Come on, Admirals - it's a new season

[Sea Dreamer]

Have you started your sailing season yet? What are you doing to get ready? Share your tips for preparing your boat, your family and most importantly yourself for a fun filled sailing season. Wouldn't someone like to start a thread on favorite sailing destinations - what can you see and do there? (No guys, not you - this is between us women-folk! I'm sure our ideas of good sailing destinations are way different) A lot of you have children - let's talk about boating and the kids. And on a non-boating theme - I'm about to become a first time Grandma. Advice for me? Not just the Grandma's, but Mom's how do your kids' Grandma's drive you nuts? I gotta know the best ways to spoil this kid. Let's get things cooking here in the Admiral's Galley...
Clarissa

[Valerie]

Clarissa,
Nice to hear from you, I had almost given up on getting anyone to respond.. I didn't actually think that your sailing season was about to start as ours is about to finish. Although I sail all year round, we are about to enter Winter but I've heard that our winters here in Oz are not as cold as yours

We have just spent Easter sailing the gippsland lakes in Victoria, Australia... absolutely glorious weather. And hopefully I've drummed up some participants in this forum. Hopefully!

I am a Grandmother by default with 5 comming on 6 of them and Yikes!! I'm not 50 yet Great revenge on your own kids are certainly the obvious noisy , messy gifts

Come on fellow Admirals .... we need you to make this work....

Valerie

[Mrs_Skipper]

I'm new to the forum... would love to have more discussion with other ladies on Macs. I'm just getting the basics down, but I can definitely see myself thinking about decor and the like sometime in the near future.

Just starting up the season with a 3-night stay (never out for more than one night before), I found many deficiencies in my meal planning and ice stowage that didn't show up with an overnight. Mainly I rely on a lot of yummy, pre-packaged things from Trader Joe's that take up too much room in the cooler and create too much trash. I also nearly ran out of ice.

[Kelly Hanson East]

Here is an ice trick

Freeze a one-gallon jug of water into a solid block - with a decent cooler and two of these, you will get 5 days+ of 0 Centigrade performance.

(just returned from Cuttyhunk with 4 girl crew - our coolers lasted Sunday through Friday with this setup)

[Mrs_Skipper]

Gallon jugs are a MUCH better idea than the 12-oz water bottles I used!

How did the girly outing go?

[Kelly Hanson East]

Absolutely Awesome!!!

[Mrs_Skipper]

Looks like a great crew you've got there! The guests will probably remember this trip their entire lives; what a great dad you are!

[OverEasyAdmiral]

Any other "Admirals" out there? Talking "Better Halves!" Hubby spends so much time on this site, I had to see what it is all about.

[AmandaRuth]

Hello OverEasy Admiral - I think I 'fit' on this message board, but happily lack a spouse to complain about.

I bought my MacGregor a few years ago from a dear friend that moved away for his wife's job, and then he had a tragic airplane accident and died. That is why I joined this group looking for a MacGregor 'mentor'. I was so surprised & happy to find so many mentors here. I believe your husband is one that has contributed answers to my questions! Thank you for his time.

When I bought the boat, I totally "girl-ified it". I tore up the gross gray carpeting, and put down nice new flooring that is rubber teak and makes my boat look so much bigger. Of course, I added curtains, but those didn't turn out so well...and I could use some advice on doing that better. I'm working on my sewing skills.

My passion, hobby and retirement plan is making boat logo/names...working with the owner to design the font, printing them on permanent vinyl that can be adhered to boats. I also make boat logo/names for iron ons. I should have ironed the fabric for this example better, but this is a bag that I made for another boat owner--and I made matching tea towels for their motor vessel.



Advice on curtains, anyone?

[NiceAft]

May an ex interior designer interject

This topic has be explored over the years; not that I recommend any, but here are some solutions.






We never added curtains, but we did add a nice carpet.


And for comfort, I added this. The hammock, not the wife. After 48 years, we're connected at the hip.

[AmandaRuth]

Thank you so much, and that hammock is an awesome add-on! Congrats on 48 years, too!

I attached my attempt at window dressings - Not quite curtains. It is material with black on one side, and white on the the other, and I bought suction cup clips to hold them in place. The material doesn't fray due to the white coating, so I just cut them to size. But in hind sight, I cut them a bit too small.

I also attached a photo of the rubber teak flooring that I installed. Below my pup you can see the bluetooth stereo upgrade I made that works well.

[NiceAft]

Your window treatment is smart, simple and practical; it works well.

[Be Free]

Those curtains may be within my meager sewing skills! Right now I'm anchored across the river from a busy restaurant wishing I'd made anything to cover my windows at night!

[AmandaRuth]

Hello Bill - I tried to find which material I found years ago so that I could share a link with you. Sorry to say I couldn't find it in my order histories.

It was a "double sided fabric", so that may help you search. one side is fabric, and the other is more of a 'coating' on the fabric like rubber or maybe plastic. it is all very thin, but the best part is it doesn't fray when you cut it.

This link below could have been it - but I can't be sure.

https://a.co/d/1vAXwfJ

these are the suction clips that worked for me in applying the curtains:
If you have hand sanitizer around (who doesn't?) then it is helpful in wiping down the interior area, and the suction cups-- to help with it staying:

https://a.co/d/53fAVEM