So, we have been on the boat now for about 2 months, and it has been a very nice move. Of course everyone knows that Doug retired, we packed up, and settled in. I can only say that we still feel like we are on vacation, and I hope that doesn't end soon!
So far, we have had a nice mixture of
boat work and pleasure...
Richard showed Doug how to clean the carburetor on the dinghy engine, but eventually Doug knew enough about those to just rebuild it
We have had some incredible food with great friends
Todd and Gloria on their Island Packet sailboat, Mystic
Dewayne and Janet on their motor vessel Cadence
We went to see the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in Wilmington with Don and Erin
We named our pet in the marina. Meet Spike!
When dad and mom came to visit, Dad and I designed and built a wooden bathroom mat for the shower.
We have been riding our bikes around town
We sanded and varnished our teak on the deck. I was not looking forward to that, because of the horror stories we've heard about the polyurethane process. I wasn't too keen on having to apply about 10 coats of it, so we found a great product from Miniwax called Polyshade. It is an all-in-one stain and polyurethane mix. It worked just fine for us and gave us a nice sheen without too much work.
I almost forgot about my first experience with an inside water tank hose that had worked its way loose over time and decided to pop off while I was outside filling the water tank. Let's see...I was talking to our neighbor when the bilge started working very hard at about the same time the high water alarm came on. Doug wasn't here at the time, and I was able to find and fix it. My reaction to hearing all that water inside the boat was hilarious. That is not the way we need to test our bilge and high water alarm! The only harm was that runner rug was wet on one side.
We had two great days of sailing and anchored overnight in the yacht basin Memorial Day weekend.
And speaking of water, just yesterday Doug temporarily fixed our bathroom faucet until we can find one that we like to replace it. Our shower head isn't hanging around on the mirror and sink all the time now...that was a very nice surprise!!
When I update this again (don't laugh and say, "When? Five months from now?), hopefully some other things will have happened that we can talk about.
These are some of our plans: poli glow on the hull (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HaRZzKswaY) maybe starting tomorrow, fix or replace our windows (the man is on his way to give us an estimate as I am typing), haul out next month to fix the leak under the bed (repack and refiberglass the cutlass bearing strut area and maybe bottom paint)...we'll see. There's always something to do!
Oh and the most exciting plan...we will be moving the cars and boat down to Florida in October to spend the winter. I am going be applying for a travel position somewhere around the Cape Caniveral-down to the Keys area! We will probably be "where-ever-we-will-be" for two contracts (26 weeks) at least.
Until next time!
