Boat Show

We are at that time of the year when the boat show season is starting to ramp up. This past week I was able to go to the Toronto boat show a couple of times.

As far as the work on boat was concerned we decided to take last Saturday off since we were planning on going to the boat show the next day.

When we did resume Boat Day Donald and I cut out the hole for the undermount sink in the vanity top. I made a template for us to use and taped it to the back of the top.

Donald cut out most of the hole first with the jigsaw and then he finished it off with a router.

It took me about 15 minutes to sand out the saw marks and smooth out the inside edge.

Then I glued the sink into place and let it set for the day.

Once we install the faucet and hook up the plumbing I can glue down the top and apply a small bead of silicone where it comes in contact with the wall.

Donald made up some doors for the vestibule and v-berth cabinets and started putting on the knobs. When these are pressed in they lock the doors.

Donald also built the wall where the galley and seating area meet.

We installed one of the new air-conditioning ducts in the mid-berth. This photo shows where we had to cut out the wall so that we can run the flexible duct up the wall.

And then installed the vent cover on the v-berth.

Tom came to work with us yesterday and much of the day involved the two of us removing the windshield. We had to take out the glass first so that we could slide the aluminum frames apart. Tom suggested that we use a heat gun to soften the sealant. It definitely sped things up but was still a lot of work.

We were finally able to remove the glass from the frame. I will using these as a template for when I order replacement glass.

Once all of the glass was out we were able to remove the frames. These will be refinished in the shop over the next few months.

Although they look like they should be thrown away I am hoping to make these look brand new.

Tom also took on the job of removing the teak cap from the top of the transom. We will using these to make new trim out of ipe. He had to drill out the solid wood plugs so get access to the screws.

I took a few moments to do some test cleaning in the cockpit. The new bimini will be attached to the top of the radar arch instead of going underneath so I wanted to see how easily they will clean up. This took me about 15 minutes in total and I was probably doing it wrong. Will have to do more research on how to clean and polish the gelcoat. I think it looks pretty good but there will definitely be some gelcoat repair in my future.

Before…

And after…

I was able bring out the shine.

I cleaned a spot on the floor as well.

Another project I have coming up in the next month or so is sanding the helm. When it’s a sunny day the temperature is quite comfortable in the cockpit so I am hoping that the weather will be favourable soon.

There are repairs that are needed to be done but it’s nothing that a little bondo won’t fix.

And now…The Boat Show!!!

If you have never been, a boat show can be very overwhelming. I guess the same could be said for an RV or car show. The Toronto show is apparently the largest indoor show in North America. I can only guess that there are many hundreds of millions of dollars in inventory there.

On Sunday Donald and I went with our wives (both named Leanne) and we spent the day checking out several items on our list.

We met up with Jason, Kerrin and William.

We checked out the interiors of the larger cruisers to see how they finished the ceilings and we picked up some good ideas. We will make a mock up in the next few weeks and will post the results. Lighting was another area of interest and we were able to see how that was handled as well.

Here Donald is sitting in a dinghy. We were in the market for one and there were lots of them there.

Jim found a used one for sale on line and we bought it. Here I am sitting in the same model that we purchased. Ours is a 2018.

Donald and I went back again with Casey to take another look.

There was one great find at the show that we weren’t expecting. Since we did find a tender and it weighs over 400lbs we needed a way to mount it on the back of the boat and easily take it in and out of the water. We asked an exhibitor who sold tenders if he could suggest something. He directed us to the back corner of the hall to a small booth.

What we found was exactly what we were looking for. This company is from Quebec and was at the show for the first time. They were selling a custom tender lift that was very cool.

They are called The Dinghy Davit and their lift can handle over 800 lbs.

Here is a link to their website.

Www.dinghydavit.com

The entire unit is very light and is made from high grade aircraft aluminum. It is exactly what we were looking for. If you are in the market they apparently ship all over the world.

The photos show it mounted on a display platform so you should check out their website.

That’s it for this week. Until next time…