Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Progress Update: September 9th


  •  
    • 300ft of chain has been inspected, marked for length and been re-stowed. The hawsepipe was modified below decks for better feed into the lower locker. It is going to make for much improved stowage.
    • We made up some new rope leads for anchoring and hurricane lines. One is for the secondary anchor line and the other is a multi purpose for hurricane ties and stern anchor if needed.
    • We did prep for hurricane Laura which thankfully only brushed us with outer bands. We did fine but sadly, Western Louisiana did not. It is devastated and going to take a very long time to recover.  
    • Part of our hurricane prep was pulling the head sail off of the roller furler for stowage. We are going to wait till the season is over before putting it back.
    • We did some work on navigation lights. All needed to be in working order before heading out. Eric made several trips up the main mast and once up the mizzen. 
    • Today we are doing maintenance on the outboard motor. This includes some clean-up, changing the oil, oil filter and replacing the impeller.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Sunday, August 16, 2020

Progress Update: August 16th

  • (Photo) Eric heading down into the anchor chain locker to prep and do some touch up painting. All part of taking care of our anchoring system. 
  • Bolts were also changed out on our primary anchor.


Saturday, August 15, 2020

Progress Update: August 15th

 


Three hundred feet of primary anchor chain and primary anchor on the dock for inspection, marking and refurbishment. Of course
we picked one of the hottest days this year to wrestle it out of the depths of the chain locker. Chain and swivel looks good and we will be marking it for length run out. Will be installing new Grade 5 galvanized bolts on the Mantus 65 anchor. Will also be adding more nylon line to increase the total length so have some splicing to do. Will also be doing some painting in the chain locker while everything is out.


Friday, August 7, 2020

Progress Update: August 7th

Above deck anchor windlass rebuild completed! Clutch pads and metal plates were contaminated, glazed over and slipping under load, we were able to resurface them and fix the issues.
 



Rebuilding the aft cabin head. Tight spot! We now have two functioning heads on board and the systems are all working as they should.

Replacing the seals on the freezer and refrigerator compartment hatches. This has made a huge difference in run times and plate icing. We put vinyl vee seals on instead of the foam.

Upcoming projects include pulling all the anchor chain for inspection and marking links for length run out. Also changing the way the secondary anchor rode is currently stowed and marked. Will be converting running lights from halogen bulbs to LED. This includes dealing with some wasps who have moved into our masthead before I can address changing the masthead light.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Progress Update: July 8th


  • The last of the tool storage modification is completed. We are making room for our continued 'paring down' process. There are still a lot of tools to go through but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!
  • The next project involved adding an improved oil filtration system for the main engine. 
Penny is supervising!

Eric working on oil system fittings. 


Monday, June 15, 2020

Prgress Update: June 15th

 (Eric caulking galley sink)
  • The side-decks repainting/non-skid  is complete! Next for painting the border and non-skid on the forward and aft cabin tops and caulking of the inner toe-rail.
  • Eric built the next set of bookshelves for the main salon. A few more to build and we should be finished with that particular project.
  • We caught up on lots of engine and generator maintenance.
  • The wooden tool drawers from Eric's old shipwrights chest have been modified to fit in a space on the boat. This mission vessel is going to offer lots of workshop ability when we are finished.
  • Other small projects completed this month were fixing the breather system on the main engine to reduce oil consumption, re-caulking a leaky sink rim and fixing a spot of plumbing in the forward head.
  • Next up will be two shelves built into a cabinet for more tool storage.








Friday, May 15, 2020

Progress Update: May 15th


(Eric prepping for non-skid)
  • Eric is making great progress on the outer deck non-skid. He is 3/4 finished and will hopefully knock the rest out when we get our next weather break. Then the fore and aft cabin tops need to be done. This particular job cannot wait because of safety and also needs to be completed before the Summer heat and tropical weather.
  • The rudder compartment has been hand sanded and scrubbed out and the hydraulic reservoir for the steering system remounted. The old brackets were badly corroded and new ones now have it firmly in place. The helm was tested and wiring reorganized. 
  • The locker in front of that was also scrubbed out and Dri-Dek placed over the access hole so it can be used for storage. 
  • Mary has begun replacing the screen in our hatch covers. A very tedious job but well worth the effort. We will be extremely grateful for them when we eventually are without shore power.