Re-de-naming

You have to remove ALL traces of the boat's old name before doing the de-naming ceremony we did last week. Curse you former owners/charter people for being so thorough in labeling all of your gear! Looks like a re-de-naming is now scheduled before the re-naming can happen. AFTER I search all other cushions for hidden labels!


*I actually love their thoroughness. EVERYTHING on the boat was labeled/diagrammed/organised amazingly well. :)

Small Boat Projects - round 2

We spent Saturday and Sunday morning on Luna Sea and were able to knock a few more items off of the To Do list.

1. Remember that dock fire?  Yeah, that one.  Mark picked up a new dock cord and replaced the main power line.  The line was originally hard wired all the way to the breaker box.  Instead of pulling out the entire cord, he chose to terminate it in the stern lazarette - like most boats are these days.  Now we can plug the new 50' power cord into the stern outlet.  Much more simple.
2. The fwd and aft bunks were reinforced a bit.  The plywood had begun to sag a little in the middle and they needed some more screws.  Mark that one off the list, as well.
3. Annnnnd - we de-named her!  A couple of friends came over and helped us drink champagne/pour champagne on the newly washed bow as we performed what is apparently the most common de-naming ceremony, per the always fabulous Google.  I've already ordered the new name/hailing port vinyl stickers, removed all the old stickers and Mark has sanded/buffed the hull in preparation for the new stickers.  When they get here, we'll all celebrate again during the Re-Naming ceremony.  This boat work is hard business.

We hung out on Luna this morning, and after a swim and some hull scrubbing we headed back to the condo.  Chantal is still determined that we've not had enough rain this week, so we won't be able to take Luna Sea out like we'd hoped.

Mark hopped in for a quick swim against the current while I bobbed around on my noodle and scrubbed the hull.

Marina Life - keepin' it real

We have been coming to the boat at the marina just about everyday. Sometimes just to check on her and make sure she's still floating (we closed that seacock, right?!), and other days for specific projects and to spend the night. It's an interesting world here in the marina...

If you are a People Watcher, this is where its at. A quiet afternoon lounging in the cockpit turns into a voyeuristic free for all. Random conversations, diy projects gone awry, characters stopping by to tell you how much better their dog is than yours

Small Projects - round 1

A few of the projects we've each been working on:

Mark swapped out the old bronze bilge filter for a new one.  See that little leg on the right of the old filter (the one in his hand)?  Those should be all around the circle...  

Before Teak Oil treatment

After Teak Oil treatment

I've been removing "Pleiades" from everything to get ready for the Name Change ceremony.  

I changed all 3 propane tanks and the horseshoe life raft thingy.

Mark straightened out the smooshed metal thingys on the A/C - guess some charter folks got crazy  one night back in the boat's previous life...

He also caulked a gap that he discovered - this, along with some 3" foam insulation around the grate should make the unit so much more efficient!

I still need to remove the name on the stern and  bow, but at least she's no longer from England...  

Maiden Voyage!

Loaded up Saturday morning and took Luna out for our first solo voyage!  Gotta say we've been intimidated about getting her out of the slip and  - well, back into the the slip.  She's huge.  At lease she feels huge compared to the 18' bow rider we're used to handling.  But after today, she feels a lot more manageable.

We headed out of the marina and practiced using the genoa.  We tacked back and forth, moving the genoa from starboard to port and back again.  We also both played around with moving in and out of the wind.  At one point, while the genoa was flopping about in the wind a bit (we'd not "perfected" our technique at that point), the boat hook went overboard. Mark was pretty quick to get the boat around - but not before the hook weebled and wobbled and went under.  The next boat hook will be filled with expandable foam before stepping foot on the boat.

Not only did we successfully leave the dock - without playing bumper boats with all of our neighbors, but we sailed her.  Like - for real sailed her.  No motor.  Just the genoa and the wind.  I think I like this sailing thing.