Tag Archives: boat interiors

Skidding Towards Victory

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Note: Apologies if the photos are looking weird on your browser. There is a problem with the integration of WordPress and Picasa and I’m working to resolve it.

We dared to say it this weekend. We dared to say we are getting just that close to being able to bring this boat up to Washington. So close that we are actually looking at our calender and beginning to make plans to take leave from work. So close that we’ve created a list of things that must be done before we leave. These are musts, not wants. We must, for example, have a plumbed head on board. We must make sure our safety equipment is up to date. We must call our boat insurance and add the engine to the policy, and be sure we are fully insured for this part of the Pacific Ocean. We must have good ground tackle. It’s exciting to be making that kind of list.

Mike is like the energizer bunny of late. He has so many projects on his ‘to do’ list, rambling around in his head, that I don’t know how he keeps them all straight. He trouble shoots issues during the week, shops for parts, then when we get to Astoria he hits the ground running. This week a new fuel gauge was on his list of projects. Until now, the only way to actually know how much fuel is in the tank was to remove the cover plate and look.  That’s too much work. Plus, every time you open the tank you risk exposing the fuel to dust and dirt. So he ordered a fuel gauge and set about to his business. In his  mind the most daunting part of the task was making a hole in the aluminum port cover. This little Ryobi drill has more than paid for itself with tasks like this one. 

A little cleanup with the dremel to make the edges smooth, insert gauge into hole, and voila, sort of: 

Next week he will install the visible part of the gauge. It will be next to the engine panel in the cockpit. There is already a hole there, but it’s just that much too big, so a piece of Star Board must be bought to finish it off. Next week that’s on the agenda.

As much as I’d like to sit around reading novels while Mike works his ass off, I, too have projects going on. First on the agenda was finishing up those port screens. Last week I began this project by removing the old screening material and cleaning up the aluminum frames which had old dried adhesive and worn out weather stripping. We won’t need them for awhile, but it will be nice to have them this summer. This week I rummaged around in the attic and found our old window screens from before we put new windows in the house. They had that fabric screen material that I wanted for this project. I cut the screening out with a razor blade and set it aside. Here’s a ‘before photo’.  

I needed silicone to attach the pieces of screen to the frames, and weather seal to go around the outside to provide a friction fit inside the port holes. This week found us at West Marine for something else, so I looked for the silicone. A small tube for 15$? Um. No. I am way too cheap for that. We went to Home Depot and I found a small tube for 4$, but it looked like I might need two. This was in the glue section. I put them in the cart, then toddled off to find the weather stripping. I found that, and just next to it a large tube of what, in effect, was the same kind of thing. Siliconized caulk. 3$ for a large tube. Just goes to show it pays to look around. Considering that the screen material was, in effect, free, the total cost of this project came in at 11$.  I consider that a win.

I put a bead of this stuff around the inside edge, then lay the screen on top and pressed into place. Little pieces of screen on each side will help remove the screen from the port easily. This stuff lays on white, but dries clear. After applying the rubber weather seal, they were done.

A perfect fit!

Next up was a new fresh water pump. If you recall, our brief ‘shake down’ cruise last weekend presented us with a water pump leaking like a sieve. We had researched which pump to use, noting that the old one was a ShurFlo, but we couldn’t tell which model or even how many GPH it was rated. We went with our Bible of Marine Information, Practical Sailor, to tell us what to get. They had done a review of water pumps in their May 2011 issue. I went to the shelf and pulled that issue and read the article, then we decided to go with the ShurFlo 3.0. The article described this particular pump as being the best one for people who want to take a ‘belt and suspenders’ direction with their choice. That’s us.  You’d think we’d want a larger pump considering the size of this boat and the number of faucets. But we don’t want to tax the system by putting too much pressure through it, and we are unlikely to be using more than one faucet at a time.

Down at the boat, Mike decided that the installation of the new pump would be a dandy project for me to take on. He would be working on another small project in the engine room (adding a rubber washer to the brace for the exhaust elbow to dampen vibration) and would be there to coach me and answer questions. He would teach me how to solder. (Be still my heart! Man-cave mysteries about to be solved!) Wide eyed, I asked him if he was serious. Did he really want me to install said pump? I felt the ground shift underneath me just a little as a bit of cognitive dissonance was created. But he looked dead sexy in his new glasses and, well, he believed in me. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

To be frank, the whole thing was pretty anti-climactic. Unscrew the threaded connections to the hoses, unscrew some other screws, clip some wires. Then use same screws to go in same holes, attach the threaded connectors, strip some wires and wind them together, solder, cover exposed wire and ‘Bob’s your uncle’. The worst part was stripping the wires to prepare for soldering.  This was probably the easiest part of the refit yet because it looks like we chose an identical pump. Works like a charm. 

In other project news, I’m in the middle of a temporary re-do of the aft cabin.  I ran into such a good deal on fabric that I had to take advantage of it. I am making covers for the berths. I’m pretty tired of having an aft cabin that always looks messy. After working on messy projects all day, we would like a more soothing environment to sleep in. This is what we had to work with:

We’ve been using heavy sleeping bags as sheets, then using our blankets to cover. The sleeping bags were comfortable, but slide around and hang off the side creating a messy space. They are hard to fold and put away in the morning as well and take up a lot of space. Eventually we will do a more serious remodel this cabin but there are more urgent things on the agenda. So meanwhile I wanted something cheap, easy, and hopefully something we could reuse after the remodel. I wanted to create a covering that would act as both a sheet and as upholstery; something that would give the space a bit of a facelift and our raise our spirits as well.

My thought was to go to a thrift shop and get something to recycle but I was not finding anything that was worth the effort there. Instead I went to Hancock Fabric, which was having a huge sale, and found the perfect fabric, in the perfect colors, for 5$ /yard. It was front and center when I entered the store.  For less than 50$ I had enough fabric to do the aft cabin. For another 50$ I bought fabric to make slip covers for the settees in

the salon.

 

. 

In our Cal 34 we used a memory foam mattress topper on top of new foam cushions in the V berth and we found it to be a satisfying and comfortable solution. I wanted to reproduce that comfort in this boat. I had twin size memory foam topper from Andrew’s years in the dorm, and a twin size mattress cover as well. These would do for the small berth. (And as an aside, THIS is why I have trouble getting rid of stuff. I’m always repurposing things.) I cut the mattress pad to fit the irregularly shaped cushion and tacked it into place with needle and thread (you cannot see this in the photo).  This will keep the topper in place and provide air circulation between a body at rest and the memory foam. I don’t plan to remove this mattress pad until we replace the whole sleeping unit during the remodel phase. But if I have to, it’s simple enough to snip the threads. 

They I lay the fabric on the berth, cut to shape, pieced it where necessary, fit it using pins, then removed and took it to the sewing machine for finishing. I’m pretty happy with the result and Mike pronounced this berth to be perfectly comfortable. This fabric is definitely a win, and 100% cotton as well. Note that the colors match the pillow cases and blanket that were already on board.P1050196

Next is the double berth (a misnomer if I’ve ever heard one). That will be more difficult because I would like to replace the really worn out mattress. At one time it was a good one, but now it’s not. Since we’ll remodel in the future, I don’t want to spend good money on a new mattress or even new foam at this point. Let the scrounging begin.

Our final work of the weekend: Mike installed the mizzen sail before I even got out of bed on Sunday morning. Then we needed to figure out how to use the Lofrans Falkon windlass and take a close look at the anchoring gear. The windlass works great. We’ve never had an electric one before and both have serious trust issues with such things. Therefore we had to be sure we knew how to do it manually. 

Here’s what we have to work with. This compartment needs cleaning and some minor fiberglass repair, but that’s not on the list of things that must be done before we leave this marina for Washington. This, however, definitely IS on the list:

Would you trust your boat to this chain?

Would you trust your boat to that chain? I think not. The other chain is loads better, but we will be checking each and every link, and we’ll likely replace it before we leave. The latest issue of Practical Sailor came this week. There is a review of anchor chain. Very timely, no?

Finally, we are getting serious about this whole boat naming business. Honestly, it was easier to name our children! I am about to get out the large presentation paper and create venn diagrams, if not spreadsheets. Progress was made, however, when the name of the new engine popped into my head: Hiram. Yes, we have named the engine Hiram after Mike’s Grandfather Boyte, whose nickname was ‘Red’. So there you go. Let it be written, let it be done. Red Boyte lived a long and fruitful life. Let it be so with our engine.

Lady Washington comes a-visiting

Look who visited Astoria this weekend! The Lady Washington.

 

Home is a Fiberglass Hull

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One of the biggest projects on my personal list for Andromeda is insulating her interior hull spaces. The benefit of this effort is brought home to me each time we spend the weekend on Andromeda and realize that it takes running the diesel heater constantly to keep the boat warm and the interior free of condensation just from our living activities. And it hasn’t even been that cold outside yet. This will only get harder as the winter progresses. Without insulation on that hull, even with the good air circulation this boat has, I can look forward to mildewed cabinet interiors and clothing that smells like mold. I feel about mold and mildew the way Mike feels about fog: it is a malevolent  force of nature that is out to get me. And I cannot let it win. Ever. My nose is a fine tuned instrument of mold detection. I can always smell a cat litter box, a wet diaper, and mildew. Gauntlets have been thrown down. Lines have been drawn in the sand. The game is on.

I would really like to find a paint product that insulates against condensation and is easy to apply. I live in a complete dream world, apparently. What I’ve found so far is Mascoat Marine Insulating Paint (or, more accurately, a ‘thermal insulation coating’). It looks like a first class product but it’s expensive and difficult to apply. It has to be sprayed on, and I have to sand the fiberglass first. Andromeda is a 47 foot boat with a ton of cabinet space.  Oy vey, that’s a lot of sanding in weird positions, not to mention all the taping off and the fact that I would have to wait until summer for the temperature to be warm enough to apply this product.

Not to mention that this is how this product is usually applied. Notice there is no cabinetry in this photo. Photo courtesy of Mascoat.com.

I would love to find something easier in an insulating coating; something I could brush or roll on, for instance. Would rubberized roofing paint work? Would the insulating paint they sell for homes work? When I’ve researched this question on the sailing forums, I have generally found ideas about what I can glue on my hull like cork, or bubble wrap insulation, etc. I’d prefer not to go this route unless I have to. I’d like the insulation to extend pretty far below the water line, and anything that I glue onto the surface has to have excellent and complete contact with the hull or mold will grow behind it. In addition, there will always be some condensation as long as we’re in cold water, so I can’t use anything that will get soggy or hold water. Water must be able to get to the bilge. An insulation coating would be much easier in many ways. Please comment if you have suggestions.

Loot!

Anyhow, so while Mike was wrangling with the engine room, I spent time poking around in Andromeda’s nether regions. She has quite a lot of storage space and many cabinets have false floors, opening to reveal yet more storage space that I can only hope I never need to use. All of these need to be empty in order for me to get at the hull, so I got to emptying and suddenly it felt like being on a treasure hunt. So much stuff! At the end of the day I decided there was too much stuff taking up space and I better bring all this loot home. What I found was yards and yards of Sunbrella canvas like this:

What is this thing? It’s folded about 8 times so it’s huge. FYI these tiles are a foot across, to give you an idea of the size of this thing.

Apparently this is some kind of boat cover. It was much too big to spread out on our living room floor, so we’ll have to take it outside during the day and see how it works. I cannot imagine needing something like this in our climate, or using something like this while cruising, so it’s possible that what it represents is hundreds of dollars worth of Sunbrella canvas in excellent condition. Either way, score!

Also this:

Just long rectangles. I thought maybe windscreens, but then there is that zipper…any ideas?

In one cabinet I found a long bag made of polar fleece, obviously protecting something fragile. Upon opening it, I found these:

Maybe this is a score, maybe not.

What we have here are two panels that fit at the top of the companionway: one with a bug screen, and one made of plexiglass or something like that, creating a window to see out into the cockpit. These will be dead useful! Then there are tiny bug screens for the opening ports. These are in very poor condition, but the frames are still good so I’m putting their refurbishment on my project list. Why buy new ones when I’m fairly sure I can make these as new again? They are even labeled as to which port they are for. To the left are what appear to be bug screens for the opening hatches. To be sure, we’ve never needed anything like this in Washington, but I know we’ll want them other places.

In the drawers of the quarter berth cabin I found a pile of soft and stretchy terry cloth covers.

Soft terry covers

I think these are slipcovers for the Bottom Siders cockpit cushions to keep said cushions from sticking to skin in hot weather. A definite score! They are used and faded, and a couple of seams need to be mended, but I am totally prepared to repair  and refurbish these suckers with a little thing I like to call ‘fabric dye’.  I will have to count them to see if there are enough for all of the cushions. Another small project.

In the v-berth, I found this:

Biggest score ever.

This is a full cockpit enclosure. Yay! It looks like it is quite well made and needs only to be cleaned and one zipper replaced. When the weather warms up, I’ll give it a good scrub outside and let it dry in the sun, then take it to a canvas worker and have that zipper replaced. I am so looking forward to having an enclosed cockpit in this area.

Cheap Tricks in Boat Decorating

And speaking of refurbishing, before we left the boat this weekend, I got a wild hair and took down the curtains in the quarter berth, aft head, and master cabin. These curtains are really well made and of high quality. The fabric, however, is faded badly from the sun and from just being pretty old. However, these things are expensive to buy, and I am not in the mood to make them. Whoever did these did a damn good job on them so I’m going to reuse them.

Really nicely made curtains, faded from years of use.

I brought them home and washed them with laundry detergent and bleach, then decided I would try my hand at dyeing them. I am planning to use a combination of blues and greens, perhaps some lavenders, in the interior of this boat and I had two packages of teal green dye in the cabinet. So why not? I had no idea the fiber content of this fabric, but it felt like it was a cotton/poly blend. I brought out my big canning pot, filled it with water, added a cup of salt, a dash of laundry detergent, the two packages of dye, and some eye of newt and set it on the stove to heat. The curtains were already wet and clean so I placed them in the dye bath and commenced to saying my incantations while I stirred. There is something about dying fabric that feels so much like magic!

Lovely dye bath!

After about 30 minutes in the hot water it looked like they were dark enough. I figured they would not be perfect, but that’s the beauty of hand dyeing fabric. All those little imperfections are fine and will totally go with my vision of casual comfort below deck. Turns out the color is great, and I saved the dye bath for the next batch. Total cost of this redo? Less than 5$. That’s my kind of remodeling. Et Voila!

Once we start heading south, I’ll put some clear UV film on the ports to protect the color from fading.

I can’t wait to hang these back in the cabins and do the ones in the salon and v-berth areas.

If you have insulation on your fiberglass boat, speak up. Let me know what you use and what the pros and cons are of that substance. I’m hoping for a paint-on solution but my dreams may not fall on fertile soil.

 

 

 

 

 

Four Day Weekend

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If you are not old enough to remember Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, a common theme involved a walrus mustachioed Marlin Perkins narrating as his intrepid assistant, Jim Fowler wrestled with the show’s latest demonic man eater. Jim was routinely thrown into some far flung corner of the earth to capture and tag  a tiger, crocodile or carnivorous hedgehog while Marlin coolly narrated for the audience just how dangerous a cornered hedgehog can be. Marlin never seems to get too near the action lest Jim’s screams of terror ruin the narration.

Melissa. Taming the dangerous feral sander in the engine room.

So this weekend, Melissa played a passably good Jim to my Marlin. While Melissa wrestled the wild Andromeda from one to slip to another without an engine, I remained safely at home raking leaves and cleaning the chicken coop. I hauled tree branches, downed after our latest wind storm,  while she got to figure out how to fill the water tanks, use the diesel heater, and witness Andromeda in her natural environment away from a slip. I kept my cell handy just in case she needed to confer with me on which valve empties what. In other words, she got to have all the fun while I stayed home.

To hear her tell it though, she barely escaped with her life. Whether it was being crushed tying off  Andromeda in her new berth or being asphyxiated by BilgeKote, her life was in mortal danger all weekend as she beat that bilge into submission. Some people have all the luck.

That’s right. That’s Andromeda’s bilge now.

Here’s another action shot of that bilge.

See how it gleams after 2 coats?

Between my domestic chores I did manage to complete some boat jobs. Our garage contains enough boat parts to actually build another boat so there were plenty of projects at hand. One engine related project was to clean and paint the oil pan that will sit beneath the engine.

Two coats of BilgeKote took this

Oil Pan Before

To this

Oil Pan After

Oil Pan After

Another small project was to clean up some corrosion on the steering pedestal. We figure that once we get an engine in the boat, it would a nice feature to actually be able to steer the boat. With the steering pedestal off, we have an opportunity to sand and paint the base.

Steering Pedestal Before

Steering Pedestal Before

Sorry, I don’t have a photo of the completed project yet. Please enjoy this photo of Marlin Perkins and his friend while I find some aluminum primer.

Marlin, but not Jim.

Finally, I took on a project to rehabilitate the boat’s Dickinson BarBQue. It’s obviously been well loved but if you’ve seen the prices for new ones, you’ll understand why I wanted to see if this one could be salvaged.  I found a new burner and ignitor at Lowes that will replace the old parts and have cleaned up the body with a product called Spotless Stainless. So, after we get an engine and can steer the boat maybe we can grill a couple of burgers to celebrate.

Dickinson Sea-B-Que Not new, but shiny

Dickinson Sea-B-Que.  Not new, but shiny

Never content to work on only one boat project at a time, Melissa also tackled the quarter berth area. The ‘wall’ in that area had seen better days and she couldn’t take the stress of looking at it anymore. Once again, cleaning the area and putting a couple of coats of BilgeKote on it saved the day. Got to love the clean fresh look of paint.

This wall became…

this wall.

Maybe next time I can be Jim and Melissa can stay home and hold chimpanzees.  I have several electrical projects that will require a good weekends worth of work without AC to the boat. I think Jim Fowler would approve.