A Glimpse of things to come!

Brenda and I decided that we needed to see some examples of what the interior would eventually look like. This was important from a morale point of view. We figured that since we would spent much of off time in the main salon, why not start with the wall we would look at the most.

Just a portion of the woodwork inventory.

Making use of some fine weather to do some wood finishing outdoors.

Sanding station.

There is a bank of drawers on the starboard side (14 altogether) that we started on first. The process is fairly simple. We're using a special teak stripper to get the red stain off the woodwork. Works pretty well, then its sand, sand, sand. The finish we're using throughout the boat is a wipe on satin finish, easy to apply, water based, dries quickly, and more importantly no off-gasing odor.

Before

After

Next project was the port side of the salon. The washer and dryer reside in this space.

Before

After

Next was the heads.

Before

After

Before

After

The process of putting this boat back together has been a bit like figuring out a puzzle.

Each one of these cabinets ( there are 20 located through out the boat) requires locating, identifying, stripping, sanding, refinishing and then refiting 4 pieces which make up the surrounding frame. The pieces are roughly labeled, however the labeling was done in pencil and over time has become almost illegible. Hence much of it is trial and error or a process of elimination. The hardware then needs to be located, (all the ships cabinet hardware was lumped into one box, all fasteners in another) then cleaned on a wirewheel to bring back the bronze finish from what was green oxide.

Our progress has been somewhat slow, however we're pleased with the way things are shaping up and more importantly are having a great time working together and seeing our home come together.

Adjusting to life aboard, not even afloat yet!

First order of business, get the galley organized.

At first, Brenda was a little concerned that there was not enough room given the size of a normal kitchen when compared to that of a galley on a boat. Fortunately, Brenda is a very organized person and had the galley in ship shape over the course of the first few days.

This is how i was living, note the stack of pizza boxes on rear shelf.

Still looks pretty rough, we haven't done any cosmetics here yet, we are living in a construction zone, but, at least the freezer is stocked, everything works and Brenda is cooking up a storm, YAHOO!

Jack has been having a bit of a rough time adjusting. At first he was really excited about boarding the boat, even though he's not crazy about stairs, he wanted to see something new. When he figured out that we weren't just "visiting", I think the novelty wore off.

I had come up with an idea to accomodate his arthritic joints and make accessing the interior of the boat a bit easier for him. I made preparations before his arrival by installing a series of pull out step extenders on the main companionway staircase. Looked good to me, I figured it would work. Wrong! He didn't like them one bit. Had to come up with a make shift plan until I can figure out a more long term solution.

Getting him on and off the boat when we're in the water is going to be another story. My plan is to use a small hoist the I'm planning to build. It will hook on to his life jacket in order to raise and lower him from the shore boat. Ya right! I don't think he's going to be too excited about that trip.

Road Trip

First a little story of our journey out to the coast.

We left Ryerse on an unusually hot day for October on Ontario, hence when we got to the border in Sarnia, we were pretty wilted given the a/c in the van was crapped out. Long line at the border meant another hour waiting in a line up of traffic, finally we get to the US side and are confronted with the Customs guy. Brenda and I had always been a little concerned about the boarder crossing, given that we looked like we were moving to the US, which we were, although only temporarily, and the current climate concerning illegal aliens. How to explain the contents of the van and trailer? Just tell it like it is.

Border guard: Citizenship?

Me: Canadian (hand him our passports)

Border guard: (checks passports in computer) Purpose of your trip?

Me: We've bought a boat in WA state, we're going out to do some work on it.

Border guard: What's in the trailer?

Me: Gear for the boat.

Border guard: Open it up.

Me: (long line of traffic behind) what here?

Border guard: Ya here, open it up

Me: (scrounge around for keys) go to the back of trailer, another 2 guards have come over to take a look, I open the trailer. It's jammed from top to bottom with boxes, there's a small wood stove in one corner near the door and a microwave sitting on top.

Border guard: All this stuffs for the boat?

Me: yup, (I move a box, look, there's the ships wheel)

Border guard: and the microwave?

Me: you gotta have a microwave on a boat!

Border guard: get outta here!

I get back in the van and we drive on, Jack's snoozing in the back, Brenda and I look at each other, laugh and say, that was easy. We've got a weeks' supply of food, a dog, every thing we own, we're moving in country for an extended stay, and he was interested in the microwave? Go figure!

Although I had already made the trip across country twice, traveling with Brenda and Jack was a real treat. We made use of just about every rest stop on the Interstate, (why don't we have them in Canada?) stopped to see some sights, stayed at the very pet friendly and cheap Motel 6 chain, and even rented a cabin at a state park in the high plains of Wyoming. All in all a fantastic trip out here. Brenda was ready to do it all over again and was a little disappointed when it was over.

On day eight we arrived in Ilwaco, mid afternoon. I had been previewing this occasion for months now. This would be Brenda's first, in person look at the boat, up until now, she had only seen pictures and listened to me go on and on about how great this was and how much you're going to love that. We pulled into the boat yard, I stopped the van and looked a her, waiting for a response. First words, she's big, boy is she big. I couldn't wait to give Brenda the guided tour and did just that. Jack waited in the van while we looked around the boat, all the while, I watched Brenda's face, and much to my relief, she was really liking what she was seeing.

We spent the evening unpacking a few basics, setting up the bed in the master cabin, managed to get Jack down the companionway and settled in for our first night aboard. The next day I took Brenda for a tour to get the lay of the land and we had our first walk on the beautiful Pacific beach, and it's all good.