You've,
undoubtedly, heard it numerous times before and probably exclaimed
yourself: "moving sux!" Glamorous as it may seem, moving aboard a
yacht is no less grueling than moving on land. Thanks to several
local friends the ordeal was less back-breaking than expected, but
nonetheless tiresome. There were over 140 boxes, staged in my
shipping container and beachside apartment, plus the 4 wardrobes and
countless odds & ends that required transportation. Unpacking
and arranging the plethora of "necessities" took three weeks
alone. I've utilized the guest stateroom and machinery room as
staging areas to reduce clutter. Thank God there is a
cardboard-only dumpster nearby because I deposited several rain forests
worth in the past weeks :)
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| The old CD
racks, from the apartment, are very handy in the interim but the
particle board beneath the "veneer" is already swelling from the
humidity. I installed the computers at the helm immediately after
un-packing the bar. The "study" area in the starboard hull houses
my printer, scanner and computer support stuff to keep the helm area
uncluttered. The guitar has no permanent home, yet, so it
occupies the forward starboard corner of the pilothouse. This
view was snapped ascending the guest stairway. Orange sleeping
bags, which serve as temporary "cushions" for the settee until the
upholstery is completed, are visible thru the aft settee armrest
cut-out. |
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| The bar was
set-up first, naturally, and has been enjoyed by all. Notice the
nice "skylight view" through the aft pilothouse windows. The roof
overhang is minimal above these fixed 3/8" windows to enhance
inspection of sail trim while underway. Since I'm docked facing
East, the sunsets cast enchanting shadows through these windows most
evenings as well. Certain chores are best performed when ambient
lighting enhances the task, hence I perform under-helm wiring tasks
pre-sunset when illumination is bountiful. Organizing the
staterooms' is easy immediately after dawn since the portholes face
east. |
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The galley counter was mocked-up using a 2" thick Birchwood
solid-core door and I'm glad that the computer-modeled configuration is
not, yet, cut from Nida-Core. The sink needs to be moved 2.25
inches starboard (to the left in this view) to accommodate my French
Press and other larger galley stuff. Prototyping is good!
The espresso bar appliances fit perfectly and the copious storage space
engulfed ALL of the the galley ware with room-to-spare. Having a
large "sacrificial" work-surface to cut patterns, vinyl and
carpet
upon, without guilt, has been wonderful :)
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Time flies when you're having fun and, suddenly, it was
Easter weekend. My little sister, Sherry, and her family arrived
at SEDATION 4 around
noon. We spent a delightful day at the beach, dined at the Cocoa
Beach Pier and, of course, shopped at Ron
Jon. After weeks (months?) of non-stop yachtbuilding
activity, taking a day-off was a welcome change of pace.
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Sherry called from Orlando early that evening to warn of
severe thunderstorm which were pummeling them just 45 minutes west of
me. By 9:45 a fierce storm, with sustained 35 knot winds, was
flooding the aft deck and some water was migrating under the door and
into the bar area. A few swipes with the floor squeegee
controlled the potential flood and prompted me to increase the deck
drain's capacity (6x) early the next morning. The
thunderstorm subsided after midnight followed by a day of rain
which was conducive to unpacking chores.
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Things had dried-out by Tuesday afternoon so I hauled more
empty boxes away and brought more stuff back from the container.
This routine could have continued for weeks but my friend
Darren was due to arrive on Wednesday afternoon, so I stopped to
re-stock the bar and pack for our road trip to the Dania Marine Flea
Market. We departed before dawn on Thursday and arrived in Dania
shortly after the gates opened. WOW! What a unique
conglomeration of boat stuff for sale! It took several hours just
to breeze-through the first time. We scored all kinds of parts,
accessories and thingamajigs at ridiculous savings.
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The afternoon was spent shopping for marine headliner, vinyl
wall-coverings and fabrics throughout Fort Lauderdale. This is
THE place to shop for yacht interior stuff! After a delightful
evening with friends in Dania, we returned to the flea market and
picked-up bolts of marine fabrics plus more rope and assorted
goodies. The rental SUV was filled to capacity so we headed north
to drop-off our bounty at SEDATION
4, then drove to Orlando to pick-up our buddy, Scott.
Memories of that weekend are kinda fuzzy since we patronized some of
Cocoa Beach's nicer bars and restaurants vigorously, but our
mini-reunion was enjoyed by all. Here is a sunset snapshot
as we were heading to "the Pier" for happy hour. Two days, and
many aspirin, later we drove to Orlando International Airport and flew
back to Dallas early Monday morning. I spent several days "taking
care of business" then returned to Florida on Thursday. It was
great to sleep aboard once again!
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OMG! I just realized that this site is becoming a BLOG
(Boating LOG) and that it's been over a month since I posted an
update. I have not worn a watch since launch day (they cause tan
lines) and just enjoy each day one-at-a-time. SEDATION 4 is still moored
behind the boatbuilder's facility, nestled amongst the mangroves in a
quaint little lagoon. Abundant wildlife and perfect weather are
the norm. Since I insist on personally performing EVERY wiring,
plumbing and installation task (there's no better way to be familiar
with ship's systems and assure quality) and am meticulous in their
execution, apparent progress is relatively slow. Who
cares?? I live by the profound adage: "If you don't have time to
do it right, when will you find time to do it over?"
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Gotta run now ... it's 3:13 am and I only have a few more
hours to play with LED illumination schemes before sunrise. I
will try to shoot more pix and post 'em soon, but living on "Florida
Time" is addictive so schedules are practically non-existant.
Memorial Day weekend is approaching, with a plethora of activities and
distractions, so I want to complete several hundred important projects
before moving to the new mooring on the Banana River. So much to
do and so little time ... the stress is just awful ;)
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