Oven, Table, and Shopping

Tuesday, I was able to place the faceframe on the sink and temporary set in the oven just to get a feel.  I then made a mock-up of the table.  The interior took on a whole new feel as to how it might look finished.  So things are slowly progressing.  Today, I took a drove to RVDoctorGeorge and canvassed the place for parts.  I found good hardware for affixing the table to the hull, also, burner pads and other hardware for the oven to gimble it.  I scored big on a propane alarm and solenoid.  One more item was a water pump for the sink.  This one is a 12 volt "on-demand" which is not my first choice as they will end up using the water too fast.  Maybe I can rig some type of timer that makes it automatically shut off after a few seconds.
I invited Dee up into the boat so that she could get a feel of how it will look and also to discuss "finish" ideas.  I was worried about whether she was going to want a bright light finish, or go with the darker teak finish.  I guess the darker teak finish is what she wants.  Some people do not like too much teak down below as they feel it can become "gloomy".  Dee and I are not that way I guess.

Galley Buklheads

Yesterday I couldn't work on the boat like I wanted since I was feeling pretty good.  Dee's Uncle had passed away and yesterday we had a memorial at the cemetary.  Afterwards, I had promised to take Tessa to the carnival that swings into town every year.  She and her friend Nina closed the carnival down at 11:30pm.  I was tired.
Today was Mother's day.  Tessa and I cooked breakfast for Dee.  The plate I set down next to the stove with paper towels to drain the hashbrowns and sausage caught on fire,  my bad!  I had it too close to the stove.
Today, I got the bulkheads in for the Galley.
Tomorrow dialysis, so I don't know how much more I can get done for the day.

More of the Same

Tuesday, I finished bolting in the Bulkheads.  I find I have to do a lot of resourcing in order to figure out how I am going to do things.  Today, I went down to a local R/V shop to see how they have been finishing out the interiors, not that I can do the same on a boat because of the moisture, but still, just to get ideas.
I had an appointment with the retinal specialists today which kind of screwed up productivity for the day.
I bought an old sailboat, a Venture 25 that I am going to strip of all valuable hardware and rigging to put on the 'Isabel'.  Tessa helped me tonight un-bolt the bow/stern pulpits and the stanchions off the Venture 25.  I was worried that the stern pulpit may not fit the Santana, but once I got it sitting up there, it looked fine.  Just a few minor adjustments.  The bow pulpit is going to work fine too, so I am happy. 

Bulkheads, Electrical Panel, Temporary Steps

Yesterday, I finished tearing out the port bulkhead.

Interior without bulkheads

Spending most of the day still tearing the boat apart, I did actually re-install the first items being the pop-up supports.  I had to buy new stainless bolts,  they didn't have the diameter I wanted so I had to size up a notch.
The bolts holding the two halves that sandwich the port bulkhead forming the mast step were practically all gone.  Here is a photo of the bolts I took out compared to one of the new ones I will be putting back in.

Old versus New

I also started pulling out old computer parts from the garage to see what I could salvage in making a nice electrical panel.  I was thinking about adding one of my ham radios, but decided against it as things would probably start looking cluttered. 
Today I trimmed the starboard bulkhead to allow a little more passage room.  I added an arc overhead of the passage way to give it a little more design.  I think boats should have more curves than angles.  I epoxied the edges of the bulkheads and laid some fiberglass along the edged that will be where the chainplate attaches just in case it leaks.
Pulled out a few more computer cases as I develop my electrical panel further.
I read in this months "Crusing World" how I-phones have quite a few applications now for the sailor,  like one app that is an actual chartplotter (using government raster charts) and GPS.  So you can track yourself just like the big chartplotters.   Except for the smaller screen of course.
It is amazing how technology continues to advance.
Well...  off to BBQ some steaks tonight.

Bulkhead

After dialysis today, I climbed into the sailboat to look at the bulkheads.  the past owner had pretty well gutted the inside with the intent of just leaving her pretty open, not replacing the galley, etc.  He mentioned something about the mast post, but I can't remember exactly what it was.  But by all appearance, the bulkheads have to be replaced.  Where the chainstays bolt into the bulkhead on both sides, there is considerable decay.  Tonight I wanted to see how hard it was going to be to tear out the bulkheads as I didn't know how well they would be attached to the hull.  They should be tabbed into the hull and deck about 3 inches with fiberglass tabbing and epoxy.   To my amazement, only two screws held the starboard bulkhead into the liner at the top, and the bulkhead was flimsly stapeled into a cleat at the bottom.  Where the bulkhead did not follow the hull exactly, the space was filled up with resin but was not attached to the wood.   The bulkhead also appeared not have the endgrain sealed with a coat of epoxy like it should have.  Not doing this preventatively, only allowed moisture to soak into the endgrain, ruining the wood.  This was very shoddy manufacturing that looked in all appearence that they had built the boat with the intent to cut as many corners as possible.  So I am ever thankful I am going to be able to rebuild this boat from the ground up!  Tomorrow I will see about the port side. 
On days of dialysis, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I am just not very productive at all...  I just finished my first week of #16 needles and next week I should get scheduled to get the cathetor removed from my neck.  I can't resist saying how much of a "pain-in-the-neck" it is...

Bottom Paint / Electrical Panel

Yesterday I went shopping.  I scored on a gallon of bottom paint at West Marine.  It was a damaged can of their store brand in blue.  Although the can was dented up, the lid was still sealed, so I got $30 off.  I am going to have to be a bargain hunter to finish this boat.  Price was $69.99 instead of $99.99

I also resourced how I was going to construct the electrical panel.  West Marine wants too much money for their electrical panels, and I can probably make up a custom panel myself that would look and be better.  So off to Fry's I went to buy parts.  First thing I wanted was a DC Volt meter and rocker LED switches.  I have quite a bit of spare parts from all the computers I have built in the past decade that I think I could also make use of.  We will see how it comes along.

I also met my wife for lunch (upon her invitation).  We went to our favourite little restaurant (Thai).  Then I had to take my daughter to the dentist.  Guess what....   she has her first cavity!
I was exhausted...  not enough stamina.

List of tings to do....

1. Clean Boat inside and out
2. Clean various found parts
3. Figure out where those parts go
4. Trip to DMV
5. Replace Bulkheads
6. Re-attach Hinges and pop-up supports
7. Replace Seacocks from gate-valve to ball-valve
8. Fill-in navigation holes between cockpit and cabin.  I will probably just have a depth sounder and a compass (maybe a Contest 140 see-thru bulkhead mount, if I can come up with the money)
9. Fabricate new steps going down into cabin, old one was stripped out
10. Strip out wiring, formulate ideas for new wiring plan
11. Repair teak (port side split) that hold in washboards
12. Mill new grab rails
13. Repair deck, mostly filling in bolt holes where stanchions and pulpits used to bolt through
14. Remove running rigging and stanchions/pulpits off  the Venture 24 to see what can be used on 'Isabel'
15. Replace the sole
16. Repair the wood holding the locker covers under the cusions
17. Epoxy/fill/fair deck
18. Paint deck
19. Paint topside
20. Epoxy bottom
21. Bottom paint
22. Paint bootstripe
23. Paint filigree design on upper topside
24. Take count of what I have in standing rigging
25. See about the sails

Arrival Home

Arriving home, my neighbor Mark came over to see the boat and help getting her into my backyard.  Mark (and his wife Christa) are the best neighbors I have ever had the pleasure knowing.  Since my kidneys failed, Mark has always been there to help, and when it came trying to get the boat in the backyard, it took both of them.  First, it had been raining for quite awhile and the ground was saturated.  Second, I was missing that wheel.  Third, it was a tight squeeze coming in from the back alley to where I wanted to put her.  She wasn't going in until we could find another wheel to share the load on the remaining wheel of that side.  We tried about 4 wheels off the other vehicles until we tried the spare from the Arrowstar that I have.  That pretty much drained me as I have no stamina without kidneys.  Mark then offered to back the trailer in for me.  It was just such a tight squeeze and after considerable attempts, I decided to take a post and section of the fence out.  More heavy work!  Finally, the boat was in the yard.  It wasn't exactly how I wanted to put her as I had an old project car in the way.  I have a Mercedes Benz 220  (the first year they came out with it) that has been sitting in the yard for the last 10 yrs.  A project I just never got around to do.  Actually, I hate working on cars, but this care was the same as one my dad owned when I was a kid, so I had nostalgic dreams of restoring it.  I sold this car months ago to a collector in San Francisco, but he hasn't come around to collecting it.  I think he is just using me for storage and soon I might have to relist it.  But there it sits, still blocking where I wanted to put the sailboat.
Photos after arriving home:

I have my work cut out for me!

I spent the next day taking stock of what I had.  Basically nothing, but I found the chainplates, backstay plates and various stainless steel screws and bolts.  I cleaned them in the kitchen sink, as well gave the whole boat a good cleaning. 

All the parts I found on the boat after cleaning

No, the fruit and bread were not in the boat!

The collection of various screws

All the bolts and screws sorted out.

Now to figure out where they go!

 I also lost my eyeglasses, as I had them hanging in my sweatshirt while wearing my sunglasses while cleaning the sailboat.  Then I went to take off my sweatshirt and forgetting that I had them hanging in the neckline.  Never found them....  Luckily, I have another pair I can use.

Going through the documents I was given with the boat, I called the previous owner before this last one.  He was very friendly and we had a good chat.  He had only sold the boat a couple of months ago and seemed genuinely dissappointed that the guy I bought it from had stripped it.  This fellow had owned the boat for about 6 years, but never sailed it as it had required a lot of work which he just wasn't able to find the time for.  He did mention that he had kept the sails and tiller from the boat, that he had promised to a friend up in Washington State, but wasn't sure if they were going to fit.  After checking the dimensions myself,  I think the foot of the mainsail is 12" too short.  But without bringing this up, and on a followup call, that previous owner has offered not to give them away if I can get the boat ready to a point of needing the sails.  I think he really does want to see the boat back in the water and has a genuine interest in her.  I would like to offer him the first sail.

The next thing I need to do is make a list of things I need to complete.  This should turn out to be a fairly long list!  But to start, I figured out that I had the parts that went to the pop-up.  They were pretty cruddy looking and the rubber base that finished off the bottom were both pretty far gone.  I went down to ACE and bought new rubber bases.  As long as I can take one step at a time, progress should always win in the end!

Here is a photo of the restored pop-up support next to the old:

Beginnings

I don't know how a man can be so obsessed with a boat as to actually feel it is alive, and so, must give it a name.  I am one of those men.  Simply, the name that stood out most was the name of my paternal Grandmother...  'Isabel'.
Sailing is in my blood.  I grew up with it while watching the classic movies of Errol Flynn, and 'Captain Couragous'.  I remember my dad had a wall hanging of an old square rigger that had thread used for the rigging.  I could invision in my mind that ship actually sailing on the high seas.  I went to college for Marine Biology, the highlight of my freshman year was learning to scuba dive.  Later, I changed my major to Art, proving the romantic in me.
When I was 30, I bought my first sailboat, a 30' strip-planked pinky cutter.  It leaked badly, needed lots of work, but to me looked beautiful with it's six round bronse portlights.  Actually when I think back on that boat, those portlights where the only thing good about it.  Living on board for the next couple of years, I decided I wanted to learn everything I could about fixing boats.  I quit my job working at a large cabinet shop and went to work in a shipyard.  I learned the valuable lessons that there are good people associated with sailing, and there are the bad people.  The biggest con man I ever met was the one from whom I bought that sailboat.
My next sailboat was a 1970 25' Choey Lee that I bought in Guam.  I spent quite a few months de-blistering the hull.  Blisters are infamous in the tropics as I soon learned, and old Choey Lee's are infamous for blisters.
After moving back to the states and getting married, I was 2 hours away from the ocean and knew my wife would never  want to move closer to the ocean, or even live on a sailboat.  So I gave up on that lifestyle, and I gave up on sailing.
Now, 11 years later, at the age of 51, I have had some major health issues and have had a lot of time to think. 
With all my experience of boats, living at a marina, shipyards, etc.  It never occured to me to purchase a trailer sailboat.  Now it makes perfect sense,  I just never thought about it.  So I began looking on Craigslist.
There are a few good fixer-uppers to be found on Craigslist and Ebay.  But when it comes to finding just the right boat with perfect lines, they are just few and far between.  I knew I wanted a boat that I could be proud of.  One that had the lines which would motivate me to work on her.  My first choice would be a cutaway full keel.  But I wondered how hard that would be to constantly trailer around, and just how heavy of a trailer would I need to haul it?  How heavy of a vehicle would I need to pull it?  I started accepting the thought that I might need to look smaller.  A shoal draft with a swing keel would probably be more suitable, given the area in which I would probably be sailing the most, the Sacramento Delta, possibly San Francisco Bay.
Looking for both sailboats and trailers on Craigslist,  I found an ad for a duel-axle trailer.  I probably would have glossed it over as the price was more than I could afford, (Actually, I had no money), but I caught in the description that there was a boat on the trailer that was going to be "disposed of".  That peeked my curiosity.  The picture in the ad showed the partial bottom of the boat and I could tell that it was a sailboat, and so I emailed to enquire about it. 

Photo that appeared on the Craigslist ad

The fellow told me that the boat indeed was a sailboat, a Santana 26.  I then scoured the internet for Santana 26 and found next to nothing on them.  It seems not many were made before Santana went to the 27' as a replacement model.  Make a long story short, I was hooked and wanted the boat. 
This guy evidently bought the boat and trailer just a few months ago.  After stripping the boat of the winches, bow and stern pulpits and anything else of value he then put the trailer up for sale, intending to haul the boat off  "to be disposed of".
I have very good feelings inside myself for the "rescue".  This boat was one of the sorriest looking boats I had ever seen upon first looking at it.  It was squeezed up under a large tree with the branches going right down into the cabin from the hatchway.  But I liked the lines on it right away.  I climbed up on board to try and get an idea of how sound the hull and deck were, knowing that it was about to be thrown away.  Feeling like my daughter does when she sees a lonesome puppy, I knew I wanted to take this boat home and give it the TLC I thought she deserved, but still, I did not have the money to buy the trailer and save the sailboat.  The owner decided to give me a week to come up with it.  So I went home and tried to figure out how to pay for it. 

Here are photos of when I first saw her. I just noticed the camera date is set incorrectly. Instead of 10/18/2009, it should read  4/14/2010.

The Bow

The Trailer

The Doghouse and Foredeck

The Hatchway

The Cockpit

The Galley

I had a utility trailer that was only 3 years old and figured that would make up a good chunk of change if I could sell it.   Also, I had a cyclocross bike that could probably make up the balance.  I didn't really need the trailer anymore, and I have not been able to ride the bike since I got sick.  So up on craigslist they went.  I should have asked more for them because the sold right away.  I am not a businessman,  I just wanted fast sales so I could get my sailboat.  It had been 12 years since I owned one, and those were my happiest days just working on the sailboats and dreaming of circumnavigations.

My trailer I had to sell

My CycloCross Bike I had to sell

I paid the man the money he asked, and then found out the titles were not even in his name.  Now I would have to worry about DMV hassles.  The surge breaks did not work.  The lighting did not work, so I had to bring a spare set of lights with harness.  We arranged for me to meet him at noon the next day and he would have the trailer ready for me to pick up.  Well, he wasn't ready.  Two tires were leaking air, but he said there would be enough air to last until I got home.  That was sort of true.  Actually, I only made it home with 3 of the 4 wheels that I started with.   Seems as though the drivers side front wheel just dissappeared on the way home.  I don't think it even had the lugg nuts on to begin with as there was no damage to the studs.  There just wasn't a wheel.  I think I was pretty dumb not to have checked first before I left.  One just assumes that the wheels are bolted on correctly.  I might have been just too excited to get her home, still, as angry as I was about him not bolting down the wheel, ultimely, it was my responsibility to have been sure I was towing a safe rig.   I am just thankful there was not an accident along the highway.