Sunday, December 2, 2012

Props to the Liveaboard Refitters

Some folks make sailing heroes out of those who sail the higher latitudes dodging icebergs and dealing with extreme weather.  Not me. Why anyone would want to sail in frigid waters with the only reward at landfall being some seals barking at you, penguin poop and yet more frostbite?

No, my sailing heroes are the folks who manage to live aboard while undergoing a real refit. And by real I mean something a little more involved than changing the curtains and adding new electronics. That's not a refit, that's shopping despite what the boat brokers try to tell you. Living in an already really confined space with everything topsy turvy and managing to not fly into a homicidal rage? That is worthy of admiration. I respect those who do this because there is no way I could do it.

Here is the current state of our salon. All the floorboards are up, Bondo fumes fill the air, the headliner is still off and tools are everywhere. Though heaven help you if you move the tools because Mark has them placed just SO.


The reason for this latest bit of upheaval? Tidying up the run to the bilge. The area under the floorboards has never been faired which means we have lots of little bumps and crevices along the way to the bilge. Bumps and crevices which like to hold water (which despite our best efforts continues to drip down the mast). Sure, its a tiny bit of moisture but its a small boat and that little bit of moisture does like to grow interesting things like mold and mildew. Our goal is to make the boat as dry as possible so we need any and all water to go all the way down to the bilge where we hope one of the numerous bilge pumps we are putting it can give it back to the ocean.


We would also like to be able to install sliding trays which run on elevated tracks in this unused space. Not a whole lot of things will fit there, but provisions sealed in airtight containers should fit. We will have enough canned good storage space to provision for the zombie apocalypse. That's the thing about zombies, everyone knows they can't swim so a boat is a perfect place to avoid brain stealing walking dead. That was my first thought when Mark and I discussed adding storage. Mark just raised an eyebrow at my fantastical rabbit chasing mind. He can be really patient at times. But I digress...

So we endure the smell of Bondo as we try to make the under floor area baby butt smooth. The fumes tend to make me lightheaded, then I start to like the smell and wonder why no one has come up with a Bondo scented aftershave because is it ever a MANLY smell and then I realize I am obviously destroying the few brain cells I have and I'd better go on deck for a fresh oxygen infusion. When my thinking process returns to normal (or as close as mine ever gets) I then think about the folks who are doing similar tasks on their boat while living aboard and I am in awe of their fortitude. THAT is some serious chutzpah.

What do we do while we wait for the Bondo to cure? Why tidy up the topsides of course. We are still pondering what we want to do to the deck layout to make Ceol Mor easier to sail but we know all the decks need to be in tip top shape before we install anything so while we think, we tidy. We tidy up which means there is every bit as big a mess on deck as there is below.  Gingerly step around the needed tools and gently remove any yuck staining the fiberglass under the old deck hardware, check for soundness and paint as necessary. Repeat. Go below, brave the fumes and clutter and Bondo some more. Then be very thankful we don't have to try to live in this big mess and give a hearty salute to those brave souls who chose to do so. You folks are made of stern stuff indeed.


13 comments:

  1. Please put us on the list of people who would like to buy your boat someday.

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    1. Lol we are never, ever selling her. If we bought something else do you really think it would be adequate? I only have one refit in me....

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  2. Sliding trays on rails in the bilges? That would be a kickass thing to have. That's going to be one beautiful boat on the inside. I love a Bob Perry design. Beauty and function.
    Anyone living on board a boat with those fumes would be shortening their livespan. We lived for years with a remodel in progress first in one house, then in another house. My poor children don't really know what it's like to grow up in a house that's finished. That was hard enough. Forget it on a boat. I'd rent a hotel room.

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  3. You lived in a house undergoing remodel with 2 little kids? Props indeed!

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  4. I was thinking this exact thing the other day. I have no idea how people live on their boat and refit it at the same time...

    Tate says "Don't worry we don't have to finish everything before we leave, we can always do it while cruising", and I say "All Interior projects MUST be done before departing".

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    1. Don't be upset with Tate, its that Y chromosome that is clouding his usually clear thinking. Interior projects must either be finished or left off completely by the time you leave. Refinishing outdoor teak? Sure but living in a tiny space with everything out of place and your tiny home a jumbled up mess? Hell to the no.

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  5. I have to meet this Mark guy and Tate guy. We should all put our boats together side by side in a marina and help each other with our projects....anal minds create great projects but it really pisses our wives off.....or so I read. Maybe that is why Deena doesn't blog!
    But really keep up the great work. I love your writing style!

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    1. Aww do I sound pissed? I'm not, just amused...

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    2. Your right I choose the wrong word. I often misspeak ask my wife!

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  6. Wow. Just... wow.

    Time for your contrarian buddy bl to sit you down and have a little talk.
    Okay, I could get behind all of the other amazingly finished projects but this one? Not so much.
    The ARE does realize the kids are growing up, right?

    A perfectly sound but imperfect boat today is more rewarding than a perfectly perfect sound boat too late.
    Every dollar and day invested in perfection is one dollar and one day not invested in paradise.

    I'm gonna get off my Mike-Brady-meets-The-Pardeys soapbox now, but jeepers, lay in some high build primer and two or three coats of BilgeKote and you're gonna get all the bilgewater flow you could ever want, and you're still gonna have mould-inducing water in your bilge because your bilge pump is an imperfect machine that always leaves some water in the well.

    I admire the attention to detail, but sometimes one can get so focused on the details they lose sight of the end goal.

    I know, I know, it's all under control and all on schedule and all...
    It's just cold and miserable up here, our boat is on the hard, and I could really use some good stories and pics from exotic (or at least warm) destinations- and you're toying with me, putting lipstick on mary j. bilge.

    Get out there, dammit!

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    1. Aww Jonesy, I see the logic of your argument but you are forgetting the most important part of the puzzle.Happiness. You need to be happy with your boat- not the shiny one in the pages of a glossy magazine that maybe, some day you could afford but the one parked on your dock. Having a beautifully, perfectly restored boat makes Mark happy. Would I be fine with a lick of Bilgekote and a wee bit of moisture? yes, but the ARE would not. Will a perfectly smooth bilge make Mark happy? Yes. Will I still be happy? Yes. So a faired bilge it is. It has to be done now if its going to be done at all before the new plumbing goes in. We are waiting on parts, might as well put the wait time to good use.Exotic destinations have to wait for his work projects to wrap up anyway.

      Now ask yourself, if you were going to buy a boat in the price range of Ceol Mor would you want one with a manky bilge, poor plumbing, a tangle of wire runs everywhere and suspect wiring or would you rather have one that has 100% been restored to better than factory condition?
      I rest my case. Of course, we are never going to sell Ceol Mor and will probably send Mark off on a Viking funeral on her when his time is up but you get the point. ;)

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  7. Just read your 2nd December 2 blog. Will keep for 2013 promise.

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