AT LAST! ANOTHER CRUISING PROJECT FINISHED.

The hanging locker is, to my thinking, a waste of space. I need shelving for clothes. So, I converted the hanging locker to a shelving (installed on a 25 degree angle to prevent falling).

This is where I started:

The next step was to install supports for the shelves.

Then, fit and paint new shelves white (eaiser to see what's there):

AT LAST! ANOTHER PROJECT DONE!

Critical Crewman - Always Looking Over Our Shoulder

Extended Absence

Sometimes you just can't get to the job at hand. I tore my rotator cuff sailing on the 4th of July 2009. But, that was just the straw that broke the camels back. The shoulder was already giving me pain. So, what followed was a course of med's, then physical therapy, more x-rays, MRI, etc. Then, after waiting at least 30-45 days to get another appointment following each procedure treatment, the decision was to do surgery. But, the holidays were a scheduling problem for the physicians, so surgery ended up in the new year, 2010, January 18. Now it is done. Ligaments reattached, the joint parts ground down and resurfaced, and the rotator cuff stitched up. They thought I should go to a rehab facility for 8 weeks following surgery. I did not.
After one night in the hospital, a friend picked me up and brought me back across the bay and helped me get onto my boat. If it had been a normal Florida winter it would have been a piece of cake; but, the temp dropped to just above freezing every night for a week (and I had no heat), and it has stayed reasonably cold. I must admit I have spent more comfortable nights, as I sat trying to sleep wrapped in a sleeping bag leaning against the bulkhead. The visiting nurse, who came every day, had never made a patient visit on a boat. After learning to check the tide level, she loved her 2 weeks of visits.
It has been a month now, and I still can't get off the boat at low tide. My comings and goings are determined by the tides because at low tide I am 3.5 ft below the dock. And, since we are prohibited from installing ladders, if I miss the tide window I am stuck on the boat until the next day.
The good news, I only have another 4 weeks to live with this straight jacket restraint! Then I start PT and hopefully get back to work on the boat.

Small Project - HINGE COVER FOR UNDER SETTEE STORAGE

Until now, access to storage under the starboard settee was limited to two small doors on the front of the settee and one opening in the seat board, under the cushion. The cat marks the spot for the top access. You couldn't see what was in there or get much in or out.

The obvious cure was to access the area via the seat board which was fastened into place with 27 screws. So, I removed the screws and cut the board to make a swing up cover. Maybe it took 27 screws to eliminate rattles but it seemed excessive as I extracted each with a manual screw driver.

After cutting, I filed the edges and corners down on the brass hinges (they had sharp corners that could have cut through the bedding used on the settee), and set them in place. Then I added a finger hole to lift the board.

The unfinished finish work, is to add a brass hook and eye to hold the board up for easy access to the storage area and some padding around the finger hole.

This is what sailing Florida's Gulf Coast is all about.
No wonder I make so little progress when it comes to getting work done.

WED. 10/21/09
Sunny
High: 85 Low: 71
Sunrise: 7:34
AM Winds: ENE 14
PM Winds: ENE 15

Mutiny on Soul Mate

Well, I guess my crew, Seaman FuzzyFace, decided that it was just too boring to remain on, Soul Mate. He jumped ship yesterday, via a leap from the V-berth, through the forward hatch. That hatch had been closed and filled from the inside with a custom fitted slab of R-8 insulation all summer. Since we were enjoying our first "nice" day of Fall, with temp's finally under 90 degrees, now a sudden drop to the high 60's, I removed the insulation and opened the hatch about 4 inches before leaving for Home Depot to buy materials to fit the new sliding screen/shade fixture to be installed inside the hatch. Needless to say I didn't discover until several hours later, he was gone. Of course, I ended up walking the docks shaking a bottle of "Cat Candy" for several hours, to no avail. And, I sat up till 3 AM, in the cockpit, periodically shaking the "Cat Candy." I finally hit the rack at three, leaving the forward and companionway hatches open. This morning, no FuzzyFace. I hope he leaped to the finger dock on his way to a great adventure, and did not decide to plunge off the deck and catch one of the big fish that lurk in the 15 foot water about the boat. Gee, I miss the silly cat.

Too hot to work on Soul Mate

The weather, (with heat index readings at or in excess of 100 degrees daily over the last week), has made it impossible for me to summon enough energy to work on the boat. This is the point in time when everyone sits around in the owners lounge at the marina and talks about what they "should be" doing.
However, I did start working on the storage situation. I am cutting the plywood sheet under the starboard cabin seat/bunk so I can put most of it on hinges. This will give access from the top of the area by simply removing the seat cushion and swinging the board up. Currently the only access is via two small doors on the front of the seat base. And, you have to get down on your hands and knees to see a bit of the storage area through the doors. This change will make the space under the seat much more usable, and easier to use.