All Quiet on the West Coast

It's been pretty quiet around here lately...oddly so it would seem.  I know that the actual renter for the slip we are in will show up sometime soon and things may get adventurous again but right now it's pretty mellow.  Our dock neighbors are very nice and don't seem to mind screaming kids running around, they actually seem to get a kick out of them.  The boys are having fun enjoying boat life;  Loren has been working on stand up paddling - with a foam surf board and an oar from the inflatable while Elliot has been having fun at Kayak camp.  Mason on the other hand has been catching up on sleep, recovering from his visit with Tyler and everyone has been getting their suits on and getting in the surf to play.  I love this because then I end up with exhausted kids ready to hit their bunks early!

One thing we have been doing is tackling projects on "the list".  Keith replaced additional hoses in the head with the super high quality smell proof stuff.  While new a few years back, there are some things where you just need to buy top of the line....I would propose that anything related to the head falls into that category!

We have been trying to understand the refrigeration electronics, reading the manual so many times that I've nearly memorized it.  I'm hopeful we might have it tackled finally where the freezer doesn't freeze solid and the fridge stays cool enough all the while cycling so that it doesn't suck our batteries dry!

We put the lee-clothes back up on the little boys bunks - they had been taken down while Keith re-engineered that space for two full bunks vs the double wide and half bunk there previously.  Now I won't stress about Loren falling out accidentally.

Yesterday Keith started to work on fixing the cap rail that had been pulled off when he had setup a preventer a few years back (yes years!).  He drilled out the old wood between the the deck and hull and filled it with fiberglass and cloth and now needs to sand it down so the wood rail can go back on and the hardware on top of that.  A lengthy project that will be great to have finished.  Plus it will look a lot better then the duct tape we had on there.  Maybe the yachties won't snicker anymore....ah....probably not. ;)

Today Keith is working to organize "my office space" meaning get his tools OUT of it and put a new seat in for me to use.  Normally I'm camped in the dining area because the office is piled high with tools and I'm not one to complain about tools laying around - always hopeful that they will be used on one of many projects needed. We were hoping to get a swing out stool for the space but at the price they were asking online (imagine $$$$'s) we opted for a insta-seat from West Marine which honestly works pretty good for me.  My back and neck are in heaven on the laptop now vs hell crunched over in any other place I could find.

I still haven't heard from West Marine on our new furler from Schaefer which is putting a big damper on our ability to get the furling sail measured and production started.  I'm hopeful the new main and staysail will get here on August 1st, which would make me feel a little better about the long delay.

Lastly we have an appointment with the canvas lady, Lisa, on Thursday to finalize the color for the small dodger over the companion way and to replace the bimini which is showing serious wear.  She'll also be putting together the main sail cover for us and maybe a cover for the staysail so it can stay hanked on the stay rather then hauling it around.  That's what the boat had at some time in the past, we have some shreds of a brown version of it.  I'm looking forward to the dodger to keep the hatch dry, it can get pretty wet from the spray when going to weather.  I totally wish it was a full dodger but I need to pick and choose my spend and I can't justify it right now. :(

So in this relative lull we are really trying to get some things done before the chaos ensues again, which it invariable will!

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