Little Things

Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.

~Frank Howard Clark

(May 9, 2012)

A boat is made up of little things, too.  So, this week I have been focusing on the little things--the little pieces of things that will eventually go back onto the boat.  I want them to be shiny and pretty so that they will do her proud!

The nice thing about working on these pieces, is that you can get immediate reward for your efforts.  Aluminum vents that have paint around the edges, have grime from who knows what year, and are covered in dust are now clean and shiny!  They are ready to be put back into place!

Here is the vent as I found it (in a cardboard box of random parts):

 These are the chemicals I used to remove the paint and shine the vent!

And here is the vent after.  

Now just 11 more to go:

Today I met someone at Stereo Advantage (Mt. Lookout).  He came out to the boat to give me an estimate on installing a new system.  I am excited about his ideas.  I will have 2 speakers on the back deck, 2 on the bridge, 2 on the front deck, 2 in the salon and 2 in the stateroom.  They will be installed with a switch so that I can adjust the volume on each pair separately.  I will also be able to play the t.v. through the speakers.  Exciting.

The window tinting guy also came out to give me an estimate.  I think I am going to choose Jay's Tinting and Vinyl (http://www.jaystintandvinyl.com/).  He left 4 samples with me so that I can decide how dark I want to go.  This will provide a little bit of privacy, but mainly I am interested in keeping the temperature inside the boat consistent.  I think I'll go with one of the two in the middle--not sure which:

He will be able to put her new name on as well (as soon as I settle on one).  He recommended that I paint the green stripe orange rather than cover it with vinyl.  I can do that.

Back to the little things...today I treated the teak steps for my ladders.  I used  The Star Brite Teak Care Kit. 

 Here are the teak steps before:

  And....here they are after (I am really excited about the results!):

I also decided to throw the timeline out the window.  She'll be done when she's done.  If I don't live on her this year, I will next year.  Either way, I will enjoy the process.  Seriously, this is a lot of fun.  :)