Bon Voyage!

Last minute boat projects. That’s what we’ve been doing the last few weeks.

We love our new cushions in the main salon. No, we didn’t make them ourselves. That’s a bigger job than even Steve is willing to tackle. We had hatch covers made, too.

Steve rebeds the leaky hatch in the head.

We buy and hang a 24” flat screen TV.

Our lifeline cushions need replacing. The old ones are made with slit foam pipe insulation and the foam is dry rotted. Steve wants a comfortable cushion. He doesn’t like the feel of the slit foam pipe insulation on his back but he doesn’t want to pay for “real” lifeline cushions so he decides to use a pool noodle – you know, one of those cylindrical foam tubes that you see people floating around on. It was a challenge stuffing them inside the old covers but I don’t want to make new ones until we see how well the noodles hold up.

We replace 30 or so teak plugs that had to come out during the head and galley renovations.

We finish up some trim work in the head and on the hatch in the main salon.

We replace canvas straps on our bimini frame with stainless steel poles.

The 12-volt fan in the head is not working. It’s a loose wire so while aggravating to get to, it’s a relatively easy fix.

We attach boards to stanchions so we can mount our generators, gas cans and propane tanks on deck.

We make covers for our generators.

Steve does NOT like annoying things that fly so we buy a screen room to drape over our cockpit. The screen room is 12’ x 14’. The cockpit is more like 8’ x 10’ so Steve wants to sew three seams in the top of the screen room so it “fits” over the top of the bimini better. Have you ever tried to feed 168 square feet of canvas and mesh through a sewing machine in 100+ degree heat? Let’s just say the first mate was close to mutiny on that particular day.

Because Steve does NOT liking annoying things that fly, we also make screens for the hatches and the companionway.

We clean out and organize the cockpit lockers. I am in my element. Cleaning and organizing is very therapeutic.

At T-4 to cruising with most of the projects completed, we decide that working in this crazy heat is too exhausting. We are done. We are staying cool, reading our Waterway Guide, surfing Active Captain, filling water, propane, gas, and diesel tanks, and provisioning.

The adventure has begun.  We pull out of our slip at 8 AM are on our way to Norfolk. We are allowing 4 days to get there so we may be anchoring out 3 nights. Steve assures me that it will not be as hot on the water but our generators are full of gas in case we need to fire up the A/C.

We have reservations for two nights in Norfolk, but we may stay a week or so, depending on the weather. We have family there and are looking forward to visiting with them.

Next, it’s on to Solomons, MD. That’s where Young Son’s boat is docked. We’ll stay there a month or so as we plan to help Young Son with some of his boat projects.

After that, we’ll putter around in the Chesapeake a bit before heading south for the winter.

So, to paraphrase Mark Twain, we have thrown off the bow lines, sailed away from the safe harbor and hope to catch the trade winds in our sails.

Steve’s longtime dream is coming true. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare!

Bon voyage and please keep reading Zen on a Boat!!