Heat please
03 May 2009 | Little Current
Ray
The month of May has started off pretty chilly over here. I had frost on the windshield of my car in the morning, but at least the sun is out. Drove up to the boat to get her prepped for the launch in a few weeks. A few things needed my attention.
The engine freshwater seacock has been seized open for years and it has always made me nervous, so I finally removed it and took it home to fix. I also painted the engine room with interlux bilge paint...1 coat down and it looks amazing so far. I'll do the second coat next weekend and also the bilge. The other project I've been working on is the port side dinette. The table is old, ugly and sits on a pedalstal, the cusions old, worn and smell like diesel. I got new cushions made and just picked them up, they look amazing. I made a cardboard template for the new table. It will fold up against the mast and will give us more room and will look much nicer once I pick out the wood. I redid the floors last year, so our galley/dinette will look pretty sharp this year.
Once I got back home I took the torch to the seacock and with some hammering, it unseized. Greased her up good and will reinstall it next weekend. You have no idea how comforting having that seacock work properlly is to me.
Now if it can warm up I'll be able to wash and wax Seamonkey and get some sailing done.
Finally Spring!
18 April 2009
Ray
It's been an extremely long winter. We haven't had a bad winter like this in many years. Snow, rain and cold...not fun.
But, spring has finally arrived here in Northern Ontario. The snow is almost all gone and the ice on the lakes should be melted this week. Although there's a light rain today, I'm off to the boat to remove the tarps and putter around. My wife and I live in Sudbury, which is 4 hours north of Toronto and my boat is in Little Current on Manitoulin Island, which is about a one hour and twenty minute drive. A short drive to reach such serenity. Seamonkey has been in her cradle for 6 months now. Hopefully, I'll be able to launch her in the next 3 weeks.
I do have a bit of maintenance to do before the launch. 2 seacocks need replacing, paint the bilge & engine room and replace one of the aft windows. Nothing crazy like last year when I decided to repaint the hull and replace the rub rail. A huge project well worth the sweat equity, but limited my sailing to only a few months.
Off to the boat I go!!!