Weekend raft-ups and more!!

My apologies for the super long gap in blog posts, lately! With me going back to work, life has become a bit more hectic than I was used to. Gone are the days where I wasted the day away, lounging by the pool, soaking up the sun and where the only work that was being done was, me, working on my tan!! Truth is, I was ready to go back to work. Not only do I enjoy contributing to the income, I also want a bigger boat and that my friends, is what I work for, everyday...well, three days a week, anyways! What a novel idea?? "If you want something, you work for it!" Someone should clue in the millenials with that fine wisdom!! 

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun and an extra long weekend for us. I had five days off work & Joe wound up using a vacation day so he could get four consecutive days off and it was like a mini vacation!

That Friday, we slept in, then got the boat ready to go anchor out and met up with new friends. We rafted up with two other boats (we're in the middle)  as you can see we have our "project" dinghy upside down on the bow. We were basically given the inflatable, but it needs a lot of work. But you can't complain when it's free (another piece of advice for those millenials). It's exactly the type of dinghy we have been looking for and we're not afraid of a lil' work so that is why I have affectionately dubbed it as, 'Project'! In fact, that may very well become its name! 

This was our wonderful view for a couple of days!!! We had never really rafted up for more than a few hours before, but this was great!! Being able to just step aboard your friend's boat and hang out was pretty cool!! 

And, I broke my own rule about only swimming in clear water, where I can see what's beneath me. Ahh well, it was worth it and I only felt something brush past me once or twice...it was probably better that I couldn't see what it was. 

We had planned to stay there for two nights but the winds had picked up and I doubt it would have been a comfortable night on the hook, not to mention that we don't have a generator on board, so it would've meant another night with no air conditioning. So, we opted to go sailing and head back to the marina. It was a good sail and we even saw a couple of dolphins! I don't know what it is about those magical creatures, but I never tire of seeing them!! 

On Monday, we headed back out with a different dock neighbor and went and anchored out in a nearby cove. The water there is a lot cleaner and less salty...still can't really see what's lurking beneath, but we did a little swimming there as well! 

All in all, it was a good time and we can't wait to do it again!! 

Last but not least, here's hubs showing off his mad docking skills....yes, he's driving the boat backwards, literally! One of these days I'm going to video how we dock the boat, seriously impressive how good of a job he does with "parking" our thirty-six footer!!! 

The no-sew, redneck, fender covers!

Last week we had the boat washed and waxed! She's so purdy now!!!

You can just see the water dancing in the reflection on the boat!!! 

We have been putting it off for awhile now, but as you can see that fender {plastic cylinder used to protect the boat from any impact} hanging off the side of the boat, should have a cover over it so it doesn't scuff up the boat. 

Joe went to 'pay-more' {a local marine store here that I've dubbed pay-more, because well, you usually pay more for it here} and they were $33 for each cover. We have 6 fenders, so that would cost us $198 + tax.....Um, I don't think so!!! It's not like they're made of cashmere or silk, it's just cloth!!!

Ergo, the no-sew, redneck fender covers were made! Now, I can't take credit for this fender cover style because many a sailors before us have done just the same. However, the no-sew, redneck part might be mine to claim {doubt it}! 

I honestly was going to sew them, but laziness overcame me and I didn't want to go get the sewing machine out of storage and do all the set up because our boat doesn't really have the room for all of that, so.....

As my Pawpaw would've said, "I went down to the Walmarts" and got 3 pairs of ladies lounge pants. I bought 3XL so they  would be a nice, snug fit. Oh, and they were on clearance for $7/pair, so I only spent $21.....that's $12 less than what the other place charges for ONE cover!!

These are what the fenders look like uncovered....they didn't look good!

Starting at the bottom of the fender, you take the bottom of a pant leg and pull it over the fender like so....

Once you get it to the top of the fender, cut a small section out of the hem, but be careful not to cut into the bottom seam. 

Now, feed the para cord {we had some left over from another project} all the way through the existing hem....

Tie it off tight and tuck the ends under the cover....

Cinch up the material at the bottom, cut it and tie the excess into a double knot like so....

And, here's what it looks like all covered...

 And, hanging off the sides of the boat....

We decided we were only going to use 4 of the fenders so we wound up only using two of the pairs of pants. So all in all, we spent $15 {$14 + tax} for 4 covers versus $135 over at the other place. Sure, we had to do a little work to get them that cheap, but it was well worth the $120 savings to me....and, I really don't think they look all that redneck after all!!! 

Simple living and a lot of work

 

I love this saying, and that's what living on a boat is all about! .....it's even more apparent now as I sort through my clothes, again! 

The rod in our hanging closet broke last week and ever since then, the inside of the boat has been in shambles.....and driving me cRaZy! Though, I'm glad it broke, because that gave me the perfect opportunity to convince hubs to turn our hanging locker into a more user-friendly,  use of space, that can accommodate rubbermaid bins full of clothes, shoes, purses, etc....basically, whatever my little heart desires! ;) 

Currently, our boat looks like this:

See what I mean?? It's a wreck!!!!

Even the cockpit is a mess, while we try to figure out what bins we want to keep and what can be donated. 

So today has been a day full of cleaning, organizing & building. I've been sorting out what we really need to keep on the boat while Joe works hard at transforming the closet. 

It's coming along...

And, we're back to an organized life!! 

I love it.....thanks hubs!!!!! 💜

And hubs says, you never really know how hard it is to remodel when there's no flat surfaces & nothing is square.....it would be like, building shelves in a bowl. :/

Boat Project #2 & #3 - Goodbye & Hello

Any boat owner will tell you, there is always something that needs to be worked on, on the boat. Whether it's out of necessity or because it's something you {the boat owner} wants to update.....there is always something! 

Lately, we {yes, myself included} have been doing some work on the boat.....see, it's not all fun & games when you live on a boat....ok, most of the time it is!! :) 

As you remember, our first project was replacing a set of drawers with a mini-fridge. That was a brilliant idea, we, ahem, I had! ;)

Boat Project #2 - goodbye leaky window

This was done solely, because we had to fix it. This particular window wasn't sealed good and so every time it rained {and it's been raining a lot} it would leak onto the shelf where we keep our books and onto the settee {that's boat speak for couch, for all you non-boat readers}. 

Here's Joe with the window completely out so he could scrape off the remaining sealant in order to re-seal the window. Pretty boring, I know. But, it had to be done.  

Re-sealing & putting the screws back in place....and it's complete!

 

 

Boat Project #3 - hello new companionway doors!!!

We went from something, similar to this below, that consists of three wooden slats that sorta interlock with each other and combined with the top piece, close up shop...so to speak. It was all well & good, but basically just a pain that we were tired of messing with! Not to mention the fact that it also leaked every time it rained. And, it kept the inside of the boat very dark because no light could get in. 

So, hubs' put his muscles & tools together and built us these beautiful, companionway doors....that are just beautiful, if I do say so myself AND, they also let light in!!! Double bonus!!

As you can see from his reflection, you cannot see into the boat when standing outside....which I happen to love!

Here's a shot looking outside from in the boat. 

What a beauty.....the man and the doors!!! :)

A few more shots of the work in progress....

 

 

See my hand in this photo....I really was helping. :)

I <3 my new doors!!!!

What do you think? 

Boat Project #1 - icebox to mini-fridge

When we bought Irie she was outfitted with an icebox in the galley. For those of you who think like me, this is not an old-fashioned name for a refrigerator, like something my Mamaw & Papaw would have said. Quite the opposite in fact! An icebox is, literally, a box that holds ice....and food/drinks. Anything you want to keep cold, not frozen, just cold....as long as you keep adding ice, that is. 

That is my galley. The red arrow is pointing to the location of said icebox, not easily reached as you may notice. After weeks of wasting money on ice and throwing out food and fussing {almost} every time I had to get something out of there....hubs decided we should buy a fridge. I, for one, did not oppose his decision. Now, we had to go with a mini fridge because well, our whole lifestyle has gone mini....mini house, mini storage, mini rooms, mini kitchen....you get the picture! We had only one place that we could make the fridge work, but we would have to remove these three drawers....that were currently holding dishes. 

I decided I wanted a fridge more than I wanted three drawers and that is what I got....thanks to a little room on a credit card! ....Here's hubs installing my darling, new, mini-fridge!! 

Of course, I didn't get pics of him actually cutting the whole bigger to make room for our new fridge, but that's probably because I was busy holding my nose from the horrible smells.....FYI - fiberglass stinks something awful when being sawed into. 

Here is an awkward shot of our newly installed fridge!!! Ain't she a beauty?!?! The only drawback I've noticed thus far, is, when your local grocery store has 1/2 gallon Blue Bell on sale for only $2.99 and your mini fridge has an even mini'er freezer.....it's times like that that make me miss having a freezer, but I suppose that's a whole other post & most likely, a whole other boat away. 

You maybe wondering where the dishes are being stored now that we took out the drawers. Turns out, that icebox is pretty handy for storing dishes! And, it holds way more than those three drawers, combined. I'd say that's a win-win!!