The upholstery work has begun.

Finally putting that sailrite machine to good use.
First was cutting out the top and boxing(sides).

Then making the piping cover.

I had seen a YouTube video where the gal had seen the cover on the piping at the same time she had seen the top to the piping. Looked easy enough.

It was.
Then see boxing on.

Not horrible hard to do.
It appears I forgot to take a picture of the zipper going in the bottom.

So there it is. First piece is in the v-berth. Turns out the supersoft does not push the cover as tight as one would wish. But it will be very comfy to sleep on. I start on the other v-berth cushion tomorrow. Then on to the settee. Then I have two cabinets and a comfy chair to build and upholster.
A table to build and whatever seat goes on the other side of the table.

Picked up the solid brass knobs for all the drawers and doors.

They are solid brass.
The wood is staying in the v-berth. As I get time, the bulkheads (walls) in the salon will get 1/4 inch foam under a white vinyl. Complete with covered buttons to match. It will insulate and brighten.
  It took a while to figure out exactly how I wanted to do it. But now it is work time. I am good at this part. It will not look like anyone elses boat.

I hope to be doing the dodger and Bimini very soon. The sailbags are not in bad shape. Will give them new zippers and straighten them up for now. I just will not have the time to do it all. I am heading to the Chesapeake bay as soon as I am laid off next July.

The first hatch is finished. Just needs a little final cleanup when the glue has cured.

I start on the other hatch in the morning. My Christmas Eve project.

That will take care of the leaks. I have no other plans for Christmas, so I am going to spend the day doing upholstery. If I get an early start, I may get the v-berth cushions done in a day.

It has accurred to me that I have spent the lion's share of my holidays(adult holidays) alone. I never seem to have that group of people around me. You know, the ones you can enjoy a nice time with!

I do not seem to be able to change that. I have friends who are important to me, but usually they are far away. It is perplexing.

But enough senseless drivel.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I had a port window and the forward hatch both spring a leak in the last rain. Investigation showed a very rusty screw causing the leak in port window. I guess once it rusted enough, there was no longer a seal with the bedding compound. Not sure how one screw was not stainless like the others.

But I fixed it today.
  The hatch was next.

It required pulling the "glass" out of the frame, cleaning it up and rebedding it. Well... It is more of a two step process. It gets a bead of bedding compound. Then glass is laid in and centered.

 Once cured, it gets the last bead around the edge of the glass.

Not really a big deal. I temporarily patched both hatches at about the same time. I suspect the salon hatch will spring a leak soon. I will do it. Tomorrow.

While I have them out.

I am installing both of the solar powered vents. This will take care of any mold from moisture build up while I am gone this winter.

I am very close to starting the upholstery. I am doing the v-berth first. I will be sleeping in there from now on.
The settee/couch conversion was not a success. The couch cannot be made comfortable enough. It is too tall because of the water tank under it.

So the other side is getting two chairs and a table. A booth will not be comfortable to sit in.

I have a plan. Considering captain seats recovered to match. Or..Just comfortable car seats. They are comfortable for sitting! Right?

I am redoing the floor. That will be a surprise. There are also a couple other small changes. I have hired a local guy to put in the second bank of batteries. The engine gauges. (Fuel,tach,heat, alternator) he will be working on those things while I am out in the truck this season.

I am going to have a couple other things done by a friend in Baltimore this summer. I am now choosing my battles. I bought Mary Lee to enjoy. Not spend every minute working on her.
I will still add an electric windlass, autopilot and a cooling unit for icebox. Not buying ice anymore. Solar panels wrap up the list. She will be ready to anchor out in Marathon next winter.

Day 20 of Ketogenic diet ended well. I said I was not going to weigh myself until I was happy with the final results. I lied!! :-)
  I weighed 240 pounds when I started. At the end of day 20, I had lost 20 pounds!!! I weighed 220.

  Still not going hungry. Still no cravings. The weather has left me laid up a lot with back pain. So no exercise, other than the bit of boat work I have been doing.

  At this point, I am very happy with the way I am eating. If back pain does not count, I feel great!! This has completely ceased to be a diet. It is a lifestyle change that I am embracing.

So I mentioned a little boat work. Did not get a lot done. Had two small hanging lockers forward of the salon. They now have shelves. Still have to make up the black mesh on bungees for the openings. It will give ventilation and easy access while keeping stuff in.
 The shelves will be wrapped with a fabric very similar to what car speaker boxes are.

I am getting as far as I can by roughing it in. I can easily beautify with the finishing touches later.

Have you ever seen the movie "White Squall? Good movie. Based on true story. I watch it often. The book has been difficult to come up with at a reasonable price. Finally found it.

Short book. Will be reading it today. My back was spasming a lot last night. Today is a day of rest. Right now, the dvd "All is Lost" , is playing.

Not a talking movie, but interesting.
  Likely to finish the day off with

Captain Ron.
  I have decided, finally, that I am going to pay to have some of the boat work done. I need to get a second battery bank glassed in. Two batteries is not enough for anchoring out. I will have someone replace all the gauges.
  There are a few other things also. I will have it done while I am out driving. I have enough to do. It is time to farm out some of the work.

Because I am pulling out at the end of July.

My ph test strips came in the mail. I tested my urine and saliva several times while researching what could be done. My ph level was 5.75 averaged from about 7 tests. 7.35 is near normal. With 0 being most acidic and 14 being most alkaline.

I researched everything I could get my hands on. I started four days ago. I will not recommend what I took. It is not something I want to get involved in. Suffice it to say. There is very much written online about it.

So...end of day four. I had a normal reading. Now I need to monitor it until it stabilizes with my eating regimen. At this point, I want my diet to do the job.

Was it necessary to take this into my own hands? Well. I had more than one blood test. "All is well" is what I was hearing. I knew something was wrong.
  For quite some time I have steadily improved since that last doctor visit. I stumbled into the pH balance by accident. When I started seeing the same symptoms listed over and over on different sites, I began to think I found the culprit. Time will tell, but I am already sleeping better.

I start going to the gym tomorrow. I wanted to get squared away with a few things first.

December is here. Hurray???

The work on Mary Lee continues. The couch/bed is basically done. a little more adjusting. A different kind of wood. Then upholstery time. But done enough for now.

I have started taking out the ruined water tank on the starboard side.

Not the most fun. Not wanting fiberglass everywhere, I decided to draw a line. Drill holes along said line. Then bust out piece of fiberglass. Insulation is then scraped out with a chisel. It seems to be working well, without a mess.

Diet is going well. My body is liking the way I am eating.

I suspected my PH was off. A lot of the symptoms, of a body being too acidic, matched what I have been going through. I finally ordered some PH test strips.

I have tested urine and saliva several times. I am very acidic. Even if the strips were off by a bit, I would still be very acidic. It is easy enough to google this and read about it, so I will say no more than to state...I am taking steps to get my body back to a balanced PH.

Hopefully, I will soon be sewing upholstery for Mary Lee.

Perhaps a bit more hopefully, I will have this acidic problem solved. It has my full attention!!! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I tried butter coffee this morning(YouTube). I have used cream in my coffee for years.

I may just start drinking butter coffee regularly. It is yummy!

People who know me, know that I have a penchant for water fasting. I first did this a good many years ago. I have gone over 20 days several times. My longest was 26. The energy levels really go up once your body is in a state of ketosis. Plus the radical weight loss.

So why do I still have weight to lose? Because my back hurts all the time(I just spent 4 days on my back because I hurt so bad it was difficult to take a breath). I end up snacking to take my mind off the pain.

I was told that once I am sailing all the time, the weight will drop off. Great!!! I have been trying to get to a point where I can do that.

I was doing smoothies. I like them. I have now switched over to a ketogenic diet. Very low carbs, high fat and some protein.

You can go to YouTube and see a lot of videos on this. Still doing smoothies. But now have cut out all sugars and almost all carbs.

Yesterday's smoothie. Kale, broccoli, romaine lettuce, fresh green beans, half a tomato and coconut milk. It actually was not bad. Had my can of salmon with it. My breakfast was bacon, fried in butter, and eggs fried in coconut oil. Was satiated all day. Late last night I had a piece of mozzarella cheese.

I have test strips coming so I can check if I am alkaline or acidic. Also strips for checking to see if I am in ketosis, so I can modify diet if needed. As I get further into this, I will be adding more vegetables. It is an experiment with my body. I am looking for a sustaining way of eating that works for me. So...not really a diet. It is a lifestyle change.

This past week has been spent getting a bunch of running around done. I have met more people heading south on their boats.

I have to be honest here. I have dreamed of getting to the place I am right now. I am physically recovered enough to give it a whirl. I have a bunch of work to do between now and the end of July. But I am getting that itch to get moving.

The hard part of this is realizing that when I bought Mary Lee, it was a desperate stab at getting away from laying in a bed waiting to die. That is how it felt. I really had no business buying a boat :-)

It has been 5 years of very difficult struggles. I am not as recovered as I hope to be. I am seriously still working at losing extra weight. Hopefully this season with Showstopper sees me thinner and stronger at the end. No matter. I am heading up to the Chesapeake bay whether everything is done or not.

I just need an electric windlass, autopilot and a better bank of batteries. I can do things as I go. But go I will

It is all I can do to contain myself. Apparently I am really feeling better.

The smoothy recipe I am sticking with for now. One each: orange, apple, carrot, banana. A small amount of blueberries, raspberries, grapes. Broccoli, spinach. Powdered greens, powdered beet. A few walnuts. A tablespoon of natural peanut butter. A drizzle of black strap molasses. A dribble of avocado oil(Dr. Oz said using a little on salads allows us to get four times the nutrients out of it. There are a few liquid vitamins and minerals that go in it. A bit of water because otherwise it is pretty thick.

It is ugly to look at, but tastes fine.

I have been debating on what to do for cooking. I have propane. No oven. The gimballed stove was removed by a previous owner. I have two gas burners. I bought a Nu-wave burner to try after listening to Steve and Linda (Yesterday's Dream)  talk about the ones they installed.

 I really like cooking on it. It would require a generator when away from shore. Not sure I will have the room. Whatever I decide. I am going to be getting excited to get out of here in July.

I have been struggling to come up with the best way to do the backrest for settee. I have come up with a working plan. I have scoured pictures of other boats. Spent lots of time thinking about it. Each idea, though plausible, has had a problem I do not like. I have a plan.

This is the size bed ended up. Roughly full size. Queen length. I spent some time getting rid of that wide shelf that the old back rest fastened to. New mattress will be 9 inches thick. Shelf had to go.

You can see hand rail is loose and setting where it will be.

Looking closely. You can see where old shelf was. Just above pillow.
     I was held up by old van crapping out. Still needed a van for hauling tools and materials back and forth.

.

Van acquired. Back to work.
Something different. The black plastic on key fob is old. Hole for holding ring was iffy. I figured it would be better to fix it before it broke. I made a new steel loop for fob. Heated up my wood burner. Took some other black plastic that was as hard as the fob. And melted/welded loop on. Fixed. It will outlast the rest of the fob.

 The red monkey fist is one I made. Yes, I am reading up on things I will need to know for traveling.

I have a bit of building

To do. Then the epoxy. Yes. I have to fiberglass my additions in. They must not come loose. 

Once the building is done, it is looking like a one person wood staining party. Then sewing begins in earnest. I need upholstery and canvas (dodger, Bimini, sail covers, etc) done before I go back driving. I just want to be squaring away electronics between February and the end of July.

Day three of move to Southport was a challenge. I got a late start. The last two hours of the trip were in the dark.. I found out that a lot of channel markers are not lit up at night. I realized that when the first one went by the boat so close I could have spit on it.
  Coupled with the fact that I had never been to the marina I was looking for and a five year old chip in the gps that did not show the marina. Interesting. I could not see the boats. Just a lot up opening. Figured I would pull in and ask for directions. It was my marina. I really never spent much time looking. I knew it was in the area. I went by a little ways and came back. I knew of an Anchorage if I had any difficulty.

So the boat work starts. Tonight I am sleeping on a partially done bunk/couch

The back rest is next. I finally came up with an idea that will work.  Then I will do the booth. I will start doing upholstery when all the building is done. The booth will go quickly.I should be done by the end of next week and be sewing.

Day two of move north went beautifully.

Saw only about ten boats in 8 hours. Like having the road to yourself

The engine I rebuilt in Baltimore runs like a Timex. A gallon per hour, wide open.
  Had a little rain earlier. Glad I had pith helmet :-)

Made it to barefoot marina for the night. North Myrtle Beach, SC. I should be in Southport after about a 7 hour run tomorrow. Cannot wait to get that booth put in. The upholstery and canvas also. Next July, I am going somewhere.

Day one of moving Mary Lee from McClellanville SC. to Southport NC. was a nice ride. Only about 8 southbound boats passed me. I am only one going north.

I lost my straw pith hat. Picture was accidental. I had lens on phone switched somehow.
  A little bummed about hat. It was hard to find. So tomorrow I go back to wearing my standard issue pith helmet :-)

I have been fighting this insane fatigue issue for several years now. I sweat very heavily when out in the heat. I am from North Idaho, it is not so hot and humid there. I suspected I had been blaming it, partially, on recovering from my back injury. Certainly being laid up for as long as I was can make you weak. I just kept forcing myself to keep moving and it steadily got worse. Even though I was getting things done, it was taking the fun out of doing things(that and everything was taking longer than it should).
  I suspected I was sweating out a lot of minerals/electrolytes, and even took supplements off and on. Apparently not "on" enough. I stumbled across an article that explained why it takes 6 months to eliminate a magnesium deficiency. I also was looking into how much/long you can take supplements before it is toxic. I have changed my program. It is working.
I started something else.

Raw food shakes until the belly is flat again. I actually think I like this. I have been studying nutrition for quite some time. I was actually doing quite well with my eating and exercise before I got hurt. For a long time it was just survival mode. Now it is time to pick up the pieces and resume my life.

Installed one of the cat doors for Mary Beth. Bailey gave it a good study.

She ordered the other cat doors. Those will go in shortly.

Best of all.

The rest of the cushion arrived for my couch/settee. 3inches of super soft foam to top the mattress/seating part. 11 inch thick super soft foam for the back cushions.. Might sound a little thick on the back rest. But when the rest of this goes together in the next week, it will make sense. Should be extremely comfy.

I have been busy. Moving storage unit stuff to Southport, NC. Two last loads. Table saw, router table and the planer should make one load. Several sheets of marine ply and a few sheets of other wood will make the last. My mountain bike can go in with the plywood.

In the meantime. I have been working on a few other projects.

New 8 foot florescent light to replace the 4 footers. I brought in the drill press, a couple different bench Sanders and the big band saw.

 Also what other tools I thought I would need immediately. I am pleased to have the compressor set up. I really enjoy spraying finishes.

I will finish this chairs new cushion in the morning. Install a kitty door for Mary Beth in her house and then the boat upholstery starts.

I must admit to being anxious to get going on the upholstery.

I was thinking back to just over 3 years ago when I built the dinghy in this same garage.

 Just off the pain pills. Could not lift much at all. I am so very much stronger now. I have come a very long ways.

So if you have been following along and have been wondering why it is taking so long? It takes longer to recover from a back injury than you might think. Those who have a back injury will corroborate this fact. But like I said, I am doing things that were not possible 3 years ago. My diligence is paying off. I feel very good about my progress.