Final Winter Projects

April 24, 2021

Once the rebuilt drawers were in and I had finished the engine cover lid and new deck boxes, literally the rest of the winter was spent painting or varnishing every single surface on the boat. Aside from the spots that were still victims of the Great Mold Invasion of 2018 and the routine varnish work, most of the surfaces actually looked pretty good. But with the shop closing in a couple months, I want everything to be able to last two seasons outdoors if need be.

I will be sad to leave the shop, but I really don’t need any more boats right now, and it is very expensive simply to be a storage area. I will post links to the Giant Tool and Small boat sale when it happens.

But in the midst of painting, I did find a couple projects to knock off:

While painting down in the bilge under the deckhouse (yes, I said I painted everything!) I found a really nice clear area about three inches wide running all the way through. So I plumbed in a hot water and cold water line, unplumbed the lines running into the head, and the head shower became a cockpit shower. I am glad I gave up on the head shower. It was just too small and a pumping system to drain the gray water overboard would have been a real pain. Giving how I have been cruising with three days on the hook, a couple in a marina, back to the hook, firing up the water heater for a quick cleanup and hair wash is all I really need.

Even though not much rain water comes past the “eyebrow” in the front of the deckhouse, occasional spray does get on the winsdshield. So the big sale at Defender meant I could get a really good wiper. To get it to fit, I had to cut out a semi-circle in the forward deck beam (1 1/4-inch sapele mahogany) while standing on my toes and reaching as far forward as my arms would stretch. But it looks nice and works well.

For the first time in four years, there is basically nothing left on the project list.