What do you do in down time?
- Thread starter emergpa1
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For some reason, I became a landlord. Multiple houses/apartments.
Tenants sometimes like to change out their own locksets :cussing:, leaving me with unassigned keys and, over time, I end up with the mess you see.
I've also got scads of "mixed nuts" when it comes to fasteners! Not as high a priority.
Tenants sometimes like to change out their own locksets :cussing:, leaving me with unassigned keys and, over time, I end up with the mess you see.
I've also got scads of "mixed nuts" when it comes to fasteners! Not as high a priority.
If I get a mild day with a morning low tide on the river, I'll take Penny in the kayak across the river and do some beach combing. I always get a campfire going on the beach and cook up some grub that I brought from home.
On days of inclement weather I find different projects to do like leather craft. I made a draw string poke out of denim the other day for my keys and change. If I like it, I'll make one out of leather.
Then I took the neck of an old Harmony H-166 flat top Guitar a couple of weeks ago to lower the string action. It involve a Mickey Mouse set up that I saw on Youtube where they use steam from a pressure cooker to loosen the glue in the neck joint to remove the neck. I had to file the lower part of the heal of the neck down about a 1/16th of an inch and glue it back together. I had never done anything like that before and much to my surprise, it came out great. The strings are a little lower and the guitar feels, sounds, and plays better.
I plan on making some new leather spreader boots to replace the old ones. My spreaders are hanging up down the cellar and it's going to be easier to make up a pattern out of cardboard for the finished product, right in my living room.
In the winter time I like to reread a few of my favorite books. I read one by Jan Adkins entitled, "A Storm Without Rain", one by Joseph C. Lincoln entitled "Rough Waters". Then I read one by Win Brooks entitled "The Shining Tides."
Right now I reading "The Maine Woods" by Henry David Thoreau and the latest "Backwoodsman" Magazine.
This afternoon after lunch I put on my PJs and laid in bed and read my magazine.
Hey,--when you're retired, you do what you want to do, when you want to do it. That's been my motto. :dance:
On days of inclement weather I find different projects to do like leather craft. I made a draw string poke out of denim the other day for my keys and change. If I like it, I'll make one out of leather.
Then I took the neck of an old Harmony H-166 flat top Guitar a couple of weeks ago to lower the string action. It involve a Mickey Mouse set up that I saw on Youtube where they use steam from a pressure cooker to loosen the glue in the neck joint to remove the neck. I had to file the lower part of the heal of the neck down about a 1/16th of an inch and glue it back together. I had never done anything like that before and much to my surprise, it came out great. The strings are a little lower and the guitar feels, sounds, and plays better.
I plan on making some new leather spreader boots to replace the old ones. My spreaders are hanging up down the cellar and it's going to be easier to make up a pattern out of cardboard for the finished product, right in my living room.
In the winter time I like to reread a few of my favorite books. I read one by Jan Adkins entitled, "A Storm Without Rain", one by Joseph C. Lincoln entitled "Rough Waters". Then I read one by Win Brooks entitled "The Shining Tides."
Right now I reading "The Maine Woods" by Henry David Thoreau and the latest "Backwoodsman" Magazine.
This afternoon after lunch I put on my PJs and laid in bed and read my magazine.
Hey,--when you're retired, you do what you want to do, when you want to do it. That's been my motto. :dance:
i made a list of things I wanted to do the her when pulled her onto the hard.
Starting with warm temp onward.
Made a "tent house" so I can work on her in the ccoolldd.
I'm a wood worker junkie, so many of the things are made of wood, but also a "tinker-er".
I look at pics of other baots and "steal" ideas for mine!:dance:
Some days I sit in her under the tent and well- "saildream"
(I ALWAYS giver her a loving pat when i leave her, just to let her know I'm thinking about ehr, 9be nice to your boat or... well BAD things will happen)
When I run out of things to do to her, I start looking for another boat that needs TLC and start over!
Joe
3686 Mariner
Starting with warm temp onward.
Made a "tent house" so I can work on her in the ccoolldd.
I'm a wood worker junkie, so many of the things are made of wood, but also a "tinker-er".
I look at pics of other baots and "steal" ideas for mine!:dance:
Some days I sit in her under the tent and well- "saildream"
(I ALWAYS giver her a loving pat when i leave her, just to let her know I'm thinking about ehr, 9be nice to your boat or... well BAD things will happen)When I run out of things to do to her, I start looking for another boat that needs TLC and start over!
Joe
3686 Mariner
Now is my time to work on the upgrades I am going to need. Usually, after I figure how much it will cost me to use "marine" components, I start looking outside the box. Keeping safety first, I really enjoy doing my own design, fabrication and installation. And it sometimes happens that what I come up with doesn't work the way I wanted it too, I usually learn something.
I find that about half the things I repair or modify I have to redo. Yesterday I had to pull my starboard hatch slide because it was leaking. I taped over the holes and will reinstall it when I am off again next week.
I've gone through the same thing Keith. What I generally do is try a different caulking or a different method of doing it. for a sliding hatch I would try countersinking the holes in the Fiberglas a little and use a strong adhesive caulking like 3-M 4200. Run a bead of the caulking under the runner and bolt it down. I sometimes stand on my companionway hatch slider and I don't want those runners to move. The way I look at it, any hardware that moves or wiggles can leak.
I offer one example; Years ago I installed a thru-hull coaxial fitting through my cabin top near the tabernacle and I caulked it with Silicone. Silicone acts more like a gasket than an adhesive. The problem can occur when you go to loosen the coax connector after a period of time and you wind up turning the the fitting which can cause a leak to develop.
Last year I found moisture on my coax cable in the cabin and discovered that the thru-hull fitting was leaking so I removed the fitting and cleaned out the hole and used 3-M 4200 this time to adhere it. Problem solved. That sucker will never turn again.
I was really green back then and I learned the hard way. Of course, back then we didn't have the Internet. Al Gore hadn't invented it yet.
I use any downtime to clean out and up the cabin, Take a nap or go through extra hardware I have stored below deck,
I like that part about taking a nap in the cabin. I do that quite a bit. Right now it's about 5 degrees below 0 outside. I think I'll just stay in the house for a while till it warms up a bit.
What I'd really like to do is recover my mattresses and the back rests. I can't afford the prices that they want for the fabric. Twenty-six to thirty bucks a yard is too steep for an old retired geezer.
Yesterday, my wife and I were checking out a St. Vincent De Paul thrift store in my city and they had a bolt of plaid fabric for $18.00 that I've looked at many times. The color wasn't really a first choice of what I'd want in my cabin but it seems to be a pretty close match to my dark red Mahogany woodwork and my beige fabric head liner. My wife liked it and indicated that she would do the work of covering the mattresses. She's done them over once before. After rolling in out though she came to the conclusion that there wouldn't be enough on that roll to do all the mattresses and bolsters. Actually, last year I omitted the two mattress that fit under the cockpit cubby holes so we're talking all but two of the mattresses. I'm going to keep looking though. This is one project that I'd love to have done on my boat this year.
Downtime? What downtime.
This winter has been home improvement season. First we redid the living room complete with wiring for pot lights above the fire place and now I'm redoing my daughter's bed room. Completion deadline is end of Feb and I'm done with the house for a while.
Starting in March I plug in the electric heater and start workking on the boat again. The work list includes: Cockpit drain hoses, fuel lines, install a deck washdown, polish & wax, the exterior teak. Launch is in the beginning of May. Should be a busy spring.
Matt
This winter has been home improvement season. First we redid the living room complete with wiring for pot lights above the fire place and now I'm redoing my daughter's bed room. Completion deadline is end of Feb and I'm done with the house for a while.
Starting in March I plug in the electric heater and start workking on the boat again. The work list includes: Cockpit drain hoses, fuel lines, install a deck washdown, polish & wax, the exterior teak. Launch is in the beginning of May. Should be a busy spring.
Matt
Hey Joe. Another thing to do for fabric is go to jo-anns fabric. If you have a smart phone get their app and there is always a 50% off coupon. I saved over $300 on my fabric. If no smart phone they always have their coupon books there and they almost always have 50% off coupons. Its a 1 item per visit so you have to get your fabric in 1 cut or go multiple times.
Pics show 1 thing I have done.
Pics show 1 thing I have done.
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Wow, those mattresses came out looking beautiful. I was in Jo-Ann's the other day looking over their fabric. That's a great tip. Thanks.
Hey Matt,
It looks like you have your work cut out for you. I do very little to my house these days. One of my sons is a carpenter and I just pay him to do it. Last year I spent almost $1200 in repairs for my outboard. I can't see myself shoveling out too much money on my boat this year. My wife is liable to throw me out.
Hey Matt,
It looks like you have your work cut out for you. I do very little to my house these days. One of my sons is a carpenter and I just pay him to do it. Last year I spent almost $1200 in repairs for my outboard. I can't see myself shoveling out too much money on my boat this year. My wife is liable to throw me out.
Joe
Smart move having your son do the work around the house. I should have done something similar. I managed to break my pinkie while working in my daughters' room last weeend. Apparently stepstools and coughing fits don't mix. Who knew!
Regarding the boat work list, the hoses are on my "must have", the deck washdowen is tops on my daughter's (aka The Anchor Windlass) list and the Admiral is adamant that the exterior wood be done. Part of me is taking bets on what actually gets done.
Cheers
Matt
Matt,Joe
Smart move having your son do the work around the house. I should have done something similar. I managed to break my pinkie while working in my daughters' room last weeend. Apparently stepstools and coughing fits don't mix. Who knew!
Regarding the boat work list, the hoses are on my "must have", the deck washdowen is tops on my daughter's (aka The Anchor Windlass) list and the Admiral is adamant that the exterior wood be done. Part of me is taking bets on what actually gets done.
Cheers
Matt
I've been playing Chet Atkins style guitar since I was a kid and I cringe at the thought of breaking a finger. If I can't play my guitar you may as well cut my head off.
Here's my cockpit self bailing hose set up.
http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/album.php?albumid=372&pictureid=2507
I wish I could replace that sole plate thru-hull fitting. Look how long it is. Rudy didn't have a shorter one at his store and I probably can't do anything to this one to shorten it up. At least he didn't think so when I asked him.
Hey guys, If it is too cold to work on the boat, I'll spend some time on the house, or better yet, go on down to my local shooting range and run thru a couple boxes of 9mm. George68fs
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