We have lots of catching up to do since my last post, and we've been busy.
We're still berthed at Clearwater Downtown Harbor where we've been since Hurricane Irma came through this area. We still highly recommend a floating dock if you can find one. As in the photo above, anchoring out is our favorite activity and getting a sunrise photo is something we always look forward to.
On a personal level, my father passed away since I last posted. His care and health management took a lot of my time, and posting trivial things in regard to Swing Set just didn't seem like a priority to me.
Recently, Rosie and I have been kicking around the idea of selling the boat, mainly because it's a sellers market, and to be honest, we've moved into a new neighborhood north of Tampa and are enjoying time at home more than time on the boat. But we know it's only because it's new.
When Covid first hit, we devoted a great deal of attention to making some much needed changes to Swing Set, so back in 2020 I contacted a local upholstery shoppe and made a plan to install all new upholstery to the outside seating on the boat.
As you can see, we matched the factory design, except I felt no need for the gold piping, and we didn't have the nerve to ask the shoppe to match the Sea Ray logo on the seat backs. One thing we did that other owners might like, and you can see it plainly in the last photo, is that I made a seat back from starboard and hinged it at the base and the cushion for the seat back has a sleeve that goes over the attachment, and part of the back swings out and holds the seat back up for a more upright position. It makes all the difference in the world when sitting on the lounger. For naps the seat back lays back against the dash like the designers intended.
I was able to take the seat parts in two batches at a time after taking everything out. The whole process only took a couple of weeks, but matching the seats was the most time consuming for them, but it was worth having the look of factory seating instead of something resembling an add-on after the fact.
Our radar shot craps too, and even had it not, an update was definitely in order. We decided to bite the bullet and install a 16" Garmin unit on our dash, which incorporates a depth finder, so the screen was placed where four other instruments were originally. A new dome sits atop the post on the radar arch, and it looks like it belongs there.
To the right of the helm, a starboard panel was installed in place of the old radar unit and that's where we placed the VHF radio, a mount for the iPhone, as well as a bracket for the iPad. I'll use the iPad for redundancy if we do some long distance traveling again, but I'm so happy with the Garmin display, the iPad is not getting much use these days.
Since my last post, our inverter quit working, but it was able to be repaired, and I've replaced all eleven Group 31 batteries, but that is to expected every 4-5 years.
On a major note, two years ago we had to haul Swing Set out at Pitman's Yacht Services in Tarpon Springs. The bottom paint that I had applied when we were in Marathon was about gone, and our boat hull cleaning crew was grumbling about the additional effort it was taking to keep the bottom clean, even at a twice per month interval.
Since the bottom had to be painted, I had the yard raise the bottom decal by two inches, so that the bottom paint line was well above the waterline and we now avoid any brown dingy stains, keeping the hull sides looking nice and clean.
Not a week after splashing Swing Set back in, we were cruising out Hurricane Pass out into the Gulf and I got tangled in a boat that was sunk in the channel and we scraped up our new bottom paint some. I dove under the boat and determined that I wasn't going to haul the boat out again, but promised the hull cleaners that I'd do it again on the following year, knowing that we'd be due for another buff and wax in a years time anyway. So last year, we hauled Swing Set out again at Pitman's and did a "half bottom job", replaces the dripless shaft logs (one had split) and had all new decals replaced on the upper structure, omitting the gold pin striping that doesn't last in the sun anyway. We used all black and also left off the script that tells everyone that the boat is a 400 Sedan Bridge. We wound up with a nice clean look, and if someone doesn't know what model we're cruising down the waterways with, well, who cares?
Not two weeks back into the water we were anchored off our favorite spot at Three Rookers, and the wind, which the forecast promised to blow out of the northwest all night, decided to change its mind and nudged us into the shore and the picture above is what I found in the morning at sunrise when I felt the hull bump the bottom. I had to make a call to Towboat U.S. and get a guy out of bed on a weekday to come and pull us off as the tide was going out. I have no compunction admitting to such a dumb mistake, as well as saying I didn't have the anchor alarm set either. If you've kept up with this blog, you know that if it wasn't for dumb stuff I've done over the years, there wouldn't be much to write about.
Lessons were learned, but the next time the boat bottom got cleaned, the boat report stated that there was paint missing along the centerline on the hull. Once again, the divers were informed that they would have to work around the damage until the next year, which was just a couple of weeks ago when we were customers of Pitman's again. We're on a first name basis at this point.
We got another "half bottom job", as well as a thorough buff and waxing. Before we left the boat in the yard, I had removed the sunscreen around the salon windows and painted it. Yes, painted it. That sunscreen was over $2000 several years ago and the vinyl was wearing thin on it. For the last three years I've removed it and spray painted it with fabric spray in a can. It looks pretty good, no?
Not to waste the chance, I had Pitman replace the two belts on each engine (I've done it, it's a pain in the butt.) I also had them replace the impellers on each main engine. (I've done that two, another pain in the butt.) They did a look see in the rest of the engine room and pronounced Swing Set to be in perfect health otherwise. The picture above is the day we returned to our slip.
Earlier this spring, I called Boatswain's Locker and got on their list to make a flybridge cover to replace the original one that had a three inch rip in it. There is no sense in repairing rips that start, the fabric is shot and you're just throwing money away. Now all of the canvas matches. I had them modify the design for a better fit around the bimini frame, as well as add some flaps to cover the scuppers on the rear overhang so birds can't get into the upper deck and nest.
Since my last post we had to replace our tachometers too. The original instruments are no longer in production but we found a pretty good match by another manufacturer. Only one tach was bad, (the needle fell off.) but for appearances sake, I replaced both of them. Tachs with a mechanical hour meter are nearly impossible to find anymore, so I had to add a digital unit to the instrument panel and there was room between the tachs. I kept an old one to verify our total hours which I add to the digital total when figuring out maintenance intervals. I'll send along more info if anyone needs it.
I better save something else to post in a few days, or else it will be another two years before you hear from me again. Use the search engine on this blog to find items in regard to maintenance issues, or information regarding our time in The Bahamas. Wow, that was nine years ago!
