The Great Wander

Last time I wrote, I shared with you the rotten bulkhead.  Some Lagoons are known for bulkhead issues, but I’ve never heard that the 410 had bulkhead issues.  Having said that, once we got into it, it was clear that the issue was going on for some time and it’s a hard one to diagnose without ripping panels apart…something that I don’t know that you typically do in a survey.

We’ve got that issue fixed.  We now have doors up again.  Which is really nice, because North Florida does get chilly, at least at night, when you have no heat. Putting the section of the bulkhead was challenging, but we did get it done and I think we did a good job…the other nice thing about it is that our to do list is back on the door with dry erase marker!  

The electrical work is still ongoing.  We have found someone who is transparent about their schedule and pricing.  They also have given us some real hope that we will be on our way soon.  Since they can’t be here every day, they have also given us some homework as well, and guidance on how to get it done.  We are now in the process of mapping the wire for each light, switch, fan, etc. on board.  Running some wires to different places on the boat is also on the agenda.  

There are a lot of things that you have to think about on a boat that you don’t have to think about in your house with wires.  The biggest is related to movement.  When you are at sea, the boat is always moving.  Not just forward, but up and down, side to side, forward and back.  This means that anything not secured is going to move as well.  Even electrical wires.  

What does that mean for the work we have to do?  Two things.  One is every place that it comes into contact with metal or wood, it needs to have some rubber protective bushings.  You need to minimize chaffing.  You have some of this in a house, but it takes on a new meaning in the marine environment.  Two, splicing is a bit different.  You need to heat shrink everything to minimize the flexing of the wire, and also to keep delay corrosion.

We’ve also started a few other projects too.  Like our fridge door.  The door has been rubbing on the bottom of the fridge for sometime, so we’ve moved the hinges to raise the door and that means adjusting latches as well.  Now’s a good time to do it, because well, it’s not running anyway.  

When I started this, I meant it to be a travel blog.  To share with you all of the exciting places in the world that a sailboat can take you.  But, each time I sit down to write, we haven’t left our dock.  We’ve only done boat repairs.  But it hasn’t been a travel blog.  

I am starting to believe again that maybe I can turn this into a travel blog again.  And not just an intermittent boat repair journal.  I’ve had several people tell me that I should turn what we’ve done into a book.  But this start of this leg of our life has been rocky for sure.  Between the three of us, we’ve cycled through some stages of grief being stuck here.  Fortunately, we aren’t all three at a low point on the same day.  

Like I said, we are starting to see some hope again.  I think there’s a light at the end of tunnel.  And while it might not be as soon as we’d like, it’s still closer than it has been.