The BILGE…
We all know and hate the bilge. The bilge is dirty, stinky, and looks like something out of a horror movie, at least ours was that way. Because we have all the floor boards at home for refinishing, we thought now is the best time to clean our bilge.
With so much dirt and grim in our bilge we decided we needed to scrub it first to see what we had to work with. Armed with Mr. Clean, Super Tuff and a lot of scotch brite pads we rolled up our sleeves and went to work. We scrubbed and rinsed for a straight day. Having access to a fresh water and a garden hose helped a lot, as we scrubbed we could wash down the bilge and drain the water out with the bilge pump. The little water that we had left we used our wet/dry bucket vac. With day one of cleaning the bilge done, we went home for a beer and shower.
Now that we could see the bones of the boat, day 2 was all about prep. We had scrappers and scratch pads, along with sand paper and acetone. We scraped all the loose old paint off, cleaned any additional spots that were missed and then gave the surface a full sanding. At the end of all this was the final vac, again with our wet/dry vac we sucked up as much of the dirt and old paint chips as we could.
Day 3 was the best! We got to see the results of our hard work. We were unsure which product to use at first and got some great information from different Facebook groups…with that, we decided to stick with Pettit Paint (we use Pettit for bottom paint). We purchased our Pettit Bilge Paint from Jamestown Distributors in white, and the results were instant. We did not use the acetone to wipe down the bilge before painting, for us, this did not cause a great concern. The paint went on great, with no issues, and while there was some left over paint chips, this didn’t affect the out come we were hoping for.
All in all, it took us 3 days to complete the bilge, and we are completely happy with our results and hard work!
James and Tammy on svoceanphoenix
Thank you @PettitPaint for a great product!
It’s that time of year 😎
Spring is right around the corner (literally, it’s tomorrow lol) and that means it’s boat prep time. Last fall we got ambitious and we decided to bring home all the flooring from our sailboat with plans on redoing them. Well, we have started. The weather is just nice enough to work in our garage to removed all the old vanish. We will keep you all up to date on the progress as we go. Please remember, we are new at all of this.
Over the next 2 months we have much to do. Finish the flooring, clean the bilge, redo the bottom paint, run all the halyards back through the mast again, install the new instruments, install the new PSS shaft seal, convet our icebox to a fridge… wow I see some long days and nights ahead, but we’re are excited!
THEN, we are on the water again and all the hard work is done but a distant memory. Our days will be filled with sailing, fishing, sundowners, and of course the regular maintenance involved with having a boat.
I don’t know about you, but we can hardly wait to get out there again.
Cheers all!
A Great Time!
The Toronto Boat Show was fabulous! We stayed at the Western Harbor Castle and we definitely recommend this hotel, wow! The service was fast, professional but very warm.
The boat show more then exceeded my expectations. This was the first time for me, James had been there in the past. When you walk in it’s total sensory overload… in a good way of course. We explored some of the new sailboats on the market, and yes they were really nice but I think we will keep our little gem. We spoke to a lot of vendors, and got some great information. We even made a new friend! Daryl was the shopping for his boat, an 89 C&C 37/40 +. We had spoken to him numerous times via social media, but it was a great pleasure for us to speak with him in person and share thoughts and ideas about our boats! Daryl, we look forward to seeing you in Troy, NY, as you pass by on your way south!
We had a lot of fun shopping for Ocean Phoenix. We bought new Raymarine instruments, a steaming light, 2 day / night vents, and a refrigeration conversion kit for our icebox. We are really excited about the kit, we will be able to keep items colder and have more of a shelf life. This kit converts our icebox to a refrigerator and even has a small freezer. Nothing better then an ice cold beer!
We are excited for all the work we have coming up, we are looking forward to making this boat so much more for us. We will try as much as possible to take pics and keep you all updated with our repairs and progress.
Cheers
Tammy and James on sv Ocean Phoenix
The Boat Show!
We are here at the Toronto Boat Show! We are excited to see all the exhibits and vendors… honey hide the credit card! Items of interest this year…
– Instruments
– North Sails
– Teak, and interior items
– Sunbrella material
– Windlass
– Manson Supreme Anchor
Just to list a few 🙂
We will report back with our thoughts about the show and the items we purchased!
Photo 1
One of my favorite pics! The blue sky, puffy clouds, American flag in the wind, and Ocean Phoenix sitting pretty on her mooring.
Photo 2
Our first night on Ocean Phoenix on the water. We had just gotten her into the water and there is no better feeling then your boat gently swaying in the water. Best sleep ever.
Photo 3
My amazing and loving family. We all enjoy the boat and each others company. And sometimes we just like to kick back, relax, and have fun together!
Photo 4
This is her first trip to the water in 4 years. She had been on the hard for that time and once we gave her a new name, painted her bottom and ensured all was safe…in she went!
Photo 5
James at the helm, this is the first time on Ocean Phoenix and without assistance. Being on our vessel has been amazing in every way. The total sense of joy, relaxation and peace that we get from being onboard is priceless.
Photo 6
First time at the helm. I was so excited to share this experience with James. As we are learning and exploring what Ocean Phoenix can do and what she can handle, it’s great to learn all the roles on a sailboat.
