Happy New Year!
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Time period: Thursday 12/26/13 – Wednesday, 01/01/14 It’s hard to believe another year has already gone by. At the start of 2013 we had just arrived at the Napa Valley boatyard where we were stripping off our old bottom paint and wondering if we would really be able to get out cruising by the end of the year. |
Getting ready to strip off the bottom paint at the Napa Valley boatyard exactly one year ago.
What a whirlwind year of boat work, regular work, prepping for our wedding, getting married, and prepping for our voyage it has been! Some people have said this must have been the best year of our lives. It has been an amazing year for us, but with that I’d also say it has been one of the most stressful as well! Our New Year’s resolution is to try and not get overwhelmed by all the remaining boat work and remember to take time to relax and enjoy our surroundings. To that end, we had a really fun New Year’s Eve hanging out with our new cruising friends and with an old acquaintance I randomly ran into from grad school who happened to be in La Paz on vacation. Gotta love what a small world it is.
New Year's Eve margaritas.
So where are we on boat work now? Well, as usual, it’s going slower than we would like but we have made progress. Chris built some beautiful towers to house our radios, inverter, new electric switch panel and light switches. He also put together and installed new LED lights in our cabin so we no longer need to use headlamps at night! Meanwhile, I finally managed to wrestle the sewing machine into semi-submission and sew a pair of cushion covers for the navigation station chair. You shouldn't look too closely at them, but they are better than the beach towels we were using as covers before! Two cushions down and many more to go… Between rounds with the sewing machine, I’ve also been doing a lot of boat cleaning (ie: polishing metal, dusting, scrubbing ceilings, floors and walls, etc.), and cooking/baking for the holidays. While working, we’ve also been plotting where to install our new used watermaker when it becomes available and where to install the new batteries we will need to buy to run the watermaker. We have some rearranging to do in the boat and likely more holes to cut into our bulkheads! It’s a shame these projects can never be simple… right now it is looking like we will be continuing to tear up our boat in La Paz through at least the end of January, if not a bit into February.
Christian working on towers to house our electronics. Yes, he brought sawhorses with us.
The finished towers to house our radios and new switch panel, and the finished seat cushion covers.
Example of the new LED light strips Chris installed. The lights are glued to the inside of the wood molding. Also, note the nice clean ceiling. :)
Anyway, at some point in the next few months we are going to stop all this major boat work and start sailing the South Pacific. The upcoming year should be interesting!