It’s about time ….

I thought I would start off 2022’s first blog post by finishing off 2021’s last. It’s not like I didn’t have enough time over the last 8 months. I have no excuse other than just being lazy.

Going all the way back to September 4th of last year … Donald and Leanne spent the weekend with us. We definitely were very fortunate with the weather. We spent the afternoon on anchor and headed back to the dock to cook supper. We were/are still trying to get the electrical system figured out so couldn’t use much power.

The main issue is with our generator. It starts but won’t keep running.

We will definitely need to get this taken care of this year. It could cost a little or it could cost a lot. I think we all know which one it will be.

We returned to our slip to find Cam on the roof of his flybridge installing a few more solar panels. My memory isn’t what it used to be so I will assume that he just dropped something here.

We had a quick visit from our friend Henry. He brought his Mom and Dad along as well. Sara and Shawn have a sailboat on the dock next to ours and are the reason why we ended up in Wiarton in the first place. I work with Shawn and, back in 2019, he suggested that Leanne and I come out for a day on their boat to see if we would like Wiarton. I guess it worked.

I feel honoured when sail boat owners lower themselves to associate with mere power boaters.

When Donald and I built this corner seating area I don’t think we anticipated being any more than a catch-all for stuff and the location of the salon’s AC unit. It turns out there is a nice breeze that comes in the companionway door and a nice spot to read a book.

The next weekend Tom and Chris made the trip for their last time on the boat for the season.

Always gluttons for punishment they brought out the Euchre deck. Pretty sure we beat them that night.

For the final weekend John and Gail came back for a visit. Definitely getting colder by now.

You might notice that the canopy is missing from the framework above our heads. The week before a storm came through and dislodged a few of the docks causing some damage to 3 or 4 boats. I had left the canopy on and was very lucky that this was the only damage.

I sent it back to Craig at Canadian Yacht tops and it has been repaired. Just need to remember to go get it.

Jumping forward to the middle of October now … my friend Jeff generously gave up a day to come to Wiarton to help me change the oil. I don’t even change the oil in my cars. There wan’t a chance that I would know what to do with these 2 massive engines. Luckily Jeff was able to talk me off the ledge .

Fortunately our boat was outfitted with an automatic pump for changing oil. It might not look like much but it works.

Jeff took me through the process of first pumping out the old oil and then adding in the new. We also changed the filters. There isn’t a chance that I will remember what to do next October.

We also took the opportunity to replace the air filters. At Jeff’s suggestion, we installed permanent washable air filters.

To say these engines are intimidating is a huge understatement. Not having any experience with engines these look like some sort of very elaborate steampunk machine.

I have the original manuals and have access to Youtube so I am going to spend the summer trying to at least get my head around what all the important parts are. In March I took a one day marine diesel engine course which helped. I learned a lot of small things which is a good start.

We are now at Sunday November 7th. The Family Ties crew arrived in Wiarton to close her up for the winter. We really lucked out with the weather. It was a beautiful day.

She was ready for whatever winter could throw at her. This would be the first where she was left unattended winter. The winter of 2019/2020 she was in St Jacobs and 2020/2021 she was in the Wiarton marina shop until April. I had to make sure that everything was ready including the plumbing. I think I got everything. I guess we will find out soon enough.

Now I am all caught up. In the last month Tom and Chris came to our shop to do get the dinghy ready for the year. Here they are before they started cleaning.

And now here it is looking like new.

They also took the time to clean the isinglass.

… and wrap it up to protect the plastic.

I started adding the vinyl to the cockpit panels … photos not included. Hoping to start installing them in the next few weeks so will update then.

I also started laminating the cover for the area in the galley that I fitted last year. This is the piece that we made up.

… and now with the first pieces of laminate.

I have been asked more than a few times about when I think I will be finished working on the boat. We all know that you are never really done working on a boat but I hope to have the majority of the work done by the end of the summer of 2023. This gives us a realistic timeframe to do the work and still enjoy our time on the boat.

…. maybe 2024!

We are very much looking forward to another great year out on the water making more amazing memories.