers, dates, names and all. Ed is a history teacher’s dream. Just don’t suggest they might use WD-40 on that engine as a lubricant. One of the guys in our tour group mentioned something on that order. I’m thinking Ed has heard that one before, and his amusement is running thin. I hope I hid my smile well.

With still some time to kill, it seems appropriate to sit on the end of the dock and dangle our feet in the cool water of Lake Union. You don’t have to worry about sharks taking a foot off because… it’s a LAKE! All the little sailboats are racing each other, seaplanes are coming and going, it’s a cool place to hang out for an hour. greensailboat

I’d say that if you are looking for an interesting afternoon, go have a tour of the Virginia V after you drop off your anchor chain at Emerald Galvanizing. Ask for Ed. You’re going to learn some history, and there will be no test later!

Oh, and by the way. Here’s a piece of good news for you: When we left the truck, I accidentally left my window rolled all the way down. As in completely down. Mike’s bike was in the back of the truck, locked, but drawing attention. Mike’s backpack was in the cab, my bag from Nordstrom Rack with new walking sandals was in the cab. When we returned, all was exactly as we left it. No one took anything! Yeah, I know there’s no drama to this. No one stole anything, no one was shot, pretty much nothing at all happened.  That’s the point. Just a piece of good news about humanity in a week of pretty shitty news otherwise. People are mostly good. If they weren’t, then the bad things reported on the ‘news’ would not be ‘news’.