We’ve had over a week of straight beautiful spring weather and we’ve been hard at work. Feeling back in the game.

Task 1 was installing the thrust bearing thus completing the entire driveline assembly. First Garrett made a block that span the length between floor timbers out of this great piece of fir that my brother handed to us from a construction job. Then he had to take his time making measurements to shape the next piece. Out of a mahogany chunk a follower donated he formed the mount with the precise angle for the thrust bearing to sit upon.

 With a nice gooey batch of peanut butter epoxy he smeared the stuff on the bottom to secure it to the fir block sitting snug against the thrust bearing.

The thrust bearing, as I’ve mentioned before, is crucial in the driveline assembly. This will take the load of the forward and aft thrust from the motor on the prop shaft.

DONE!

Greased and oiled ready to give us some momentum!

While Garrett was hard at work with that he put me on some routine boat maintenance! Can you believe it!!! The boat is far from being complete but it felt incredible to be doing bright work on the water. The locust bulwark stantions have gotten a little weathered. It was time to clean up the bases with an old tooth brush and repaint the compound where they go through the deck. Still today we have NO leaks down below. The hull has swelled tight and the deck doesn’t leak a drop.

The next step of this task was to sand the posts just to remove dirt and then soup ’em up. Garrett altered his mix a bit by adding some more varnish which really helped all the bright work dry to the touch. I don’t have a finished picture but I got all 32 posts sanded and coated before the rain came again the following day. The altered mix also proved itself after this little rain in the beautiful water droplets left behind just sitting on the surface.

Garrett’s moved right into the next engine project which is rebuilding the exhaust elbow. It was a huge pain getting the old one un-seized from the engine fitting. A blow torch, a monster wrench, a 2by4, and a strapping young man finally broke it free. Last thing still to do with the exhaust elbow besides the hoses is to wrap it for heat shielding. The little outlet you see is for the raw water exit. The to-do list for the engine has a few check marks now. Next major steps are the fuel tank and the gear/shifter box that will be on deck. Then there’s all the little stuff fuel lines, raw water stainer, cables, and hoses.

 

 

To properly measure for the hoses and lines Garrett’s decided to put in the two quarter bunks which the lines will be lead under. So first he put in the real top for the counter. Still just plywood for now without any major framing for storage but this allowed him to get the measurements for the half bulkhead that will separate the galley from the single starboard quarter bunk. Then the final bulkhead, also a half, that separates the dinette from the double port quarter bunk which the exhaust hose will be lead under out to the transom of the boat.

It was a gorgeous day to be outside ripping plywood. Judy, our host, has to be the most wonderful person. She’s always so happy to see us getting work done on the boat. A friend called her a unicorn, people like her just don’t exist right?, I’d say that’s pretty accurate. Almost a week and a half of continuous work on the boat. It feels great! Some more rain has moved in just in time for me to get to work on the next episode 😉

Also, if you haven’t heard we have our new t-shirt design up and going on Bonfire. We’ve sold over 80 shirts so far which is really giving us the upper hand on the materials we need to keep this boat building. We’re getting our vary own brand new planner that will prep our stock for the decking and many other projects to come. Next clear day Garrett will be on the table saw cutting the planks for the bulwarks. He can’t wait to get outside since he’s been stuck inside fiddling with the engine. All good things though. Thank you all who have read all the way down to the bottom of this! Headway is the word of the day.

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Starting Monday the weather man claims our first week of sunshine has arrived. We’d been watching the forecast to decide when the best time to get back to the boat would be. The time away has been exactly what we needed. Coming back we felt a bit nervous. Not wanting the remaining squalls to put us back in the same mindset; feeling unable to make progress on the boat but Garrett and I got to spend so many wonderful nights and days with good friends and family filling our cup.

We took many walks. Stared out over the ocean. Absorbed whatever sunshine broke through.

We could kick our boots off and Swabie found a stick.

There was evidence here too that the weather hasn’t been exactly kind. Bad winters have been known to wash boats on shore in Port San Luis. An eerie reminder; it could be worse.

We’ve had two boats here in Port SLO. Our first purchase together, Black Pearl, and our first wooden boat/second project, Baltia. It brought back fond memories. Scout, our last boat before moving north, sailed us here the summer before building Rediviva. There’s nothing like arriving, even into a familiar port, on your own vessel and dropping the hook. We miss that so much. It won’t be long till we experience that but on a boat we built! That will be incredible!

The bay Garrett grew up in was Morro Bay. More specifically the back-bay. He’d often be found messing about in something he built resembling a boat when he was a kid. As he got bigger so did the boats. Sailing was a refuge. A feeling of security and freedom. A few words some would NOT say describe sailing but they do for Garrett.

We helped Garrett’s mom and grandpa get more settled. Adding trim, assembling furniture, and hanging pictures. Garrett even played an open mic night in Pismo Beach!

We did make it to Minney’s but not much luck this time. We walked the whole place (about 2 hours!) and came out with a $9 anchor windlass handle. The drive down to SoCal was beautiful though. The clearest we’ve ever seen it. North of Santa Barbara you could see straight out to San Miguel the north most island of the Channel Islands chain.

We also drove down here to visit a few of Garrett’s oldest friends. So what we didn’t spend at Minney’s we took his buddy’s famous “food tour” and stuffed our faces and laughed with the people that know us best.

It was hard to leave southern California but it was time to take home with us everything we learned. It’s important to take time for yourself. It’s important to keep up on your friendships. It’s important to have fun and live your life even when things feel hard. We returned to Rediviva with a freshness. We’re looking to future projects not with distain but hope. There are so many milestones to be had and celebrated.

We’ve learned that it’s okay to get away from the boat but also how important it is to us to live aboard her when we’re there. Rediviva is our home. So we spent our first night aboard since shortly after we launched her. Cooked dinner, shared a bottle of wine, and talked about our goals.

There are still so many thoughts to organize so I’ll share them as they unfold but the main priority is still to get the engine up and running.

The thrust bearing had arrived which is the last piece to the driveline set up. After this is installed we can then move onto the fuel tank, wiring, filters, fluids, and shifting cables.

Since we are always more productive when we’re closer Garrett whipped together a counter top. The rest of the interior will come together after we knock off a few more major projects like the decking and rig.

It feels good to be home. We’re ready for the next stage in building.

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I received this text on Thursday… so we’re taking some more time away from the boat. Although, now we’re thinking we could have waited to launch the boat and she would have just floated off the stands soon enough.

(maybe all the Noah jokes were true??)

We can make better use of our time recuperating and organizing our thoughts. Maybe even a little boat part hunting! A little further south from Garrett’s mom’s place is a wonderful dusty shop called Minney’s Yacht Surplus. We’ve written about them before but it’s been over a year since we’ve dropped in to see what they have. Road Trip!

I’ve tried for years to get Garrett to take time away from the boat. Especially during the winter months. He’s starting to listen 😉

Sometimes there’s no place like home. Soaking up family time instead of being drenched at the boat is just what the doctor ordered. I’ve gotten two videos done and working on the third. Garrett’s replaced flooring in three rooms and the trim, painted, and about to repair the kitchen cabinets. We’ve cooked meals with loved ones and shared memories over wine. Swab’s looking forward to a beach day with the next glimpse of sun. We’ve visited our favorite sandwich shop and sushi joint. Today’s more painting and drinking tea inside a warm, welcoming home!

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In an attempt to get organized and on the same page a list was created. Garrett’s head is full, too full. How can we relieve some of that pressure? While getting away and distracting ourselves from our monstrous project is nice it doesn’t change the fact that we will inevitably have to return and deal with our problems. Because we are adults. Taking in some advice I think breaking down what’s left to finish Rediviva is a good idea. So looking at the next three to five projects this is what we’ve come up with:

#1 The Engine

#2 Bulwarks

#3 Decking

#4 Anchoring

#5 Main Interior

Even this can make your head hurt. So the first three things then. Bulwarks and Decking are a want-to slash would-be-nice but also “if we were to do things in order” kind of thing. They both require dry working days (we’d love sunny) and … more wood. Having these things done would make #4 easier. In order to set the boat up to anchor we need a bowsprit, samson posts, windlass, anchor, and rode. The only things we don’t have are the samson posts and the bowsprit which if we had the decking laid first we wouldn’t have to work around them later and the bulwarks would help determine the sheer thus determining the angle of the sprit. All of which we need more wood for. So back to #1 The Engine.

We had to make a sub-list for it’s involved. So far, this list has 15 items. Thankfully, most are just a matter of purchasing said items but building the exhaust elbow and control box and installing the fuel tank are more elaborate. We have a good amount of what’s needed like the shift/throttle lever, wiring, fuel tank, and locust for control box to run the Westerbeastie. Some of the things we need to buy are raw water stainer, starter battery, cables, fuel lines, but most importantly the thrust bearing. Where to even start? Well we just got paid for January’s videos so let’s get the thrust bearing! Not something we want to cheap out on so there goes $262. It’s on its way to Napa! There we go, progress! Visual progress is extremely satisfying but we’ll have to settle for new parts arriving in the mail and pretend it’s Christmas again. “Oooo, a thrust bearing, just what we’ve always wanted” and “Oh, oh a water lift muffler! You shouldn’t have.”

Hopefully we can find a few things at the two marine consignment shops near-ish by. Trick is not to get distracted and buy something less crucial. Although ports would be nice. If there’s a deal to be had we will find it. If it’s not having the money it’s the hunt that can delay projects but that is also part of the fun.

I think I can help Garrett get organized and stay on task. Really work as a team to finish this thing. We’ve decided the engine is priority number one. As our budget allows we’ll move onto the other things. Planking the deck would be a major moral booster so our eyes are pealed for the right wood/craigslist deal. The deck being everywhere wood and the bulwarks planked will make her feel even more “shippy.” Next would be getting her ready to anchor. To be able to drop the hook in the river and spend a night away would be amazing. Finishing the interior is an ongoing thing but we’ll be able to start sleeping aboard soon; now that the forward bunk is in. The interior is more together now than it was when we were living in the boatyard. We need to get a few more boat things checked off the list but I want to start checking things off the make-her-a-home list too. So finishing the interior comes in at #5. It’s weird to feel excited, determined and overloaded all at the same time. I guess it’s just a strange point in the build. We are in the water, floating which is extraordinary but also still very much in the construction stage. She’s a boat but not a sailboat yet. We’ll get there. One step at a time. Thrust bearing is ordered.

Sub-step one in progress.

 

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Garrett’s mom has just purchased a house that needs some TLC and upgrading! Since we are in need of some work and are at a stand still with boat until we can afford more materials (as well as just needing some time away) we were happy to get her call. The front room of the house was bare concrete and who better than Garrett to install new flooring? I’m sure Susan is glad to have a handy DIY son!

 The entire first day was spent removing the some 20 pieces of tile that were at the foot of the front door. Popping the tile was the fun part scraping and grinding the mortar however was awful. After sweeping up the debris we had to mask up for two days for the dust didn’t want to settle. Day two was a rockstar day. First, laying down the black plastic moisture protection layer then the gold foam cushioning and noise barrier.

The underlayment was fun to roll out and trim. Garrett and I talked at length about how much easier house projects are than boats. Right angles. It has been awhile since we felt like we had a killer day like this. We started around 9 and didn’t stop till about 7. It’s good to know we can still pull hours like that. The boat has become laborious and demotivating. I think that means we need a break… Nonetheless Garrett and I can’t stop working. We might be crazy people. We have to keep creating and constructing to find meaning but Rediviva is now just a nuisance. It may be in our best interest to pick a new project or at least something to split our time and energy on so we can re-inspire our love for the dream. We are stoked to be down in central California with someone else’s project to occupy these thoughts. Even Swab is excited to take a load off and soak up some sun…although, I don’t know how that’s any different from what he does at home but what do I know?

So shiny! Maybe the floor should remain gold? Certainly makes you feel royal.

Once the two layers of underlayment were secure Garrett took charge installing the laminate floor and I turned my sights on painting. Every room in the house is getting a little painting upgrade. We also ripped out the old carpet in the two bedrooms. Why is destruction so satisfying? Taking a razor blade to the carpet and tearing it from the tack strips was gratifying. Rolling up the old, throwing it out the window, and bringing in the new. I feel like it’s a metaphor for life. Maybe that’s what needs to happen on Rediviva? We need to toss out our old crapy sheets, replace our tired tools, thin our belongings (stuff!) and refresh our minds with a little self-care.

No lights in the house yet so a decent picture of the flooring last night wasn’t possible but it’s amazing how it’s transformed that front room. I can now get in there with fresh paint and make this a home for Garrett’s mom. Today, I’m strapping myself to the computer to work on Episode 43. Honestly, I love seeing the house evolve into a home that I’d rather be there but I can’t wait to share the launch with all of you!!! I’m torn. Feeling motivated and inspired today. So many life lessons to be found in the sometimes oddest of places. We’ll be down here in Garrett’s hometown for at least a week hoping to return to Rediviva a new! Thanks everybody 🙂