Friday - Up early to get things organized to ship the wind generator back and pick up the hose for the head.
Back on the boat by 10 am, time to walk the dogs and start working. The job to fix the head went as expected, PITA. A few new nicks on the hands but it is working exactly as supposed to. I got the shelf retainer for the head and deck boards stained. I got the head shelf retainer installed and it is perfect. It really opens up some storage room that was previously unusable.
Whilst in the head, I discovered the shower sump filter was full so took the opportunity to fix that as well. We did manage to get part of the starboard aft cabin cleaned out. The dinghy is now in the cockpit, not inflated, but at least out of the interior or the boat. A project for tomorrow maybe. We also took down the port cockpit glass and will work on cutting a new one tomorrow and get it installed.
All the little jobs on the list have now been prioritized to what need to be done before we leave and what can be done enroute. I think we will be 99% complete with the major tasks before we leave from this trip.
Daniel called about 4 pm and we gave him a great story about being woken up at 2am with water rushing in the boat and were in danger of sinking. We must have gone on for over 5 minutes before letting him know it was APRIL FOOLS. We all had a good laugh and relayed the story to a few more people.
Saturday morning I got the dinghy inflated, floating and powered. I celebrated by taking it for a spin around the marina. Later Beth, I and the dogs repeated the tour. Everything went perfectly and by lunch time the dinghy was hung on the arch and it fit perfectly. Considering I designed the arch but had never test fit the dinghy to it, I was very pleased. It looks like it will hold well. Later Beth worked on the lifeline netting and helped me install the new cockpit glass. I think she has finished the starboard side and has plans of tackling the bow tomorrow. I still have to come up with a plan for the stern. Dinner was perfectly grilled steaks after watching a great sunset.
Monday. The weather was great but a bit windy to work on the shrouds so I decided to work on the fridge while Beth worked on the bow netting. Let me say that whoever installed the fridge had tiny arms. The project was to get the propane side of the fridge working. I called several service companies in the area and no one would come out. One guy gave me great advice on things to check, how to check them and apologized that they didn't have a mobile service. Taking his advise, I decided to undertake the job.
The hardest part was getting the thing out of the cabinet. Once that was done I checked the voltages, cleaned the burner and generally cleaned up around, behind and under. This worked out really well as now I understand how it works, where all the connections are. The entire job took about 5 hours but I am VERY happy to say it is re-installed and works on propane, 120V and 12V. The propane operation is necessary since it draws a lot of power on 12V and when cruising, you don't want to squander power.
Beth made good progress on the bow netting getting all of the top rail done as well as a decent sunburn on her back.
Severe storms are forecast for later tonight and after watching the news while dining on chinese take out, the storms really tore up Gilmer county with several tornadoes touching down. The forecast for Tuesday is rain and wind so it will be an inside the boat day cleaning up and organizing.
Tuesday was pretty much as forecast. Bad storm around 5 am, nasty until about 1 pm and then lots of wind.
Usually wind on a sailboat is a good thing but considering we are attempting to get some work done on the deck, it makes it much harder. We opted for an indoor day. I worked on straightening things up and finishing a few indoor chores while Beth took care of essentials like washing and cooking. All in all it was a rather relaxing day. Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive.
Wednesday. I picked up all the tools and equipment I had scattered all around the boat and put things in their place as well as removing a few items that hopefully we won't be needing. Beth continued working on the bow netting but didn't get to finish as the biting gnats swarmed and chased her off. All the buoyancy tanks have been checked, water filters cleaned or changed and I added reflective tape to the arch and mast. The list is getting smaller as the date grows nearer. Dinner was a fantastic roast and the sunset was beautiful.
Planning on heading back to Atlanta tomorrow, Ellijay this weekend. Maybe before we leave I can get the SSB radio auxiliary antennas hooked up and tested.
Thursday. Got up early enough before the wind started up and got the shrouds sealed which is an annual chore. It went well but the gnats were out but not as bad as in the evening. I double checked all the rings and marked that item off the list. Beth worked diligently on the bow netting with the help of Catie and Cocoa.
By mid afternoon it was time to head to Atlanta with a few projects to be completed but several major jobs got accomplished and the rest of the list are pretty small items.
J
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