Brian went through the entire existing electrical system. Most of it was corroded and he stripped those bits out. He verified what he'd already suspected: he'll have to start almost completely from scratch with our electrical system. That's probably why he looks so overjoyed in this picture.
We also decided to go ahead and strip off the horrible carpeting that was serving as the headliner. The glue doesn't look great but I still think I prefer it to the pale blue carpet. Now we just have to decide what we're going to permanently replace the carpeting with. Teak is one option we're considering. (Thanks for the suggestion Jim!)
I also finally got around to making some temporary window coverings. The existing curtains were, well, not exactly attractive and were also falling apart. The little hooks they attached to were old and breaking. So I took some Ikea window panels, made out of natural fibers of some sort, that I was no longer using in the house, cut them to size, and velcroed them to the little railings that the curtains had been attached to. I started out sewing them together and making nice, neat edges. Then Cap'n told me he'd like to have them all done by the end of the weekend and I realized there was no time for perfection. So the edges are a little raw, and the fit isn't exactly perfect in places, but it works as a temporary measure. It was pretty hard work trying to get it all done so fast - and in the company of some horrific, bloodsucking sandflies that took over the boat on Saturday - but I had a great time doing one of my favorite things - creating useful stuff by hand.
I didn't get any photos of the finished product so that will have to wait for our next trip to the boat.
We also removed this old mirror in the head and will replace it with an actual medicine cabinet of some sort.
It wasn't ALL work and no play though. We had a chance to visit with our friend Lola, whom we met on SeaKnots and connected with on our last trip to Shallotte, and also with Jim (Cut) and his wife Debbie who both have a lot of sailing experience. Brian and I and Lola have boats, but little experience. Jim and Debbie have lots of experience but no boat. Funny how life works sometimes ain't it? We had dinner at the lively Inlet View Restaurant and formed the Shallotte Sailing Club. Here is the Board of Directors:
From left to right: Debbie, Lola, Jim (Cut), Brian, Tina (Thanks to Lola for the photo!)
We got a very late start the next day but got to visit with Jim on our boat a little while before heading back to the hills of Virginia Sunday evening. He brought a Sailmonster burgee to fly on Kozmik Kaos and we managed to get a picture with the emblem showing in spite of the, shall we say, gregarious winds that day.
(Thanks go out to Jim for the photo!)
I can't remember if I've told the story here yet but we've been lucky enough to dock our boat at the home of some truly wonderful folks, Greg and Susan, that live on the Shallotte River Inlet. We were hoping to be headed for warmer, more southern parts by now but, alas, we are still in Virginia. Greg understandably wants to be able to use his dock for his own boat now that fishing season is upon them so we will be looking for a new home for Kozmik this month.
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