Cutting Circles Out Of Teak Wood Piece

Cut Teak Wood Circles

Yesterday while at LeBlanc Oil, I had picked up a package for our friends Nicola & Noel who are coming to visit from England. I opened the package to check for physical damage, and took photos to send to them. We will check out the electronics once they get here.

Xantrex Link 2000-R

The Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy had finally set up, so I started wiping down the boom gallows with the tack rag in preparation for the application of the Cetol teak treatment

At that time Johnal called. RUTHIE was out of the water and he was able to look at the damaged rudder. The good news is the rudder can be repaired while in the boat. The bad news is there is a big chunk out of the rudder that needs to be repaired. He asked if I could help, and I agreed.

Johnal was thinking of fitting a piece of wood into the bad place, and covering it with fiberglass. I did not like the idea of using wood, and I suggested fiberglass, and in fact I had some pieces of the Extren sheet fiberglass that might do the trick. I loaded up some of the pieces of Extren sheet fiberglass that I had, and some bits and chunks into the Black Beast. I also loaded the “Box O’ Resins” with a can of Dyna-Hair filler.

I drove over to GEO shipyard, and parked next to Johnal & Cindy'sboat, RUTHIE. Johnal had already cut the bad place out of the rudder. It looked like an alligator had taken a bite out of the rudder.

Rudder With Bad Spot Cut Out

I suggested we use a piece of the Extren sheet fiberglass cut to fit the cut out, then use the Dyna-Hair filler to fill out the area. When the Dyna-Hair filler had set up, sand it down, fill in the low spots with a finishing putty. Johnal liked the idea so we got on it.

We cut out a piece of the Extren sheet fiberglass that matched the cutout in the rudder. We left the remainder of the sheet attached to use as a handle, and it would be cut off later.

We then mixed up a batch of the Dyna-Hair filler, and put some of it on the rudder. We then shoved in the cut piece of Extren sheet fiberglass mushing it into the Dyna-Hair filler. Before the filler had a chance to kick off, we applied more of the filler to each side of the sheet in the rudder. We also made the filler as smooth as possible.

Dyna-Hair Filler & Cut Piece Of Extren Sheet Fiberglass Ready To Go

Dyna-Hair Filler & Cut Piece Of Extren Sheet Fiberglass Installed

Johnal was well on his way. I had to leave and get back to DREAM AWAY to get cleaned up and attend a meeting at the Vermillion Parish Ag Center in Abbeville.

Kitty and I got to the meeting around 1245. We had a great meeting, and we are all very enthusiastic about setting up a youth boating and safety program. We ended the meeting with an early dinner at Shuck’s in Abbeville.

After dinner we came back to DREAM AWAY. Kitty worked on the boating course. I changed clothes and I went over to the shop. I finished wiping down the boom gallows and instrument pod parts with the tack rag, and applied the first coat of Cetol teak treatment.

I then went back to DREAM AWAY and did some more catching up on email and the maintenance log.

February 19, Wednesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Cruising yacht RUTHIE, left the dock at 0700 sharp. They are going to the GEO shipyard in the Port of Iberia to get hauled out and to get some work done on their rudder. They should be back by the weekend.

I went over to the shop, and was surprised that the Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy had not set up. This was rather disappointing. I still have seven coats of Cetol teak treatment to put on the boom gallows and instrument pod parts.

I decided to get out more stuff that I am planning to auction on eBay in the near future. I got out an old Sony Cybershot camera that works very well, but sometimes the off/on switch does not cooperate.

Charging Batteries On The Sony Cybershot

I decided to turn on a heater I have in the shop, and face it towards the instrument pod parts to get the Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy to set up.

Heater On Instrument Pod Parts

Still Wet Boom Gallows Hanging In The Shop

Went back to DREAM AWAY and had breakfast. Yesterday I had purchased a ⅝” stainless steel shackle that I wanted to put on the storm anchor in conjunction with the stainless steel chain gripper. If I ever have to use this anchor, I do not want the attaching parts failing.

Chain Gripper And Original Shackle

Chain Gripper And New Shackle

About this time Cindy and Johnal called and they had arrived at the GEO shipyard, but there was not enough water in the haulout slip to get RUTHIE out of the water at that time.

The plan is to drive to the Port of Iberia, pick up Cindy and bring her back to the North Pier Marina so she could get their car. We did the plan with a couple of modifications.

On the way to the GEO shipyard we stopped at Harris Castile in New Iberia. I dropped off my three injectors and the injector pump for them to check out, and to explain why one injector was different from the other two.

We continued on to the GEO shipyard and picked up Cindy. She offered to take us to lunch, so we stopped at the Golden Wok in New Iberia. While we were eating lunch, the folks at Harris Castille called and said the parts were ready, and they checked out OK.

After lunch, we went to Harris Castille to pick up the parts. I was told the three injectors were good and so was the injector pump. The issue with one of the injectors was, when I removed that injector, the spacer also came out with it. The spacers did not come out with the other two! The issue with the two different numbers was the casting numbers.

While there I also purchased a temperature switch for the generator, as I had used my spare.

We drove back to North Pier Marina, and on the way stopped at LeBlanc Oil to pick up my filled argon bottle. I am now back into the welding business. Cindy got her car and went back to GEO shipyard, and I went to DREAM AWAY to work on the generator.

I removed the spare injector pump from the generator, and installed the pump that was just checked out. I also installed the injectors and the fuel return lines.

I did not have time to bleed the fuel lines and see if the generator would start. I had to get a shower, and Kitty and I had to go to a venders meeting of the Delcambre Seafood & Farmers Market.

February 18, Tuesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and finished cutting out the pieces from the Structoglas. Sanded down the edges of the cut pieces of Structoglas to keep from getting cut. Set cut out pieces of Structoglas, and put the remaining pieces of Structoglas away. Cleaned up shop, and vacuumed shop to get all of the debris from the cutting removed.

Partially Cut Structoglas Sheet

Next I hung the boom gallows from the shop overhead so I would be able to apply the Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy and the Cetol teak treatment to all four sides at one time. I also did this to the instrument pod pieces also.

Boom Gallows Hanging From Shop Overhead

Instrument Pod Housing Hanging From Shop Overhead

I then mixed up a batch of Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy and applied it to the boom gallows, all of the instrument pod pieces, and the teak piece I had epoxied together.

I left the shop and went back to DREAM AWAY. I had decided to take the fuel injectors and the injector pump out of the generator and take them to Harris Castile in New Iberia. They are the local Northern Lights dealer.

I removed the three injectors from the engine. They all seemed to be in good shape, but one of the injectors had a shim or spacer that the other two did not, and the part number stamped on it was different. This could be my problem with the generator not starting.

Three Injectors - Different One In The Middle

Three Injectors - Different One In The Middle

Kitty had left DREAM AWAY while I was working on the generator to run a couple of errands. One of which was to mail the second box to our friends in New Zealand. She also stopped by the welding supply store with our argon bottle to get it filled with gas.

Now all we have to do is find someone with a pickup truck to bring the argon bottle back to the shop. The gas supply companies will not allow a high pressure tank to be transported in a closed vehicle

When I finished the injector removal project, I started the second electrical outlet in the galley project. A couple of days ago when the single outlet in the galley failed we both realized it would be great to have a second outlet. We decided to put the second outlet on the other side of the galley stove.

Aft Side Of Galley Stove Area

I removed one of the plastic bins from the bulkhead and moved the second bin up. This second bin is a storage area for clothes pins and coffee filters. I then installed the teak frame for the electrical outlet.

“All” that remains is to run the AC electrical wire, and drill the holes in the bulkhead for the new wire run.

New Bulkhead Layout

February 17, Monday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Took the Black Beast over to Ray’s Auto Repair here in Delcambre, to have the engine oil cooling lines replaced, and the upper ball joints replaced. Ray brought me back to the North Pier Marina, and I walked to the shop from there. I started in on sanding the boom gallows, and the teak piece I epoxied together. I finished sanding the boom gallows, but it was obvious I would have to apply more thickened epoxy to the teak piece, and epoxy to the top of the boom gallows.

Sanding Teak Piece

Thickened Epoxy Applied To Teak Piece

Epoxy Applied To Top Of Boom Gallows

I loaded up a bunch of template material (cardboard) into the Black Beast and drove over to DREAM AWAY to have breakfast. After breakfast, I brought all of the template material down to DREAM AWAY.

Kitty and I made a template for the after bulkhead in the head, and the underside of the deck in the main cabin. I will use these templates to cut out the pieces of Structoglas. When the pieces of Structoglas are all fitted I will then apply Liquid Nails to put them in place.

The pieces in the main cabin are sorely needed to cover up some not so nice looking places.

One Main Cabin Area To Be Covered With Structoglas

Took all of the templates just created, plus one other template I had cut two or three months ago for the underside of the deck in the head over to the shop.

Templates Leaning Against Work Bench

I got out a sheet of Structoglas panel from my stash of five, and laid it out on the floor. I then worked with the templates to get the best usage of the sheet, and have the most left over. When I came to a solution, I marked the sheet with a black Sharpie for all of the templates

Structoglas Sheet With Templates Marked Out

Before starting to cut out the pieces of Structoglas on the sheet, I got the pieces of the instrument cluster setup and ready to apply the Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy.

I then started to cut out the Structoglas with my Bosch jig saw. After cutting out just one piece, Ray called and said the Black Beast was finished.

I said great, come to the marina and pick me up. I left the shop and went over to the marina to meet Ray. He had called earlier in the day and told me he had looked at the brakes, and found the problem with them.

He could not adjust the drum brakes on the rear passenger side, because the adjuster was stuck. When he pulled the wheel, he discovered the adjuster was stuck, and the brake was adjusted all the way open. He also found the rear wheel cylinders leaking.

When he unstuck the adjuster, he was able to adjust the rear drum brakes perfectly, and he also replaced the seals in the wheel cylinders. Now I can just barely tap the brake pedal, and the truck stops. Also the emergency brake really holds the truck still in both forward and reverse.

So now the front end in the Black Beast is in good shape with the replacement of the upper ball joint on both sides. There is no leaking engine oil, because the leaking cooling lines have been replaced, and the brakes are working perfectly. I am a happy camper.

February 16, Sunday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and discovered that the epoxy I had applied yesterday did not set up completely. That was a bit disappointing.

There is always something to do, so I set about cleaning and straightening up the area of the shop which is the library/exercise room and sometimes paint room. I put away a lot of items into the storage boxes on the shelves.

I got out some of the items I plan to sell on eBay. I cleaned them up and took several pictures of each item. I got down boxes that I keep instead of throwing away, and measured them to use for shipment of the items. Then I got the idea to use flat rate boxes from the Post Office. That will be simpler for me if I use the Post Office rather than another carrier which is in another city.

I decided to sand down the boom gallows and scrape off the unset up epoxy. I assumed I had mixed an incorrect batch, and will apply more epoxy this afternoon.

I loaded the boom gallows and the “Box O’ Resins” into the Black Beast and drove over to the North Pier Marina. I unloaded the boom gallows, “Box O’ Resins”, all of the boards/blocks/pieces of wood and the piece of Structoglas.

When I got to DREAM AWAY, I had breakfast, and immediately following breakfast, I got to work on the starboard cockpit hatch.

I had put off finishing the installation of the hinges on that hatch for several months for various reasons. I had scraped out the rotten wood under one hinge, and treated the surrounding wood with Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy. Now it was time to mix up a very small batch of finishing putty and fill the hole in the wood. I filled the hole, and had a bit of the finishing putty remaining, which I applied to some other areas around the cockpit.

Finishing Putty Applied To Cockpit

Next on the list was to dry fit the piece of Structoglas to the overhead in the head. This is no small task. First of all the piece of Structoglas would not fit into the overhead. Too many edges, overhangs and corners. Kitty and I decided to cut the piece of Structoglas into two pieces and then cover the seam with the teak wood tape I have. Once the tape is varnished, it will look very professional.

The other fun part of the dry fit is to be able to hold the piece of Structoglas up to the overhead while the Liquid Nails is drying. Getting all of the boards, supports and wedges to get this done, and then remember what you did so you can take it all down, and put it back up again after the application of the Liquid Nails, is a real challenge.

Dry Fitting Structoglas In The Head Overhead

Dry Fitting Structoglas In The Head Overhead

With the dry fit complete, it was time to spread the Liquid Nails onto the back of the Structoglas and put it up on the overhead, and put all of the boards and supports back up until the Liquid Nails drys.

Structoglas Put Up With All Of The Supports

Structoglas Put Up With All Of The Supports

I went out to the cockpit and the finishing putty had dried. I sanded down smooth the finishing putty, and drilled a hole into the finishing putty for the hinge screw. I then installed all three of the hinges into the cockpit hatch, and that project is finally finished. I even got the approval of Jillian.

Jillian Inspecting Cockpit Hatch Completion

Now it was time to see if the teak wood I had added to the top of the boom gallows, would allow the boom to clear the future solar panel installation on top of the hard bimini. Kitty and I put the boom gallows in place, and then put the boom on the boom gallows.

We would have plenty of room to install the solar panels, and any mechanism I can come up with to raise and lower the panels to face the sun more directly.

We took the boom gallows off of DREAM AWAY, and I loaded it into the Black Beast, along with the unused wood supports, small pieces of wood, and the “Box O’ Resins”.

It was back to the shop, and I unloaded all of the wood, “Box O’ Resins”, and the boom gallows.

I did some more sanding on the boom gallows in preparation of another application of epoxy.

Boom Gallows Ready For Epoxy Application

I did not have any teak pieces big enough to cut out circles to cover the holes I cut in the overhead of the head. I found some smaller pieces that I could epoxy together and then cut out the hole covers.

Dry Fitting Two Pieces Of Teak To Make One

I mixed up a plain batch of epoxy and applied it to the two pieces of teak, and clamped them together, and added weights to keep both pieces flat.

Two Teak Pieces Epoxied And Clamped

With the remaining mixed epoxy, I added in some teak dust as a thickener, and applied it to the boom gallows.

Epoxy With Thickener Applied To The Boom Gallows

I cleaned up all of the material used with the epoxy application, and went back to DREAM AWAY.

It had been a good three to four hours since the Liquid Nails application on the overhead piece of Structoglas in the head. I felt confident I could remove the wood supports. Then I had to put back all the teak coverings for the light, and other pieces on the overhead. I also had to put in new hooks to hang the shower curtain.

Overhead In Head Complete Except For Hole Covers

Overhead In Head Complete Except For Hole Covers

I still have to fabricate the hole covers and fabricate the wire cover for the head overhead.

February 15, Saturday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop and inventoried all of the pieces I will be using on the top of the legs for the sail handling platform (SHP).

Aluminum Pieces Inventoried

Next was to get to sanding and scraping on the boom gallows. I knew it would take some effort to get the boom gallows smooth again, and hopefully the side I applied the epoxy mixed with the teak dust did not have any voids. I was correct, that it did not. The other side did need an application of epoxy mixed with the teak dust. It was still a little cool, so I would do the epoxy application lated in the afternoon.

Sanding And Scraping The Boom Gallows

Smoothed Out Boom Gallows

Sanding And Scraping The Boom Gallows

Today is the day we were finally going to get the Structoglas panel put onto the overhead in the head. I loaded up the panel, and all of the pieces of wood of varying lengths that would be required to hold the panels in place after the Liquid Nails adhesive was applied.

When I got to the marina, I unloaded all of the wood supports, the necessary tools and the Structoglas panel, and brought them all down to DREAM AWAY.

First thing to be done was to cut out some holes in the overhead interior pan. There is a teak grab rail on the coach roof outside that is just over the head. We are going to remove the teak grab rail and replace it with a maintenance free stainless steel grab rail.

The teak grab rail has through bolts holding it to the deck, so we needed access to the underside of the deck to get to the bolts for removal. We will also need access to the underside of the deck to install the new grab rail.

Three Holes Cut In Overhead

Now I had to clean out all of the debris from inside the holes. This is another fun feature of this Hardin.

Debris In One Of The Overhead Holes

Now that the holes were all cleaned out of debris, I placed old newspapers over all of the exposed surfaces under the overhead in the head. When this was done, I sprayed insulation foam in all the areas I could reach between the fiberglass coach roof and the interior fiberglass pan.

This foam will help deaden the noise, but the main purpose is to stop the condensation that occurs between the fiberglass coach roof and the interior fiberglass pan. The newspaper I put down was to capture any of the foam that squeezed out while it was setting up.

It was obvious we were not going to get the piece of Structoglas panel installed today. I closed off the head to prevent our cats from getting in and playing with the wet foam. I loaded everything back into the Black Beast, and went back to the shop.

I left everything in the Black Beast because I knew tomorrow we would get the Structoglas panel installed.

I got out the pink book, and checked the length required for the legs of the sail handling platform (SHP). I wanted to cut the legs that I have welded the base plates to. When I get my new bottle of argon, I want to weld the top support plates onto the legs. The leg length includes the base plate and the upper support plate.

I put the metal cutting blade into my Bosch jig saw, and cut off all four of the SHP support legs.

Four Cut Legs

Four Chopped Off Pieces

Now it was back to DREAM AWAY to clean up the foam in the head. The foam had hardened, so it was easy to cut off the excess, and clean up the newspaper. When I finished the cleanup, I was done for the day.

February 14, Friday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went over to the shop this morning, but stopped by Dollar General and purchased wrapping paper and a Valentine’s card. When I go to the shop I wrapped two gifts I had for Kitty, and signed the card.

Before I left DREAM AWAY, I had printed out the customs form for the second package to be sent to our friends in New Zealand. I put a copy of the customs form into their box and packed up the box. I will send out the second box on Monday, and get it on it’s way.

Second Box Ready For Shipment To New Zealand

I do not have much Argon left, but I wanted to get the base plates welded onto the bottom of the legs on the sail handling platform (SHP). I completed two legs yesterday. I set up the welder and the, and the base plate and leg. I would tack weld the two together, then lay down the leg to complete the welding.

Setup To Weld Base Plate To Leg

I completed the remaining two legs, and that ran me completely out of Argon. I found out I can get my tank filled, because I have a receipt to prove the tank is mine, but I have to have an open bed truck to transport the filled tank. They will not put a full tank into an enclosed vehicle.

Base Plate And Leg Welding Complete

I have been working on a panel to install in the aft cabin to place the Aft Security Panel (ASP) and the replacement aft air conditioner controls into. The panel I am going to use is a white piece of ¼” acrylic plastic. I am doing this to so I can move the ASP from a horizontal configuration to a vertical configuration. In this new configuration, I can label all of the circuit breakers.

The ¼” acrylic plastic had to be cut to the proper size, so I put the proper blade into the jig saw, and cut the plate needed.

Plate Measured For Cutting

Kitty was awake, so I went over to DREAM AWAY to have our valentine breakfast, and to exchange presents.

Kitty At Valentine Breakfast Table

Jim At Valentine Breakfast Table

After breakfast the plan was to work on the aft cabin leak in the area of the aft port cleat. Earlier in the morning while making coffee, and making my frothy milk, I discovered the GFCI receptacle in the galley was not functioning.

Having a 120 VAC outlet in the galley was pretty important, so I got into the replacement of the outlet. Fortunately I have a couple of spare GFCI receptacles.

Removing Defective GFCI Receptacle

New GFCI Receptacle In Place

With the new GFCI receptacle in place it was time to get to repairing the leaks in the aft cabin. The first item on the list is to removing all of the bedding and mattress from the aft cabin bed. I knew I was going to be chopping into fiberglass, I did not want any of the debris in our bedding.

There was some foam and a patch of fiberglass putty around the backing plate for the port aft cleat, so I removed all of that so I would have good physical and visual access to the backing plate. The leak was coming from around the backing plate.

Backing Plate With Debris Removed

After the debris was discarded I removed all of the nuts on the cleat bolts, and attempted to remove the bolts. This was very difficult. When I initially installed this new cleat I used rope caulk weatherstrip. This is great stuff, and I have been using it for many years to bed almost everything on DREAM AWAY.

Since the bolts were so difficult to remove because of the rope caulk weatherstriping, I deduced that the leak was not around the bolts holding the cleat to the deck.

I attempted to remove the backing plate for the cleat, but ran into the same problem. I could not get it unstuck from the deck. I again deduced that the leak problem was not there.

When I checked on deck at the cleat, I noticed a couple of cracks between the fiberglass riser I had glassed to the deck and the deck. I assumed this might be the source of the leak.

I quickly went over to the shop, loaded the “Box O’ Resins” into the Black Beast, and came back to DREAM AWAY. I sanded around the fiberglass riser on deck and cleaned up that area. I mixed up a batch of finishing putty and applied it all around the fiberglass riser.

When this was finished, I cleaned up and vacuumed the aft cabin, and Kitty and I put the bed back together.

I went back to the shop and applied another coat of epoxy resin mixed with teak dust to the boom gallows.

Now it was back to DREAM AWAY to get showered and cleaned up for our valentine’s dinner at the Little River Inn.

February 13, Thursday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the i shop first thing, again because of the temperature. It was 31° when I woke up. Worked most of the morning on the computer trying to catch up on email.

Kitty had to go off to a doctor’s appointment here in Delcambre. When she returned we had breakfast. When breakfast was finished it was warm enough outside that I did go over to the shop.

First thing I did was inspect the painting of the new propane tank. It looked great, so I removed all of the masking tape and paper, and then set the tank aside. It will not go into use until we use all of the gas out of the second older tank.

Propane Tank On Bench WIth Masking Still Applied

Propane Tank Ready For Use

Next on the list is to inspect the epoxy application on the boom gallows. As expected there are some places where I will need to apply more epoxy. It is still not real warm, so I will not chance the epoxy application today. Tomorrow it will be warm enough to apply more epoxy.

Boom Gallows With Epoxy Applied and Set

Boom Gallows With Epoxy Applied and Set

Because I was not able to continue working on the boom gallows, I got back to work on the aluminum pieces for the sail handling platform (SHP).

The base plates for the legs supports I had drilled out for ¼” bolts, but I will be using 5/16” bolts. The necessitated me drilling out the holes in each base plate to the larger size, and again counter sinking the holes.

Drilling Out Holes In Aluminum Base Plates

Four Base Plates Drilled And Countersunk

When I completed the work on the bases, I started welding the legs to the bases, and was able to complete two base to leg welds. I am getting real low on Argon, so I will have to start looking for a supplier.

Welding The Leg To The Base

Welding The Leg To The Base

Maybe not the prettiest welds, but they will not come apart, either.

Two Legs And Support Bases Completed

I left the shop and went back to DREAM AWAY. I wanted to do a project that has been bothering me for months, probably years.

The stove in the galley is gimballed, so when you are underway the top of the stove is always flat. When in port or at anchor, there is a lockdown on the stove to keep it from moving. When I installed the lockdown, the stove was not quite level. It was not a level surface to cook on, and it was annoying.

Today I was fixing the problem. In the following picture, you can see the stove is not level relative to the counter beside the stove.

Stove Not Level

I moved the lockdown block, and using a level got the stove level. Now all of the cooking surfaces will be level. I am a happy camper.

Stove Is Now Level

The remainder of the day I spent measuring the hard bimini top for solar panels, and then talking to Johnal, from the yacht RUTHIE about his solar panel installation. We also discussed tenders, outboards and electronics.

February 12, Wednesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Woke up to a temperature of 33°, so did not go to the shop this morning. Actually, did not go to the shop at all today. The high temperature was only 37°! The good news seems to be, after tomorrow we will have at least five days of good working weather.

We did welcome some new cruisers that came into the marina yesterday while we were at the workshop. We presented them with the official North Pier Marina welcome basket. They said they are only staying two nights, so will be leaving tomorrow. The cruisers, Carol and Eric lived in Morgan City for eight years, so they are pretty familiar with this area. Their niece Terry, is also sailing with them.

Eric, Carol, And Niece With Welcome Basket Items.

I did get some progress made on inside computer projects. I got our 2013 taxes finished and filed. I caught up on all of my scanning, now I have to get caught up on emails.

One of the neatest things that happened was a new hatband for me. It actually happened yesterday, but I did not get the hat band on my hat until today.

One of the presenters, Benny Welch, from yesterdays workshop explained how he now has a whole business from the waste of alligator harvesting. As it turns out the alligator farms that harvest the meat and skins from the alligators do not use everything.

The feet, the heads, and what they call the backstrap are all thrown away. In fact the farms have to pay to have all of the waste thrown away. The backstrap is the portion of the skin that runs down the alligators back. The lumps on that part of the skin are too big and hard to use commercially.

Benny takes all of these “waste” products and makes alligator souvenirs from them. He uses the teeth from the head to make hat bands, necklaces and so on. Most of the bones in the head of the alligator are solid bone, no marrow, so the bone can be used for scrimshaw and other types of carving.

He makes a knife and handle out of bone, and the scabbard out of hide from the feet and backstrap.

When he showed the workshop all of these products, I mentioned to Kitty that the headband would look really cool on my hat. After the workshop was over, and Benny was packing up his items, Kitty asked him if she could buy the headband. He said no, because he does not sell directly, he sells all of his souvenirs through brokers.

Kitty talked to him some more, and then Benny just gave her the hatband, and would only accept a thank you as payment! That hatband is a $300.00 item. The actual band is made from the backstrap, and the teeth are glued to the hatband. Benny guessed the gator the teeth came from was probably between eight to nine feet.

Jim With New Hatband

February 11, Tuesday, 2014

We attended the workshop in Lake Charles for the Twin Parish Port District. We enjoyed the workshop, and got some great ideas for implementation in our area. We also got some great contacts to help us put together some eco-tourism or agri-tourism plans.

After the workshop, we drove back to Delcambre to attend the Twin Parish Port District monthly meeting.

February 10, Monday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went to the shop and got started in on the propane tank upgrade. Yesterday I had painted the bottom of the tank with the DREAM AWAY orange paint. Now I had to put on the plastic automotive door trim. Hopefully the door trim will prevent rust from starting on the bottom of the tank. Only time will tell, but I will have to keep a closer eye the bottom of the new propane tanks.

Starting To Apply The Automotive Door Trim

Automotive Door Trim Installed

Now that the door trim was installed, I masked off the new propane tank to paint the green stripe around the top of the tank. This green strip serves no practical function other than to make the tank unique. I do not want someone to say this new tank is theirs.

Propane Tank With Strip Masked Off

Picture Of Package Being Sent To New Zealand

Now that the small projects were out of the way, I got back onto the boom gallows. Yesterday, I got a little carried away with the epoxy resin application. I had not masked off properly, so I had a lot more epoxy than I needed.

I did a lot of sanding and scraping to get the boom gallows prepared for the next row of teak pieces to be added to the boom gallows.

Sanding The Boom Gallows

Sanding The Boom Gallows

Once the boom gallows was all sanded, I did a dry fit of the last row of teak pieces, and made sure it was masked properly for the epoxy application.

I mixed up a pot of epoxy, and applied it to the boom gallows and the teak pieces, and then fitted them together. I then added more epoxy to fill in all of the space and imperfections in the teak pieces I added.

I applied the green paint to the propane tank, as it was still warm enough to use the spray paint, but the temperature was falling.

I did not take any pictures of the above actions.

I went back to DREAM AWAY and we packed our stuff, loaded it into the Black Beast, and drove to Lake Charles so we could attend a workshop for the Twin Parish Port District. This workshop was to familiarize us with eco-tourism and agri-tourism.

February 09, Sunday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went to the shop and got started in on the propane tank upgrade. As mentioned before I had purchased a second new propane tank. I wanted to get the bottom of the tank painted to keep rust from forming. Additionally I planned to put some plastic door trim on the bottom of the tank. This will protect the paint from chipping.

I had done the same thing to the previous new propane tank.

Propane Tank Masked And First Coat Applied

Now it was back to the boom gallows and getting the wood that is being added to the top of the boom gallows fitted. The wood needs to be cut, and then a dry fit done before actually epoxying the wood to the boom gallows.

The teak pieces I am using are left over pieces of deck boards. These pieces were removed from DREAM AWAY almost 15 years ago. Teak is so expensive, I keep all I can carry. It comes in very handy in times like these.

Dry Fitting Teak Pieces To The Boom Gallows

Dry Fitting Teak Pieces To The Boom Gallows

Dry Fitting Teak Pieces To The Boom Gallows

I loaded up the Black Beast and went over to DREAM AWAY to have breakfast, and to get the second coat of gelcoat applied to the hard dodger base area. We finally have a day where the temperature and humidity are cooperating.

I sanded down the base of the hard dodger where it was required, which was not much. I then used a tack rag to wipe down the whole area. I then mixed up a batch of gelcoat and applied the second coat to the hard dodger base.

It is hard to tell the difference between the before and after pictures of the gelcoat application, but I really did apply a second coat.

Hard Dodger Base Before Second Coat Application

Hard Dodger Base After Second Coat Application

I cleaned up everything I was using for the hard dodger base gelcoat application, loaded it all into the Black Beast, and went back to the shop. Once there I unloaded the “Box O’ Resins”, and got back into working on the boom gallows.

I had done the dry fit of the teak pieces I was adding to the boom gallows, so I mixed a batch of epoxy. I applied it to the boom gallows and the new pieces of teak and then screwed and glued the pieces of teak to the boom gallows.

I filled in the spaces with additional epoxy. Now we just wait for the chemical reaction to take place, and I apply the second layer of teak pieces.

Installing The Teak Pieces To The Boom Gallows With Epoxy

Installing The Teak Pieces To The Boom Gallows With Epoxy

February 08, Saturday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Went to the shop and got started straightening up the area, and getting projects organized to make some progress. First on the list was to get the boom gallows organized, and the instrument cluster taken apart.

As mentioned previously, the Watco teak oil finish experiment was a bust. It seems to hold up well indoors, but it does not hold up well outdoors. I will be sanding down the gallows and the instrument cluster housing and going back to Cetol teak treatment. I also have to add some wood to the boom gallows to accomodate the solar panel installation.

Instrument Cluster Housing Before Taking Apart

Taking Instrument Cluster Housing Apart

Boom Gallows Ready For Sanding

Next on the list was to repack some caulking to be shipped to New Zealand. We have some friends who live in New Zealand who needed some caulking for their wood boat that was only available here in the USA. They asked me if they had the caulking sent to me, would I repack the product into USPS international flat rate boxes and send it to them. Of course I agreed.

We received the caulking last Wednesday afternoon, but it was too cold to go to the shop and do the repacking. I got the repacking done today. The USPS international flat rate boxes have a limit of 20 pounds, so each box is under that limit. All that is remaining is to fill out the customs forms and get them sent.

Inside Of One Packed Box

Outside Of Packed Box

I got the old shackle off of my Bruce anchor that I use as my pony anchor and put on the new cast stainless chain gripper. This item is so cool, I just had to have two.

Old Attachment Shackle

New Chain Gripper On The End Of The Chain

Close-up Of New Chain Gripper On The End Of The Chain

Sorry about that, I just had to do the closeup, because this chain gripper is just the coolest thing.

Earlier in the week I had purchased a new water filter housing to replace the one that Winter Storm Kronos took from me. I connected the hose barbs to the new housing with new teflon tape. When I go back to DREAM AWAY, I will put the new housing into the fresh water system. This filter allows me to filter the fresh water coming onto DREAM AWAY before it even gets into the onboard tanks.

New Filter Housing

Hose Barbs And Hoses Attached To Filter Housing

Was a month behind on one of the shop calendars, so made the adjustment to February on the construction babes calendar.

Now We Have February

I had brought over to the shop my fuel filter to filter some diesel fuel a cruiser had given me. He had pumped some diesel into his water tank, and when we pumped out the diesel he gave it to me. All I had to do was filter out the water, and I should have some good diesel.

Using Filter To Clean Diesel Fuel

I had purchased another new propane tank to replace the present tank, because of rust issues. Really concerned that I could have some problems with my present tank. They have lasted a good 15 years, so there is no saying I have not got good use out of them. I plan to paint the bottom of the new tank and put the door trim on the rim to keep the rust from getting to the tank.

New Propane Tank And Old Propane Tank

Kitty called and she was up, so I went over to DREAM AWAY and had breakfast. After breakfast, I got to work on installing the new water filter housing into our fresh water system.

New Water Filter Housing And Hoses Ready For Installation

New Water Filter Housing And Hoses Installaled

Now it was FINALLY time to finish off the storm anchor support project. The storm anchor on the stern of DREAM AWAY used to have supports made from wood, which equaled maintenance. I had fabricated the replacement anchor supports out of fiberglass a couple of months ago, and applied the gelcoat.

It just seemed like I could not get the parts over to DREAM AWAY and get them installed. Today it happened.

Storm Anchor Tied To Life Rail

Bottom Of Storm Anchor Sitting On Stanchion Base

New Storm Anchor Supports Ready For Installation

New Upper Storm Anchor Support Installed

New Lower Storm Anchor Support Installed

I cleaned up from the storm anchor support project, then back to the shop to continue work on the boom gallows and the instrument cluster housing.

I had to sand down the boom gallows and the instrument cluster housing to remove all of the Watco teak oil finish before I will be able to apply the Cetol teak treatment.

I am also fitting some teak pieces to the top of the boom gallows, that will raise the boom. This is in preparation of the installation of the solar panels on the top of the hard hard bimini.

Sanding The Boom Gallows

Fitting The Teak Pieces To The Boom Gallows.

Fitting The Teak Pieces To The Boom Gallows

February 07, Friday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop because of the weather, another cold day! Same reasons as yesterday.

We did go out to our dental appointments, then back to DREAM AWAY. Worked at computer most of the day, and did some domestic chores.

We did enjoy a bit of a milestone as it was the 22nd anniversary of Kitty and I purchasing DREAM AWAY. We had friends over for an indoor picnic dinner, and watched the movie “All is Lost”, about boating.

February 06, Thursday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop because of the weather! The high today was 36°, and it was sleeting by 0800. Not the kind of weather in which to be working outside or to be working at the shop with no heat.

I spent most of the day on the computer finishing off the January update and also working on my 2013 taxes.

I did go outside to check the fuses on the Black Beast. I checked them and could not determine the problem, but I still had some kind of problem.

I went back to DREAM AWAY and finished the inventory of the generator spare parts. When I had finished that project, I called Ray at Rays Auto Repair to see if he could help with my electrical problem on the truck.

I drove over to his shop, and he was able to find and fix the problem, which turned out to be the main headlight switch. He replaced the switch and now all is well.

It is supposed to get into the high 20s tonight, so I went to the end of all three piers and started the water trickling to prevent pipes from freezing.

February 05, Wednesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop because I had an appointment at 1100 with my dermatologist. I stayed on DREAM AWAY and, you guessed it, worked on my computer. I did some catching up on emails and started filling out my 2013 taxes.

We went to the dermatologist in Lafayette and ran a bunch of errands afterwards. We got home in time to unload the Black Beast and have a bite of dinner, and then I went off to the Marine Corps League meeting in Abbeville. Before the meeting I stopped at Stine’s as I am still trying to find 10 X 32 threaded rod. Still no luck.

On the way home from the meeting, the dash lights in the Black Beast went out. Then a Delcambre cop pulled me over and told me the back lights were out. They let me off with a warning, and I only had about ½ mile to go to get home. Now I have an electrical problem to look into on the Black Beast.

February 04, Tuesday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

I went to the shop after coffee and spending time on the computer. I started working on the legs and pads for the sail handling platform (SHP).

I realized I needed to drill holes in the pieces of aluminum I am using for the pads to which the legs are going to be welded. Once the legs and pads are welded together, there was not room to drill and countersink the holes. I drilled ¼” holes in all four pads, and then countersunk the holes.

Set Up For Drilling The Holes

When that was finished, I set up to start welding the legs to the pads. I know this will be interesting because the pad is ⅜” thick, and the legs are only ⅛” thick. I will have to be careful.

I did the setup for the welding, and started to weld. It was then I realized the legs all have paint on them. The welding process was not going well. So, I sanded off the paint at the ends of the legs to which I will be welding.

Setup To Weld Pads And Legs

I then had another realization that I was not sure whether the bolts I will be using are 1/4” or 5/16”, so I decided to not do any welding until I know what size holes I need in the pads.

I went back to DREAM AWAY and had breakfast, and just after that the heavens opened up. I knew then it was time to get back on the computer and do more email, and research.

I also checked the two leaks we had. One was in the head where there is a backing plate for the turning block on deck. I was sure it was fixed as I had rebedded the turning block about two months ago. We have not had a real hard rain since then, so it hadn’t had a true test. There was no leak, so the fix has been a success.

Backing Plate On Underside Of Deck In The Head

The second leak is in the after cabin around the backing plate for the aft port side cleat. Water was running out at a good clip, so I will have to rebed the two after cleats. They were both installed at the same time, so there is a good chance the starboard cleat will start leaking, to.

Aft Cabin Cleat Backing Plate Leaking

The rain finally stopped. Although it was very wet outside, I went to work on removing the boom gallows. It is being removed for two reasons. First reason is that the Watco teak oil finish I used on the boom did not hold up, so I am going back to Cetol teak treatment. The second reason is to prepare for the installation of solar panels.

I am going to be installing solar panels on top of the hard bimini, so must add about 1 1/2” of teak wood on top of the boom gallows to make sure I have plenty of clearance between the boom and the solar panels.

I got everything removed from the gallows, and all of the bolts removed or disconnected. When Kitty came home from her errands, we removed the boom gallows.

Boom Gallows And Accessories On The Way To The Black Beast

I took the newly painted propane tank to LeBlanc Oil and had it filled. I purchased another 30 pound propane tank to replace the second one that was rusting out! I also picked up two chain grippers that I had ordered. These will be used to attach my poney anchor or storm anchor to the primary anchor, when it is deployed.

New Chain Gripper

I ended the day by getting all of my scanning done. This included all of my tax documents. Now I can get started on filing my 2013 taxes.

February 03, Monday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian & Jordon, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go to the shop today. I had an 0815 doctor’s appointment to draw blood, and to be honest, it was very cold again this morning. It was 36°, and the wind was blowing 15-18 knots.

When I got back from the doctor’s, I spent the remainder of the day on the computer catching up, and not getting any other projects done. I also cooked up some of food for our two cats, Jillian and Jordan.

Preparing Food For Jillian and Jordan

I had an appointment with the eye doctor at 1530, so the day was pretty much gone. Tomorrow should be warmer, but rainy.

February 02, Sunday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

I went over to the shop first thing and continued cutting out the base pieces for the legs of the sail handling platform (SHP). Yesterday, I cut out five of the base pieces for the legs of the sail handling platform (SHP).

Today, I continued with the project. I cut out three more base pieces so I had for pieces for the bottom of the legs, and pieces for the tops of the legs. I also measured out the bottom base pieces in which I must drill holes so that I can attach them to the deck after the leg is welded to them.

Four Base Pieces Cut Out, Measured Plate For More Pieces

Cutting Plate Using Fence For Jig Saw

Jig Saw Cutting Plate

Cut Base Plates On Work Bench

I sanded down all of the base pieces, and went back to DREAM AWAY. I have/had still more computer work to do.

I made a dip for the Super Bowl party to which we were going, and started cooking the next batch of food for our two cats, Jillian and Jordan.

February 01, Saturday, 2014

Started off the morning with my normal ritual of getting on the Internet, answering email, and checking the weather, while making a pot of coffee. When the coffee is started, I feed our two cats, Jillian and Jordan, and spend time with them brushing their beautiful coats.

Did not go over to the shop first thing this morning. Kitty had plans with Cindy, of the cruising yacht RUTHIE. They were going to the Teche Farmers Market in New Iberia, then attending a presentation at the Library in Jeanerette. I decided to wait until she got up, then we had breakfast together.

I saw Kitty off, then I went to Touchard’s Marine Supply to purchase gelcoat with wax, and more finishing putty. I then went to the shop to work while waiting for the sun to appear and warm things up.

I unloaded the Black BeastI cleaned the sanders I had used yesterday and put them all back. I also cleaned up the spatulas and other items I had used yesterday to apply the finishing putty.

I searched out some aluminum pieces I will be needing for the main mast sail handling platform. The sun had finally come out and was warming things up. I left the shop and went over to DREAM AWAY to start the preparation to apply the first coat of gelcoat to the hard dodger base.

When I went to wipe down the area with the tack rag, I realized I had left the rag at the shop. I checked in the garage on DREAM AWAY, but I had none there. I walked back to the shop, got the tack rag, and walked back to DREAM AWAY.

I wiped down the area of the hard dodger base, then mixed up a batch of gelcoat. I applied the first coat of gelcoat to the hard dodger base and to a bit of the surrounding area. The coat looked good. Now I was hoping I had added enough MEKP hardener to the mix so it would kick off before night fall.

Hard Dodger Base Before Gelcoat Application

Hard Dodger Base Before Gelcoat Application