The Adventures of the "Must Be Nice" Houseboat

2 Different Edge Details of Sani-Tred Application

Wade Goldthwait — 2011-09-02T20:10:02Z

I received a Comment from Steve Bishop asking me what I did for an edge detail with the Sani-Tred on the plywood that I used for my decks. He said he had used the product a couple of years ago for a truck bed and was impressed with the way it has held up.

My understanding from the application instructions provided by Sani-Tred is first apply a prime coat of Permaflex and then when dry apply a mixture of LRB (Liquid Rubber Base) and TRV (Thickening ActiVator) to the edge in such a way as to give you a sloped surface from the top of the plywood to the surface your plywood is attached to. In the case of the plywood being at the edge of roof or walkway I stopped the plywood about 1/8" to 1/4" from the edge and beveled it at about a 60 degree angle.

The plywood and edge of gunnel was then coated with prime coat of Permaflex.

I then applied the mixture of LRB & TAV with a spreader to fill in this angled surface so that it looked like 90 degree edge.

Now the surface is ready for the rubber non-skid granules and a coat of the LRB followed by a coat of the Permaflex-AL as a finish coat.

I made a new engine room hatch for the rear deck and used 1/2" aluminum U-Channel for the edges. I applied the aluminum with waterproof Polyurethane construction adhesive and then taped off the edges and applied my deck treatment.

I hope this gives you some ideas about some different ways to treat edges. I am sure there are probably better ways and I would love to learn about them. If I do, I'll pass it along.

Hang to the riggins,

Wado

A little bit of this and that part II

Wade Goldthwait — 2011-07-04T15:03:57Z

As you may or may not recall, (I can't recall anything. That's why I started this blog. Now I can see what the hell I did earlier), I removed 2 side windows because of changes in the interior design. I wanted to take advantage of the wall space for a bigger head and additional wall cabinets in the galley.

Here's a picture of the old windows and the new ones. I had them made at Bomon in Canada. I sent them a full size template that I traced on construction paper and they sent back 2 windows that fit perfectly.

In addition to the windows I managed to get some work done on the rear upper deck and a portion of the side decks.
Here's the upper deck before adding 1/2" exterior plywood.

Here's the deck with plywood.

I have applied the prime coat of Sani-tred and the gap filling putty of Liquid Rubber Base.

Next I applied another coat of Permaflex and spread rubber non-skid granules into the wet surface.
When dry I will vacuum up the loose granules and apply a coat of liquid rubber base to lock in the granules.

The side deck section has had the Liquid Rubber Base applied over the granules.

Here's the deck with finish coat applied. It is soft to the feet but offers incredible traction.

This product is best applied in warm temps and we finally got some decent weather on a weekend so I am trying to get as much done as I can. The summer flies by and this year I'm going to lose some time due to an arthritic knee which needs to be replaced. That is scheduled for August 2nd. I hope the weather continues to be favorable for all of us.

Who loves you?
I do.
Wado

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Wade Goldthwait — 2011-07-03T23:36:25Z

Progress on the restoration has been spotty. I severely sprained my left ankle right before Christmas last year and it took over three months to recover. I worked mostly on the house while I was healing, putting in an hour or two a day in a rigid cast. I went back to my job in March and continued to focus on the house on weekends.
Every once and awhile I would get out to the boat and do a little. Susan found a nice granite countertop remnant that would fit so I installed the sink and added a little extra insulation to the refrigerator.

With the prep done the granite installer came and did his thing and I put in the faucet and drain and connected the fresh water intake to the tank I built last fall.

Theoretically if I put some water in the tank and turn on the breaker for the fresh water pump and hot water heater there should be hot and cold water at the faucet.
Let's see!!!

That is pretty friggin cool!

Hang to the riggins,
Wado

Let's build a Fresh Water Tank

Wade Goldthwait — 2010-12-18T20:19:00Z

I have finally managed to get some time to spend with my beloved mistress and I decided to tackle the building of a fresh water tank. The original tank was aluminum and was placed on one side of the mechanical room and it really took up a lot of space and it seemed to Zach and I that a tank in the bilge would be perfect.
    He suggested getting one custom made out of plastic and I was going to go that route until I thought to give a phone call to the people at Sani-Tred. They informed me that their product could be used for my application so let's get started.

    I coated some exterior grade plywood on one side with the Permaflex and let that dry.

    I then fit the pieces into the bilge under the mechanical room floor. The bottom of the tank sits on the center stringer and leaves a couple of inches below for any bilge water to pass below.

Once the bottom and sides were all in place I applied the first coat of Permaflex to prime and seal the wood.
The outside of the tank has been waterproofed earlier as I mentioned.

Once the first coat is tack free you can apply the fillet to corners and countersunk fastener heads.

Once the fillet is tack free you can apply your next coat. Sani-tred recommends for a lifetime seal to apply a coat of the Liquid Rubber Base followed by a final coat of Permaflex . In the shot below you can see the Liquid Rubber Base.

Again, once the surface is tack free you can apply your next coating.
Each coat "Molecularly bonds/welds to itself, new-to-old, at any stage of curing or age with proper surface preparation."
Here is the tank with the final coat of Permaflex applied.

So now it's time to make the top.
I'm going to put 3 access ports in the top for cleaning and inspection.

Here's a shot of the tank top with the interior of the tank already coated with 2 coats of Permaflex.

The fittings will be Bronze and will include the Fill Fitting, Vent Fitting, and Water Supply Line Fitting.

Here's a shot with the top installed.

I haven't had a chance to install the access plates or the fittings yet so that will be my next step.
I hope everyone has a healthy, peaceful Holiday season.
Life is really a lot of fun and full of joy if your mind is in the right place. Peace within is sometimes the hardest peace to achieve but it is so worth the effort. I hope you all find yours.

Hang to the Riggins,
Wado

Houseboat Magazine article is in the September Issue

Wade Goldthwait — 2010-08-28T14:33:00Z

Susan's article is in the September issue which should be at newstands now. The link for their website is http://www.houseboatmagazine.com .
We made a special video for them as well and you can view it right here.

This video gives you the first view of the new galley. I hope you enjoy.
I'm still working on home repair projects but hope to get back to my mistress soon.

Hang to the riggins,
Wado

Midsummer update from the "Land of No Progress"

Wade Goldthwait — 2010-07-28T14:47:00Z

Greetings from Captain Wado to the millions of you who following this gripping tale of struggle, hardship, misery, obsession, and love.
I'm sure that since it has been months since my last update, the rumors have been flying about what new crisis may have interfered with the already snail-paced progress of this historic restoration.
Is it his heart???? Is it lack of motivation??? Could it be lack of capital???

Well rest easy my friends, I feel great and the only reason I haven't been working on the boat is because Susan seems to think that some projects around the house should get some attention. I realize that we ripped up the carpet in our bedroom 5 or 6 years ago with the intention of putting down a wide pine in its place and we are still looking at a plywood subfloor. But hey, it is painted and I hardly even notice that it's not finished. Personally I don't see how this could bother her when the boat sits out there with no finished floors or even a bathroom sink.
The other project that she has requested for years was to make our screen room more of a year round room by putting in real windows. I decide to tackle this project since there is a tax credit available for replacing windows and that would help keep the costs down.
Take a look at the reason I'm not working on the much more important job of building a boat.

Oh my.... the things we do for love....

Big News!!!!

Susan wrote an article for Houseboat Magazine and we will letyou know when it is going to be published.
We also recorded a video tour of the boat for them and once they put it up on their website I'll put the link here for you.
Their website is www.houseboatmagazine.com

Hang to the riggins,
Wado

The lights are on, but nobody's home!!!

Wade Goldthwait — 2010-05-03T21:46:00Z

Oh my gravy Susan and I are getting excited about this boat! I have pulled 3 miles of wire through the boat and Zach has begun to connect them to the DC panel and house batteries so that when we flip the switch the gosh darned things come on. Holy mackerel this is a huge milestone for us
.
Here's Zach at the panel working hard.

We chose to use an Imtra LED recessed fixture for the ceilings.

They look wicked sharp with the High Gloss white ceilings and I can't believe how much light they put out.
The other incredible thing is when I have all the overhead lights on at full power, (10 total - 2 in stateroom, 2 in head, 2 for galley, 4 for main salon) the amp draw is 8.6 Amps.

I also installed a white plastic sheet on the mechanical room ceiling after insulating the space with 2" foam. The strip over the seam is white PVC lattice from Lowe's and the sheets are a stock paneling from Lowe's as well.

Here's a view of the panel from the front.

The stairs have a few details which follow the principle of "No space goes to waste". Under the top step is the main power switch for the electrical system and to the left of that is a breaker for the future windlass and then we have the three bilge pump switches on the left.
The bottom 2 steps are hinged so that we can store items which are to be determined later and the whole stair system is hinged so that we can get to the mechanical room from the galley.

I've got more to show but right now I gotta go because it's time for Dinnah or maybe you call it Suppah.

Keep those comments coming,
Wado

Let's Get Back to Work!!!

Wade Goldthwait — 2010-03-14T15:53:00Z

Ahoy my friends!
It's been a long time since my last post and a lot have changes have happened. I am so sad to report that my Dad passed away right after Thanksgiving. However, we were so fortunate that we were able to care for him and spend as much time as we did with him before he passed. He is truly a great inspiration to me and I miss him so much.

Susan and I also sold our business on December 31st, 2009 and we have been catching up on projects around the house and I've finally been able to get back to work on the boat. My focus has been on starting the systems installations so I got some paint on the floor of the mechanical room and also the bilges.

Here's a shot of the bilges before and after primer. I thoroughly cleaned and wire brushed the surfaces and than wiped them all down with denatured alcohol. I used Interlux Primecoat for the primer.

I then applied two coats of Interlux Bilgecoat for the finish coating.

The coating is super glossy and should be very easy to keep clean.

So with the mechanical room floors and bilges painted the installation of systems could begin. Since I am not knowledgeable enough to design an integrated marine electrical and plumbing system I called upon the services of a talented young man who graduated from the Landing Boat School and started his own business called Atlantic Marine Services.

Zach is his name and systems are his game.
(Contact Zach Verhey at PO Box 387, 421 Alfred Rd., West Kennebunk, ME 04094, Phone # 207-752-0831 atmarineservices@yahoo.com)

I first met him when an inquiry to the Dometic "Vacuflush" company gave me his name as a dealer in our area. I was immediately very impressed with his professionalism when he came over to give me an estimate for the sanitation system and upon further discussion decided to engage him for the systems design. He did an energy audit to determine the electrical loads that we would have came up with recommendations for the House Battery Bank, Inverter, Lighting, Switches, Generator etc.. He also designed the plumbing system.

I ordered the parts for the electrical and plumbing systems and soon we were working together to install the systems.

Here is a picture of the Hot Water Heater and Water pumps for the Sea Water Washdown system and the Fresh Water System.
Also, 2 of the 4 House Bank Batteries are seen behind the water system.

Here's a close up of the water pumps.

Here is a view of the other side of the mechanical room with the sanitation holding tank and Mastervolt Inverter/Charger.

The other 2 house bank batteries are behind the tank and can't be seen. Here's a close up of the batteries. They are 4D, 200 amp hours each which will give me a total of 800 amp hours.

So now that we have some of the components in place I have to start mounting switches and lights and running wires to everything.
I'll put up another post soon with the progress. It's all very exciting and I can't wait until we have lights and outlets working, that will be fantastic.
Hang to the riggings my friends and leave a comment if you have time.

Wado

"On the roof it's peaceful as can be, and there the world below can't bother me" (Up on the Roof, by the Drifters)

Wade Goldthwait — 2009-10-05T14:26:00Z

Holy Moly!!! I can't believe it has been 114 days since my last post.
Where did the summer go?
I played golf twice and I think I took maybe 6 little boat rides down the river in our Carolina Skiff.

My most memorable ride is the one I took with my Dad and Maxine our German Shepherd. Dad's bladder cancer treatments came to and end this late spring after a 12 day regime of radiation. It really left him quite weak and he decided that he was through with treating the disease and he just wanted to let nature take its course. He did regain enough strength to agree to take a boat ride so Maxine and I got him down the hill and into the boat and off we went. This was July 6th.

This is a little video of some of the sights that day. It's hard to steer the boat and shoot video at the same time so it's real short.

We had a great day but in the weeks to come his energy decreased and his pain increased so we decided to see if we could get Hospice care for him. In the meantime my brother Marshall and I took turns staying with him as we were nervous that he might fall or leave a stove burner on and burn his house down.
The hospice people did a wonderful job getting his pain under control and he recovered enough so that in September Marshall & I were able to get a few weekends off from his caretaking and get some work done on our various projects. I decided to tackle the main roof of the "Must Be Nice".

The Main Roof / Deck Restoration begins....
The main roof is going to become a primary deck space for us as I am adding a flybridge with a second helm. Even though I beefed up the roof stringers below when I rebuilt the ceiling, the 1/2" plywood with fiberglass decking was not as stiff as I would like it to be and I decided that I would add another layer of plywood right over the existing roof to stiffen it up. The fiberglass guys suggested I use 3/4" Tongue & Groove plywood and then fiberglass over that with a final layer of non-skid gelcoat. His cost just to fiberglass (with no gelcoat) the plywood if I installed it was going to be $2400.00 so I decided to see if I could find an alternative.

I found a company called Sani-tred that offers a marine deck coating that can applied directly to new plywood surface. My thought was that if this lived up to it's claims, I could get a nice long lasting deck treatment in less time and at less cost.

I ordered a sample pack and did some tests and was very impressed with the system. The coating is extremely flexible and completely waterproof so I decided to go with this product.

Here's a picture of the roof with the new 1/2" plywood going down. I snapped chalk lines to mark the location of the stringers and to orient the plywood and then I used the nail gun with coated ring nails to fasten the plywood down. I also used abundant "liquid nails" on the underside of the plywood. I decided to go with 1/2" plywood instead of the 3/4" T&G because the system requires that you rout out a channel where any sheets butt against each other.

This next shot shows the roof / deck with all the plywood down and the 1st Coat of PermaFlex applied.

If you notice, there is a 1/2" gap between the sheets. According to the installation instructions if you fill this gap with the LRB (Liquid Rubber Base) it will allow you to get a smooth transition from sheet to sheet. If you butt the sheets together they recommend you rout out a groove for the LRB so I just chose to leave a gap to save the routing step.

Once the plywood was all applied the next step was to prime the whole surface. It is amazing how this product soaks into the plywood. My understanding is that the more surface penetration of any coating the better the adhesion and waterproofing. This product absolutely works its way into the subsurface of the plywood. It is not just drying on the surface.

The next step was to fill the gaps and nail holes and to fill the edges to blend down to the old deck.
This next picture shows the edge filled so that there is now a wedge of LRB along the perimeter that is probably 1" wide. You can also notice the nail holes are also filled on the top surface.

Here's another picture below of the filled surface. The LRB is similar to Fiberglass Bondo filler in its consistency but it doesn't have the fiberglass smell and when it dries it is flexible. This roof / deck is going to move and flex depending on how many people are up there and how hard we are dancing so having a waterproof coating that is durable and flexible is the ideal combination.

I did find that the LRB mixture shrinks more than I thought it would so when I do the lower decks I will apply more product so that the cured mixture will be more even with the top of the plywood. I applied a second coating of the LRB on the gaps between the plywood you see above because as you can see in the picture above, the mixture shrunk and there is a bit of a hollow at the gaps.

The next step is to apply another coat of PermaFlex and spread the rubber granules in the wet coating to give us a comfortable non-skid surface. Having done this type of a paint treatment before using Silica Sand instead of rubber granules, I knew that the challenge is to keep a wet edge of product ahead of area that you cover with the granules. I decided to buy a new 1 gallon paint can and drill a bunch of holes is the top so that when the can was turned over a controlled flow of granules would come out. It took some experimentation but I finally ended up with 3/8" diameter holes so that I could get a decent flow. I then gaff taped the can to a stick holder made of 1" x 2" pine. The overall length of the holder was probably 5'.

The next picture below shows my Roller Bucket and Paint Roller and the Granule dispenser at the rear of the roof and as you look forward you see the wet white PermaFlex coating and then ahead of that is the area of roof that already has the granules spread. The roof is roughly 240 square feet and I bought 50 lbs of granules. I wish I had bought another 10 - 15 lbs because I did have to lighten up at the end of the roof as I was running out.

Below is a picture of the roof with all the granules spread.

Once the coating dries you can sweep and vacuum the granules that are not embedded in the PermaFlex.
I used a combination of broom, vacuum and leaf blower to get the loose granules up.

We had some wet weather come in so it was a few days before I had a chance to put on the final coats. Even though the temps were in the low to mid sixties I was assured that I would be able to apply both coats in one day by a company spokesperson.
The final steps are to apply a coating of the LRB at a rate of 60 sq ft per gallon and once that has dried tack free apply the PermaFlex top coating at the rate of 240 sq ft per gallon.

I had to mask around the perimeter of the roof so by the time I started applying the LRB flood coat it was probably 10AM and the temp was probably 65 degrees. It took me over an hour and a half to get the whole roof coated so I grabbed some lunch and made a quick run to town for a couple of roller covers and when I got back the roof had set up enough so that I could start applying the topcoat.

I finished the topcoat around 4 PM and at 9:30 PM that night we got a downpour like you read about and it rained hard for a couple of hours. I didn't have the courage to go out in the rain to look at the roof so I tried to sleep and when I got up the next day I went out to the boat and this is what I found.

It was beautiful !!!

I can't get over it. The way that rain came down I was sure I was going to have a puddle of PermaFlex on the ground but it must have cured enough by the time it rained to hold its own. I think I will put one more coat of the PermaFlex on next spring as I noticed a couple of thin spots and it will fill in the non-skid texture a little more so it won't be quite as pronounced. Since the granules are rubber the feel of the deck with bare feet is really comfortable.

How the coating holds up over the winter and in the coming years will be the true test of this system but from everything I have seen thus far, I am a big big fan of Sani-tred.

The cost of the roof system coatings and granules with shipping was $1400.00. So in terms of cost I am way ahead of the game. In the future if I need to repair or recoat an area the coating bonds to itself.
The product website says the following.

Molecularly bonds/welds to itself, new-to-old, at any stage of curing or age with proper surface preparation.
Permanent Elongation® - PermaFlex will never become harder orbrittle with age and will maintain its flexibility indefinitely.
ElongationMemory® - When PermaFlex is drastically stretched and released italways returns to the original shape and size preventing distortion ofthe original shape and size
Extremely durable with 2,030 psi tensile strength.
Incredible strength Shore Hardness of A 85.
Amazing 590% elongation.

So I am singing the song 'Up On The Roof" by the Drifters. It goes like this.

"When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Let me tell you now

When I come home feelin' tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)
I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof)"

Hang to the riggins my friends.
Wado

It's time to bring in the professionals

Wade Goldthwait — 2009-06-13T21:17:00Z

With the weather finally improving a little bit and the fact that I have so much exterior fiberglass repair still to do Susan and I decided to bring in the professionals to do some fiberglass repair for us. I have numerous areas in need of fiberglass repair and with my schedule I knew it would take me all summer to get done so we called Wayne Monk who has a business called Dockside Fiberglass Repair. His number in case you need it is 207-229-7338 and he is based in Old Orchard Beach Maine just a little south of Portland.
My first priority was getting the seam between the house and the deck fiberglassed because the original construction was just caulked and this led to a lot of the moisture related problems with the boat. I also had a punky spot in the forward deck that needed attention and when Wayne and his helper Leo did a little grinding to get back to solid wood they discovered that the wood at the intersection of the deck and the hull was rotten. When I had examined it from the forward storage compartment underneath the deck it appeared solid to me but there was a layer a fiberglass that was laid up against these pieces and it hid the rot.
I cut out a section of the deck and this is what I found.

You could stick a screwdriver into the wood and just pull it apart like slow cooked barbecue.

Now I have to discover how far back the rot goes so I kept cutting out deck until I got back to solid wood. That brought me all the way to the beginning of the house. Thankfully the rot stopped on both sides in the same spot.
This picture below shows the exposed framing that I had scarfed new pieces onto from underneath way back in the earlier stages of the rebuild. But now I am going to have to install new wood all around.

Here's a closeup of the port side bow area with the new support pieces installed and a few new deck stringers.

And here's a shot with a few more stringers in place. I decided to do away with the deck hatch but I did leave a framed opening that I could easily cut out if I decide I do want to put a hatch back in there. I have access to this compartment through the bulkhead underneath the seat so it's still functional. I will build a locker for anchor chain and rope later on in the project.

Here's the deck with its new layer of plywood. Ready for fiberglass.

I had removed a window below the seat and I had asked Wayne to fill in the area and make it smooth and in order to save time and money he put a layer of plywood over the whole face and is in the process of glassing it here.

This picture shows Wayne and Leo laying out the fiberglass mat on the deck.

And here Wayne is rolling out the resin.

In the next photo Leo is rolling out the air bubbles with a grooved roller made especially for that purpose.

And finally here is a picture of the back of the house where I removed a full length window and instead will have just a door in the center and Wayne and Leo are applying the fiberglass mat to the plywood.

It's really nice to have some professionals come in and do this part of the job. It will allow me to focus on the interior and not worry about all the areas that were unprotected. To finish the job they will apply a skim cote of filler and sand that smooth so I can apply an exterior finish and a deck finish. I still haven't decided how I am going to finish those surfaces so I'll leave that for another entry later on down the road.

By the way, for those of you that have followed the blog and are wondering about the status of my heart problem since the surgery back about 6 weeks ago, all I can say is, "It's a freaking miracle"! I have my life back. I haven't had an episode of AFIB in weeks and my energy is returning and I feel great.

Dr. Cutler & Sesselberg if you are reading all I can say is "Thank you, thank you, thank you". I am so lucky to have such talent up here in Maine. You guys really have given me my life back.

It's a beautiful thing,
Wado

Honey... The ceiling's too dark

Wade Goldthwait — 2009-04-29T18:36:00Z

Since the last post I was able to get a little bit of work done on the interior in between episodes of AFIB.
(more on that later)..
The interior beadboard is a knotty pine and since we were looking for a solid color on the wood I have been
priming with Zinsser Bulls Eye B-I-N. So I finished 2 coats of the primer on the walls and Susan had picked
out a couple of colors to try on the walls so I put some of each color on so we could compare. They are very
similar as you can see below. One is a little darker but in the same color family.

The one thing that we both noticed was that the natural oak on the ceiling seemed too dark with both of the colors
on the walls so I suggested we try a whitewash which would lighten up the ceiling and still let the grain show through.
The oak ceiling already had one coat of the Zinsser SealCoat which is an alcohol based sealer like the B-I-N so I
used a ratio of 3 parts SealCoat to one part B-I-N to make a whitewash. I applied this to some leftover pieces as a
test and Susan liked it so I went ahead a got some of the panels coated.
Here is a closeup of the difference between the natural and the whitewash look.

And here is a view from the galley .

Our thinking right now is that we may even go with a solid color on the ceiling but I will finish off the whole salon
before we make a final decision. We want the space to feel open and the ceiling is very low so maybe a solid white
or off white is the way to go.

You probably notice in the pictures that there is no trim yet around the windows or on the ceiling so why the hell am
I painting when there is a lot of finish work yet to do?
Well I'm glad you asked.

I find it is a real pain to try and cut in a paint color on a beadboard wall to any trim pieces that are perpendicular to
the beadboard. It's tough to get the color into the groove without getting paint on your trim. I am going to put one coat
of the wall finish paint on before I apply my trim so all the grooves will have the color in them already. That way I can
cut in a lot quicker with the final coat of finish. I could just apply some of the finish color to the areas of trim and leave
the bulk of the walls unpainted but we want to get a good idea of what it will look like so I'm going to paint whole wall.

AFIB UPDATE

The reason for my 5 day vacation at the Maine Medical Center back a few weeks ago when I made my last post was
to try yet another drug to control my persistent AFIB episodes. It didn't work any better than the other drugs I had tried
and I continued to have almost daily episodes of "Wado's heart goes to the races". I bought a heart monitor back
awhile ago so I could get an accurate reading of my heart rate and what you see in the picture here is a typical reading
while I'm in AFIB.

It's like my heart is determined to set a land speed record and I'm just along for the ride.
Go Baby Go!!! Faster... Faster... Don't worry about anything just go faster... Come on break that 200 mark...

So my wonderful Cardiologist Dr. Joel Cutler explained the pro's and con's of Atrial Ablation for us and we decided
to go ahead with the procedure. I was admitted Wednesday the 22nd at 7AM and went into the Operating Room around
11:30. The task took over 5 hours and from what Dr. Cutler's partner Dr.Henry W. Sesselberg told Susan they worked
on 4 regions of the heart and felt that they were able to treat all the areas that were causing problems.

In short, what Atrial Ablation does is create a barrier so that the bad electrical signals from the Atria that cause the
heart to race can't escape. They use radio frequency devices that are inserted through catheters to "burn" the heart
tissue and the resulting scar tissue becomes the barrier.

I was able leave the hospital on Saturday after 3 days of Morphine and Vicodin to help me cope with the new burning
sensation in my chest. The staff at Maine Medical Center was wonderful and I am home recovering slowly. I am on
bed rest with orders to not lift more than 10 pounds as the incisions where they inserted the catheters need to heal.
I guess the heart needs to heal too.

I have had a few palpitations in my chest but so far as near as I can tell
I have not gone into AFIB since the procedure
and that is very encouraging because they tell me it usually takes 3 months for the scar tissue to completely
form a barrier.

I am very hopeful that after a few more weeks I'll be able to resume a normal workload and get something done
on that boat.
In the meantime I want you all to hang to the riggins. Enjoy your health and don't ever take it for granted.

Wado

New Interior layout in 3D

Wade Goldthwait — 2009-03-20T19:19:00Z

I've reworked the interior layout of the MBN a little using Google SketchUp. I've never worked with a 3D program like this before and I make a lot of mistakes trying to connect the various surfaces but it is pretty powerful and for the most part easy to use. And did I mention it is Free! So here is view of the interior looking in from the port side showing the whole interior. I still have some components to put in the main salon.

There are some differences between this layout of the galley and the one I did earlier using the Ikea Kitchen Planning Tool.
I've added a combination appliance cabinet and small bar top on the floor of the main salon that will be home to the Microwave, Toaster Oven & Coffee Maker.

Here's the old Ikea plan.

Below is a view from the main salon that shows the other side of the cabinet.

Here's a closeup of the galley area from the stateroom.

Another reason I'm doing all this 3D computer crap instead of actually working on the boat is because I'm in Maine Medical Center and I've been in here for 4 days while they start me on a new medicine for my AFIB heart problem. The medicine is called Tikosyn
and you have to be in hospital when they start this medicine because it has a "risk of induced arrhythmia" which in plain English means it can put your heart into an abnormal rhythm that if not treated immediately can cause a bad side effect like death.
So here we are on a houseboat restoration blog with a little bit of Cardiac education thrown in. Sorry for the diversion but I feel like talking about it since it seems to be consuming so much of my time for the past year.
I'm still a mariner at heart as you can see from this photo I took with the web cam on my laptop here in the hospital room.

Enjoy every day or I'll blow off your frigging heads with my pirate cannons.

Yours truly,
Wado

And We Live Here Why????

Wade Goldthwait — 2009-01-02T01:09:00Z

It is friggin freezing out there.
It's New Year's Day and the temperature is struggling to make it above 10 degrees.
It's days like this I jealously think of all you intelligent people who live in warmer climates and I wonder what the hell I'm doing here.

Anyway back to reality...

My first mission today was to load the girls into the Explorer and take em up to Mickey D's for Chicky Bicky's and McGriddle's for breakfast. (These pictures are from a trip earlier this fall, it was too cold to get the camera out today)

With that mission accomplished I was able to get back out to the boat. I only had a little bit of beadboard left to install on the head wall and then I figured to get a coat of paint on the newly installed boards.

Here's some pictures of the port side before paint.

And for something a little different, here's a video walk through after the paint job today.
Just hit the play button for a tour.

Hang to the riggins,
and
Who loves you?
I do..

Wado

Happy New Year 2009

Wade Goldthwait — 2008-12-31T20:35:00Z

I finally have had a couple of days to work on the boat. Man I have missed it so much!!!
I left off with beadboard installed to just past the galley (kitchen). So my project (other than friggin tarp repair, see previous post) has been to continue into the Stateroom (bedroom).

So here are some pictures as I make my way around the room. Please note the cubby holes below the window. There is a plywood shelf that runs the length of the hull that acts to stiffen the hull and it also was where the original wiring and control cables laid. To my way of thinking it was a lot of wasted space so I am going to construct some boxes which will insert into the openings to give us additional storage.

Here's the rear bulkhead and port side with nailer's and insulation in place. I am going to insulate the rear bulkhead on the engine room side since the windows are right to the edge.

We are going to go with two beds. One on each wall with an aisle down the center. I am going to make platforms with drawers underneath for more storage. Here's a rough idea of the placement.

That's it for now. I'll try to get some more done soon.

Hang to the riggins,
Wado

I'm not as competent as I used to was...

Wade Goldthwait — 2008-12-30T01:03:00Z

My Dad is one cool guy. In the old Yankee tradition he can handle most anything that comes his way and he doesn't complain about anything except the government and the way they spend our money. He just turned 79 and he is dealing with inoperable bladder cancer and has been getting chemotherapy which really drains his energy.
So a few days ago Susan and I were over setting up a portable propane heater in his living room to try and get the temperature up from 50 degrees to something a little more comfortable since we had had a wicked ice storm the night before that knocked out power to most of southern Maine and New Hampshire. He had been without power for 12 or 14 hours and he was all bundled up in layers of clothes but he didn't want to come over to our house where we have a generator because he's used to taking care of himself and doesn't want to be a bother.
Well we got the heater going and fired up his outdoor barbecue so we could heat up some Campbell's Vegetable Beef soup for him. After a little lunch and warming up a bit he thanked us for coming over to help. He said he should have been able to handle it himself but "I'm not as competent as I used to was". Let me tell you when he said that we all looked at each other and burst out laughing. It couldn't have been more priceless. I mean this is a guy who doesn't open up and share such a thing. He has always been one to "suck it up" and to have him open up for a second and come out with that line was so damn funny even he laughed hard for a long time.

So I am thinking about "not being as competent as I used to was" myself. One of the reasons is my brainstorm to cover the houseboat with tarps so I wouldn't have to shovel off the beast every time we get a snowstorm. Last year Susan and I had to repeatedly go up shovel and it's no fun plus a little dangerous being up on there. So I bought the biggest tarps I could find and set up a 2x4 ridge pole over the roofs and tied the things down. Now for years we have had winters with the biggest snowstorm being less than 8" - 10" so I was confident my structure could survive a typical storm and the first few were a breeze. Even the Ice storm which brought the area to it's knees was no problem for the "Must Be Nice" custom tarp system solution.
As many of you know, just when you think you've got things figured out that's when you are gonna get screwed and let me tell you now my 2x4 ridge pole was not match for the 24" snowstorm that hit us on December 21st.

So maybe "I'm not as competent as I used to was" myself. When I was a little younger I probably would have made that structure a lot stronger but I chose to cut a few corners and I paid the price. Let me tell you these blue tarps are slippery when they are covered in snow and I struggled to keep my balance as I shoveled off the beast yet again. I've rebuilt the amazing tarp system again with much more ridge pole support and I am hoping that we'll make it through the winter without another collapse.

Guess what my next post will actually have some progress on the interior of the boat.
It's about frigging time isn't it?

Hang to the riggins,
Wado

More Beadboard Installed

Wade Goldthwait — 2008-06-29T18:51:00Z

With the changes in the window openings complete I can continue the insulation and beadboard in the Main Salon and make my way down into the Galley and berth spaces. Here's a picture of the original galley looking up into the salon for comparison. Notice that there is only enough room for 1 overhead cabinet in the original design.
Also the stairs are against this wall. We have moved those to the center.

Here's another view of the original design showing the limited cabinet and counter area.

Now here's a picture looking up from the galley level to the salon. Notice that stairs are in the
center and we will have room for more counter and wall cabinets with the changes we made
in the window opening. (See previous post)

A view looking down into the galley from salon.

Here's a 3D plan of the galley. We will gain counter space and cabinet space with changing of
the window and moving the stairs. The program we used to design the galley is called the
"IKEA Home Planner" You can download it from the IKEA website.
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/rooms_ideas/splashplanners.html

I was able to finish the beadboard around the back side of the house and here are a couple pictures
of that for you.

So there we are. The blog is up to date. I haven't been able to work on the boat for a few weeks
because of other responsibilities and the problems I've been having with the old ticker. Hopefully
they can get the problem under control so work can progress and we can get this beast into
the water for some floating adventures.

Hang to the riggins!!!
Wado

Making Smaller Window Openings

Wade Goldthwait — 2008-06-29T17:39:00Z

The original design of the port side at galley level had a very small head and a full size refrigerator
as seen in the picture below.

Susan and I decided to make the head bigger and we will put an undercounter refrigerator in the galley
with an additional unit if needed to be located in the forward storage area.

So I removed the window because it's size didn't allow me to bring the head ceiling height across to the
end of the main salon. In order to install new 3/4" plywood to make the window opening smaller I first
cut out about 3" of existing plywood around the area where the new stock would be installed. Here's
a couple of pictures of the cut detail.
(This is the Starboard window, but it's the same detail as what I did on the port side)

I then mixed up a runny paste of epoxy resin which was poured in to any areas where the exterior
fiberglass was not bonded to the plywood. Once it was all gooped up good with the paste I clamped
the fiberglass tightly to the existing plywood.

Once cured I cut a piece of plywood to go in the opening.

Another batch of epoxy paste was applied to the surfaces to be bonded and the piece was clamped
and screwed in place to cure.

So with the new openings complete I can now continue the insulation and beadboard installation.

I'll do another entry with the latest pictures of that after I grab another beer.

Hang to the riggins!!!

Wado

Check out the Beadboard Baby!

Wade Goldthwait — 2008-04-15T21:23:00Z

A few years ago I built a sunroom and we finished the walls with painted beadboard. Susan and I both love the feel of the room and when we talked about what the interior of the boat should look like we both felt that the beadboard would be a winner so after looking at different options like full 3/4" thick board (costly and heavy) and a plastic product called Azek (http://www.azek.com/viewProduct.php?id=7we) (very costly but lightweight and waterproof) we decided to try a product we found at Lowes that is a real pine board but only 5/16" thick and 3" wide (not too costly and lightweight).

I wanted to insulate the walls a little to gain some noise reduction and improved heating and/or cooling efficiency so I decided to use a 3/4" styrofoam with nailer's every 12" for the beadboard paneling.
Here's a picture of our little test wall to see how it looked. with just the insulation and nailer's.

And here is a picture of the wall with beadboard attached. I used a panel adhesive on the nailer's and a 5/8" brad to fasten the planks.

The paneling will be painted but even in an unfinished state it really dresses up the interior. I have looked at rot and old dark walls for so long now it really is exciting to see some hint of a finished look.

After Susan inspected the wall she gave me the go ahead to continue so I started across the front of the house with pretty much the same system. 3/4" insulation and 3/4" x 1 1/2" nailer's. However right below the window I used a 3/4" x 5" ash nailer as I will be attaching the helm and cockpit cabinetry to this and wanted plenty of good area to fasten to.

Here's the same area with the paneling attached.

The port side of the house has a pretty long run before we get to the head. Here's a picture of that wall with nailer's.

And here it is with the insulation.

And here it is with the paneling.

Here's a closeup of the funky detail at the front of the house where the outside bench and house meet. Fun cuts around this part I'll tell you.

This final shot shows the paneling as it meets up with our redesigned head area. The original window has been removed and my next post will explain about that redesign.

Who loves you?

Wado

Where does the time went?

Wade Goldthwait — 2008-04-07T23:23:00Z

Well my friends I must say that much time has certainly "went" by since my last post. (The expression, "where does the time went?", is what our first landlady Mrs. Letender used to say when Susan and I were first married and we moved to her building in Biddeford Maine. She was a crabby old French lady who loved to complain. Her English was amusing to say the least)

Since my last post I've had a computer hard drive failure and lost a bunch of my pictures and plans for the boat.
I was told to stop working on the boat by my family doctor when it was discovered that my heart was going into Atrial Fibrillation on a regular basis. After weeks of trying different medications that only made me feel worse while I waited to get in to see a cardiologist it seems like the current meds that he put me on are working and I feel pretty much like my old self. The meds lower my blood pressure and slow down the pulse a little so I don't seem to have my usual energy level but hey it's pumping so that's a good thing.

Now let's talk about the winter. It snowed and then it snowed again and then it snowed some more and then when it stopped snowing it got cold and then it snowed again. We are on track to have a record breaking snowfall this year and it seem like the only thing Susan and I were able to do on the boat was shovel off the roofs.
Here's my sweetheart working hard to keep the roof from collapsing back in February.

And here I am pretending to help.

The good news is the roof did not collapse and I am finally back to construction. So stay tuned because I hope to get the blog up to date in the next few days. Lots of cool pictures to come.

Who loves ya?
I do

So hang to the riggins!!!!

"They didn't do you any favors..."

Wade Goldthwait — 2008-01-13T02:20:00Z

"They didn't do you any favors..." That's what a very experienced window technician from Portland Glass Company told me upon inspecting the window I brought in to get some advice about.

The good news is that the rubber stripping that the windows slide in is still available and I can buy it in 12' strips and replace the existing dried up and cracked stripping. The bad news is that many of the windows have been sealed with caulking and who knows what all and it's going to be a major pain to clean out the old material.

Here's a shot of the window on the operating table prior to beginning the task.

I've got chisels, putty knives, heat gun, screwdrivers, hammer and knives ready to go.

Here's a close up of the gunk that some kind soul applied. And evidently they used very good gunk because this stuff does not want to come out.

After a couple of hours I was down to a real nasty section where it appears they removed the stripping and then replaced it using 3M 5200 sealant. Man that stuff sticks!!!

Here's some close up video of the beast.

Hang to the riggins!!!