Jim has been busy….new countertop, larger motor, fresh water tank plumbed in and bottom almost done….among other things

Here is how the bow looked before he started on it. Lots of scrapes and serious gouges. There was no bow support so it just rammed into the winch when being loaded.

After filling all the gouges and a couple coats of gelcoat………..

It still needs a few coats of Poliglow and the keel guard put on.

Then the fresh water tank was installed under the counter (white thing on lower L) along with the water pump, faucet and water heater. The water heater is in the bottom of the cupboard to the L of the sink, on the floor. He is working on the new counter top. The old one had a hole cut in it for the stove. I’ll be using a butane stove on the counter.  We are waiting for the handheld shower and knobs. They will be on the outside wall under the hardtop just below the level of the counter top. All the water plumbing is in the same area. Outside shower so we don’t have to water proof the head.

The larger kitchen window and new countertop really lighten up that corner. It still needs to be caulked and trimmed.

We had a few rainy days so lots of inside work got done.

Installed an idiot light for each bilge pump, a new tachometer, VHF radio and antenna, fish finder, and the tilt and trim for the outboard motor.

Once we are sure the water system has no leaks we can put it in the water for a few days and check things out.

We are thinking about putting in the Harris Chain of Lakes, Eustis FL.

You can travel from Lake Eustis into Lake Dora or into Lake Harris and Little Lake Harris and thru a canal into Lake Griffin. We did this several years ago and were able to go from Lake Griffin up the Oklawaha River to the Silver River and into Silver Springs, where they have the glass bottom boats. The Oklawaha River runs N to Lake Oklawaha and thru the Barge Canal into the St Johns River. At the time, we were unable to travel that stretch….too many deadfalls from the hurricanes: Charlie, Francis and Jean,  obstructing the river.

We did try to travel S from the Barge Canal into the lake, but it was so choked with Hydrilla that you could hardly move thru it.

Jim’s brother, Carl, lives on Lake Yale. Unfortunately, it isn’t connected to the other lakes with anything big enough for a boat.

We need to put 10 break in hours on the motor and this should do nicely.

We are trying to fix all the major repairs and install the necessary equipment. Cosmetics will have to come as we get to them.