We Have A New Cushion!

Yes, Mike is still working on refurbishing the teak decks (and he is nearly done), and, he mounted the Tack Tick displays on the helm guard (shown here).  But because he's trying to keep the interior clean, Jenny has the chance to make some new cushions.

Tack Tick displays

We decided on the Sunbrella Dupione family.  Sunbrella is waterproof and breathes, so if a cushion gets damp, it will dry out and not mildew (provided that the air's humidity factor will allow it to dry).  After watching all the necessary videos (and then some) on Sailrite's web page (sailrite.com), she was ready to take on the project.

While we were in the Sassafras River, we measured the size for cushions around the dinette.  We decided to start with the three that were the seats next to the table.  The old cushions were well worn and soft so that we felt like little kids at the table.  The cushion behind the dinette and the insert cushion will be tackled later.  (The current ones are in decent shape.)  Armed with the measurements (from a tutorial online), we proceeded to order 4" Lux Foam HQ cushions wrapped with dacron from The Foam Factory (foambymail.com).  It arrived fairly quickly and came packaged very small.  Then it expanded:

Foam arrives!

Supplies

 

The fabric was ordered too, along with foam piping, and zippers.  (You can see all the supplies above.)  Once that arrived, the project was underway.  Making the piping was not too difficult.  A 1 1/4" piece of fabric is cut and sewn around the foam piping.  Because we have an LSZ-1 Sailrite sewing machine, the pressure foot has a cut-out for the piping along the left side, so it made it fairly easy to make the piping.  Many pieces had to be pieced together, but the video showed the easiest way to do that to avoid creating too much bulk at the seam. 

Piping strips cut

Piping finished

Then the piping is sewn to the front and back panels of the cushion.  When sewing the corners, the piping needed to be snipped in order to lay smoothly around the corner.  Tacking it in place we took the video's advice and used our hand stapler, taking care to remove the staples after the seam was sewn.

Sewing piping to panel

Piping sewn to panel

Making the zipper boxing came next.  This part was a little scary, having never used a continuous zipper before (but having installed zippers in my younger sewing days).  But it turned out to be easy.  The trick was remembering to open the zipper before sewing the last panel to the boxing, and closing the cushion.  Otherwise you had an inside-out cushion cover and no way to put it on.  On this first cushion, I remembered.

Sewing the zipper

Opening the zipper

Attaching the boxing

Cushion cover sewn (inside out)

So there you have it ... a finished cushion.  And, it looks almost professional!  Just one down and two to go (before ordering more fabric for the settee, the aft bunk, the salon bunk, and the remaining dinette cushions).  We will be experts at cushion-making before this is all over!

Finished cushion

Watermaker Panel

Yes, the watermaker panel arrived and Mike put it together and installed it in the galley.  Some of the lines have been run, but not all.  So it is not ready to be tested.  The panel allows us to monitor and control the water production (using the Kubota or "Frankengen" engine and reverse osmosis).  Reverse osmosis involves drawing in salt water from the ocean and running it through a filter to get rid of large particles.  Then it uses high pressure to force it through a molecular sieve to separate the salt water (the total dissolved solids) and produce drinking water ("RO" water).  There are many commercially available watermaker systems on the market, but Mike preferred to make his own.  This way he understands exactly how it was put together and where he can get parts.

On the back side of the panel, you can see the pressure gauge connections on the lower right (with an upside down "U"), the turquoise color hose on the lower left is for the brine flow meter connection (the salt water coming in to the watermaker), the blue and red wire connectors are for the TDS (total dissolved solids) monitor, which lets us know when the water is pure enough to drink and can start filling our tanks.  The white tube is product water (drinking water) from the flow meter and runs to the selection valve for choosing whether to dump overboard or to fill the tanks (once the TDS is low enough). 

Back of watermaker panel

This is the panel from the front, installed in the galley on the bulkhead that backs to the engine room.  The tube on the left is the product flowmeter and the one on the right is the brine flowmeter.  It tells how many gallons per minute are being pushed through the system.  The rectangular meter at the top is the TDS meter.  The red toggle switch turns the pump clutch on and allows us to flush fresh water through the system when we're done making water (cleansing for the next use).  There is a small meter in the center that tells us how many hours the pump has been used. 

The round gauge at the lower left is to measure membrane pressure.  The knob on the lower right is to regulate the membrane pressure.  And between those two is the test/tank selector valve for directing the output (overboard or to the tanks), as mentioned earlier.

Front of watermaker panel

Does this all make sense? 

We also have done smaller projects such as making a "look bucket", a cover for the outboard, and deciding on fabric and ordering foam and fabric for the three cushions around the table/dinette.  Once these turn out successfully (*cough*), we'll order foam and fabric for other areas where it is needed.  The foam was ordered from The Foam Factory in Michigan.  What's nice about this place is if you order it with the dacron wrap, they will even wrap it and staple it for you, so it is ready to go. 

And of course, the never-ending deck refurbishment project continues.  But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Most of the decking has been refurbished from the stern forward.  We are just finishing the starboard side up to the point where the boards we have left all are caulked (touching) to the king board on the foredeck.  This last big part of the project will require removing the anchor windlass and toe button.  When we decide to do that project, you will see more decking pictures.

Maiden/Shakedown Cruise

Yes!  We finally took Abake out of the slip.  And she loved it!  It goes without saying that we did, too.  We tried leaving on Sunday, but had too many things to take care of, so we left Monday afternoon (July 29).  We had decided to go North in the Chesapeake and explore the Sassafras River, but the forecasts were for wind out of the North.  So we thought we'd still try, because heading South meant a long trip or heading over into Eastern Bay, which we've explored with Namida.  Since we were getting away late in the day, we decided to stop somewhere along the way on Monday night. 

Once we got out and moving (motoring), we thought about Rock Hall, but we've been there, so we anchored in Whitehall Bay instead.  It was a quiet little Bay and only one other boat was anchored there (on a Monday night).  They eventually left and a work boat came in after dark and anchored.  Otherwise we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  We could see the lights and the traffic on the Bay Bridge through a little spit of land (Hackett Point and Goose Pond).  It was peaceful and quiet.

Tuesday morning we headed up to the Sassafras River, again motoring.  Winds were 5-10 and directly out of the North.  Waves were ... well ... let's just say it was a power boating day.  So we had a smooth ride up to the River.  We slowed near Betterton and scoped out the beach and the docks.  Then we decided to head up to Turner Creek and anchored near the entrance.  Again, only one other boat was anchored, and we had a beautiful view of the neighboring cliffs and both directions on the river.  The Sassafras River is fresh water and thus had no sea nettles (jellyfish).  It is bordered on the North by Cecil County (MD) and on the South by Kent County (MD).

We spent the next couple of days anchored there, exploring, by dinghy, Turner Creek and Back Creek.  We also dinghied up toward Georgetown, saw all the marinas and buildings and turned around before we got too close.  We walked around Turner Creek park and learned that it is "dominated by the regionally endangered American lotus, whose 8" flowers are the largest in North America".  http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=64294

Turner Creek landing

Lily pads at Turner Creek park

View of lily pads

We enjoyed our solitude (the other boat had departed, but another had anchored on the other side of the entrance to Turner Creek) and were entertained by activity at one house on the cliff where they were removing a tree and the stump at the edge of the cliff.  (What's wrong with this picture?  Hint:  zoom in to see no climbing gear or safety lines.)

Our view at anchor

Stump removal show -- reality tv

Abake at anchor

The next day we were entertained by their neighbors bailing out their small power cat.  We watched it list farther and farther to port and finally someone on land noticed it and started bailing.  It was reality tv at its best!  We also enjoyed some home cooked meals:  stir fry (with all leftover veggies from our home fridge!) and our first pizza in the new oven:

Stir fry

Homemade pizza

We're not the only ones lazing ...

 

Our trip back to Galesville was quite a bit more fun.  You may not have guessed, but by this time a front had come through during the week and the winds had clocked around 180 degrees.  So, now they're coming out of the South -- again on the nose.  But, the winds were blowing 10-15, so we unanimously agreed to raise the sails and just sail back and forth across the Bay for most of the day.  She handles beautifully, although she doesn't point into the wind very well.  We were able to sail about 45 degrees to the wind and sometimes push it to 40.  This meant tacking, but above the Bay Bridge it is pretty wide, so we could stay on one tack for a while.  We found that the sails are pretty stretched and that we definitely need to tighten the leech line on both.  But they are in good condition.  We also need some ties in the mainsail for reefing, along with a reefing line.  And, Mike said the genoa luff looks to be a little too long, so we'll have to take a look at that, too.  But this is what the shakedown cruise is for!  We wouldn't want to have to deal with this stuff at anchor somewhere or at a marina other than ours for now.

Under sail, as she should be!

So we're quite pleased and fairly comfortable on board.  We are in the process of finishing the watermaker installation, ordering foam and fabric for new dinette cushions, have already ordered and picked up a lifting sling for bringing the dinghy on board when necessary, and are working on other little odds and ends that need to be completed.  Time is ticking and we are trying to keep up with it.