What did you do to your houseboat today.

[DitchRider]

Seeing how we are more or less starting from scratch here I though I'd start a new thread that hopefully will generate some activity and perhaps even spark some ideas

Anyway here's what we did.

Pulled from the new houseboat from water for a bottom paint and topside compound/wax.

1

We'll also take the old name off, rip the carpet out and getting ready for a bit of a refit..

[desimulacra]

Put down new floor in bedroom and hall. Always wanted a Mahogany wood floor. Very Happy with the way it turned out. I did not take pictures except of Max. He is my guard Giraffe.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/desimulacra/1977%20Sumerset%20Houseboat/100_0265.jpg

[Amelia]

Installing the shower stall and drain today. Woohooo! Maybe by this time next week we will have actual running water, but I wouldn't place large bets. Been too darn hot to work on it.

[Tony B]

Took the dinghy off the roof and used an old set of davits to hang it off the back of the boat.

[42gibson]

took 1 carb off the old boat and getting it rebuilt for the future new owner,whoever it may be lol

[Miller Tyme]

Recarpeted the steps to the upper deck, spent last Thursday and Friday carpeting the front deck (in 104 degree heat)

[harvrbt]

This is funny, what did you do the houseboat today and we all have something to share! Says something about houseboating, it is a handymans hobby. We put our boat back in the water the 21st of June after being out all winter, added new outboards and some minor updates. Were on the boat over the 4th for 5 days and finished installing the top cover and shade cloth. If it will let me I will post a pic.https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w5kO4KuTuFI/T_zfH6iUHAI/AAAAAAAAAAk/hA2CgzT_uuk/h120/Boat+on+island.jpg

[easttnboater]

Replaced both carbs on the drive engines last week. After sitting for three years before I bought the boat, the old carbs were too gummed up to mess with.

Also had to sweep the top and all the decks off several days in a row due to the storms that blew leaves and twigs all over the boat.

[GoVols]

I had to replace my marine air's intake hose because the old one was worn out. Simple enough job, right? No! somehow it developed an air leak and wouldn't suck water from the lake. After asking each neighbor for a tube of calking and finding 3 of 4 dried up, I finally got the air leak somewhat fixed and the air is running again. For some reason, the previous owner put a 5/8" diameter hose on the intake when it should have a 3/4" or 1" HOSE. I still have an air leak somewhere, as the strainer basket still isn't 100% full of water. It's only sitting at 90% full, which still works. How can a stupid hose make this much trouble?!

[SinOrSwim]

I am going to try and figure out why my water won't work in my kitchen but works fine in the bathroom. Worked perfectly befoere we took it out last weekend. Got back, hooked the water up and no water in kitchen.

[JTAlberts]

I plan on finishing hooking up my battery monitor tonight. We'll see how that goes.

[Frantically Relaxing]

"today" , like most weekdays lately I'm at home, at work. But I have done a few things this SEASON:

fixed the roof over our bedroom-

got a new bar & chairs for the upper deck--

Found a broken "T" in the pex waterline, the hot side to the bathroom sink. It was leaking along the edge of starboard side hull about midship, and the water ended up at the front bulkhead-- scared the hell outta me, thought we'd sprung a leak! All fixed--

Before fixing the leak I decided I needed some better light in the basement, so I installed a pair of 4" florescent fixtures. It's like blazing sunlight down there now compared to the single 60w bulb that's been down there forever!

Last weekend I started sanding on the flybridge, it's all that's left to do with the repaint (that I started 2 years ago!)

[Stmbtwle]

Worked on it. What else does one do with a boat???? :p

[ShoreBound]

We spent 9 days on the houseboat in the Mojave Desert over the 4th of July week. Amazingly cool, with temperatures barely reaching 100 degrees, which is unusual for us this time of year. Worked on the outdrive, and pressure washed the whole boat. I forgot to use my spinning brush to hit the sides of the boat. It works very well at removing that chalky residue from the fiberglass. Then, of course I would need to wax it right away. Maybe that's why I forgot!

[GoVols]

Be sure to use a wax-safe-soap when washing the boat. If you don't, the soap can strip the wax you just paid big $$ to put on there off and allow for the nice chalky junk to start showing. I bought Mequire's Boat Wash. It's gentle enought that it won't strip the wax. So far, so good.

[pirate]

Put a new bilge pump on.

They will have all the posts you made on the old forum up soon. Everything will be the same as to how long a member etc.

[DitchRider]

Next we'll be ripping out the old carpet and putting fresh carpet and furniture....

Then I get to hunt for a new bimini for the flybridge and a few other minor repairs.

78910

[42gibson]

well the last carb is done and back on. the boat is running very very good. the other boat we just bought( 44 gibson executive) is still in knoxville getting the bottom done and having the decks and roof gelcoat sanded off and re-applied. hopefully it will get here this summer.

[easttnboater]

Replaced a 20 yr old Raritan Crown head with a new Marine Elegance. Pretty easy install. Quieter, uses half the amps, and will flat process the "stuff" that goes in it.

[Tony B]

On the newer houseboat - the one without the flag pole, I ripped up the carpet in the main salon

[42gibson]

that thing sure has alot of hatches tony.

[JTAlberts]

I can tell you what I did today on my neighbor's boat. I cursed at it hoping the electric would get fixed!!

[DitchRider]

Carpet is getting ripped out now and we are replacing all the wood paneling in the master stateroom.

woohoo :confused:

[DitchRider]

1819202122

We tore the master stateroom down to bare wood framing to make some repairs from some long past window leaks... We located some rot in the very far port corner and ripped out all the rot and that unfortunately means that the built in drawers got demolished.

New nearly matching paneling is installed... doesn't look too bad... total cost less than $400...

It's not too bad overall.... Gibson did an good job on making this easy to repair.. We'll be putting brand new panel in and carpeting down tomorrow...

I think that instead of putting the drawers back we'll leave that space open for a nice reading nook and ultra comfy chair... We'll build a custom bed frame with drawers to replace the lost storage.

[JTAlberts]

I fixed my electrical issues!!!!!

[easttnboater]

Have not done anything so far, but as soon as my plane lands and drive out there I plan to sit up on the roof and have a cold one (or two).

[Bamby]

We ended up spending the biggest part of Saturday last weekend cleaning up all the spider doo to an acceptable level. The spiders have been absolutely horrible this year!! After the cleansing I sprayed it all down with Bifen and to our satisfaction on Sunday the only spiders to be found were all the "dead spiders". We're seriously hoping that when we get back to the boat sometime today we can settle right down and enjoy it without having to spend a lot of time chasing cobwebs throughout the entire exterior of the boat. :)

[42gibson]

well lets see. the new boat(to us) arrived 4 hours late tuesday,1/2 block before the ramp the hauler tore the horns and all the wiring for them from the roof.his words were" i thought it looked close".the new gel coat was still tacky when they shipped it,the road grime in it now has to be rubbed out with comet and simple green. the marina said it was the wax coming to the surface that was making it tacky thus the comet and simple green. i hope to have it all done by this weekend.all in all,just another fun week..........lol

[JTAlberts]

Rick,

I am sorry I just missed you the other weekend. Did the hauler pay for the horns?

[DitchRider]

After shopping to weeks I decided on the Good F850C anchor windlass and pivoting anchor roller for our 50'er.

Special thanks to Tom at Good Windlass for excellent support and a fair price and excellent service from a Made in the USA company!!!! Way to go and Thanks!!!

Look for pictures as soon as we get it installed and rigged up on M/V DitchRider..

[42gibson]

yes, i took 300 off his bill.now if i could get my 4400 back for the crappy gel coat job.

[DitchRider]

yes, i took 300 off his bill.now if i could get my 4400 back for the crappy gel coat job.

I was discussing substandard and difficult craftsmen with the guy that came buy and purchased the old VHF's off our Gibson (we upgraded)...

Maybe it's time for a Marine Angieslist type service to get built?

We've been real lucky with vendors but I've heard some horror stories from people who've had vendor issues.

[Amelia]

The insulation fellow called this morning at 0645 to announce his guys would be here to install insulation in an hour. Ohhhhh, help! We got an early start, rushing out to pick up everything that could possibly be in the way. So the men arrived, the insulation is mostly in, and oh, my, is it quiet in there all of a sudden. Now we really, really need to get going on staining and installing about a zillion cypress t&g boards... it's downright fuzzy looking in there.

The shower stall insert needs to be glued to the walls that are now in place, the C-Head is in its permanent location and works just fine- not a whiff of odor so far, and we have about 10 large jobs to do, each of which must be finished before any of the others can be done. :rolleyes: So, if we can find a good bit of surplus energy, we will have made some visible progress this month!

[DitchRider]

Taking the dated cabinets out and ripping the master head down to bare wood. New vanity, floors and walls will be in and done by Monday.

JB

[JTAlberts]

yes, i took 300 off his bill.now if i could get my 4400 back for the crappy gel coat job.

Is it still tacky? I am amazed at how the marine world seems like a hard place to find quality work anymore. There are some local guys here that do the work, but they aren't much quality or trustworthy.

[fisheatingbagel]

Last week I finally located the source of an intermittent problem that has plagued me for almost 2 years. On occasion, the port engine would stop for no apparent reason. It would crank and run as long as the starter was engaged, but would die afterwards. I assumed the coil resistor was going bad since it would run while the starter was engaged (which bypasses the resistor). Then it would start working again, and I would forget about it. Finally it stopped and wouldn't start again. Checked voltage at resistor, nothing. Checked voltage on output of ignition switch and that was okay. After checking the ignition switch, though, it started again with no problem. Then died. Checked voltage at switch output again, nada. Nothing on input either. I jiggled the wire than runs from the +12v block to the switch and found that it had a loose connection to the terminal under the heat shrink.
The DC wiring on my boat is a total mess. It really needs to be redone. Looking under the helm at the wiring for the gauges and switches is very depressing. Lots of things pig tailed off other things. Other wires hanging loose, not connected. I did install a 12v terminal and ground block and have been routing stuff to this as I go.

[DitchRider]

The good news is that the fine folks at Ascot Enterprises came through big time and got me a quote to replace all of the window shades in our boat for a figure that is 30% of what Gibson said they could do it. I couldn't give them my credit card number fast enough.

The bad news:

I need to replace both LectraSan MC units onboard as the previous owner's mechanic litterally installed them backwards (in the outpipe). ughhh

[mike d]

just bought my first houseboat yesterday going tomorrow to clean and access what all need to be done

[Amelia]

Hurray! Looking forward to a full report. I hope, with all the work to be done- and I'm sure there will be lots of it, no matter how lovely it looks- that there will be plenty of time for good fun and relaxation, too.
Share pictures?

[42gibson]

yes its still tacky, they didnt use a mold release agent on it. the gelcoat was still tacky when it was shipped so all the road grime from the trip was in the gelcoat.when i called the he said to use simple green and comet to clean it. the only problem there was it was taking the gelcoat off as well. then he sent me enough release agent to do 120 sq. ft. the problem is that the roof alone is 420 sq. ft. what a mess because they didnt take the time to do the finish work right.

[mike d]

it is a 37 foot boatel. here is my first attempt at posting pics

[Professor Dawghair]

First time posting but I've lurked for over a year. Didn't do anything "to" my boat, but my wife and I took it out and beached it alone for the first time today. Grilled out as the sun set. Good times!

Bought our Lazy about year ago and have been rennovating it ever since. Finally have it close to finished. Have really enjoyed learning about houseboats by reading this forum. Thanks all!

[Amelia]

What a grand day, Prof! Thanks for sharing, and welcome!
We took our 'Lotus Eater', a half-finished home-made houseboat, out for the day for lunch in a secluded creek across the Albemarle Sound, let the visiting relatives kayak, explore waterlily-clogged cypress-swamp edges, fish- (no joy), and drive the boat between closely-spaced crab pots. Like a slalom ski run in very slow motion. Led me to wonder what is it about clearly-marked channels that our crab fishermen do not understand? Everything, would be my guess.

[Professor Dawghair]

Thanks Amelia -- I've kept up with the Lotus Eater... have enjoyed your updates.

I plan to post some before and after pictures of the Fais-do-do when I get some spare time.

[Stmbtwle]

Fishing/crabbing/shrimping is always better in the marked channels... I never could understand why.

[42gibson]

well the gelcoat finally hardened. there are places on the roof that i rubbed through with the cleanser trying to clean it while it was still tacky and soft.alot of staining on the roof yet. the marina called me and is going to send 2 men up in the fall to fix the problems even if it means doing the whole boat over.i cant ask for anything more than that.

[mike d]

back from my first weekend on the new to me houseboat. didnt get much work done but caught lots of fish. she seems to be pretty solid mechanically just needs some tlc and redecorating i did find a wet area in the bed room that i will have to search out the cause and fix before the recarpet we did do some general cleaning inside and got new bed linens. allready begining to look like a different boat with just this little bit of work. stayed 2.5 days and wish we had bought a houseboat years ago. my current plans for improvment are new carpet and tile thruout, wash compound and wax, only has a porta pottie right now and discharges grey water overboard so i am reserching how to add waste tanks and marine head thinking about putting in a built in seats and table that will convert to another sleeping area where the table and chairs are now.also want to have new marble or granite look (aka fake) countertops and new fixtures. of course i cant afford all thes improvements at once . the leak and toilet situation are the priority right now the rest will just have to be done as finances allow. we think we have decided on a name for the boat. it is located on watts bar lake in tn. we are thinking of calling it "watts up dock" took some new pics but dont have them off the camera yet will post when i get them on the computer. any comments sugestions etc will be appreciated as i am brand new to houseboating only owned one for 5 days so far I hope to learn from the experienced people here.

[capnmorgan]

back from my first weekend on the new to me houseboat. didnt get much work done but caught lots of fish. she seems to be pretty solid mechanically just needs some tlc and redecorating i did find a wet area in the bed room that i will have to search out the cause and fix before the recarpet we did do some general cleaning inside and got new bed linens. allready begining to look like a different boat with just this little bit of work. stayed 2.5 days and wish we had bought a houseboat years ago. my current plans for improvment are new carpet and tile thruout, wash compound and wax, only has a porta pottie right now and discharges grey water overboard so i am reserching how to add waste tanks and marine head thinking about putting in a built in seats and table that will convert to another sleeping area where the table and chairs are now.also want to have new marble or granite look (aka fake) countertops and new fixtures. of course i cant afford all thes improvements at once . the leak and toilet situation are the priority right now the rest will just have to be done as finances allow. we think we have decided on a name for the boat. it is located on watts bar lake in tn. we are thinking of calling it "watts up dock" took some new pics but dont have them off the camera yet will post when i get them on the computer. any comments sugestions etc will be appreciated as i am brand new to houseboating only owned one for 5 days so far I hope to learn from the experienced people here.


Looks like Caney Creek I may run into you sometime.

[mike d]

it is caney creek

[mike d]

use this link to view
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3116126161854.103212.1825487282&type=1&l=e502aea318
may have to copy and past to your browser

[capnmorgan]

it is caney creek



Our pontoon is just down from your slip should bump you sometime.

[Frantically Relaxing]

My lastest project was attempting to bird-proof our upper deck after finding a truckload of bird poop upstairs last weekend. We have lots of bugs, and that means we have about a bazillion swallows. The poor sailboat owner's boats are plastered too. But our problem is the canopy trusses make great bird perches...

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfix2/rafters1.jpg



I figure about 30 birds can fit themselves on each truss, and there's 12 trusses. Took over 2 hours with the powerwasher to clean up the mess.

So I spent $14 on tarps and took care of the problem...

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfix2/rafters2.jpg



Checked the boat after 4 days, and not a drop of poop under the canopy now. :)

[DitchRider]

Took out the Lectra/San units and re-plumbed the heads to the holding tank

Bath/Head remodel is almost done!! woo-hoo!

New genset waterpump installed

Next up a brand new Good Automatic Windlass.

We've spent a ton of money in getting this boat rehab'd and we're almost done!! Absolutely worth it.. I think...

[Stmbtwle]

Sunset cruise this evening, with dinner and wine on board.

[42gibson]

i finally got the grill mounted on the new boat. we have friends from the dock coming for a first supper. the grill fire goes out, i relight it and lose a eyebrow. what can i say? i love boating. by the way, the dinner went well.

[DitchRider]

Woo Hoo!

Finally got the vast majority of the work done on our 50' "The Ditch Rider" .. Here are some before and after shots!

Just gonna put a new windlass and anchor on her and she is ready to go prowling the ditch down here in South Florida


Salon Before 41

Salon After 42

Head Before 43

Head After 44

[JTAlberts]

Ditch,

Did you go with MotionWindows? What kinda price were they for the larger sliders? How long was the wait time?

[DitchRider]

JT..

We were lucky that the windows were more or less in good condition and we only needed to disassemble and clean them.

[42gibson]

ditch, what kind and size boat ir it? by the way, what you have shown looks great.

[JTAlberts]

JT..

We were lucky that the windows were more or less in good condition and we only needed to disassemble and clean them.

After looking at earlier pics it looks like the stock windows as it is a newer boat. I have been trying to determine when to replace my windows and what kind of cost.

[DitchRider]

42,

Thanks it is a 1999 50' Cabin Yacht..

Thanks for the compliment!

[Stmbtwle]

Yesterday: Under the warning of a 5' storm surge, moved the RETREAT away from the dock with several anchors and longer than normal mooring lines. Turned out to be much ado about not very much; no surge, not much wind here on Tampa Bay. Today I have to go raise all the anchors with the dinghy and move everything back... Grrrr. better to be safe than sorry though.

[zeller]

Being a new houseboater, in the last 7 days, I have completed the purchase of my new 1987 62' Hilburn. I also arraigned for the seller, the inspector, the transporter and myself to meet for the marine inspection (passed with flying colors), paid the seller ($$$), and watched the transporter load her out of Herrington Lake in Kentucky and haul her up to her winter home (on land) in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have measured for new blinds/curtains, picked out new decor, picked out a color scheme and started looking into marine satelite tv! Also trying to sell my Trojan Express Cruiser so I can fund some of these remodel projects. I think I'm going to like this Houseboating Stuff! Wish me Luck!!!!

[Tony B]

After being gone for 7 weeks, I finally made it home about 2 weeks ago. When I was there, I removed the dinette table which is a thick oak frame around a plywood insert. The insert had pink Formica. I removed the formica from the plywood and replaced it with white Formica. I gave the frame to my old woodworking business and am paying them to strip it. I will refinish it in the natural color. I also took the blue cushions to an upholsterer and had them recovered in white vinyl.
Hopefully, when I get home in another 5 weeks, I can finish off the dinette. For those of you that know me, I am referrring to the newer pointy houseboat. The one without the giant flag poles.
Hopefully, we can move aboard by the end of the year. If life was normal, we would be able to but this year, all I do is work - not that I am complaining about the extra income before I retire next year. That will just set our plans behind about 2 months. We have not, and don't foresee our plans to motor up to Ky. Lake as changing.

[DitchRider]

Picked up a larger Delta anchor at the local Nautical Flea Market.
Picked up a new West Marine Tortola 13.0 Kayak... Now have two ...yaks on board.

[Jolly Time]

Like Tony, I now have a pointy end houseboat !!! This one is in much better shape structurally than the Nautaline, but its All original. Did I mention it's a '76 model?? Picture orange shag carpet and velvet cushions!! Well, I ripped out all the peeling paneling and as much of the carpet as I could by hand. Next time I'll bring a heat gun to help get all the carpet off the walls. Also got the port ehgine running and srayed 4 cans of WD-40 in the starboard engine cylinders!!

[Tony B]

Congrats on your hippy hut. Orange shag brings back lots of memories. For some reason, orange shag became the flavor of the day. Had that in my old VW micro bus.

[n36511]

Removed port side railing on my 83 Gibson 44. Cleaned the deck and the feet of the railing. Used 4200 to fill the screw holes and make a small bed of caulk for each foot and reattached to the boat. Took about 2 hours. Did find some rot so will end up having to redo railing when I redo deck :(

[Miller Tyme]

This will teach the wife not to let me go drinking with someone thats selling his boat.


http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/1522/60351051652928836077515.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/715/60351051652928836077515.jpg/)

[DitchRider]

Took off all the decals on the Gibson... they took a beating over the past few years baking in the Florida sun..

I was quoted $2K by the local decal shop to redo them in stickers. Opted to paint them in Awlgrip instead.. cost will be $600.

I promise before and after pics to follow.

I love rehabbing boats.

[Amelia]

We looked out at the near-calm out our front window, took note of the NE 5-10 forecast and headed across the Albemarle Sound for a delightful lunch at Mackey's Marina. Halfway there, the ride got bouncy with 2.5' seas. No worries. Docked without incident in lovely Mackeys Creek as if we knew what we were doing, chatted with some fun locals, and aimed northbound by mid afternoon. Oh, my. The waves were now white capped, and we rolled alarmingly from side to side, as waves broke over the bow, and poured into the two forward hatches, filling them. The little bilge pumps did their best, but no match for the onslaught. Good news: Boat floats adequately and is easily-enough controlled in that condition, though its nose-down appearance must have looked funny. Got to rethink those forwardmost hatches. Suggestions welcome.

[DitchRider]

That is so nice looking is it throughout the boat? I would be interested to know how you did it, just the same as in a house?

GJ. What post are you responding to?

[Tony B]

.............. Got to rethink those forwardmost hatches. Suggestions welcome.

Amelia, are your forward hatches leaking? or were they just open?
Also do you have bilge pumps in each compartment of the hulls?
Bilge pumps and float switches are not the place to cheap-out. I use the electronic switches and have been using them for about 8 years on various boats. The regular float switches are not that reliable. At least for me they weren't . Lots of failures with them.

[JTAlberts]

Ordered new exhaust manifolds. Lost the drain plug last night and thought we were going down for the count. I don't need to chance it a 3rd time.

[GJSmith]

I thought I was replying to a post about hardwood put in a boat. I can't even find the post....ooops so I deleted my previous post


GJ. What post are you responding to?

[OLD HOUSEBOATER]

Amelia

Do you have latches on the hatches? They will float open in head seas.

[easttnboater]

Replaced the sending units on all three gas tanks.

[42gibson]

today, we woke up on the boat and it was 52 degrees outside so we had coffee and watched the today show. now, shortly it will be time to change all the fuids and filters on both boats and winterize them. were pulling one out when we get back from vegas next week, then the other sometime in november. where did summer go?

[Zilpo55]

Sunday morning, it was 38 degrees on Lake Cumberland. Hot coffee and watched the steam rise through our marina. I love fall, but I'm not looking to the pre-winter chores.

[JTAlberts]

Have 2 of 4 exhaust manifolds replaced. Have to wait on some parts to finish up the other two.

[DitchRider]

Ditchrider got hauled out..

1: remount poorly mounted swim platform. Gibson didn't through bolt and use mounting plates. Corrected this.. much better now

2: re-striped the hull

3: Fixed some dock-rash.

4: new dripless through hulls

[DitchRider]

Took off all of the old rail canvas. New rail canvas to go on shortly.

[42gibson]

well, we finally got the 44 covered and put to bed for the winter. in the spring we will throw everything inside away and repaint the entire interior,replace all the blinds,furniture,heads and anything else that can be taken out. the 42 we have that we crashed in october is going to fox chapel marine in pittsburgh as soon as the hauler can pick it up. it needs the hull repaired,new starboard rudder,prop,prop shaft,strut bearing and who knows about the mechanical untill the obvious is fixed. were going snowmobiling in jan. have fun.

[Tony B]

Slow progress.
Still working on my Teak and Holly Floor and Canvas guy and gal are working on my new enclosures for the fly bridge and aft deck.
Also bought some new wallpaper today.

[Amelia]

Turns out that even in its uncompleted state, the Lotus Eater makes a perfectly lovely master suite. Given our big extended family arrived for Christmas, Himself and I abandoned our own shoreside bedroom to our guests, and repaired to our luxurious floating quarters out back. We were accompanied by two small grandsons, who were tickled with the whole concept. One little Pelonis ceramic heater kept the whole boat at 60 to 62 degrees, 20* warmer than outside, which was fine. We had worked all week before the holiday crowd descended on us, pickling, trimming, and nailing cypress T&G boards to the insulated studs, sucking up bushels of sawdust. Looks nice! Just a few more to go, and then we can start on the window and door trim. The queen-size air bed covered with a thermal-foam pad was totally luxurious. Oh, and the week allowed us time to give our C-Head 'composting' toilet a proper workout, and we're pleased to say so-far-so-good. Absolutely no odor, and even the wee fellows had no trouble with it.

[Stmbtwle]

One of the pleasures of keeping the boat behind the house!

[Tony B]

Began getting serious about my new teak and holly floor in the salon yesterday and today. All of the removable floor boards are now complete with the exception final sanding and finishing. Once completed, they will be put in place and then the permanent surrounding perimeter will be done.
At the same time, I replaced the macerator in the forward head and rebuilt the head itself. Work on floor in the mornings and misc $hit in the afternoon.
The attached photo shows the panels in pplace for a test fit.

[42gibson]

Began getting serious about my new teak and holly floor in the salon yesterday and today. All of the removable floor boards are now complete with the exception final sanding and finishing. Once completed, they will be put in place and then the permanent surrounding perimeter will be done.
At the same time, I replaced the macerator in the forward head and rebuilt the head itself. Work on floor in the mornings and misc $hit in the afternoon.
The attached photo shows the panels in pplace for a test fit.

looks good tony. god i love boats,you always have something to do.

[DitchRider]

Teak and Holly is beautiful... paying for it.. not so much



Began getting serious about my new teak and holly floor in the salon yesterday and today. All of the removable floor boards are now complete with the exception final sanding and finishing. Once completed, they will be put in place and then the permanent surrounding perimeter will be done.
At the same time, I replaced the macerator in the forward head and rebuilt the head itself. Work on floor in the mornings and misc $hit in the afternoon.
The attached photo shows the panels in pplace for a test fit.

[Tony B]

l... paying for it.. not so much

Not too bad. I paid $122/sheet of 4' X 8" X 1/4" and bought 3 sheets. I glued that onto 3/4" cabinet grade birch plywood - 2 sheets.

Total cost approx $550 for an 8 1/2 X 10' room (think).

[Amelia]

I bought it a little tender... an inflatable tandem kayak. We shall see when this latest spate of winter weather passes, just how good an idea that was, but inflated in the living room, it looks like a lot of fun.

[Endurance]

What kind did you end up buying? I have been looking at them too and would love some of your thoughts.

[Amelia]

I bought a Sea Eagle Fast Track 385 from Inflatableboats4Less.com. Very nice people. On their recommendation, I bought the "classic", i.e., last year's model for cheaper. This year's model is lighter and sleeker looking. I got the kind with the inflatable seats. It was promptly delivered, well-packaged, looks very sturdy, was easy to assemble. Seemed comfortable enough sitting on the living room rug. It feels a lot heavier and bulkier than the advertised 35 pounds, but I think the advertising division did the weighing, and seats, paddles, and repair kit don't count. Not a single-hand launch for this old lady, anyway. Uninflated and folded, it would fit fine in any of several storage lockers, but ready-to-use, there's plenty of room for it on the back deck. I may persuade His Lordship to rig me a couple of pulleys to haul it up to the back deck overhead, out of the way when it's not in use. If it ever gets warmer and the wind dies down, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm not a fan of delayed gratification, but it's in the 40s, with a gusty and brisk north wind. Tomorrow isn't supposed to be an improvement, but next week may find me brave enough to venture out. Stand by for hilarious 'Grandmama Tumbles into the Drink' video.

[Stmbtwle]

I decided my old homebuilt skiff with it's 2 hp motor was just too slooooooooow, and it won't take a bigger motor, so I'm TRYING to get a 10' Livingston dinghy/tender, but the dealer is having all kinds of problems... The first motor was too new and the parts to install it weren't available; so I had to settle for their suggestion which is like 17# heavier. Now they can't get IT to work properly. Apparently the motor runs fine, but kicks water into the stern of the boat (not good). GRRRRRR!

[Amelia]

Got a chance to try out the little kayak. Works as advertised. Tracks very straight, easy to paddle. The seats are comfortable enough for me, but I can see we will have to do some seat-modifying/augmenting for Rob's hinky back to be happy for very long. For him, the backrest needs to be taller and wider. I think we can work something out, but it is sure to look weird.

Bill, that sounds frustrating!

[Tony B]

I applied walnut veneer to a new settee I am building for my pointy fronted houseboat today. Other than that hour, i went sailing on the other pointy houseboat, the one with some flag poles on the deck. Rained most of the time but it was great

[Zilpo55]

Replaced batteries in DC house system.

[Stmbtwle]

Check out the strainer in the end of the galley faucet.

[Stmbtwle]

FINALLY got the new dinghy... after nearly a month!
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i133/stmbtwle/MV%20Retreat/100_0815_zps5a61d2d6.jpg

[42gibson]

took both heads out of the boat.threw one away rebuilt the other with a new motor and pump kit. ordered a new jabsco for the main head.when it gets above 50 i'll take out all the carpet and blinds,then paint the entire inside. were putting wood floors in the upper deck and new carpet in the cuddys plus all new custom blinds.that should take care of this years fun money.

[DitchRider]

Yes it is boring but routine maintenance was called for.... belts, oil, filters.

[easttnboater]

Let's see - so far this off season I:

1. Added a ceiling fan in the den area - what a PITA to snake the wiring.
2. Replaced the ceiling fan in the rear bedroom.
3. Replaced the second toilet with a Marine Elegance toilet. Fancy name, but a really good, relatively inexpensive marine toilet.
4. Replaced the tub glass doors with one of those curved shower rods and a fancy shower curtain.
5. Replaced the marine radio.
6. Replaced the backup camera - again a PITA to snake the wiring.

And, had it pulled to replace a $6 transom assembly o-ring to stop a minor but very annoying leak on the starboard engine. Several boat bucks for that one. But, we had the bellows and all that other stuff replaced. So, I am good to go for many years.

Ready for some actual spring weather now.

[Miller Tyme]

De-winterized the toliets and stocked the bar, connect up the water lines to the dock next weekend and de-winterize the engines.

Let the season begin! :cool:

[SinOrSwim]

We just got word our marina will start launching on the 17th. Been a dicey spring so far. Our lake was almost 8 feet below normal and unless it came up about 5 or 6 feet, we weren't going in. But, we got a good rain witht he ground frozen and it is at normal pool levels. Will probably start Friday getting stuff cleaned up and ready. Will probably take portable generator and shampoo carpets etc. Then, the week of launch will load up non-perishable food etc. Day of launch will probably load up the frig and stock the boat with a BUNCH of beer, soda, etc. I try to load up a bunch of stuff like that and store it below to decrease the amount of stuff I have to carry when we go out there. With food, 3 little kids etc it's nice to not have to carry a case of beer and pop.

Can't wait! FINALLY almost here.

[42gibson]

we finally got the boat gutted of all the capet and other flooring.my god the staples! everything is painted and we talked to the flooring installer last night. we're going tomorrow to pick out hardwood for the main deck,linoleum for the upper bath and closets ,carpet for the cuddys. hopefully be in the water by mid may.

[easttnboater]

Yeah - the staples. Been there, done that. I figured that the installers were paid by the staple on the two boats where I pulled them all out.

[Zilpo55]

Replaced our front deck fan with a really cool one called a Haiku. It was a gift from our daughter who works for the company. It's very different looking from normal ceiling fans. The parent company has a VERY unusual name - let me just leave it at that.
http://www.haikufan.com/info-kit-offer-b/?utm_source=search&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=haiku-ppc-B

[Stmbtwle]

Chuckle!!! I've seen a couple of those big fans, at an airport I think. Always wondered who made 'em!

[Zilpo55]

Yes, there is one at our airport plus my employer has a few in the warehouse. I'd love to put about an 8 footer on our upper deck just to get the attention around our dock but only if I could get my kid to pay for it.

[Frantically Relaxing]

For some time now I've been going to make some new logo emblems for our SkipperLiner, I finally got around to doing it.

Here's one of the old emblems:

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfixes/oldskipemb.jpg

We repainted the boat quite awhile ago (still have to do the front patio and flybridge!). In my spare time (what's that?) I've been trying to design some easy to make vinyl graphics, swooshes & stuff that will actually fit, since the port side of the boat is mostly windows. Anyway, I wanted my new emblems to be of the newer logo, which I digitized awhile back. I've had some pieces of 1/8" plexiglas mirror kicking around, some 'regular' silver mirror, and some bronze. The regular was so old I couldn't remove the masking so bronze it is!

I didn't want to just stick lettering to the boat, so I made backing plates out of some 1/16" thick black matte acrylic to highlight the lettering and make the whole thing a one-piece unit.

First up is laser cutting the letters and backings--

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfixes/newemb1.jpg


Now I have to apply some double-sided tape to the letters and stick them to the backing---

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfixes/newemb2.jpg


--and this is what I ended up with! One down, one to go...

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfixes/newemb3.jpg

[Frantically Relaxing]

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfixes/newemb5.jpg

=======================

Being all acrylic they'll last outdoors for years. The new emblems are the same length as the old ones, but the new lettering is smaller because the logo is part of the total emblem, and that makes the emblems appear smaller than the old ones. But we're happy with it, they look real nice! It's a SklpperLiner again and not just 'the houseboat'...

was getting dark when I took the pics so they're a little fuzzy---

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfixes/newemblem1.jpg

http://www.engraver1.com/boatfixes/newemblem3.jpg


====================

Maybe this'll kick-start me into getting the flybridge painted and some new graphics made up!

[Tony B]

This took a while but it is finally done.
I ripped out the old carpeting and made new floor boards. The floor boards (8 total) make up about 95% of the floor. They are Teak and Holly Plywood.
I built a new settee from plywood and veneered it with walnut. Then sprayed with furniture grade lacquer.
The cushions and back were professionally made by a local upholsterer. We used very expensive stuff called "Ultra leather". Feels so nice and soft.
Since we are live-aboards, we want to be comfortable.
Total cost for salon was around $1500. Other than the upholstery, I did all the work.

[42gibson]

looks really nice tony,good job.

[GoVols]

Tony, I love that new floor! What a drastic improvement. Well done!

[42gibson]

well we finally got the new hardwood floors in the main cabin area and all the carpet replaced in the cuddy. i put in new counter tops and all new faucets. we painted all the old dark paneling white( what a difference)we're going to the boat thursday and put all the new bilnds up.we had to move 300 ft of docks a half mile up the river over the weekend and when everything is hooked back up we should be ready to put back in.

[Gibson42lc]

Learned how the purisan works and thankfully it works just like its supposed to. I was preparing to buy new unit until I was schooled. Thankful for an honest parts dealer. Getting name put on fly bridge as we speak and cleaned engine compartment. I'm in restaurant business so my weekend is the beginning of everyone else's week. :-).

[Tony B]

Shelf Guards for lack of the correct name. basically a retaining rail so stuff don't fall off the shelf.
Not much of a project but definitely necessary.
Sometimes I think Mainships were built with absolutely no thought given that they might actually be used on the water.
Most shelves and ledges have a 1" high lip. Now anything on your shelf over 1" high will take a nose dive with the
slightest bit of rocking, whether from a waves or wakes.

I just cut some strips of red oak 1/2" thick X 1 1/2" tall X whatever length I needed for the V-Berth and did the same with Teak in the forward head.
I try to keep the wood the same as what is already there. I went to Home depot and bought some strips of 1" wide X 1/8" thick aluminum strips.
I bent them into an "L" shaped bracket and cut to desired height (height). Then drilled the mounting holes - 2 into the shelf and 1 into the retaining strip or shelf guard. I used cap nuts on the screws coming through the wood strip so that no one will cut their fingers on a sharp edge. These are not the sturdiest retaining guards known to mankind but more than sufficient to do the intended job of preventing things from falling off the shelf.
I made my own "L" Brackets because the 'store bought' ones had the holes in the wrong places and didn't look as good either - at least , to me.

[JTAlberts]

well we finally got the new hardwood floors in the main cabin area and all the carpet replaced in the cuddy. i put in new counter tops and all new faucets. we painted all the old dark paneling white( what a difference)we're going to the boat thursday and put all the new bilnds up.we had to move 300 ft of docks a half mile up the river over the weekend and when everything is hooked back up we should be ready to put back in.

Where is the emoticon that says, "THIS POST IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS!!!"

[Frantically Relaxing]

http://www.engraver1.com/gifs/worthless.gif

Here it is, whoever's responsible for grabbing it and adding it to the list, go for it!
:)