A good productive weekend...
05 July 2006 | Connelly, N.Y.
by Scott
Friday, June 30th
The long 4th of July weekend was a very productive time for Bev and I. We were able to get many of the projects done that we just didn?? t have enough time to accomplish at any other moment.
We dropped off the pooch at Grandma?? s house early Friday morning and hung around for a cup of coffee before heading up to the marina. Blue loves to go to Grandma?? s house because there are lots of other pooches to hang out with and swap bad habit data with. He also gets to sit on the couch if he wants to which he never gets to do at home. It is really a Holiday Inn for Blue and he takes full advantage of it!
The first thing we did on Friday afternoon was to lay down the newly finished cabin sole and get that screwed and bolted into place. I had some reservations about how this was going to turn out but I was very pleasantly surprised when all was done. I still have to do a section in the V-Berth and the sloped corners of the galley. I am not 100% certain of how I may do this or how much trouble it?? s going to be to bevel the underside of the sole so that it will lay flush. I have even considered glassing and painting those corners for a smooth finish. It may compliment the teak nicely.
While I was doing this, Beverly painted over the sky blue laminate below and behind the area of the stove and cabinet corners. She did a very nice job and really took her time with this. At one point, I came back down the companionway to get some tools and found Bevely?? s legs sticking out, upside down, from the back corner of the galley. Way to get into your work Bev!! I made sure that this was a voluntary position and she didn?? t slip and get her head stuck back behind the galley.
I also took some time to install the new Acrylic hatch cover that I have been working on. I love the way this turned out! The only issue is that I opted for a one piece hatch cover instead of the multiple boards. I will keep the original boards since they are easier to deal with and store. The bronze acrylic hatch cover is completely transparent from the inside and almost totally opaque from the outside. A very nice addition to the cockpit. We will have to find a good way to store the new hatch cover when we re on board. Maybe a padded hatch bag that the hatch can slip into and be tied in the back of the cockpit. Another project for Beverly since I would almost certainly sew my fingers to the bag if I got anywhere near the sewing machine.
The temperature went up in the afternoon and we decided we needed to take a break and go for a swim in the marina pool. The pool temperature was a refreshing 84 degrees and was very welcome for an hour or so.
That night, in the V-Berth, Beverly was complaining of the paint fumes and said she was heading for the cockpit to sleep. I joined her and have to say that was the best sleep I have had in a long time. The air was cool and there was a constant breeze on our faces for the duration of the evening. We both woke feeling fully rested and ready for the next set of projects.
Saturday, July 1st.
I had invited my father up today to help me install the new AC Battery charger that I purchased last week. Beverly, myself, my parents and even the dog know better than to let me have at any project that involves anything more than 12 volts. I had mounted the charging system and my father helped in the wiring to the panel. Once my father left, I traced out and re-wired several of the interior cabin lights and fans. This was the first evening that Beverly and I were able to have lights and fans inside the cabin and not worry about draining the batteries. We left one of the lights on in the salon and went for an evening walk. When we returned, however, the light was no longer on. My wiring work was the first suspect, but we found that the bulb has simply burned out. I put a new bulb in and within a few seconds, popped the breaker. NOW WHAT!?!? I was able to run and keep all the cabin lights on for an hour earlier this afternoon so I couldn?? t understand the issue. Bev and I reserved this extra little project for tomorrow and went to bed.
Sunday, July 2nd
This morning, I tackled the problem of the breaker by switching all lines from the one breaker over to another to see if it was a bad breaker but I popped that one too. Then I isolated each and every line going to the first breaker by connecting them to the second until I found the single wire that would pop the second spare breaker. Then I went around and tested each and every accessory that I knew was on that line. Everything worked. Now I have to assume that the odd wire was not connected anywhere but terminated in a short somewhere in the boat. I pulled it from the panel and left it until I can get the time to trace it out. All lights are now, back on.
We took a break from the boat in the afternoon and sat at the Tiki Hut styled breakfast and lunch nook at the marina and watched as boats came and went. Yesterday, we had taken notice of a beautiful 31?? Southern Cross that came in. The boat was still at its slip so we decided to go over for a closer look. We met the couple aboard and spent some time talking to them about their trip up the ICW and Hudson on their way back home to Chicago. They were now stuck at our marina to make a couple of choices since the canals and locks further north were closed due to flooding from the last 2 weeks of rain that we had. After a lengthy conversation, we parted ways and decided we would head into town and walk around for a while. We met up with the couple from the Southern Cross again in town at an outdoor caf� and joined them for several hours of coffee and wonderful conversation. They told us that they would be staying the better part of three weeks while they waited for ground transport for their boat to be shipped back to Chicago. After coffee, we gave them a lift back to the marina and we all decided to meet up again at Mariners on the Hudson for a seafood dinner and more of the good conversation that Beverly and I were becoming addicted to with Gary and Marty. We parted ways again and we went back to the boat for a drink in the cockpit. Beverly decided to go for a swim and we met back up with Gary and Marty for dinner. Once again, we sat for an hour discussing their trip and future plans. After dinner, we exchanged E-Mails and promised to keep in touch if we didn?? t see them again. We headed back to the boat and turned in early.
Monday, July 3rd
Bev and I got up early and packed everything for the return back to PA since her Brother would be in our neck of the woods and Beverly hasn?? t seen him in almost a year. We saw Gary and Marty again before we left and shared one last cup of coffee before we pulled out.
All in all a great weekend for the two of us. We were able to get a lot of the boat work accomplished and still managed to have a nice relaxing time on the water with good friends.