Page 6
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| Cabin Fever |
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| The cuddy cabin was largely ignored the first season we had the boat, but over the winter of 2006 it was time to make things better. The chief job was removing the old headliner, which was in very bad shape. Frequently damp until Mike sealed up all the leaks, the headliner material was falling and down releasing all sorts of toxic particles into the air whenever it was touched. Mike pulled, scraped and sanded until the old headliner and glue was gone. |
| Is This Better? |
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| Samantha shows off the cleaned-up cabin interior. She is sitting on the portable head. Not wanting to have the same rotten headliner situation repeated in the future, Mike decided to smooth the rough ceiling surface as much as possible and paint it rather than install a new headliner. No, this doesn't have the fit and finish associated with Boston Whaler boats, but it's functional, certainly looks better than the old deteriorated headliner and Mike can still install a new headliner in the future. The forward-most bulkhead has new headliner material and a newly refinished teak door to the rope locker. Thanks to continuousWave.com member c_mccann of California for the door! |
| Interior Design |
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| Samantha poses on the starboard side of the vee-birth. Mike has fashioned from plywood a V-shaped insert to fill the space over the portable head and plans to have a cushion made for this piece, which is not present in the photograph. With the cushion, this will increase the size of the sleeping space considerably and will be a welcome addition for overnighting. Behind Sam, look close and you will see the two 12-volt, cigarette lighter-style power connections Mike added to power such devices as a portable DVD player or MP3 player. The hose in the bottom right of the photo lifts water from the small bilge pump installed in the pump below and takes it through the starboard rigging tunnel to the rear of the boat, where a large bilge pump evacuates the water overboard. This is mainly used when we wash up dirty or sandy footprints from the cabin sole. |
| At the Helm |
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| A Garmin GPSMAP 3005C display unit provides GPS, sonar and XM satellite weather data to the captain. The angle from this picture doesn't show it, but from the skipper's vantage point the Garmin unit does not obscure the gauges on the dash, which are an analog speedometer, SystemCheck tachometer, Navman 3100 Fuel monitor, outboard trim indicator and water pressure gauge. The Icom VHF radio is in the radio cabinet below, and the cabinet doors can be latched open or shut. When open, the radio microphone hangs within easy reach. A remote speaker makes the radio easier to use, too. |
| Under the Arch |
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| Three-year-old Samantha took this photo of Daddy. Here's a good view of the radar arch, which was made by ArcTek Marine to Mike's specifications. The rear-facing lights really light up the deck at night, and they are more than handy when backing into the slip after the sun is down. An eight-foot Digital-brand VHF marine antenna is to starboard, folded down in the picture so it will fit underneath the boathouse roof. The GPS antenna is to starboard, too, and the XM weather antenna is to port. In the center is a nice big surface where a radar dome can be mounted in the future. The all-around white navigation light, clipped off in this photo, has been relocated to the arch. |
| The Power Plants |
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| Mike fixed up the beat-up engine cowling of our Evinrude OceanPro 175 while he was working on the boat over the winter. New paint and new decals improved its looks considerably. The little five-horsepower Nissan four-stroke kicker is visible, too. |
| Dockside at The Wharf |
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| From the boat, Sam looks out at The Wharf, a new shopping, condo and marina development along the ICW in Orange Beach, Alabama. Well, actually, she's watching Daddy take a picture of the boat. From this shot, the new aluminum-framed hatch can be seen atop the bow deck. The old hatch had become brittle, broken and leaky, so Mike replaced it with the new Bomar hatch over the winter of 2006. |
| Love Those Floating Docks |
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| The public marina at The Wharf, brand new when this picture was taken, is equipped with some very nice floating docks. It's nice to be able to board or exit the boat without having to deal with the high or low tidal water levels we deal with at fixed docks. The anchor pulpit really adds to the LOA lines of Sweet Samantha, doesn't it? New gaskets, caulk and flanges around the old portlights made them look better and took care of some annoying leaks. |
| A Manmade Island |
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| Sweet Samantha closes in on Gaillard Island. The small island is located two miles east of the Theodore Industrial Park, which is on the west side of Mobile Bay, and approximately 10 miles south of downtown Mobile. The 1,300-acre island is triangle shaped and is made from the spoils of dredging to create a ship channel. The island, visible from the mouth of Dog River, was born in 1979. |
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Contents (c) 2006 Mike Brantley This page was created on Saturday, September 10, 2006. 
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