Friday, June 28, 2013

Recent Photos:  

Spirit the wonder dog! 

He's a fan of the marina!
Tom & I sailing with our friends on "Windward" in the Bahamas- January 2013

If you make a plan, plan on having to change it! 

Forgotten but not lost..that's the theme of my blogging thus far.  So here we are, June 28, 2013.  Let's bring things up to date:
1) Luna Sole- STILL not done...sigh...planning to launch in 1 month (but we have seen how that has gone so far).  I'm projecting maybe Mid August.  More on this below. 
2) July 2012:  We lost our little girl Miss Buffett to cancer.  Such a sad time.  My heart broke.  She never got to sail on the boat she so patiently sat under for 3 summers while we worked away at the dream.  However, thanks to our wonderful marina friends who loved her too, she did get to sail on their boat.  She would have been a great boat dog.  RIP Buffett Girl.
3) October 2012:  We pulled Eclipse out of her slip, removed the mast and sent her down the road to Rewers Boat Works to have her bottom re-done.  She will stay put for many months while she is peeled, dried, re-fiberglassed & barrier coated.   While we were removing the Bow Pulpit so she would fit into the shop, Tom noticed that the Bow Sprit seems to be.......I don't even want to say it.....ok...here goes....Rotten!  What? Again?  Unbelievable that we could possess 2 boats and both have rotten Sprits.  Sigh...here we go again. 
4) We adopted a new golden boat dog named "Spirit".  He is about 2 so, god willing, he will be with us for a long time and be a happy boat dog.  I love my little boy, but miss my Buffett Girl every day.  :-( 
5) Winter came, and it was FREEZING up here in the great Northeast!!!  We spent about 6 weekends going back and forth to Rock Hall working on Eclipse (removing said bow pulpit and sprit, removing prop shaft, etc.) in preparation for her bottom job before it just got too cold to work.  After that we worked primarily at home on new cushions for Luna Sole.  This is a tougher project than I imagined and I've done a lot of ripping out/starting over.  I think they will be lovely though when finished! 
6) SPRING!  Ahhhhhhhh (Imagine Angels with trumpets playing overhead...)  Back to work on Luna Sole.  We had originally said "We're done- finished.  May 1st- whatever is done is done and we are putting her up for sale".  Then, as plans go, it was freezing all winter and we got at least 2 months behind.  So, May 1st is now sometime this summer.  Once we started working, and it was apparent that Eclipse was going to be out of commission for the summer with her bottom job & new rigging needs, we took a hard look at what $30K would buy as far as new equipment for Eclipse- Water Maker, Wind Generator, Solar Panels, Batteries - and decided to keep on keeping on.  What's a few more months right?  :-) 

So, here's the list of what is done thus far.  When you see the bottom paint go on, you'll know we are launching and pretty close to finished- keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer.  :-) 

Completed
Replace Bow Sprit & Bow Deck- Rotted
Repair Deck to Hull Joint issue in Bow
Re-varnish all existing teak- exterior
Re-bedded handrails & made covers
Re-caulked mast & new boot
Re-bedded all chainplates
Replaced missing tightener screws on all stantions
Reinforced foresail with new fiberglass G-10 backing plate
Rebuilt furler system
Rebuilt cockpit winches
Replaced eyebrow's with new teak strips
Replaced existing plastic deck & scupper drains with Bronze fittings
Replaced traveller deck with new teak piece- rotted & split
Anodized traveller & cleats
Replaced rubber durad vents with Stainless vents
Removed & repaired cockpit floor with new Fiberglass platform
Repainted cockpit floor
Re-positioned steering mechanism to work more effectively
Replaced cracked holding tank with new tank
Repaired and cleaned water tank
Painted Lazarette & locker areas
Repaired all fiberglass cracks in the bilge area 
Replaced Engine with new Beta Marine 25 HP Model
Fabricated all new engine mounts
Removed & repaired head floor & repainted head area
Replaced Head floor drain
Designed and installed new toilet mount
Repaired & improved Propane Locker
Ran new hose & replaced valve on Propane tank
Changed out all gate valve thru hulls with Bronze Groco valves
Changed out all wooden thru hull backing plates to Fiberglass G-10 plates
Added proper lightening protection system (plate and wiring)
Replaced aluminum Helm mount with Stainless mount
Replaced aluminum chalks with new Stainless chalks
Replaced exhaust thru-hull with new one and added fiberglass backing plate