A Little Pressure...

It's amazing what a little pressure washing can do...

Fair seas and God bless!

A Forty-Three Foot Puzzle...

This evening I started re-rigging the standing rigging for Domina Mari. It is a slow go because nothing is labeled and it takes time to locate the correct parts and then correctly secure each piece. It's a little like a forty-three foot jigsaw puzzle. I've started with the parts I know and will work from there. I got the spreaders on, fished the VHF antenna cable, attached the bowsprit stay, and attached the upper shrouds. 

Of course, my trusty side-kick laid in front of the fan and contemplated the complexity of the job.

Fair seas and God bless!

Engine Re-Installed!

The Engine has been re-installed. Sorry, I was not able to take pictures of it being lowered into the boat but I had my hands full guiding it down to its resting place. Got a pic before with my trusty sidekick waiting on the fork-lift, (it was almost like he knew this was the chore for the day), and then some after pics.

Now, to figure out how to hook everything up, (if anyone has a diagram, that would be cool).

Thanks for stopping by.

Fair seas and God bless!

Waiting for Tuesday...

Since the boatyard can't get to my engine replacement until tomorrow morning, I decided to touch two other "must do before splash" projects; the rudder & mast.

You see, the object is to get the boat back in the water and move it to a nearby marina. Right now, I am having to drive 25 miles one way to work on the boat. That's 50 miles round trip and I'm driving over about four or five times per week. That's 200 to 250 miles per week and my car only gets about 16 to 17 mpg. That's $47 to $59 bucks per week... that's $188 to $236 per month! (My calculator is functioning just fine). Plus, Indiantown, FL, where the boat is located, doesn't even have a hardware store. So when I unexpectedly need something for a project, I have to make another trip or put the item(s) on the shopping list and the project has to be suspended until the item(s) is/are purchased. The boat needs to be closer, so first priority projects are ones necessary to launch her and move her within 8 miles. Plus, I can liveaboard when she is ready.

The rudder was partially reworked when I bought the boat. I continued the job today, reinforcing the edge of the rudder with epoxy under/over woven mat. One more good sanding, priming, and painting and she'll be ready to remount.

The mast is painted and just needed the wenches and hardware reinstalled. I was able to do most of it today but ran out of time. To be continued...

Here's the pics... (oh yeah, one pic is of my helping hand).

Fair seas and God bless!

"Scotty, We Need More Power!"

The engine room is ready and waiting.  It was very dirty and not becoming a engine that sports a brand new paint job. Bring out the bright white BilgeKote... my old nemesis. No matter how careful I am, I always get as much paint on me as I do the object I'm painting, (a slight exaggeration but not much). Nevertheless, The engine room is now ready...and WAITING. "Scotty, we need more power!"

The boatyard can't tend to my engine install until Tuesday morning. Actually, they are only placing the engine back into the engine room, I will be doing the hook-up, install, and restart. Of course I have never done anything like this before but with the help of others who have experience, I'm sure I'll do fine.

Before and After pics below...

Fair seas and God bless!