03/04/2012, Oceanside Marina
After a smooth sand and a coat of teak oil it's ready to install. Total cost to replace platform $2,700. My cost: 16 hours labor, $215 for the wood, sand paper and misc. hardware under $250 bucks. It's good to be handy.
The last big and final project concerning the vessel is a bottom job. Next week we are pulling her out of the water and going into the boat yard. "Getting pulled." "Going on the hard." "Going to the yard."
There Tradewinds will get a pressure wash, I'll do some minor fiberglass work to the keel, insatll the rebuilt swim platform and she'll get new bottom paint. Bottom paint is routine maintenance. She was pulled and repainted July 2010 which is usually good for 3 years.
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03/04/2012, Oceanside Marina
After I cut out the damaged spacers with the sawsall and sanded the remaining wood, I'm ready to custom cut each spacer, drill holes for the all-thread, epoxy the pieces in place and tighten it together. Once it sets up I sand it flat and even with the belt sander.
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03/04/2012, Oceanside Marina
We made progress today, crossed off few more things from our list. We need to rebuild the swim platform. After 38 years it has much rotten teak. So we pulled it off and will take it to Nancy's house where I have access to a a table saw and belt sander. Purchased a piece of teak 4/4X8X36 from Bucks Woodworks in Marathon which I will use to rip the spacer and rotten pieces that need replacing.
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02/28/2012, Home port Key West
The sea is calling us.
Watching the Today Show one morning I was intrigued by a story about people living their dream. How does one live a dream? Is it just as rewarding to live a little dream as a big dream? Is there anybody who upon gazing on a sailboat drifting on shimmering water didn't, if even for an instant, wish they were sailing to nowhere in carefree bliss? Ha yes, living the dream!! The difference between dreaming about living and living the dream is having a plan. It doesn't need to be a detailed plan with consideration to every possibility of every moment. But it needs to have one important element. To live the dream you must have a start date set in stone. No matter what comes up, or who tries to derail your broad range plan you must stick to that date.
Because of two things I have gotten all I have asked for most of my life. Those two things are the power of attraction and my attitude toward all that is. With attitude is acceptance of everything in the world for what it is. This doesn't mean you have to like everything. It means there are great things and there are dreadful things in our world. How your react is the difference between having life happen to you and living life filled with joy, beauty, happiness, and contentment.
Both Nancy and I are able to hold on to our bliss, no matter what happens. Because usually what happens is just, life.
This voyage to we-don't-really-know-where is a voyage of living the dream.
Come along with us through this blog and live the dream vicarously.
Our date is: April 2,2012
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02/28/2012, Home Port Key West
Since our Bahamas voyage we made notes about what improvements and creature comforts we would like to have. The top-side bright work and painting is complete, improvements to refrigeration, fuel capacity is now 280 usable bio-fuel diesel, and probable the biggest improvement is a 1,000 pound wild-cat gypsy-capstan windlass coupled with a 66 bound Bruce-style claw anchor.
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02/24/2012, Oceanside Marina, Key West
We are in the process of preparing for our next trip. We are hoping to leave arounf the 1st of April. Of course everything depemds on the weather & being prepared. WOW! This is really cool. We can't wait to get out there.
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I can't stand it!
