Counting down the days

[pirate_222]

We're counting down the days untill we move aboard!!!

The boat is not quite ready, but as others have said, if we wait, it probably never will be.

We spent just under a year on the waiting list at the marina and finaly got the pier/slip we wanted. (Gated pier, slip nearest the street, small storage unit on the pier for each slip, big dock box).

The boat is paid for. Total monthly expenses including slip rental, live-aboard fee, electric,cable and water will total just under $500.00 a month.

The sanatation system has been completly rebuilt.

Except for installing the deck fill,(next week's project) the freshwater system has been completly rebuilt.

The A/C has been installed and run for a couple of weekends and cools the cabin nicely. (Thanks Gord for your post, it was a great help on that matter).

One side of the V-berth has been converted into a closet area, still leaving room for sleeping on the other side when one of the kids comes to visit for the weekend.

We've replaced the four companionway drop boards with opening doors while retaining the ability to use the boards when it becomes neccesary.

After much thought, we designed a removable extension for the settee/bed that will drop out of the way in about 10 seconds, freeing up the walk-thru in the cabin. We both agreed that climbing over the bed to get to the head in the morning was NOT an option!

I've still got some work to do on the cabin lighting as the wiring for that runs between the deck and liner and is original to the boat. I'll get most of that re-wired over the next few months. In the meantime we'll make do with 120v at the marina and oil lamps on weekend trips.

I'm on the hunt for inexpensive closed-cell foam for new cockpit cushions as the cushions we have, while nice, are of regular foam with vinyl covers. They can't be left out in the rain. So far I'm not convinced that inexpensive and closed-cell belong in the same sentence...

I would very much like to add coming boards to the cockpit to make for more comfortable seating (backrests), but that will involve putting the sheet winchs up on some type of pedestal. I've seen these on other boats, but have yet to do any serious research on them.

I still have to get the TV card for my PC so it will serve both purposes. A 20'' Hi-Def screen will be big enough I believe. I remember my single days when I spent a couple of years with a 13' B&W !! I built a chart table directly across from the settee last year and the CPU will fit under it along with the printer. The chart table is big enough to hold the monitor/TV and still have room for chart work.

Our lease is up on our apartment on the 31st of this month. We're very lucky in that at our family home in Mississippi we have 70 acres, a three bedroom house and four outbuildings that will serve to store the stuff that we can't (won't) part with.

While not planning for failure, we firmly believe in having a backup plan. We have been on the "if it won't fit or be useful on the boat, don't buy it" plan for over a year now and have cut down on the amount of "stuff" we acutually have.

We leave tonite for the 7 hour drive to Mississippi to bring the furniture and keepable (is that a real word?) stuff to stow away. We'll spend the next two weeks moving stuff onto the boat and should be out of the apt. a couple of days before the lease is up.

Dam, I'm going to miss my recliner.......

On the other hand, sitting in the cockpit with a cold brew after a good days work is going to be NICE!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ex-Calif]

Great news Pirate!

I have lived "on the road" for a long time. I stored stuff when I left the states. 15 years later I pulled it out and couldn't believe the stupid stuff that I stored. "soft goods" rot and or go out of style.

Don't store things like...
Couches and mattresses
Clothes & Shoes
Most books
Photos and paperwork

Do store stuff like
Tools & Workbenches
Collectible and precious books
tables and chairs

Also try to get a bead on how long you will be gone. Everything we had in storage could have been replaced with the money we paid for storage...

[Liberty28]

Good going, Mate!! It's lots of work, but, what the heck, you only go through life once. Take it easy and slow and remember that you're still having fun when you sometimes think you're not!! Our boat is being transported to Punta Gorda, Florida where we'll join up with her in December for a long winter's getaway.

[imagine2frolic]

NICE?????????????

It's going to be way better than that. Wait until you are actually on the hook somewhere. It's more than nice. IT'S ADDICTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....BEST WISHES in your new lifestlye.......i2f