We're screwed!
How the hell I ever thought that we would be ready to liveaboard by the end of May is beyond me. Now mind you, if the engine was still working fine, and the weather had been even close to reasonable this spring, then maybe, but neither of those happened. Now it has turned cold again for a few days, too cold to even paint. I will still be working at it, with mittens and toque. Who knows, we might even have bunks by May 30th. And Serena has requested refrigeration, although at these temperatures, beer left in the cockpit would likely be cold enough.
I have managed to get some fibreglass and gelcoat work done in the cockpit. But I am not terribly happy with it. I am mixing the gelcoat in 2 oz batches, and I can't add the colour in small enough increments to get a good colour match, so I will have to mix the colours first, then add to the gelcoat. I'll go through half a can of gelcoat just trying to figure out the right mix. Now I have to sand off what I put there, and start again. Oh, that's right, when I went to apply the mold release, which helps the gelcoat fully cure, the spray bottle would no longer spray, so I had to brush it on. WARNING, don't ever do that!!! Unless you are looking for the wood grain look.
I starting mounting equipment. Battery charger, inverter, stereo, the important stuff. Yes Honey, I'll get fridge done soon. Actually did manage to get the freezer installed and the refrigerant lines runs. I can't install the compressor until I get the shelf built in the lazarette. I also put both seals around the lids, 1/8" closed cell foam, but I think I may have to go to 3/16". I'll try and take a picture for the next post.
We played with the dinghy yesterday, in high winds, bad idea...... But found a few problems with the setup. The davits don't reach out far enough, especially now that the dinghy has almost a six foot beam. So I will have to build a special bridal with offsets in order to lift it without too much trouble. Then have some way to tilt it into position. It doesn't look bad, but man does it make Vita look big, mega yacht, she spreads out to a 37' boat end to end. Also talked to Wade, who has the same Walker Bay 8' with the hypalon tubes. He has had it for 13 years and loves it. His has gotten a couple of small pin holes that need to be patched, but otherwise still sound. Good news....
Still more work parties, and helping others. Some days there seems to be no reprieve from the endless requests. Normally I am really quite happy to help out, but being on such a tight deadline, I feel the stress that each moment away puts on me. Its not the task so much as the loss of focus. Once pulled from a project to help someone, then I am looking at 3 or 4 times that amount of time to settle back into my own groove, sometimes losing half a day for a little 30 min job. Productivity is down. I even blew up at one of the boys at the club who always seems to need help with this or that, deserved, probably not, sorry Pat. Focus, must maintain focus young grasshopper.
Today is the last lift in day and work party. Everything should be done and cleaned up today. There will always be people needing help with this or that, but all the official stuff should be over. Plus, once everyone gets there boat in the water, they'll all disappear. Should be the other way around to my mind, but that's what happens. Once the mad rush of pre-launch preparations are done, people settle down, go cut their lawns and carry on with the task of daily living.
I put another order into Sailrite yesterday. We need to get some sunbrella for a a few projects. Dinghy cover, bimini, cockpit side curtains, etc.... I can't see getting to those projects until June...ish.
Last little bit. Serena and I were trying to figure out how to handle our day to day money while cruising. We have read a lot of things online, and talked to a few people who have done it, and there really seems to be no consensus. Some are afraid of credit card fraud, so are willing to pay the international debit card fees. Some carry crazy amounts of cash on hand, hidden all over the boat, and some use their credit cards primarily. One thing for sure is that the Canadian dollar is not going to stay at par with the American dollar for long, so that needs to be considered too. I think we may follow the route of most, and use cash as much as possible, taking out $1000.00 at a time or so. Use our credit cards when we feel it is safe to do so, and keep a good store of american dollars in the bank to offset fluctuations in currency. In the new electronic age, money is so easy to move around, not always cheap to move around, but definitely easy.
Keep your stick on the ice.....
Go Leafs Go
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