In the water

It is now 11 o'clock and we are in the water. It was very exiting and I will soon write more about it.

Ria

Dec 8

We have made a major step and are living on the boat, still on the hard, but now we can make it our own, what means that I constantly transfer stuff from one place to another.
We had a rough night, because we were very busy and we didn’t pay any attention to the weather. Until now we went home when the sun was gone, but yesterday it got colder by the minute. So at seven o’clock we went to Wal-Mart to buy a little heater. The cabin was soon acceptable, but when we went to bed, the bedrooms  are lower in the hulls,it was  (for my feeling freezing)  very cold, so today back to a Wal-Mart to buy warm flannel pants and sweaters. This night it will be cold again, but we are prepared now and than we are back to more normal temperatures.
But we are still exited and it was nice that we had a conference call via Skype with the whole family, really nice.

Jacques is chasing trough the whole Pensacola area for some little pipe nipple he needs to finish the toilet project. He knows exactly all the Home Depots, Lowes and West Marines in the greater Pensacola area, we are really very happy that we have the car here.

The first place we go when we need something as screws, bolts etc. is a little store near by run by a lady, whom we have baptized as “screw-Mary” (in dutch “schroeven-Truus”), who really    has every screw you can think of, just not that little pipe Jacques is desperately looking for, she already has a big smile on her face when we show up, because when we were there the first time and told we are fixing up a boat she told us we see each other a lot.

It’s warming up again so we can start painting the bottom.

See you soon.

Ria

Weather and clothing

I have started this chapter now for the third time, because when I wanted to change it I pushed the wrong button and whoop its gone, making me a little p.. with myself, so I will tell about the clothing and weather in upcoming episodes and will try to get this short message out to the world.

Still a happy Ria

We are getting there

Hello everybody,

We are now two weeks into our new live and the boat looks even more chaotic on the inside than before and the space in our hotel room is getting smaller and smaller. The electrical work just takes a lot of time, we (not me,  but Jacques and  the electrical guy) have installed an electrical anchor winch, so that we don’t have to brake our backs handling the anchor. We have ordered two large holding tanks and an electrical head (toilet), so that we always are able to get rid of the really heavy stuff!!, but the other head stays the way it is.

We also are putting in new seating in the “living room” with some curtains, because after the inside was painted it was all a little too white.

We have also repaired and painted part of the keels and the sail drives (propellers) and will give her one more coat of bottom paint after the jack stands are moved.

Ria

Still very messy

Hello everybody, I had already written another blog, but probably had done something wrong, because I can not find it anymore. Have patience with me, I will get there!!!!!

Now the progress or non progress of the work on the boat. You always read about this topic but it is really true, everything takes much longer than we thought, it still very much a mess inside the boat and the hotel room is getting fuller. I have no clue anymore what the electric guy is doing, but there still is a lot to do. We have prolonged our stay in the hotel, but still hope to move on the boat in about a week or so???

Yesterday the holding tanks have arrived, so we will be working in the toilet area in the coming days, when that is done we are much closer to moving in. I have started also my buying trip, until now we have spent a lot of time in the hardware department of Home Depot, and we have plates and silverware to eat and blankets and pillows to sleep.

Next to us in the boatyard is a couple from Kansas who are fixing up their boat, also a catamaran, to go and live on it full time. They are not using everything (hand rails, a little sink etc.) and we are trying to buy some of their stuff, because it still is in very good shape, is a deal for both of us.

I will try next time to take some pictures and try to put them also on the blog.

See you all soon, Ria

Outfitting Lady Hawk

Hello Family, Friends and everybody else,

On November 14 we started our new adventure. After organizing the house (luckily Paul and Tom will come by once a week to look if everything is okay, we left for Pensacola and arrived at around twelve. Went of course immediately to our new winter home for the coming months, it looked still very nice, but on the inside it was a mess. The painter still had to clean up, the motor guy was busy and the Bimini gentleman wanted an urgent talk with us. It was one of the hotter days and we were way to warm clothed.

After talking to everybody we went to the hotel, we had three very big bags and four smaller ones and after we took half of the stuff the next day also home, the cleaning lady left us a little letter, that she could not get to the beds and put the linens on the table to do it ourselves, I really could understand that.

It is now Wednesday morning and our car that we still have till the end of the year, knows already the way to the boatyard with an urgent feeling to stop at west marine(the boat store, where we spent already a lot of money), because until now that is our daily routine.

The painter is out of our way now, the frame for the Bimini is installed (will be really nice!) and it looks a little bit more organized inside.

The weather is great for working, the wind a little bit cold, but sunshine every day, wonderful.

We have to leave now, Jacques is giving clear hints, but I will be back soon.

Ria

Hello World!

This is our other boat Double Dutch. She is currently on land in Wisconsin and we will be sailing Double Dutch during summer time on Lake Michigan.