A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2025

[OverEasy]

Hi Russ!

Yeah, getting the mast on & up are definitely on the list!
It’s just that until we get our pintle, hard pilot-house Dodger and improved arch/Bimini it’s gonna be a while.
We spend the majority of our boating time on rivers and estuaries down here and the mast complicates things limiting where we can go easily. In our first season we kept the mast on but in the lowered position. It was awkward as we regularly clonked ourselves on it. Maneuvering wasn’t easy as it extended aft a fair bit too so one had to be watching forward as well as aft at the same time. My eyesight dexterity was beginning to feel like a gecko’s with one eye in each direction… The next season without the mast was definitely easier!

We’d like to have mast back on but have it capable of being fully horizontal rather than angled up at the stern when stowed and at least 6-1/2 ft clearance above the cockpit sole (so I can retire my crash helmet ). We’d also like a Dodger that gives I bit of interior headroom and is strong enough to act as a support when getting up/down from the cabin deck

For now operating in cruiser mode works for us…

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi NiceAft!

Thank you for the suggestions of Snag-A-Slip, Dockwa, & Safe Harbor!
We weren’t aware of Snag-A-Slip and it will definitely be appreciated as we work on our trip planning and adaptation while enroute!

This upcoming ICW cruise journey is sorta a big thing for us and a primary reason why we originally chose to get our Mac26X.
Our week long journey to/from Charleston last year was a good initial shakedown of what we could anticipate on a longer trip.
Our extended 70 night stay on Lake Champlain familiarized us with living aboard Over Easy and how to comfortably integrate with differing marina facilities.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Hope everyone is doing well!
New England got more snow but currently here in SC the temps are in the mid to high 70s for the past several days with sunny skies!
Funny to recall there was snow on the ground only a week ago!

Been up in the attic fixing A/C duct work and move stuff out of the new kitchen area.
Gonna make ‘paper dolls’ of the proposed cabinets and counters as a means for the Admiral to “see” what things will be operationally before knocking down walls and the like. Measure three times before breaking things. Experience has repeatedly shown that It’s way too easy to break things but hard to actually create things that work for everyone….

It is a small thing to test out concepts and ideas with mock-ups and scaled trials rather than just tear things apart just because your stupid and have a hammer.

An acquaintance once hired a high flier buddy of his as a contractor to do a renovation of his house and kitchen without actually checking on the actual experience and costs of his “buddy’s “ prior projects that as the acquaintance said ‘looked sooo cool’. Turns out the ‘buddy’ tore apart all sorts of things and “was winging it” as he went…. Failed to get permits or qualified trades people… broke stuff that didn’t need to be…and then swapped in stuff that the ‘buddy’ thought would be ‘really neat’ but were functionally and aesthetically crap. After running grossly over budget and time the acquaintance found himself with a renovation that wouldn’t meet code, couldn’t be insured and was at risk of losing his mortgage. Meanwhile the ‘buddy’ just walked off after closing his LLC and opened another firm under a different one. The acquaintance was left holding the bag with what turned out to be years of trying to fix all the damages caused by letting his ‘buddy’ have a free hand to make ‘something unforgettable’. It nearly bankrupted him and did irreparable damage to him and his family by his account. Another premier graduate from the Famous University of Terminally Dumbness.

I much prefer working within the regulations and actually making a project actually work within time and budget.
It’s also a lot easier to make changes and adaptations on and with paper than wood, plaster and appliances.

On a more nautical note…. Looks like we’re gonna move our ICW Cruise timeframe forward by about a month.
Our younger daughter’s plans to hike the Pacific Crest Trail have changed and we will be taking care of her dog sooner than we originally thought. Originally she was going to do the first portion with him and the second half through the National Parks without him while we took care of him but that’s no longer the plan I’m told… As her dog is too big for the boat and our own dog and cat the best option is to move the ICW Cruise forward. Easy- Peasy … right? Phbbbt

It’s really not an impossible thing but it does change some things around on the logistics.
Plan is still basically the same as before to head north from Beaufort to Charleston and on further as weather permits.
Seriously considering the prospect of going as far north as time permits by boat then getting a slip for a couple days while we rent a car one way to drive south, pick up the van and trailer, drive north, load the boat on the trailer and then head south to home and relaunch to get back into our home marina slip. See? Easy-Peasy!

That way we can get to see more of the ICW and complete a longer section of at least the East Coast portion of The Loop!
It’s an idea at the moment anyway…

I’m gonna have to defer the top deck paint job and a couple of the planned mods I had hoped to accomplish but those aren’t critical to our cruise or our enjoyable use of our boat. The hard Dodger, arch, mast pintle are pretty much off of this years list on onto next years. Oh well…..

Hope to be launched at the beginning of April and in our slip to have some time to get things squared away.
Also will give a day or so to change out the bunks on our trailer that have seen better days.
Some PT 2x6s, boat carpet and new connector fittings should do the trick.

Gotta get back to it….
Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

The nearly 80F heat wave of last week has faded away to the 50s… might be back down to the low 40s next week….brrrrrrrr.

Glad I took advantage of that warmer weather to dig out the accumulation of all the pine straw around bases of most of our trees. The stuff has been building up over the years. Many were nearly a foot deep in effectively compost! Not good for the trees as it traps moisture against the bark above the root flair which can damage it if left unchecked as effectively as girdling it! Doing all that work early in that warmer weather felt nice.

Also found one of the 50 ft pines in the side yard is compromised enough to be of concern and needs to be brought down. Too big for me to contend with so the arborist is coming over this afternoon to give an estimate… that wasn’t in the budget…. … but better to take it down before it falls down on its own.

The new kitchen relocation & remodel is moving ahead. Took some blue tape and marked out the silhouettes on the walls and floor. The Admiral is getting comfortable with being able to physically walk through and play pretend in her new kitchen layout. Well worth the effort now with tape vs. potentially having to redo/undo wood later!

Hope to get into Over Easy for the first time since we got back here to SC. Will be doing an initial blow off of the accumulated winter detritus… amazes me how many pine needles and leaves collect in the cockpit! Hopefully things have stayed nice and dry over the past several months so the interior clean up will be minimal…. Hopefully.

Need to also pull together all that I’ll need to do the 200 hr annual service on the new Suzuki engine. It ran great last year and I want to do my part so that hopefully that will be the case for many many seasons to come.

Will also be making a list of what’s needed to rebuild / replace the bunks on the trailer. We’ll also be adding a glide path for the swing keel to keep it up should the haul out line break in transit or it accidentally drops down when launching (or I forget to haul it up when loading ). It will be nice to have a kit together ahead of time to make the work go faster once we get launched.

Started looking at our potential routes for our ICW cruise to figure out where we want to go and sights to see along the way. Ideally would like to limit daily travel times between marinas or moorings to 6 hours or less. That way we can have enough margin in the plan to contend with potential SNAFUs and minimize the potential of a FUBAR.

Any suggestions on sights to see or marinas north of Charleston SC and south of Virginia along the ICW are appreciated!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Well we got the new kitchen taped out on the floors and walls. Did some full scale walk throughs and played with a couple of rearrangements.

Then cleared a section of the garage to place the actual pieces into position.
That was fun to see and work with. Serendipitously this allowed us to see that a small rearrangement gave us some nice benefits.
(Note: We bought a nice “used” high end 15 piece kitchen cabinet set someone carefully deinstalled for a Hilton Head remodel from our local Habitat for Humanity Restore for a small fraction of what new cabinets would have cost. We’re be refinishing/painting them ourselves a piece at a time as we install them.)
Visited LOWES and HomeDepot for flooring over the weekend and found a really nice wide plank vinyl flooring for the kitchen, hall, family room and office/dining room.
Wall and cabinet paint colors finalization is next.
Plumbers have been called to come out for an estimate.

Things are moving along!

Looks like we may have to adjust our upcoming cruise foray time. Flexibility is key to enjoyment. Now looking at two to four weeks duration rather than four+ weeks. Still in the planning stages….

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

The weather it is warming up down south!

Unwrapped our 15 ft runabout that has been laid up since last July.
Worked on the 1990 vintage Johnson 50 outboard hydraulic snubber assembly
The snubber relieving valve has been malfunctioning and after about 3 hours of fiddling around it’s finally operational!
Hope to get it washed down this coming week and make a test run or two along with a fishing rod or two for company.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Hope everyone is doing well!
The weather is warming up here in SC… funny to think only a couple of weeks ago there was snow on the ground here!
Glad that’s over…(I hope so anyway ).

Finally got a new spare tire cover for the trailer spare… long over due! Looks nice.
Now I need to find one for the Dodge Caravan spare that is also bolted to Over Easy’s trailer .

It’s now the official start of Southern Pine Pollen Season here!
Everything outdoors is becoming covered in yellow dust… sticky too!
Gonna have to dig out the pressure washer to give Over Easy and Scrambled and our ‘new to us’ Transit Van a wash or three.
At least the Caravan can go through the car wash.

We have a now surplus 2007 Honda Accord which we are needing to get rid of.
Sort of a shame as it runs great but needs some cosmetics taken care of…
The choice is generate some boat money and sell? Or donate?
Fixing up to sell will take time away from other projects an some upfront costs to get what it’s worth…..
Donate is make a phone call, they come and it’s done with….
What do you guys think?

The kitchen remodel is coming along.
Starting the electrical wiring (yes it will all be done to the current NEC and IRC requirements).
Cutting the first holes is always intimidating…. No matter how many times one has done it.
There will always be something unanticipated…. Especially with southern construction..

Right off the bat whoever was the original electrician he managed to stretch virtually every wire in the house tuned to a ‘C’ note!
Purportedly one of the highly rated “Premier” electrical contractors did the work when the house was constructed. ( sarcasticly)
I can’t fathom how cheapa%%ed that is to save a foot or two of #14 wire!!! Fribble!
His non-code compliant version of “cost efficiency “… reminds me of another jerk but I don’t have the time to go there now.
It’s not difficult or hard or expensive to do things properly.
Short changing people and those in the future is the forte of Con Artists and criminals.

It’s easy for immoral unscrupulous morons to break things with hammers but it takes actual knowledge and skill to actually build something worthwhile…

Right now it’s time for me do the next right thing and to move on and get it done right as I go…

Our slip becomes available the beginning of April!
March starts Saturday!!!
Boy I really need to get busy on the boat cleanup, maintenance items and upcoming ICW cruise preparations!!!
Where did February go????

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[kmclemore]

Keep the Honda. They aren’t gonna make ‘em like that anymore, and with care it will last you until the next ice age. I’ve had 3… even a wagon… loved every one.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

Roughing in the electrical….









All the blue tape are our “real-time” mark ups of where all the cabinetry and kitchen stuff are gonna fit in.
Inch by inch …… …. Should go quicker from here on I’m hoping …

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[kmclemore]

All the blue tape are our “real-time” mark ups of where all the cabinetry and kitchen stuff are gonna fit in.
Inch by inch …… …. Should go quicker from here on I’m hoping …

Did the same thing when I designed and built out our bath, but I used colored yarn and just taped down the ends… then when I was done we could reuse it.

Update edit:
Can’t find a photo from when I was laying it out, but this is how it turned out… also included changing up to a SaniJet whirlpool tub and walk-in shower (not shown). We retained the wall-hung toilet since they are so much easier to clean around. The cabinets are all made of cherry, as well as the armoire across the hall in the walk-in closet.

[NiceAft]

Truly impressed.

I have talents, and I also know my limitations, you and Kevin both know your stuff. With your project, I would need to hire out. Good luck.

[OverEasy]

Hi Kmclemore!

WOW!
That turned out really nice! Beautiful!

That Cherry looks beautiful!
Very nice work!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Russ]

Hi All!

Roughing in the electrical….

Are you allocating for undercabinet lighting? The low voltage LED strips are super easy to install, but you need to plan the power sources. Our electrician placed the transformers in the crawlspace and ran switched 110v power to it. Low voltage wiring up to the cabinets.

Good idea to tape everything off to see how it feels. Also consider other lighting. I like lots of LED can lights. But pendant lighting works well over some counter areas. Sconces in bathrooms class it up. Kitchen lighting is so important as food looks better with proper temperature and amount of light.

Toilets?
Yes, cleaning those curvy trap bits is a pain.
One of the first things we did when we bought our current house was to change out all the toilets with skirted ones. So much better.

And at the risk of crossing the TMI line, a bidet seat will change your life. If you are remodeling a bathroom, install a GFCI outlet down there. Also, heated floors in a bathroom is awesome. All need to be well planned for electrical needs.

[OverEasy]

Hi Russ!

I love the idea of heated floors! So would the Admiral! Especially in the house up in NH!

The past week here on the renovation front has been slow going as this is the tedious rough-in phase of electrical and plumbing access.
Just one more wall outlet to cut tomorrow!
Then I have to cut a hole in the ceiling for the vent fan outlet and eventually a roof penetration… I’m always leery of the roof hole making bit… … as it’s always awkward and then something generally complicates what should be a simple thing…)
Spent the better part of today hunting down & checking dimensional drawings of the cabinets, cooktop and suspended vent fan assemblies as well as reverifying in-situdimensions to make sure where the vent needs to go.
To be honest, after getting to where I’m confident “X” marks the spot…. I’m actually going to wait until after the cabinets are actually in place before I cut that hole. I will run the electrical to the general area for it in the attic though and leave a longer wire loop for the junction box.

Inch-by-inch….
Tomorrow I start the actuall wire pulls and routings!
Hoping to get the plumbing water lines in this week as well.
The sink drain might take a bit as I will have to move a bunch of stuff in the garage to access that wall….

Still need to get boat prep and cruise planning accomplished…..and enroute marina reservations…..
Where does the time go? It’s already the middle of March!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Jimmyt]

Then I have to cut a hole in the ceiling for the vent fan outlet and eventually a roof penetration… I’m always leery of the roof hole making bit… … as it’s always awkward and then something generally complicates what should be a simple thing…)

Can you get to the soffit? Soffit discharge is much easier to retrofit than roof discharge. Also, less chance of leaks in the future.

I used a sidewall discharge for my kitchen and hid the ducting above the cabinets. On the second floor baths, I used soffit discharge.

Just putting it out there. Roof vents are fine if that’s what’s needed in your case.