Hurricane Mathew came and went. Not much in the way of damage here in Southport NC. The boat did fine. It was in McClellanville SC. That is right about where the storm made landfall. I saw some trees down, but there was no storm surge at the marina that I could see.

Not positive, but this boat was having serious pump out issues before the storm. It is a houseboat. I told them to wait until low tide and chop the top off. They would never see it again :-)
Have been getting all my storage unit moved up to Southport. Then will be setting up the garage I will be renting to do upholstery. I am going to get as far along as I can with upgrades in boat and upholstery. Still waiting on a slip for the boat.

Have been contemplating a big trip on boat. Once showstopper lays off in July. The boat will have all upgrades done. I have been researching what it takes to get through the Panama canal. I think I want to make the trip to Alaska. Well. Seattle first. Boat may have to be wintered and then the inlets of Alaska done as early as possible in the spring.

That will be the trip of a lifetime. I have been wanting to make that trip since buying the boat. If remaining working with showstopper, the next trip will be Polynesian Islands. Easter Island will be on that list. I am still struggling with my back some. I am going to be getting serious about dumping about 30 pounds. I get pretty skinny at around 200-210 pounds but I think I need to seriously do it.

Will be putting up pictures of upholstery projects soon.

So here I am. Basically moved to Southport NC.
Old relationships all wrapped up, just me again. The truth is, we just grew apart because we had no common interest.

So what is next? Waiting out hurricane Mathew. Then moving Mary Lee up to Southport. I could just go jump in a truck. Certainly can make a decent living doing that, but this time I am going to try what everyone keeps telling me. A repair business. I think I can fix just about anything.

I really am going to try this. I will be working on upholstery projects in slack time. If it has not paid off by February, I can either go back driving with showstopper or just about any other trucking company I choose. Either way. I will have had the time to teach myself upholstery. I have about a half baked plan if it works out that way. You see, I will have redone everything on Mary Lee myself(even the canvas), I could do the same with another boat. You may see where this is going.

Mary Lee will be done by next spring. I bought all the tools I needed last winter. This time around will just be finishing boat. Autopilot, watermaker, solar panels, etc.

I will be starting on upholstery and booth in salon as soon as I get it here. I have all the materials to do it.

I want her self sufficient enough to anchor out for extended periods. I have given it a lot of thought. I know what needs done and I am recovered enough from back injury to make it happen.

Can you believe it has been over five years since I left Idaho to buy Mary Lee? It has been a difficult climb, to say the least. I cannot tell you how many times I was told I would not go back to work. Buying Mary Lee was absolutely the right thing to do.

I will be renting Mary Beth's garage to run the business out of. If you look back a ways, you can see I built the dinghy here. She is a good friend.

I am first on the list, for a slip at Deep Point marina. Plenty of sailing without having to motor a long ways to get to it. I will be sailing all winter. I had different plans for the boating this season but....life happens. Besides... What I do is come up with a plan that takes into account everything I know at the time. I throw it out there. Then see what new information comes up. A lot of times it changes the plans. That being said... I grow ever closer to the main goal. I am getting stronger every day. I do still have some weight to lose but it will come off in time. I suspect that is going to have a noticeable affect on my recovery. Step at a time.

So not a lot to add this time. Mostly just keeping it up to date.

Now if that storm just leaves Mary Lee alone......

Here it is. The day after my birthday. I had several options available to choose from as far as things to do on my birthday. I chose to hang a friend's kayak in her garage.

I know! It does not meet most people's criteria for either fun or relaxation. I however, am not most people. I can tell you exactly why it suited me. She is a good friend who is always willing to help others. So it pleases me to help her when I can. I also got to use tools and figure out how to do it.(It is 17 feet long and certainly not lightweight. You can see that it is made for two people) These are all the right criteria for me having a good day. I also bought a good stud finder to make the job easier. Now how is that not a fun thing? New tool and get to use it!!! :-)

Today I am finding a slip in Southport, NC. Tomorrow I drive down to get Mary Lee. It will be at least two days of motoring up the intra-coastal waterway, if not three.

I will be installing a diesel heater as well as beginning the upholstery projects. I have finally figured out what I want to do with the space starboard side where I pulled out the settee. If you know me, or have followed the blog, you know I pick an idea. Then not only visualize it, but consider if that is really what I want. I change my mind if it is not. I am generally pleased with end results because I do it this way.

So the decisions to follow are subject to change as the circumstances and opportunities around me change. I will be posting more regularly as this blog is about living aboard Mary Lee, and that is where I will be.

I have been busy. With driving mostly. I had bought the first piece of foam for Mary Lee. It seemed appropriate to use it in a truck to see how comfortable it would be. So...I cut a twin bed size piece. It had plenty of support, but, being a pretty dense foam, it was a little less comfortable than I was looking for. So, I decided to try something a little different with it.

I bought some batting and upholstery material. I decided it at least needed a cover.

In the middle of cutting out the pieces that make up the cover, I had the brain wave.

How about adding memory foam to the top? I added 3 inches.

Back to cutting out the material. I used a hot knife. It was really slick.

Once all cut out and foam wrapped with batting.

It was time to break out the new sewing machine.

I bought a sailrite. Touted to be the best portable upholstery machine on the market. I have to say... I really like this machine. I also really like sailrite. I do a lot of learning new things. Sailrite is top notch in customer support.

So I start with the zipper placket. I have never done one, but sailrite has these great videos on YouTube. Shows machine setup and use as well as walking you through projects.

Zipper placket went well.

So I was off to the races.

Did I mention the need to lay your pieces out and double check before sewing? I did. I ended up cutting one new side piece and trimming two more. The top and bottom pieces were okay.

This was a learning project. I learned so much about covering cushions that it surprised me. Too much to mention here. But, as I considered this a practice run for doing the boat cushions, it was a success

Even though it turned out how I envisioned it, I was still a little bit surprised at how well it really did turn out for the first one. I am very much looking forward to doing the boat cushions and canvas.

Season finale is over. Trucks and trailers returned.

I still think it odd, that a place like Disney motel has no loading docks. We unloaded in the alley out back.

This time I took a couple hours to go visit California Adventures. It is a part of Disney.

It was a bit hot and crowded. But, I can say I went :-)

Went down to see Mary Lee yesterday. I measured for new cushions and the size of boards needed to build seats for booth. As always. Bilge was bone dry. Nothing leaks. She needs a good cleaning, but is otherwise fine.

We picked up fresh scallops and shrimp from the fisherman's market. Vivian whipped up a great dinner.

I ordered cushion, a portable air conditioning unit and fabric for the upholstery.

I think it is rather dark with all the dark wood and needs a shot of color to brighten it up. If it is too much color... I can re-do it in a couple years. Yes... I will be sewing my own upholstery.

Of course the compass goes back on. I have several other things here that need installed. I am taking the month of August to get it put together and moved to Charlston harbor. It will be busy. I will be staying with Vivian on the nights I have epoxy curing. The excitement is growing as things begin to happen.

Well here we are in July!! One last big show for me. Anaheim(Disney) for the big finale.

I have been busy packing stuff to the storage unit.

Getting full, but still have a bit to put in there.
This past week was the compass fix.

The dome had broke.
The cost of a new compass was between $600-$700. The sites I found wanted you to package it up and mail it in. Then they would let you know the cost for them to repair it.

I found the kit(dome, seals and special oil Ritchie uses) for $127. I just repaired my first compass.

The only trick was getting rid of the air bubble when done. It took about 4 tries to finally get it. It has been three days and no new bubbles. I will call it a success. The air bubbles seem to have been in crevices under the card after filling. No matter how much I thought I had tipped it around to free them, there would seem to be another the next time I looked at it. Just a little polishing and the install. It also gets led lights when it goes back on boat.

I am going to be moved back on Mary Lee right after I return from Anaheim. The boat cards came in yesterday.

I also ordered a couple of coffee cups just to see how they looked

Not too bad.
I am intending to head south a bit early. Like "the beginning of august early". I will be looking over the St. Mary's river north of Jacksonville, Fl.

I need to get some sailing in. A friend recommended it. I will also be looking for a local driving job. I have gear and a few projects that need done. The intentions are to move further south when ready. I want to make it out to tha carribean this year.

I will be working for Showstopper again next season. I want to make a crossing next summer if possible. All hobbies are on hold at this point. If it has nothing to do with sailing.... it is not necessary :-)

It is time to move ahead with this dream.

July is the last month before layoff. Showstopper is just a six month job each season.

Plans? Oh!!! I have plans. Remember that sailboat I bought in Baltimore five years ago?

Yes... this one. I will be moving aboard at the end of July. I have a little spit-polishing to do, but basicly I will be working on it in Florida. Truck driving jobs abound where I am going. Part time or full time. I have decided to drop all hobbies and concentrate my efforts on my boating dreams.
 It will be an adventure. I will be making a serious effort to get all the gear I need for a serious crossing. I have decided a first crossing makes more sense from this coast to the Mediterranean. After all... I live here.

Vivian and I???  She will be visiting... but she has a job to do here. It is important to her on a level that this is important to me. I explained it more on my facebook page. It is late and I work in the morning.