And the Work BEGINS!

Current Position: 33° 55' 18" N  78° 3' 40" W

Yes, that's a hole in our floor. That's the access to our engines.  At last we have mechanics on board.  First order of business is to clean up a few smaller but important issues from the survey - a battery under warranty that needs to be replaced and an cooling system issue for the port engine.

Upcoming work:

• Our washer/dryer combo will be be installed in our saloon. I know - strange place for a washing machine but such are the dimensions of the boat.  It's hard to find room for added appliances and we want our guests to have their own "head" - the only other sensible choice.
• New toilets - the existing ones are salt water and are getting old.  The smell is sometimes unpleasant and we can't flush the toilet paper :(
• Complete electrical system upgrade - most expensive upgrade.
• Add attachments to swim platform for the new dingy. The dingy should arrive next week but we won't take possession until the swim step is upgraded.
• A few more engine upgrades/repairs that will make our trip more stress free.
• When the cabinet maker redesigns the cabinet for the washer/dry he will also fix a railing outside and adjust a few doors that are warped.

Bob has already done some repairs/upgrades on the engine himself and installed safer electrical plugs to connect us to shore power.  He is in the process of removing the old name for the boat in preparation for "The Good Life" to be applied.  We have received the decal and I can't wait to see it on our transom (back of the boat)  He has hung our new "fenders" and is getting ready to mark the anchor chain at 25' increments so we know how much chain to let out when we anchor.  

I have been learning to cook in my tiny oven (more about that later) and clean a boat.  It's truly a whole "new adventure", and while we are anxious to be on our way we know that we will be better off in the long run if we do this the right way.

The adventure continues.....