Replaced the manual bilge pump with a new unit.
It was easy to do and works great. I over did it with the fridge! The thing is surprisingly powerful. I set it to high and left some water bottles and beer / soda in it. The box drains into the bilge and when I found everything frozen solid and busted open the only thing to do was shut it of and thaw it out. The result was a bizarre concoction in the bilge with an interesting smell. I poured in a bucket of hot water and Mr Clean, then used the new pump to discharge it. I washed the box out and repeated until it was all gone. I installed a riser in the box with frozen stuff under and cool above. I turned the thermostat setting up to about 50% and that seems about right.

I tore out the old radio and the VHF. I built a new plate over on the S'board side by the Nav table. This little unit puts out 160 W and sounds really good. I wanted to get rid of CD's and use an I-Pod. This lets me use MP3 devices through an AUX jack and I can put music on 8 gig Thumb drives and play them through a USB jack.
BIG improvement. I'll post a picture when I have it wrapped up.

Well I finally got out and sailed. everything worked well. My crew (shown here) was a little rusty but I didn't make them walk the plank. I installed the fridge and it works great on battery power but the converter that feeds it shore power at 24 volts isn't working. I wrote to tech support and have a few ideas about what to do. The GPS is great, I think a new radio is next. Get rid of the CD's and use an I-Pod. I need to install a second deep cell battery as well. Never ends. I was watching an old guy from Michigan working on a 43 footer. That's where we are heading next. Man that is a lot of work. I use 3 quarts of VC-17 bottom paint. He needs 2 1/2 gallons!!! At 60 bucks a quart. Great heads up for what's coming.

After two weeks of hard work I am ready to launch
on Saturday. I pulled the teak slotted rails which locate
the sliding coach roof and refinished with Cetol.
Standard procedure, I bored out the holes around
the screws and filled with West System epoxy with
microballons. Re-drilled at installation. Bedded in
3m 4200 UV. Came out nice.

 Made aluminum spacers and painted everything white. The spacer that is standing is 2 inches long. This is slightly more than the ice trays. I will slide them in the slot that is created.  The rectangular plate is the backer of a larger plate  shown in the next picture.

 The plate at the back covers and protects the copper lines running between the plates. You can see the ice trays to the right. You fill them with water and add the insert. The frozen block slides out and breaks into cubes with the aid of the insert.

I rebuilt the ring around the lid. The old one was in bad shape. The box below seems well insulated ...we will see. Next step is to install the compressor and wiring. I finally got a few warm days to wax the hull. I did the blue stripes three times.
(BRAG). I have the best looking hull in the yard and that includes some far newer sailboats. I found a good deal on a 100 amp hour deep cell at Costco. I will need it with this fridge! Come on summer!!!!

Nothing to report. I have been working on my Kitchen for three weeks. A new fence is next. There is still a pile of snow by the boat and a good six inches of ice in my slip at the marina. I will get started in a few weeks. I planned on installing the new fridge compressor and cold plate in the yard but I may do it at the marina. That way I can get all the usual crap done and launch her. Here is a video on the Detroit river after a long slog against the current coming back from Put-in-Bay. It was over 90 degrees that day. Hard to imagine.

Not much to report. I just picked up this Garmin 421. They are discontinuing this model soon so I got a good deal.. I cleared the snow off the poor frozen boat on the weekend and took a few measurements concerning the refrigerator project. Not much else going on as winter grinds on.

A day out at Point Pelee on Lake Erie. This winter is brutal, there is not one day listed in the next ten days above freezing.
Working on the boat is impossible. The garage has a gas heater but is not insulated so I don't run it unless the temp is at least near freezing. I usually pump the water off the pool cover twice a winter but it is frozen solid. It is going to overflow soon, Crikey! On the upside the lake levels are going up.
Waiting for the weather to break...waiting...waiting.