Jon's Jobs

Well I am finally starting to put things back into the boat. For a couple of weekends I’d travel up to the boat, do a little measuring, cutting, tearing and planning. I built cardboard boxes the size of the batteries and took them to the boat. This let me plan a shelving system in the lazarette. I wanted to relocate the batteries from under the sink to the lazarette and some rearranging was in order. I tore out the old shelves and lots of wires, glassed in some new tabs to screw the shelves to. Added the shelves and easy as that (right) they might fit. So now I have a total of 5 batteries in the lazarette. 4 house batteries and the starting battery (and still 2 more house batteries under a seat in the cabin). I will have to redo the battery cables and connections but this will be a little easier when I cut a new access under the navigation desk. This will become an access door for fuses and my battery switch will be mounted on this access door. Once they are installed I shouldn’t have to get back in that locker again till I need to replace the batteries. We are going to switch to AGM batteries, which won’t need topping off or maintenance. I’ve also mocked up my rebuild for the new electric panel both A/C and D/C. So the pictures are of the battery and panel mock ups. With some yet to be done construction, strapping down, and well there’s a lot more to be done. Once the weather breaks, and the bathhouse thaws out, I can spend a lot more time at the boat and it will all start to come together a lot faster. In the mean time Arline’s sewing loft is closed and her wood working shop has been moved up to the dining room. You should see that girl go.

Use Your Imagination

We decided since the winter weather is finally upon us and the to-do list has to slow down a little because its so bitter out that you can’t feel your fingers after about 10 seconds, we would use our imaginations and picture a nice warm white sandy beach some where around the equator…. Does it work?

It looks like we will be starting the wood work projects next month. We need to do some repairs to the hatches if we can, and put a couple coats of varnish on anything we can bring home from the boat. It will be a busy month for me. I was called for Jury duty at the beginning of the month, then we are going to the Syracuse Boat show to help Tim and Cheryl (owners of Fair Point Marina) talk to people about our wonderful season at the marina. If you go to the show make sure you stop by and say hi. After that I head to Mississippi with Amy to help her move in to her new home. We are really hoping that if everything goes right we can start planning the boating season at this point.

Lots of lookers....

It’s amazing how we had the house on the market with a realtor for over a year and had about 4 people look at it. Then at Christmas we take it off and did a little free advertising and have had 6 inquiries and 4 people look at it in just two week….. We know that in the end it will all work out but I think its just wearing on the two of us just a little.

Amy leaves for Mississippi next month and we want her and Jill to have what ever they want in the house so they started packing. The house is going to be really bare after next month. We keep telling all our friend that after next month if they stopover they have to bring their own chair! The only thing we have a problem with letting go right now is three boxes of old photos, so I thing Jon is going to ask his “amazing” sister Kathy if she would hold them for a year or so. She is the type of person that would do anything for you (Ha Ha). Hope she visits us when we get out there…

One of Jeremy’s best friends and now someone that’s like a son to us is moving to Hawaii to finish some schooling so we hope we get to visit him out there soon…

Here is a photo of him with Jill to the left in the photo and Jeremy and Amy as we say our good-byes. We will miss you Jason.

Jon just brought the rudder over to a good friends place Rob and Patti to do a little work on it and paint it before going back on the boat. Boy that thing is HEAVY.

I just finished my last cushions, which ended up being the front cabin cushions. Here are the before and after photos.

This might just be our new living room set till spring.

Our Youngest daughter

Jill, in the middle of the stream, in her hydrology class testing the water quality and discharge of Oatka Creek south of Rochester New York. Jill is studying Water Resources and wants to continue this kind of work testing streams and water quality. She already has two internships awaiting her next semester and next summer.

Wheel cover

Just finished another sewing project which was the wheel cover. We had to bring the wheel home anyhow to put a couple coats of varnish on it.
Weather here is unbelievable for January. I have my back door open and the sun is shinning through. I really don't remember ever doing that...
Our good friends and second family "The Mawbey's" had a retirement party for Vic which is also Jons best friend, so we went and took lots of photos and had a really good time. The girls all grow up together and for all their childhood had each other to do things with. Every weekend was a horse show or get together. They all live in different areas so its really hard to have a time when we are all together now.

Happy New Year......

Hope everyone had a great New Years eve and that the year will bring health and happiness.

We went to see Sim Redmond play in Ithaca NY last night with our daughter Jill and a friend; we had a spectacular time- even though we were packed in like sardines. Its neat how no matter how crowed their shows are Sim and some of the other band members always seem to come over and say hi and give us a huge.

Jon went to the boat on Sunday and tore out the shelves that the batteries had sat on in the lazarete. He made up some fake cardboard boxes as batteries and designed shelves to fit in to make better use of the space. He finished cutting the wood and put a coat of epoxy (west system) on them and will bring them to the boat to fiberglass them in on the next trip up there.

I just finished making several bags to carry items to the boat in different sizes out of sunbrella. The bags we had used were to small so we always ended up with way to many on the boat.