60 days and counting, or maybe less

My counter reads 60 days till Dirk is done with work and is officially retired. Then we begin our new chapter in life. However in reality it is less as Dirk has accumulated time off and sick days that need to be taken. In less then a month he is outta there......Things here at the home front seem to be put into overdrive at least for me. Packing, sorting, organizing, stacking, and piling, the story of my life right now. Were getting some last minute items ordered as we realize that before long we wont have a home address to ship things to. I'm coming to realize that this is all happening weather I'm ready or not, but it just doesn't seem like reality yet. I guess because this has been so long in the making that it actually getting here just doesn't seem real. Let me pinch myself, yikes, yes it's real.

As far as the boat goes we were down last weekend and pulled the cushions from the vee berth in order to start transforming it into "the garage" See the pic below to see the before. It wont look like this for long, now, how to maximize the space.

Dirk also finished putting the shelves in the closet in the back berth for me. Now we have begun to transfer clothing down. How does one take a walk in closet and 2 dressers full and cull it down to two shelves a piece? Two and a half if I can figure somewhere else for the endless number of flip flops, boat shoes, and land shoes to go. We have this one and a smaller closet right next to it that use to house the drop down sink that was removed. I'm still wondering though, hows it gonna fit? Minimize, minimize, minimize, ummm scary words for a woman, not so bad for a man, he who can wear the same shorts for so many days on end that they could stand up on their own. I myself will need to get use to wearing the same thing more then once. Gonna take some practice. Get me some rum, that will make it easier, I just wont care.....

We also installed the new table we got for the cockpit. After thinking that it would be straightforward to adjust it for height we were sadly mistaken and after a few small setbacks we got it done with happy results. Now we can enjoy our meals outside and actually have a place other then our lap to put our plate. This of course shows the table in the folded position.

Other progress being made is the new mattress arrived for the back berth and we have it on our bed here at home giving it the test trial. Seems pretty good as I have not awaken yet with a sore back as I do each morning on the boat. We just wanted to make sure we liked it before whacking it down to fit our odd shaped berth. Words keep ringing, measure twice, cut once, measure twice, cut once. Cross your fingers...Anyway, just wanted to give some kind of update as its been a few weeks. Till next time..........

Up grades and new additions

I decided to sit and make a list of the up grades and new additions that we have been doing with Tybee Time since her purchase 2 years ago. I guess we could have gotten more done, but living two hours away from her doesn't afford too much time for work on board. But then again I know that during the summer we usually spend more time enjoying her rather then working on her. Hey, ya gotta have some fun sometime....I know everyone when considering cruising has to make decisions about what is important and what they can live without. One must make compromises about the little nicer things in life but its the compromises we are willing to make in order for us to pursue our dream. I think we have for the time being gotten all the larger projects out of the way and really are only left with doing the small things. Below is a list we compiled.

General

Replaced all Hatches & windows with new Lexan
Refurbished engine control panel
Added a new Raymarine 24 mile 18” Radar and mast platform
Added a new Raymarine C-80 for the nav pod
Added a new Raymarine Wind Vane
Replaced the Throttle and Clutch control Handles
Refurbished the compass on the cockpit pedestal
Added a new bigger pedestal guard
Added a new fold out teak table and drink/binocular holder
Added sheet bags in the cockpit
Added a new anchor windless
Added a new battery under front berth designated for anchor windless
Added a new Kyocera 135 watt solar panel
Added a new 12 v Air Breeze wind generator
Added a new party size Magma grill
New mainsail
New mainsail cover and lazy bag system
Added a new sunbrella cover for cockpit pedestal
Added a new larger nav pod for steering pedestal
Refinished all topside teak
Added 3 new house batteries and 1 new start battery
Added new mounting blocks and foot blocks for Genoa
Replaced the old manual bilge pump in the cockpit
Added a mid-ship cleat to each side
Added a new remote station for radio c/d player down below into the nav pod
Got 150 foot of triple B chain for anchor
Had the bottom sand blasted, keel joint re-done, rudder repaired, 5 barrier coats applied and hard bottom paint applied.
New Walker Bay Genisis 10’2” hypalon hard bottom dinghy
New Mercury 9.9 horsepower 4 stroke outboard for dinghy

Head area

Added a new faucet with shower head diverter
Installed a new shower curtain track

Nav Station

Added a Tri Metric 2020 Battery system Monitor
Added a new water & waste Sensa tank marine 100 tank monitor
Extended shelf above nav station to better utilize space

Salon
Added a new 21” Flat Panel TV for salon
Installed new Teak & Holly flooring throughout the boat
Redoing the cushions on the settees

Galley
Installed a new faucet
Added a new salt water faucet and foot pump
Added a cutting board cover for the stove to increase work space
Added a new glass rack over galley sink
Added shelving in the cabinet over fridge

Back & front Berth
Added shelving to hanging lockers and cabinets in back berth
Recovered cushions in both the front and back berth

We have decided that we are going to pull the cushions in our back berth and buy a new memory foam mattress. Our berth just isn't that comfortable and if we are going to be sleeping on it every night then I have to be comfy. Looking online for a good quality memory foam mattress will give anyone a good case of sticker shock but I found one that seems to be a decent quality and the price is right. They also give you an in home trial so we will give it a go and if we like it then we will cut it to fit the ever so odd shaped bed that every boat seems to have. One other thing we are planning on doing is pulling the cushions from the front berth and changing that into our garage/store room. Yes we are getting rid of one berth but our guest will have to either sleep in the salon, or we will give up our area for their stay. The salon has a single and a u shaped settee that has a filler, so they call that a double. At any rate we will make it work. If anyone has any ideas for creating nifty storage areas in the vee berth or other places please feel free to comment. At this point I need all the pointers I can get. Also if anyone has any questions regarding anything we have up graded or added please feel free to ask. We did everything ourselves so we know what it took to get it done. Oh yeah, 77 days and counting.....Whooooohooo.