Dodger fans

No, not baseball, football, or basketball Dodger fans. We are fans of our new dodger made by Hank Westervelt of Coyote Canvas (note the coyote in the bottom corner). But we attached the 2 handholds to the dodger frame and did the hand sewing around them - not bad for amateurs! Hank re-covered the cockpit cushions and also helped to sew the bimini as our machine couldn't handle the slippery UV resistant thread.

before...

after...

And the work goes on...

We've been very busy working on Sea Turtle. Jordan has built the solar arch and dinghy davit (stainless steel welder Kevin Simpson helped with the welding). This is where our 2 solar panels will be mounted and where our dinghy will hang - sailors hang their dinghy up at night to discourage theft in some foreign countries. Of course during ocean passages, it will be deflated and stored below.

New solar arch and davit

Next to the solar arch is our Air Breeze wind generator on the support poles that Jordan fabricated, installed, and wired. The yellow box on the pole is the circuit breaker. So between 2 solar panels, the wind generator, and the boat engine, we should have plenty of power - plus we have converted most of the lights to LEDs.

Our 2 teak dorade boxes sat at an angle so Jordan built them up so they would be level. I refinished them, the new bronze cowls were put in place, and now Jordan just needs to make cowl guards to prevent lines from catching on them. I have now finished ALL the brightwork and only touch-ups will be needed for the next few years. Brightwork is a terrible job but it sure looks good when done. Some prefer to let it go natural but, so far, our preference is to use Cetol on it. That decision may change over the years if it becomes too much trouble to keep up!

Well, there is 1 item that I have not done with Cetol, but it should be okay for 1 or 2 years. Jordan made a box to cover the storage area beneath the solar arch and varnished the sides before we realized that varnish does not stand up to the UV rays. The box is now installed and will be left as it is until it needs to be refinished.


Jordan has built and installed a beautiful new forward hatch. He also re-bedded the aft hatch that was leaking right above our bed - very unpleasant! He will probably build a new aft hatch in a couple of years to match the forward hatch.

First-class carpentry work

And Jordan now has the Lewmar windlass attached to the deck and just needs to connect the wires - no more hauling the anchor up by hand.

Change of plans

So what's new? The list of to-do's entitled Unfinished Things That We Will Leave and Do In Mexico got too big, so, change of plans. We finally admitted to ourselves that we won't be ready enough to leave for offshore this year though we sure tried hard. But after the discouragement of the fact, we are now looking forward to the delay because we live in some of the best cruising areas of the world and it would have been a shame to not experience it. And more importantly, we will be able to give our boat several test runs to get the bugs out before heading offshore.

Our new plan now consists of finishing the boat, taking a much deserved holiday, and then moving aboard. Next year, we would like to cruise around the Queen Charlotte Islands and/or circumnavigate Vancouver Island before heading offshore in the fall.

More work done

We have Sea Turtle on the hard at The Boat Yard in Sidney. So far, we have given the lower hull one coat of paint. Jordan is polishing the upper hull and has installed our swim ladder on the transom for those lazy days of swimming in the tropics... and our boat now has her name which we think turned out great (thanks to AlleyKat Signs!)

New name on port and starboard...

...and stern too

The wind generator and the RVG still need to be attached to the transom and it also needs some paint touch-ups.

Jordan has also drilled more thru-hulls (1 for the watermaker intake, 1 for the holding tank, and 1 for the Frigoboat refrigerator)...it hurts to drill holes below the waterline!

Jordan has noticed for some time that the oil pressure is not quite right. After starting the engine, it takes about 5 minutes before the pressure comes up to normal. Rob Cross, a fellow BCA member and sailor, managed to solve this mysterious problem and everything is now running perfect. Rob has also talked at a few Fleet evenings discussing diesel engines (great man to run across when sailing and having engine problems!)

Unexpected work that is being done: we discovered that we needed a new prop shaft so we are waiting for it to be made at half the price of a new one. Once the shaft (and propeller) are put back into the boat, we can go back in the water where the rigging will be fine-tuned and the boom will be put back onto the mast. And I can get back to painting all the impossible to get into cubbyholes, drawers, closets, inside hull, cupboards, etc. etc.

Right now, Coyote Canvas is sewing our new dodger - then the current full enclosure over the cockpit will be removed. For protection from the hot sun, we will put up a bimini that we can remove during heavy winds.

And our new countertops have been ordered. Things are looking up!

Not a good weekend

We've had a lot of mishaps lately. Jordan had a trip to the hospital when he tried to slice off his finger with an Exacto knife. Then a mixed-up container of fibreglassing goo was dropped from the cockpit down to the galley. When it landed, it splashed everywhere! It is very slimy, sticky, and disgusting stuff. What a mess.

Then Jordan slipped in the bilge and sliced his calf open. So rather than another trip to the hospital, we headed off to the store to buy some Crazy Glue to glue his wound back together. It works very well!

Then while painting in tight quarters, I laid in some wet paint and Jordan had to cut off a lot of my hair. Hopefully today will be a better day than the weekend was!

Prematurely white

Wiring joys

We've been very busy completely re-wiring and painting during the last month. Jordan has been installing, lining up, and labelling all the wires. Some of these wires go into very difficult places to access.

Pretty nice abs!!

That's the watermaker by Jordan's knee. It's going to be the next item to be installed (in the freshly painted closet). Shortly after this picture was taken, we were boarded by fellow sailors Bruce and Jeannie of SV Jabula and took a much needed wine break! (SV = Sailing Vessel)

Jordan has been running many wires neatly along the ceiling which will be hidden in the future. No more mess as it was when we purchased Sea Turtle!

Excellent job

Jim Temple of Victoria Marine Electric has been helping out a bit and doing inspections to make sure that everything is in order. This is Jordan's first wiring job after studying several books. He wanted to do it himself so that he would be able to fix any problems when we are miles away from help.

Jordan and Jim

PS. Note the great accessibility of the engine compartment on Sea Turtle!

Slow progress

Nothing new done to the boat yet...still too busy...running out of time...isn't that what all sailors say who are getting ready to go?!

Here's some photos of the stained glass lamp that I made last year for our boat, Sea Turtle. After Jordan completes the hanging hardware for it, it will be hung on an Aladdin lamp and mounted above the settee table.

First, cutting out and grinding 52 pieces of glass...

then wrapping all of the pieces with copper foil...

and finally, after soldering all the pieces together, the finished product!

Hours and hours of work, but worth it in the end. Can't wait to see it hanging!