All of a sudden there was a lot of diesel in the bilge of the boat (not good)! It turned out that the original diesel tank for the diesel heater was so badly corroded that it the bottom started to leak. I already planned to replace that diesel tank for a bigger one. There are two wasted spaces at the far left and far right at the back of the boat where I planned to place the new diesel tank. This turned out to be a lot more work then I hoped, but it does free up a lot of space, plus now the tank for the heater is big enough for almost two weeks off heating the boat without the need to refill the tank. Also I made the refill cap for this tank much easer to access and I will now be able to install a diesel level sensor with a gauge indicator, so I can always see the diesel level in this new diesel tank. Photo’s will be added later on.
A new bed for the captain
Winter has come ones again, so the work outside has been grounded to a halt. I love sleeping aboard and find sleep very imported ;-). But the mattress on which I was sleeping was not a very good, so it was time to do something about that. I found that there was enough space left for some expansion of the main bed so that a standard mattress size could fit in that space. So after some sawing and pushing and the like, a brand new mattress could be placed inside the Seadog. I bought a NASA Memory Foam mattress. These mattresses are expensive but are ideal for when living aboard. They absorb little to know moisture and more importantly sleeping on these things is extremely nice. Also, here are some random pictures of live aboard Seadog in wintertime.
A new tarp for the Seadog
The Seadog got a new tarp for the upcoming winter season. It’s not exactly pretty, but it’s better then all the loose white tarp’s that were put together to make a semi weatherproof tent. Now there is a base layer of full waterproof tarp and on top of that a heavy (brown) tarp to make the entire tent more heavy, weather and wind resisted. This contraption did in fact survive several storms already. One of these storms actually peaked at 10 Beaufort and the tarp was perfectly intact. The whole boat (and the wooden frame) where shaking and making disturbing noises, but in the end all was well.
Building your own dish wash rack
I decided it was time for little side project. When doing the dishes I always find myself with the problem of where to easily put the wet plates and other big items. Usually I try to put them behind the faucet, but most of the time that ends up being a big mistake because the plates come falling down into the sink and then I can wash them all over again. Pretty frustrating stuff, so I had enough of that nonsense.
Somewhere in a YouTube video I saw a person who had made a special kind of dish wash drip contraption above his zink and found that so convenient that I wanted one as well. This would also have the benefit of no more manually drying the dishes. Just put them above the zink and let them drip. Super lazy I know. But also super handy.
So it was time to design one custom-made for the Seadog. I first put some effort in getting the design right so that the least amount of space was needed, for the most amount of storage. In the final product no space was wasted at all, because on top of this contraption one can put other stuff as well (in my case a small Jerry can with water). All in all, it worked out beautifully and every time I use it I can’t get over the fact that something so simple can make such a big difference.
A teak deck is a lot of pain
The teak deck was in a really bad shape, so the time came to do a complete teak deck restoration. It’s a real pain the get the old caulk (rubber) out of the deck, but with the right tools it’s a lot easier. After first starting with a screwdriver and hammer, then going to Stanley knives and the sorts, we did find a special kind of multitool extension that is special design for this kind of work and I must say that it does a fine (pun intended) job. The original (and to my opinion the best) brand that makes this type of tool is FEIN MultiMaster, with the special accessory which they call the “Cutter blade” (see: http://www.feinus.com/en_us/multimaster/accessories/cutting/cutter-blade-order-no-6-39-03-200-01-7/).
After the teak deck at the back of the ship was finally completely restored the tarp that was keeping the rain (but also the sun) from the back of the ship could be removed. It was a really good feeling, to finally be able to sit in the sunshine on deck of the Seadog for the first time since 2 years.
