May 17, 2013 - back in the water!

Late last week our boat was finally launched again.  It's been a much longer project that I ever imagined.  We still aren't done, but there is no longer a need to be in the boat yard.

Here we go, after almost 6 months "on the hard"

Heading into the water.  See the new stabilizer fins?

We did a lot of stuff to the boat while it was in the boatyard.  Here's a list of things we did:

• Naiad active stabilizer fins, complete with a new hydraulic system including 1 pump per motor
• New larger swimstep with new brackets for added strength
• two new boarding ladders on the swimstep.  They mount to the bottom side so no more trip hazard
• New mount for a rowboat/sailboat on the new swimstep
• 3 new pop-up cleats on the swimstep for tying dinghies to.
• Big dinghy up on the boat deck repositioned to give us much more open space
• New electric motor for the davit (crane) that lifts the big dinghy
• Davit base modified to provide much larger surface area at friction/pivot point so it will turn with ease
• All 3 exterior wood sliding doors repainted
• All decks repainted with non-skid surface
• Flybridge completely repainted
• Salon side walls repainted
• cockpit ceiling "cleaned up".  Old light holes filled.  Ladder hole filled.  New texture.  New paint.
• Cockpit interior and top surface repainted
• Stainless steel rub rail polished and buffed, and resealed
• Hull polished and waxed
• new bottom paint
• props and shafts painted with Pettit Barnacle Guard paint
• new zincs
• Anchor roller modified to fit our Rocna anchor
• New settee in salon, U-shaped with hi/lo table that will convert into a spare bed
• Completely reconfigured the master stateroom.  New walk around queen bed and bunk bed
• new NMEA 2000 depth sounder transducer
• Moved two existing depth sounder transducers due to stabilizer installation
• Moved the two generator raw water intakes and installed new thru-hulls and sea strainers
• In total, there are 11 new/moved raw water thru-hulls
• Removed the generator exhausts, filled the holes, and painted them.  Exhausts re-routed to main engine exhausts.
• New custom built chest style freezer in corner galley cabinet.  Sea water cooled.  VERY efficient.
• New master toilet.  It's a manual flush toilet using seawater.  It will work if we run out of water, or if we lose electrical power.  It can even be routed directly overboard (where legal).  We will ALWAYS have a working toilet even if we take a direct lighting strike that takes out all electrical.
• New stern LED nav light, 3NM in custom build "pod"
• Modified the galley Corian countertop by straightening the long edge and adding a sea rail.
• Repaired several areas on the boat deck where water seeped in through screws and ruined the coring.
• Repaired the broken door frame for the rear sliding door.  It was damaged in the trip from San Francisco.
• Insulated the port and aft walls of the salon
• Added drain holes to the forward end of the boat deck.  Water used to pool up at the top of the steps
• Installed 4 new portlights (portholes that are also windows) to replace failing old ones.
• Fixed mounts for all 4 portlights to make them vitually watertight.  We should have no more leaks in rough water when the waves slam against the portlights.
• Black rubber dot flooring installed under settee.  No damage from spilled drinks or dropped food.
• Installed about 40 square feet of copper foil to inside of hull for SSB radio counterpoise, per NMEA.

Our new settee in the salon.  A HUGE improvement in livability.  Rubber dot flooring.

New bunks in master stateroom.  Top bunk folds down convert into a comfy couch!

New "walk-around" queen bed in master stateroom.  Almost like home!

New master toilet.  Manual and uses sea water.  It will ALWAYS work.

Dinghies ready for use.  New swimstep.  Davit base modified with
more surface area.  Custom built rear nav light mount just under big dinghy.  

Fresh paint almost everywhere in this picture.  Look at all the space on the
"boat deck" in front of the dinghy.  We gained a lot of space here.

Modified davit base.  This used to pivot on only 1/8" contact area and was
quite literally metal grinding on metal.  Now it glides on super hard and slippery
UHMW plastic with 1.5" surface area.  It is so easy to pull the dinghy around now.

Building the mount for the rear nav light out of fiberglass.

Lots of brackets for the swimstep.  Dinghy mount by Steve; it's super easy to use.
You can see three new zincs too.  Also some blue LED underwater lights.

Dinghy tips down and floats on the tube.  A gentle push from the top and it
slides into the water ready to use.  Retrieval is quite easy too.  This rowboat
is also a great little sailboat.  We look forward to much sailing in the future.

An example of the difference some machine polishing can make on stainless steel.
From dull and lifeless on the left, to shiny and new on the right.

Modified Corian countertop with custom "sea-rail"

Removing wet coring material from boat deck.  Yuck!

New custom built chest freezer sliding under countertop.
Super insulated and very efficient.

Hole cut in Corian to access freezer.

New lid for freezer.  You can hardly tell it's there.  Still needs hinges and a pull handle.

There are even more projects going on along the way.  But these are the highlights.  Needless to say, all this work has consumed an unbelievable amount of my time.  But, the good news is that the boat is once again usable!!!!  We intend to start using the heck out of it too  :-)

March 25, 2013 - moving forward

Not much to report.  I'm still waiting for the yard to install the stabilizer fins and start fabricating the hydraulic pump mounts.  I've pulled most of the wiring for the stabilizers and have made the main hydraulic hoses.  I've been working on our dinghy davit (the crane) and it is about ready to be put back o the boat.  I cleaned up both dinghies over the weekend and found the fast boat had a seized throttle cable.  It would only idle.  I also found the lanyard kill-switch was broken.  I've ordered a new cable and switch.  The dinghy should be operational again by the weekend.

The wood veneer has been glued onto the settee seat base as well as the beds in the master stateroom.  Our cushion guy has come out and patterned the new cushions.  We should have them in about 2 weeks. At that point we will have a working settee!  Oh, we still need a table.  I've ordered the pedestal base that bolts to the floor and will allow the table to lower enough to turn the settee into a spare bed.  I think I will just use a temporary plywood table top at first so we can fine-tune the exact shape and size.

The wood veneer applied.  What a difference that made!  There will be a big
drawer in that opening to the right.  All the rest is storage cubbies accessible
from the top side.  There is a ton of storage under the settee.

Settee taking shape.  The fabric we are having the cushions made with is very much
like the small sample (tan) sitting to the left.  Ours will be just slightly darker.
It's a super durable fabric that should withstand years of daily use.  It is very
stain resistant and should be cool in warm weather, and warm in cool weather.

New  raised dot floor.  This stuff is tough.  It is glued down
with a two part epoxy adhesive made just for this flooring.
It's not going to come off.

The lower bunk/couch in the master.  Now onto building the upper bunk, which
will be formed by the seat back (of the couch).  The seat back will fold up and
become the upper bunk when we need extra sleeping capacity.

March 15, 2013 - Boat projects update

I haven't posted for a few months, so I think I'm a bit overdue.

The boat project is going slowly.  I have SO many projects underway at once that it is a bit overwhelming right now.  But, progress is being made almost every day.  I have hired a friend that works for American Tug here in La Conner.  He's a woodworker and I'm having him build us our new salon settee and he is totally rebuilding our master stateroom.  He's doing a GREAT job.

Since our last update we took a much needed vacation to sunny Acapulco.  It was fabulous with temps around 88-90 every day, a light breeze, clear blue skies.  The water temp was near 80 so hanging out in the ocean playing for hours on end was not a problem.  We spent countless hours body surfing, boogie boarding, and both kids even tried surfing.  Both kids were able to ride a wave all the way to the beach after a short lesson!

Now back to the boat.  The stabilizers are coming along now too.  The actuators have been installed and I am now fabricating and running hydraulic lines.  I've got the hydraulic coolant/conditioner tank mounted in the engine room.  I've also installed a few conduits from the master stateroom to the engine room to make running wires much easier.  I'm in the process of installing depth sounder transducers as well as several new sea water pickups underwater.  I have ripped out our old toilets but have not yet even started to install the new ones.  Our new swimstep has arrived and it is temporarily mounted on the transom.  The exterior painting is now complete.

I am almost done installing our new freezer.  We've modified the galley counter top so that it is now a lid for the freezer.  We have installed a new "sea rail" to the edge of the counter top to help prevent items from slipping off, and to keep spills from making it to the new settee cushions.

Stabilizer actuator on the stbd side.  I'm installing copper foil
to the inside of the hull below the waterline for an SSB
radio "counterpoise".  It will make the radio preform MUCH better.

The master stateroom before.  Port side single bed.

Master stateroom original dresser.  Center of room.

Original Double bed on stbd side.

The dresser after I cut it in half, cut two inches off the back, and
narrowed the side rails by almost 2 inches.  

Our new walkaround queen sized bed.  Nightstand to the left side.
This in on the port side of the boat.  Holes in the floor filled with new panels.  

Another view of our bed.  We can now walk around the bed, and it's queen
sized.  This is rare on a boat.  This room will now sleep 4 when needed.  We didn't really
loose any drawer space.  There are several big "cubbies" under the bed and the couch.

The new couch.  The back (not yet started) will flip up to become a 2nd
bunk when we need sleeping capacity for guests.  Stbd side.  This will sleep 2.

This hole was from the old faucet.  We don't need it, so....

We made it disappear!

The new sea-rail.  Also, the new lid for the freezer is in the corner.  Hard to
tell because it just looks like counter top.

My friend Steve straightening out the long edge of the Corian counter top.
It had a bow in it that stuck out about 3/4"  It was quite noticable.  

The new hole for the freezer lid.

The settee is mostly built.  Just the end caps and then gluing on the wood
veneer that will make it match the rest of the interior.

New "rubber dot" floor.  Spills from the settee won't ruin the carpet now.
Also, a section of the new wood veneer that will be installed.  I can't wait to see
this done!  What a transformation it will make in the usability of the salon.

The cushions are temporary.  They are from our old 11' Boston Whaler dinghy.
Look how nice this wood veneer is going to look!  It's a close match to our
existing wood.

The new settee with flooring that matches the galley.

New hydraulic tank in the engine room.  The bracket that it
is on is custom built.  It is VERY heavy duty.

New swimstep.  The 3 holes are actually hinged hatches (not installed yet) that
will flip up to relieve pressure from waves under the swimstep.

View of the swimstep from below.  Two new brackets installed.  There are two
more new ones that are not in this picture, out at each edge.

Polishing some stainless steel.  Before on the left.  After on the right.

Boat painting done.  "Adagio" on the side of the flybridge.  Looking much
better.  Wow, is this a big boat?

And now a few non-boat photos!

Cindy surfing in Acapulco

Kevin catches a "big one".  

3 of the Elston's go boogie boarding

Kevin and Cindy come down an advanced run at Mt. Baker

Beautiful day at Mt. Baker.

Nowhere to go but "Black Diamond" runs.  These are for advanced skiers.
We skied "The Canyon"!