Maintenance weekend

This past weekend was maintenance weekend for us. At times I really wish we could save all this kind of stuff till fall and winter, but we really want to do this while we still have that urge to make things nicer. I like to piddle down below finding new ways to use odd spaces. Plus I would still like our boat to have a home like feel to it as we will be living aboard her one day. One thing we have done is to install a shower track in the head so we don't soak down everything when we shower. I was using the marina shower when we first got the boat but have found that I really don't mind taking a shower aboard. Our marina shower is such a long walk from the boat that you are completely soaked with sweat by the time you walk back. Anyway, like I said, we installed a shower track to keep from soaking everything. I then rigged up a little system so that I could have both hands free. I put two Velcro strips along the ceiling. When I want to shower I just attach the shower head to the ceiling.

In the galley I had Dirk make me a cutting board/food prep area for more counter top space. We had bought a piece of the marine lumber on sale one day. I believe that's what its called. It's the white plastic type of material that many people use as cutting boards. Dirk traced the outline of the raised stove edges and routed it so that it slips down on the edges and does not move. Its amazing how much extra room I feel I have in the galley now.Dirk spent the weekend experimenting with rubbing compounds, waxes, and cleaners on the boat. When we purchased the boat she had not had a really good cleaning in a while. The gel coat is fairly oxidized and makes our boat look like its "battleship grey" After alot of sweat Dirk thinks he has found a good combination. The only thing is though that the boat in the water is very hard to clean this way. He gets in the dingy and pulls himself along. We really don't want to have it pulled just for us to clean it as it cost an arm and a leg to do so. Perhaps this project will have to wait until it cools down a bit.
Another thing that Dirk installed was a Raymarine C-80 for the nav pod. This was actually installed very soon after we got the boat but we have been having problems with it. We kept losing our satellites. After trying this, trying that, talking with tech support, West Marine swapped out the antenna. Must have been a faulty antenna as it is working like a charm now. Oh geeze, did I just curse us?
Aside from the above we just had little issues here and there to deal with. We did however find time to have dinner with the couple that sold us the boat. They are still on the search for their new boat and miss being on the water. But it is nice seeing them, catching them up on our projects. Many of which they had planned on doing but had not gotten around to it yet. On the way home Sunday we picked up our new teak & holly flooring. Now it sits in the game room waiting for us to start working on it. This next weekend is play weekend.

A couple up grades

Every time we are at the boat I find a new area that I could get a better use out of. Of course what I find one weekend I like, the next weekend may not actually be something that we really need. Our goal is to move aboard in about two years and travel down the west coast of Florida, then up and around the east coast of the US. Then return trip to the jump off point to the Bahamas. From there, who knows. So this next two years will be a time for us to learn and get comfortable with the boat. Figure out what it is we will need and cant live without. And also time to do some cosmetic and electronic up grades. The first thing that was purchased for the boat was a new flat panel television. I know what some are thinking, a TV? Well as much as my husband and I love sitting on the back of our boat enjoying our evening Gin & Tonics, listening to music and talking, we are hooked on a few shows. Of course we can only watch when we are in the marina, but for the weekends where it is a work on the boat weekend rather then an enjoy the boat weekend, it's great. We mounted it on a swing arm attached to the bulkhead. When we are under sail we just stow it flat against the wall. Another thing we wanted to install was a tank monitor.Water and holding. We have two 50ish gallon water tanks installed in the salon. One under each of the settees and difficult to get to. The holding is located under the front vee berth and also can be a pain to get to. So now with a touch of a button we can see how full the holding is,or how low the water is. The first mate is happy with this addition. I have also acquainted myself with a sewing machine and re-sewn the front and back berth cushions. I also added extra foam for a little more comfort. I have to say, For my first sewing project I didn't do half bad. This weekend we are picking up our new sheets of teak and holly flooring to replace what we believe to be the original floor. So I will keep you posted on how this project is going.

Maiden voyage (Shell Island)

Well Memorial weekend was the first time we moved the boat out of the slip. Its been a couple weeks now since we purchased the boat. We felt more comfortable having more than just Dirk and I on board to get her in and out of the marina. Even one more set of hands made us feel more at ease. We were to head out to Shell Island for the weekend. Mind you, we have never anchored up for an over nighter. We motored over to the Island, yes I said motored. We were saving our first sailing lesson for another day. We set the anchor on the first try. "Wait, that was too easy" Actually we did set the anchor on the first try. The boating gods were smiling upon us. What a wonderful day we had. There must have been 40 or so boats in our location. We boarded the dingy and headed to shore. We spent most of the day visiting friends and waist deep in water digging our toes in the sand looking for shells. That evening was spent grilling on the deck and enjoying a beautiful sunset. After dark it was so cool seeing all the boats that decided to stay lit up like a small city. Mind you, Dirk and I did not sleep very soundly that evening as we were up checking our position constantly. Just making sure we were not dragging anchor. Better safe then sorry. I can gladly report that we stayed put. Unfortunately all weekends must come to an end and so we headed back to the marina. It was again "too easy" to get home and dock without any events. But hey, I'm not complaining.

Tybee Time

We named our new sailboat Tybee Time as Tybee Island, GA is where my husband and I met. Tybee Time just seemed appropriate as when we are aboard her we are on the island time. No hurries, no worries, no stress. She is a 1988 40 foot O'day sailboat. When I first boarded her I was surprised at the amount of space she offered. The last boat we owned was a 2001 30 foot Chapparel. Lets just say there is a huge difference. From the amount of seating in the salon, to the size of the galley, to a stateroom I can actually change clothes in and close a door. Aaaahhh, the little things in life. Shown below is a few pics showing our girl before any of the many up-grades we want to do.

Taking possession of the boat

I have to admit that it all happened so quickly that it was a bit scary. Dirk and I had been looking at sailboats for quite some time. We even made a few trips to Florida looking in person. It was so hard getting the idea of size and storage when looking on the internet. While in a marina at an appointment to see a boat. We were talking to friends who knew someone selling their boat to up-size. We knew these people, but we felt that their boat might be a little large and a little older then we were originally looking at purchasing. We took a look at it and before we knew what hit us we had the surveyor on board and we were making an offer. A week later she was ours. As I said before, it was a bit scary as we had never sailed a larger boat on our own before. We guessed it was time to learn.

This is a pic of the boat during haul-out for the survey