Repairing Hunter 40 damage from Hurricane Matthew

May 8, 2013
629
Hunter 40 Dataw Island, SC
2020 strikes again:

(and other things :))

Holy what a year so far, Batman! As you guys have probably figured out, not much has happened lately on the boat. There's a good reason for that - I've been hanging out in eastern New Mexico for the past month. There's lots of sand here, not much water :yikes:.

The current events started happening back in May when my MIL passed away. The FIL is not capable of handling his affairs alone so the wife has been taking care of him since. She's traveled back the SC once for two weeks, leaving the FIL alone and it was a total disaster, so she's basically living in NM for now. The plan is to move him close to us, and we've been working on the plan for a while. The pile of dynamite needed to dislodge him has been shrinking, slowly, we've got him used to the idea - the sticking point being when. Obviously we want it to happen post haste, while he's dragging his feet (understandably, since he's been in the same house for close to 50 years).

Queue in Part (whatever) of the drama: part of the reluctance on the FIL's part is the volume of stuff he's accumulated over the last 85 years. Not kidding here, he never threw anything away! It is a literal mountain, coupled with no discernable organizational system. So, the wife, the FIL and me had been working on a plan whereas I would make a trip to NM, do some cleanup, pack some stuff up and start the moving process, knowing that it was going to be the first trip of many. So far so good.

Part (whatever+1): during one of our daily calls the wife says she feels a lump :huh:. A trip to the hospital reveals - without going into personal details - surgery required. All plans now are discarded, new plan required, because she can't leave the FIL alone, so the surgery will happen in NM, not in SC. Addendum to Part (whatever+1). Now it's +2. Load up the truck, empty trailer and make the trip as planned but with an extended stay to include the surgical interlude.

Upon arrival, I have some time to play packrat and cleaning boy. The mountain is still a mountain but has shrunk quite a bit (I just finished my 6th load of scrap metal to the recycler, average load 900+ lbs), lost track of the trips to the dump, the shop/barn is looking much better and things are happening.

The wife had surgery, is recovering nicely and all looks well with no complications. Whew and big sigh of relief!

I'll be back in SC late next week to keep the home front, well, up front, and I'll be able to do some boat work, but we're planning on needing several more trips out west before things get settled. So the rest of this year is pretty much toast. SH!

I have some before and after pics of the mountain, you gotta see it to believe it! And BTW, while digging through a box of stuff I found two sticks of dynamite. Not kidding.

More soon,

Cheers,

Mark
 
May 29, 2018
457
Canel 25 foot Shiogama, japan
I found two sticks of dynamite. Not kidding.

In that case, I would be digging very carefully from now.
All the best and thanks for keeping us informed.
gary
 
May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
Taking care of aging and demented parents is a trial of patience and love. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
 
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Aug 28, 2006
564
Bavaria 35E seattle
Thanks for the update. A lot on your plate. But you seem to be handling it one bite at a time. :)
 
Mar 31, 2013
234
O'day 23 Pa
you've always got a excuse don't ya? joking aside, glad the wife is doing well and play it one day at a time with everything else.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Thanks Mark for the update. I can understand your challenge. 2011/2013 was my year of caring for my parents. It was a full experience of highs and lows. Your wife will need all the support you can muster. And you both will need time to deal with the stresses. All I can say is this will work out. Cherish the good days. They are the memories that stick.
 
Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
Two sticks of dynamite? Too bad you didn't find those earlier. Would have made the entire job much shorter.

This is a somewhat familiar story. I guess its just that season in our lives. I have a 20ft trailer full of inherited stuff I need to move before the end of the month. My only issue is it is so overloaded, the torsion arms are sitting at about 10 O'clock. I have to partially unload it before I can tow it the 200 miles to its new home.
 
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HMT2

.
Mar 20, 2014
899
Hunter 31 828 Shoreacres, TX
Mark, that’s a lot for anyone, even a sailor, 757 pilot, fiberglass pro, carpenter, painter, plumber, electrician, auto mechanic dude. I have said a prayer for you and your family and will throw some up there on a regular basis for a while.
 
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JRacer

.
Aug 9, 2011
1,331
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
Wondered what you have been up to. Glad to hear you are doing OK, wife is recovering and FIL is accepting the idea of the move. Look on the bright side, no COVID! :biggrin:
 

SFS

.
Aug 18, 2015
2,065
Currently Boatless Okinawa
I hope Phil and Al don't get a contact information request from the Secret Service for that.
 
May 8, 2013
629
Hunter 40 Dataw Island, SC
Thanks guys for all the kind words and support! My wife and I have had lots of emotional ups and downs the last few months but we got a monumental up the other day:

The FIL has owned a Cessna 175 for years (that's an airplane for you non-birdmen ;)). He used it with a lighted sign to do aerial advertising back in the 80s after he retired from the Air Force. When the ad business margins got too small - read negative - he shut his company down and parked the airplane in the hangar. That was about 1987 and it has been sitting ever since. Oops! Airplanes are like boats, they don't handle neglect well and the first time I saw it I had to really hide my reaction :yikes:. For various reasons he's been so emotionally attached to the plane that a few years ago he decided it was time to restore it and get it flying in order to - well, he never defined that part of the plan (if the plan ever had an end game).

We (I, mostly, due to aviation knowledge) have been trying for quite a few years to get him to do something with the project because after the initial burst of energy (and a substantial amount of money spent!) the airplane project languished once again. Except this time it sat partially disassembled and a local maintenance shop was involved. No luck getting him to commit and as the years went on and memory got worse, the only thing consistent was the emotional attachment.

Long story short: FIL has owned can be edited to - had owned! Thanks to some fortuitous timing we found a good home for the airplane and it's sold!! Wife and BIL doing handsprings and wondering how in the heck I managed it. Big green checkmark in the win column and a big step forward in the relocation saga.

Oh, and I disposed of the dynamite (no, I didn't blow anything up :)) properly so let's keep potential alternate uses for it in the fun category please. I don't want a visit from any official anybodies either :thumbup:!

Cheers,

Mark
 

SFS

.
Aug 18, 2015
2,065
Currently Boatless Okinawa
Mark, as a fellow pilot I found your tale of this latest development bittersweet. Harder to let go of a plane than a boat, IMO, but good for you on the progress it represents, and perhaps your FIL won't really notice/remember.

It's hard being in your spot (I've been there), but you are doing the right thing.

It's always hardest on the caretakers, so remember to take care of yourself too. At home, working on your boat can be therapy, but while out west, be sure to find an outlet, for both you and your wife. I wish you the very best in all this.
 
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May 8, 2013
629
Hunter 40 Dataw Island, SC
Update from the desert:

Well, technically it's not quite desert here - they call it the high plains - but judging from the copious amounts of dust and dirt clogging my nasal passages, sorry, it's a desert! I had to read back a few pages to catch myself up on what has happened recently. I have a very good memory but the whirlwind that has been this year has overloaded my neurons. So:

I'm in NM again (back, thankfully not still :)) with a great big U-haul + car trailer. This is trip #3. Unfortunately not trip #Final, but it is trip #Next one is Final! And we have a window for the final move :dancing:: probably mid-February. As a sign of how things are going, the car trailer will be carrying the FIL's prize 1941 Studebaker Champion - without the FIL accompanying :yikes:. He was not fully onboard until he got to see my trailer-backing skills, whereupon I got the seal of approval. I guess I forgot to add that to my resume though I'm not sure that particular skill transfers to boat handling.

Since this is primarily a boat forum and I started this thread to document boat repairs, how about we do some of that? I have had the odd day or three to knock about on the boat and have done some work - though there might be a fine line between work and piddling around :biggrin:.

I started mounting some of the cabinet doors - mainly to reduce the clutter in the main cabin. After multiple samples of many different types and styles of hinges, where I discovered that most hinges are designed for kitchen cabinets and are not really compatible with boat-style cabinets, I settled on a plan: Clean up the big pile of hinges I already have because they are the best option! My old existing hinges are plain flat stainless hinges and do present a challenge in a hidden-hinge type mounting but I came up with this:



I measured for the hinge location and cut out this section.



The hinges will fit between the door and frame with just the pivot portion of the hinge protruding. I then glued the leftover piece from the frame to the corresponding door:



And voila! Mostly hidden hinges:



I will only be doing this treatment to the visible cabinet doors - some of the locker doors will just get a simple hinge install since they won't be seen. Next, I finished the back corner of the galley and top to the fridge:



Planning on mounting the microwave on top in this corner.

Next up, more various bits n pieces! Until then, a belated Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all you guys!!

Cheers,

Mark
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Beautiful job Mark.

I discovered that most hinges are designed for kitchen cabinets and are not really compatible with boat-style cabinets,
On our family live aboard, the cabinets used knife hinges. I used them on my bathroom medicine cabinets.
1609251813304682324143987863904.jpg

You can get sets that sit more inset behind the facing wood too, only the pin visible.

-Will (Dragonfly)