Winter work

 Plans for the winter include replacing the motor mounts, installing an inverter for the microwave and the biggy! A scratch built dingy lift.

I ordered a new main sail from Florida. The on mast furler is working much better but it isn't as slick as I'd like. I added steps up to the first spreaders. The Radar is acting up so I picked up a replacement. She's wrapped up for the snow. I'll pull the batteries over the holidays. Merry X mas

Work Work Work!!!

Summer is coming and work progresses. I have just about finished the full enclosure and the 6HP bow thruster is installed. I would say 50% of the wiring has been replaced, Radar installed, new instrumentation, new lighting. PHEW!

I spent the fall working on a bow thruster install. I glassed in a 7 5/16 tube for a Vetus 6 hp thruster which I will bolt in come spring.  I ripped out all the wiring to the helm and tossed most of the electronics. I have been working on it almost every weekend right through the winter.

I guess I let this blog slide for some time. I lost my dog, she had a long hard battle with cancer. We decided to jump back in and get a puppy. Meet Bailey, she is a Portuguese water dog. We planned on taking the boat up to the north channel last summer but I talked to my wife and said that I don't yet trust it. Shortly after that everything started going wrong. Water pump, poop pump , leaky hot water tank, anchor light, steaming light, antenna, motor mounts,  the main sail furler stopped working, the list goes on.

I finished the hard top, dodger and bimini, still have to sew up the enclosure. I decided to drop the mast and go through it. new halyards, disassemble the main sail furler (what a mess) I have tossed all the bearing blocks and redesigned them. The point where the boom connected to the mast had been damaged and poorly repaired. I built a bullet proof replacement. looking for new lights at the boat show, installing a radar, TV antenna, VHF antenna, wind instrument, all new wiring. working on an aft dingy lift.

Tranny in and other stuff.

 Over the winter I rebuilt the transmission. Works great now. I added a new Ray Marine combo depth sounder / knot meter and did a lot of small engine jobs. I cut a larger hole in the hull for a 3/4 inch sea-cock. The A/C runs much better.  I picked up a Radar, AIS, GPS, repeater and a roll rate device that works with the flux-gate compass. I installed the hard top and am currently sewing a complete enclosure. On a sad note, my Dog died of cancer. I miss you little buddy.

More to come!

YIKES!

Snow hit early. I swept it all off today and got the winter cover on. The batteries get pulled next. I disconnected the driveshaft and pulled the flange and stuffing box. Next step will be to pull the Tranny in January. I will do a detailed post on that. Merry Christmas

Leveling compound

Went to the Annapolis boat show....cool!  Back at it now. I have three layers of heavy bi-axial  woven mat and 3 gallons of epoxy on the new hard top. I just picked up a gallon and a half of leveling compound from West system. Fantastic stuff. I have applied one coat, sanded and just spread the second coat. Looking good! I will finish the top and bottom but leave it primed with a two part epoxy primer. I will let the canvas people do their worst and then pull the top and finish it. that way any 'boo boo's ' can be repaired prior to final paint. The boat gets pulled in a few weeks and the fun starts then.