Projects! Projects! Projects!
Matt fixing the roller furling line.
Yay! We fixed the roller-furling by replacing the broken line with a brand new one. So we got another project done! However, there are about 20 more projects on the way. -And those are the ones we know about.
New roller furling line! Check that off the list!
See, when you are looking to fix one thing on a boat you end up finding many parts next to that thing that also need fixing. If you get a boat, don't look into cabinets or at the engine or in cockpit lockers. Pay no attention to rust running from anything. If any lines are fraying, just put duct-tape around them & call it a day.
However, if you want your boat to last & want to be able to get it away from the dock & into the ocean safely, then ditch the previous advice.
I'd say we're learning that there are basically 3 categories that boat projects fall under:
Cosmetic or stuff on the boat that isn't necessarily needed but would be nice to upgrade on the boat.
Projects that will make the boat sail more efficiently & make it more comfortable/enjoyable to be on the water.
Necessary fixes that are needed in order to actually sail the boat & make it safe.
Lucky us! We have all 3!
Zephyr working hard.
About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that a deck-plate/u-bolt that the port side mast shroud needs to be attached to. This definitely falls under the Project Type 3. Glad it was noticed right before we were about to go out sailing. If it came off the mast would be a lot less stable & that is not a condition anyone wants to be sailing in.
The bolt had actually rusted & broke, inside the decking. Luckily it wasn't too hard to fix. -Just ask our dog, Zephyr. It was a little time consuming though. -To get the new part & change it out & affix it. So happy to get that project out of the way!
Bye bye broken deck-plate.
Bye bye broken deck-plate.
We were sailing with this going on?
Newly installed hardware!
What's next? Well, it has been driving me insane that the inside of our boat looks like thieves were looking for jewels & not only left it a mess & torn apart but also left some of their trash behind.
I'm wondering if in 1984 people didn't need to access their whole engines on their sailboats?! Those must have been the days..... Because to get to our whole engine, we get to remove half of our galley & it & all pertaining to it in the middle of our boat. And as a result, we get to move a bunch of stuff that was in the middle of the boat to other places on the boat or take them home temporarily. It has started not feeling temporary though. Our boat has been like this since November. We have needed to fix a bunch of parts & pieces that can only be accessed when this part of our galley is removed. Getting through that list has been a long & slow process.
Believe it or not, we have sailed a few times in the last several months with the insides like this! That's how we roll! We didn't want to miss out on sailing opportunities if we didn't have to. To only be doing projects on a boat without sailing can be a little discouraging. You need to remind yourself why you are doing all of this work.
That being said, sailing without moving forward on projects can get discouraging too. To get this sailboat worthy to sail anywhere outside of our little bay there are definitely things that have to be fixed first. Lucky for us, we found more important issues to take care of before we could get back to the projects that require accessing all of the engine.
Once upon a time we had a galley & also a tidier boat!
So, we are now back to the point of being able to get these few things done to be able to put the galley back into place & clean up the rest of the inside of our boat. Praying that putting on new motor mounts & aligning the engine will be something that takes us only a weekend or two to fix. And crossing my fingers that there isn't any new thing/things in this area that need to be fixed.
Onto the motor mounts…..
.... 'til next week... Wish us luck!
Thanks for reading!
