Day 432 Bath stall port light / berth step & Dash work +Trip to Coast
We have just returned from a trip out to Vancouver. It was an enlightening visit, and a nice break away from the weather/work here. ( More on that below! )
One of the many things we purchased while browsing through chandleries and shops was this old plastic portlight. Perfect for  letting light into the tub/shower on board. It was pretty scratched up, but hey, what do you expect for 20 bucks?
I set to work cleaned, sanding and painting it with special primer and paint for plastics. Because there is the possibility of someone seeing us taking a shower while parked in a marina, ( it lines up with a portlight 16" away!) the window must be translucent in nature. We have some of this stained glass spray that we bought for doing a sign at work, and I couldn't let the opportunity pass by. I tossed all sorts of designs around on paper on the drive back, but settled on a "Union Jacks" shape, probably because I am of British descent...
 
A small center hole has been left clear for viewing out.

The frame had to be cut down as it was designed for a 2 inch depth, and this is only 1". As I cut the hole I noticed that Genas silicone on the vinyl hasn't cured yet! It's been over a week since she applied it, so may take months to dry. Oh well, it's adhering fine so not to worry.
The orientation was one of those "6 of 1, half dozen of another" scenarios. I want to be able open it, reach though to a little basket on the shelf outside, and grab shampoo etc. This way it doesn't really need to be hanging in the stall.
If the hatch flips up, it will be difficult to hold it while reaching, on the other hand, if the hatch flips down, water from the shower could hit it, and spray into the shelf area. I chose flip down, although I (we) may regret it in the future. Still, it's primary function is to let light into the shower stall, which is rather dark without it!
   
While the "glue" dried around the hatch, I set to work making a step for the aft berth. Everything is 7/8" solid oak so even when we're old and fat it'll hold up, lol!

The surface was shallowly routed in so the "grip tape" will be flush, and hard to peel off accidentally.

As can be seen in the photo, it ended up being a little too close to Gena's exhaust fan, but that's what happens we don't communicate enough.

Its only about 10 inches but what a difference it makes! I plan to cut out the berth board some so it is lower than the mattress. This will make it easier to get up and down. Sort of  like a bunk bed.
Gena worked on the dash wiring all day. It is a VERY extensive subject, so I have made a page dedicated to wiring. When it's up, it'll be at pro32.htm . I must prepare the switch panel to be used with the dimmer control as the HV-electro-luminescent green it came with isn't working out too well.

 The NMEA connections had us confused. The radar we have is an updated model from the original 1941 Furuno. The difference is the newer one actually outputs some NMEA data. The old one only had a black and white/pin 1&2 connection for GPS data input, but because the new one uses the green&yellow wires too, pin 1&2 are now outputs!
This was poorly documented, even for us electronics techs, but became obvious once we noticed the all of the other equipment's outputs were from pin 1&2.

The compass has the same problem. The furuno-style plug patch cords are hard to come by, and all have pin for pin connections, i.e.. 1 to 1, 2 to 2 etc. The "grey sheathed" cable is the one the crosses 1-3, 2-4, 3-1, 4-2, and is required there as well because the compass head sends data to the compass, as well as receives it... Thanks Furuno for making it so obvious.

Anyway, that was what Gena was doing, with a little help from me ( like I have a clue ha ha!) and seems to have everything set up now.

It is kinda cool the radar outputs data. Guess I'll need to make a section on NMEA now. It and all of it's sentences can be confusing. We mostly stuck with Furuno, so no worry about inter-product compatibility.

Trip out to coast
   We have come to the point in the project where we need to go out to the coast and have a vis-à-vis with suppliers, haulers, insurance reps, and mast riggers.

We have chosen Ocean rigging to set up the mast and associated rigging. We were pleasantly surprised at  how professional they are and how close to the  principles we adhered to while running our business, i.e. do the job right, and do it only needs to be done once.

Paul, who new what many of our questions would be before we even asked, has been in the business for over 12 years and has had lots of experience in both sailing and working for other rigging outfits.

It was interesting to actually see some of the masts, some new some being rebuilt, and to see how poor designs failed.

The price quote for our mast was very reasonable, even with the recent aluminum price increase, we were braced for the worst!

Most important of all, Paul and Ian enjoy what they do, for the love of the sport, lifestyle, and keeping cruisers safe and happy. Our business philosophy exactly!

We're definitely glad we chose Ocean rigging.

 
 Gena in "paradise". Living in the sticks is bad enough, but living in the sticks 800 miles from the ocean means walking into a store and seeing all this cool sailing equipment is a zero possibilty.

When we're able to see gear, pulleys, winches, etc, in person it brings on an excitement hard to describe! I guess it's more "real" to be here.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but to hold it in your hand is worth a thousand pictures.
A travel lift at Shelter island Marina. There was actually a larger "ship-sized" lift as well. This is where we may be dry docking for a while.
Where we will be going, soon! The excitement swells boys and girls. The smell of salt air and sounds of gulls and waves gets our blood pumping for sure!

I asked Gena if she thinks we're ready for this, and she answered, "we'll have to be!"

Day 432:
14 hours--Bathtub portlight, berth step on, dash wiring.

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