The Pullout Pantry

Pam and Brissy the Cat and I are four and a half months into fulltiming in Island Girl now.  I hadn’t really planned on the trailer being able to operate in the cold, but we’ve been doing ok.  Everything works the way I wanted  and I haven’t found anything that needs to be changed.

Work is mostly done with the last fairly big project being the pullout pantry in the old broom closet.

I used a heavy bottom slider and a guide for the top from Rockler.  The sides are just simple one inch aluminum  stock from the hardware store.

The top guide mounts to a simple shelf over the top of the pantry unit.

The original door got reused.

I now have lots and lots of storage and the broom found a home in the wardrobe closet.

Island Girl Takes Another Ferry Ride

Very early and dark on Tuesday morning we headed for Anacortes to make the 0930 ferry to Lopez Island where my trailer spent many of her years.

Fog in Anacortes soon gave way to nice warm and sunny skies as we made the forty minute trip to Lopez.

Even though we’ve sailed in the San Juan Islands for years, I’d not been on Lopez since around 1980 when I was touring on my bicycle.  I’d forgotten how beautiful it is.  Island Girl’s former home actually has shoreline on both the front and back of the property.  We backed in behind Harold and Kathy’s motorhome, just a few feet from the water and surrounded by Douglas Fir and the distinctive Madrona tree, common in these islands.

Edith has her 94th birthday next month.  I know she was excited to see her old trailer again, but I don’t think she could have been more excited than I was.  Meeting her is really special to me.  I know the trailer is just a collection of aluminum bits and pieces, but it was an important part of the lives of those who have used her before me.  She’s taken great trips, served as a home (just as she’s doing now for Pam and me), and even for Harold and Kathy’s honeymoon.

Edith is a cat person, like me.  My Brissy is not the first cat to travel in the trailer.  She is adjusting well to the move from her sailboat, but it has been a huge change for a cat who has spent her life on a boat.  She had a fun two days too, walking on her leash, just like Edith told me she had done with her Siamese cats.

But Brissy was more than ready for a nap while waiting for the ferry for the return trip home this afternoon.

Those of us that love these old trailers really do so because of people.  We love the old aluminum and the way it shines, but we feel a connection to the guys that put them together at the factory.  And, we feel a connection to the people who have owned and used the trailers in the past.  It is about aluminum, but it’s mostly about people.  I feel so honored to have been able to make that special connection this week.

-steve

Something Really Cool

We took the trailer to our first rally last year at the Tin Can Tourist Rally in Lynden, WA, only twelve miles away.  Island Girl was an empty shell then, Alzheimer’s wouldn’t let us stay, and the weather was lousy.  This year we got to do it right with a nearly complete trailer, and no problems from Alzheimer’s as we’re living in the trailer fulltime anyway.  And, the weather was perfect.  Lynden is a great, laid back rally where everyone is just into old trailers and some cool old cars as well.

Saturday afternoon a fella came to the door who greeted me with “You have no idea who I am.”  When he said his name, though, I did know him as Harold was the son of the original owners of the trailer.  He and his wife (they celebrated their honeymoon in the trailer) were visiting friends, had no knowledge of the rally, but happened to drive by when their planned route was closed for construction.  They figured they’d just take a drive through the fairgrounds and look at some trailers, but happened to drive by one that was the same model his family had owned.
But, he saw the wheels and knew it was the trailer, not just the model.  If you’ve followed this blog, you know we’d earlier made an email and telephone connection.  He’d seen pictures and knew, even though we’d not been in contact for a year or so.

He and his mom have been on my mind.  We’d  earlier made tentative plans to ride the ferry out to Lopez Island to let her see her trailer when we got done with the work.  The weather is good, things are fairly stable with Pam, so it’s a good time to make the trip, especially since Harold and Kathy are heading to Lopez for a month to celebrate his Mom’s 94th birthday.  We’re going to try really hard to make the trip out there next week.
Very very hard to wipe the smile off my face right now.

Swallowing the Anchor

is the term for a sailor moving ashore.  We’ve now swallowed ours after almost 23 years aboard our little 31’ cutter.  We’re three weeks into life on Island Girl, our new yacht.  Three hectic weeks, especially for Brissy the cat and me, but thankfully Pam has made an easy transition.  It is a necessary change for us, but it is a big one.

The boat will soon be for sale, but I am so lucky that we were able to do so much more with her than we ever dreamed.  Pam was able to experience all of a sailing voyage around the world and I have my memories of it.

First winter aboard in 1988.  Nothing worked.  We knew nothing.

Tracy Arm in Alaska, 1996.

Baja, Mexico, 1997.

On passage to Galapagos, 1998.

A very dirty hull after a 30 day passage to the Marquesas, 1998.

Paradise on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, 1998.

Pago Pago Yacht Club in American Samoa in late 1998.

Approaching South Africa, 2002.

Haulout in Richards Bay, South Africa, Christmas, 2002.

The fabulous game park near Richards Bay, 2003.

Thousands of dolphins passing by us in a feeding frenzy as we near Cape Town, 2003.

The best sailing in the world, South Atlantic, 2003.

The crew that helped us through the Panama Canal, 2004.

* * * * * * *

And the new home is going to be just fine.

Island Girl Ceases Being My Shop

Since my subfloor has epoxy and a layer of fiberglass cloth on it, I've not needed to be careful with it and the trailer and its subfoor have been my shop for a couple of years. That ended today and I will now have to be careful.  Last week I made a stupid epoxy spill on the subfloor but it was easy to clean.  Tomorrow I shall move the epoxy out of the trailer.

Pam has bunches of bears, but mostly Pandas.

Those pandas dictated the choice of bamboo for the floor.   It was fitted around the cabinets as opposed to under mainly so I could replace it later if bad things happen to it.

It went in easily in a couple of work days, even with all the fitting. Still have the moulding yet to go, but that should be pretty simple. Shouldn't have been in hindsight, but I was surprised by the amount of waste. I'd gotten three boxes and figured I'd barely use more than two, but there are only 5 or 6 full pieces left and a lot of cutoffs thrown away.

I'm afraid to walk on it now, but I'm hoping that feeling goes away.

-steve

Holding Tank Venting

Island Girl had no holding tanks originally and only one vent that exited through the bathroom.  I utilized that existing hole along with the original scoop type vent cap for the black tank.  The gray tank vent runs through the wardrobe closet.  For both vents, I decided to use marine through hull fittings.  They make a watertight seal and terminate with barb type ends.  I stayed with barb type fittings for the tank as well and used marine sanitation hose for the actual vent lines.

The inside hole is large to allow access for installing nutplates that will let the vent cap be easily removable for maintenance.  I’ll add a trim plate to cover the hole later.

The vent cap came from a posting on Airforums about finding these neat little caps at some mobile home supply store.

Here the nutplates are installed along with the through hull fittng, ready for some Vulkem for a seal and 6 machine screws for the cap.

I also used Vulkem to add a bit of screen on the top of the fitting to keep the critters out.

Today the toilet got its final install as well.  Other than the flooring install, all the big systems are now in and functional.  Still several hundred little things to finish, but we’ve made it to the point that Island Girl is now totally useable.

Ice Cream

I like it.  I like it too much.  In the 23 years we’ve lived on our boat, though, we’ve never been able to keep ice cream onboard.  We have a good refrigerator, but it does not have a freezer.  During the years we were away from the U.S. cruising, ice cream was what we craved after a long and usually hot passage.  As soon as we anchored in a new port, we’d head ashore with our passports, boat papers, and two spoons.  Once the paperwork was done, we’d find a store, buy a two liter container of ice cream and usually eat it right on the steps of the store.

Ice cream is now one of the few foods that Pam can eat pretty well, so we often go to the grocery store on the way to the trailer and pick up a pint for her to eat.  I help.  I do.

Yesterday I got two half gallon containers of ice cream (coffee and vanilla bean) and put them in Island Girl’s fridge.  Today I was only there for a short time and did little work, just installed a cabinet door.  But, the ice cream is frozen solid in the freezer, so it’ll be ready for Pam tomorrow when we get over there.  How cool is that?  Ice cream in our own freezer!  I’m a happy boy.

Island Girl’s Systems are Go

Not much actual work today, but a big step forward. Yesterday I moved the trailer near a faucet and filled our fresh tanks. Today, the water pump and water heater got their electrical hookups done. Note to self: always make sure that you've hooked up the wires to the circuit breaker panel before you wonder why the pump doesn't work.

No leaks at all in the PEX. There's a drip at the water heater drain that needs attention and one at the strainer basket in the sink. Easy fixes. I will never like plumbing, but the PEX with the copper crimps and brass fittings works really well.

So we've now got heat, a cold fridge, hot and cold water, and a stove all functional.

Little by little, polishing continues.  Rain has about made it impossible for the last few days, but I’m planning to do it just a little at a time anyway.  Compounder and F7 Nuvite is all I’ve used so far.

-steve

Plumbing Water and Plumbing Gas

I still hate plumbing, but it's almost over. Fill lines for the two tanks and the sink drain remain to be done with the water. The pics show the layout in the galley with a few ball valves instead of check valves.

The low point is right at the water heater and using the heater bypass, I'm able to get away with a single drain line for the system.

Double flares have been keeping me busy for a week or so. I've been lying under the trailer on rain and mud soaked cardboard surrounded by the state animal of western Washington, the slug. I put in shutoff valves for each of the four gas appliances. The propane system is all hooked up now, but the tubing still needs to be secured to the frame. I'd never done the double flares before, so it was scary turning the gas on this afternoon after the last connection was made. Had a couple of joints that needed another pull on the wrench and one just plain crummy flare that evaded my quality control and had to be replaced.

Even though we've had temporary gas lines run for the heater for 2 years, it was still pretty cool to fire up the stove for the first time.

And, despite the rain, polishing has begun. Weather looks good for the next few days, so I'm planning on getting some more compounding done.

The curtain sewing project has given me the sewing bug.  I’m going to try to sew my own awning and window shades and bought an old Pfaff 130 sewing machine on eBay for the task.  It is a year older than me and six older than the trailer.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t well packed and arrived with the base for the case pretty well destroyed.

I took it completely apart and repaired it with epoxy and fiberglass, so it’s back in pretty good shape now.

The machine came through it fine and should be able to handle any awning work I throw at it.  My own capabilities are limited to throw pillows right now, but at least an awning is on the horizon.

-steve

I Still Don’t Like Plumbing

but this PEX stuff is really nice.

I’m using the brass fittings with the copper crimp rings and it all goes together really quick.  My system is very simple with only a galley faucet and and shower and toilet.  It’s being made outside in modular sections, one for the bath and one for the galley.

The plumbing for the shower and toilet sits inside a still to be finished cabinet between the bed and the bath with the feed coming from under the bed.  Almost everything was done outside except for the last two elbows connecting the feed lines.  The crimper needs quite a bit of room.

So the only crimps that had to be done inside are the two at the top left in the above picture.

Then everything slides into place inside the cabinet.

Outside, the fills for the two fresh water tanks, the city water hookup, and the fresh tank vent are all mounted in place.  They’ll just need Vulkem and final fastening to finish.  These four fittings are all marine style.

58 degrees is forecasted for Saturday, so we might head for the car wash tomorrow to get ready for some outside polish work.  It’s way past time for my summer uniform of shorts and flip flops.

-steve