Oriental, NC

Our gas grill is in need of some TLC….it was on the boat when we purchased it 8 years ago and it’s been great to have. But it’s looking a bit tired on the outside. (Most of the interior parts have been replaced over the years).  

So I just started scrubbing with the magic sauce - a paste of Barkeeper’s Friend and water.

Lots of elbow grease.

Not perfect but much nicer.

These little grills cost over $300 to replace so it’s worth a little trouble.

And I did finish up a couple of coats of white paint on the helm seat pedestal.  Looks OK from a distance, better than bare metal but not as nice as the powder coating….

Oriental, NC

 Jerry invited us to go sailing with him to check out the performance of some sail rigging changes he had made on Bluejacket. 

His changes worked out well and we enjoyed a perfect sailing day with mild temperatures for a few hours. A lovely breeze allowed him to sail almost all the way back to his dock.

  

Later, neighbors Joe and Colleen invited us to go to the Silos for Tuesday 2-Fer pizza night.  Can it be Tuesday already again???  Time sure flies!

On the way to the restaurant we checked out yesterday’s progress on Joe & Colleen’s house addition.   All the pilings in place. 

Will be fun to follow their progress. 

Oriental, NC

I always enjoy waving to the crab fishermen - they usually place a pot in our little bay right beside our dock.  Looks like the crab fishing is pretty good since they dumped quite a few crab out of the pot.

 We're just doing some random chores, taking it pretty easy.  Disassembled the gas grill, cleaned it and found Duane needs to fabricate a little metal tab that has corroded away.  He'll take that home for some precision work.....

 Another small chore was for Duane to route the new SSB antenna wire - requiring that he drill a hole in the boat! (He absolutely hates to have to drill holes in the boat).  We had the new antenna installed with the new rigging but we never had gotten around to routing the wire.....neatly done outside with a special flange to make it really waterproof..

 

And the other end of the wire inside the boat. 

 Another chore - the aluminum pedestal that supports the helm seat has gotten some corrosion over the years at the base that needed attention.

 

 I removed all the corrosion I could with the Dremel.
 

 

 Wiped it down good with acetone.

 

And gave it a good coating of primer.  Will do a couple of coats of white tomorrow after this dries.   It won't be a perfect match to the white original powder coating but it will be much better!

  

Oriental, NC

Donna and Jerry invited us over for an afternoon of cards....good fun as we haven't played cards in a while.   We joined them for a bite to eat at M&M's - always a treat.

On the way home - a little deer family on Fork Point Road!  So nice to have the cooler weather but the mosquitos are back with a vengeance!

Oriental, NC

 The wind is finally cool....but it's blowing a lot of water into our creek.  The water is lapping at the dock - and the climb onto the boat is high!!

 

 

Duane has been doing some maintenance on the dinghy - replacing an engine part, replacing a rusty mounted fire extinguisher. In addition, we emptied the dry bag that has all of our supplies, spare parts, emergency beacon, flashlights, etc.  Replaced all the batteries and a new flashlight.    Out on the creek for a test drive.

Just a fun little joy ride into the marshy areas.  Easy since we have 2' extra water in the creek right now!

Back to the boat, all is well.

Oriental, NC

 It’s been a bit rainy today….cooler but still muggy. 

Perfect weather for me to be stuck inside most of the day doing some airport paperwork!