Some completed projects

So we have been home here on the boat for a couple weeks now recouping from all our travels. We saw so many incredible places, ate so much wonderful food and visited with so many great friends and family, but it is now time to get with the program. Here we are in the second week of October and we are feeling the crunch of time upon us. A few things that are now completed worthy I guess of mentioning are a few canvas projects that got completed. Before we take off we decided that we wanted to have a sun shade made for the boat that would keep the direct rays of the sun off the deck in hopes that the boat would stay a little cooler. So we had CB Sails come by and design a sun awning for us that we would work but would still allow us the ability to walk the side decks and have access under it. In the past we have taken a tarp and draped it over the boom and tied it down to the toe rail. Other then looking like a gypsy it works pretty well but doesn't afford you the opportunity to sit under it. Below is a photo of what we had made. I can take my port a seat up there and sit under it, I can walk under it which is a plus with no ropes to weave and trip over.
I think the only thing I think both Dirk and I wish that we had done differently was to extend it forward to the bow. Oh well, its made now....We may order some sunbrella to match and make it ourselves one day as we need to make some sort of covers for the water and fuel jugs we will be carrying. Also looking at this photo you can see our yellow generator sitting up front where we normally keep it tied down. I decided to make a cover for it as most boaters realize that anything left out in the suns UV rays will slowly begin to break down and become brittle.

Now it is at least protected from the elements. Not too shabby as I had no pattern to go by.

Another sewing project I got into one day was replacing the life sling holder. The life sling is a throw able life ring that is attached to a long section on nylon rope which is in turn attached to the back rail of the boat. In the event of someone falling overboard the bag is opened and the life sling thrown to them. Then it is just a matter of pulling the man over board back on board. Well the bag was probably as old as the boat and was looking a little worse for wear as the photo below shows.

So I decided to put my still working on sewing skills to a test and make a new one that would match the canvas on our boat. Below is the final product which I was very proud of I have to say.

The final canvas job was done by CB Sails and was something that I guess we could have done without but we are happy with the job they did even though it took a huge bite out of our cruising kitty. Our salon cushions were the original foam that the previous owner had recovered. It was all well and good if you didn't have to spend too much time on them but for sleeping or lounging about and watching TV they weren't the most comfortable. So Dirk and I had the bright idea of adding more foam to them for a little more comfort. Well when we tried to over stuff the cushions we busted the seams in several places. There was a couple options we had but we of course decided to go with the most expensive and get brand new cushions made. The living room suite we had in our home cost less then these to make, but we are talking about a boat. Everything cost more, why is that? I guess because it can. Well we decided on a nice sunbrella that would be about the same colors as our cat. Geeeze the things we do.....I wanted to be able to hide his hair as much as possible and I have to say it is working. Just don't sit down with anything dark on, I cant see where to vacuum it up anymore. The first photo shows the full salon with the filler put in that makes up into a bed. The second photo shows the filler removed The lighter material really makes the salon look brighter and more airy. So I'm thinking that this is the final big money project. Ha! don't we always think that....We have been doing a few things here and there and when I get a list I will report. But here we are like I said almost mid October and time is flying by. We are like two horses at the gate bucking to get into the race. We are so ready to start our migration south and to begin our new adventures. Please keep tuned in as we make our final preparations for our first leg of our journey to begin.