Back to the drawing board

Just couldn't get an acceptable stain to work on the birch ply, plus we both were not happy with it not being teak. (Really? That fussy? Well, 25 years satisfying customers with design and execution further molded our expectations and acceptance of projects.)  So, we called it a prototype and found a teak supplier, ripped off all the ply and are now installing teak.  Practice makes perfect, right? Ahh, but how will that stain match existing stain? Oh the suspense!

  

We don't get to see beautiful sunsets here, but have been seeing some interesting sunrises.

Our friends, Wayne and Carol (previously of Take Time - Krogen Whaleback) are taking a break from building their new home in New Hampshire and will be in our area for the next month or so.  We took a break from projects and visited them at their condo in Cocoa Beach. We also made plans to meet up with them to tour the Kennedy Space Center.

On Thursday we toured the museum and the space center - we were all impressed.  

They call this the Rocket Garden - not sure what the guy in the lift was doing, maybe waxing?

Rick had some memory moments at this missile - the Titan II, also used for the Gemini projects.  During his Air Force days he spent 5 years with one of the launch keys in his hand (well, in the safe) for this intercontinental ballistic missile and its "warhead", the mega-big "thing" on top where the Gemini capsules sat for the space exploration use. 

The story behind the missile.

More of the Rocket Garden. Hmmm maybe we should get one for our garden  at Bald Eagle Lake?

Atlantis Museum was added in 2013 - those two little people are Rick and Wayne - the actual space shuttle Atlantis is housed in the building behind the shuttles launch fuel tank and solid fuel thruster.  

 Atlantis with its cargo bay open and robotic arms (made in Canada).  After 33 successful missions to space and back the shuttle in now on display at the museum.  This picture does not do it justice - the lighting in this room played havoc with all my pics.  

Atlantis power pack.

and its hidden power.

Model of Atlantis

Rick got to fly the shuttle, dock the shuttle, deploy the robotic arms and land the shuttle.  (In his words: Going to need more practice!) We also got to experience a shuttle launch in the launch simulator - feeling the G's.

Included in your ticket is a bus tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) - it is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume, and is the largest single story building in the world.  Also toured the grounds, and the shuttle launch pad.  Your ticket includes a tour of the museum that houses a Saturn V rocket and  also provides entrance to the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  A lot to take in - all in one day.  

We had an opportunity to attend the evenings launch of the Atlas 5 rocket (at an additional $20.00 per person) but they wouldn't let you leave the grounds and come back for the 9:05 launch.  We had a dog that hadn't been off the boat since 8:30 in the morning so we decided to watch the launch from our marina.

Back in the day - so sad it had to end.  Also sad for this town - what we love about the people here is they are just happy to have jobs.  They make us feel welcome.

We found a spot to sit and wait - the window was from 9:05 to 9:45.  We finally got a lift off at 9:34.  This was the best I could do with my little point and shoot..

Wayne, I am guessing this is a picture from the guy with the big ass telephoto lens who was standing next to you.  Doug, in case you are questioning -  this is not my photo.

A sign at the entrance to the Atlantis Museum - I Love It - my new words to live by!!!! 

The entire day was amazing - We would highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center experience.

Rick, Deb - Carol, Wayne

Cellphone "group selfie" 

Priceless (no charge).

All is good here - Wayne & Carol will be in the area for the next three weeks so we have decided to extend our stay in Titusville for a bit.

Stay tuned for:

New teak install, new countertops and new washer/dryer on order.     

The new man in my life.

Yup, it's the Pumpout Guy.  In all our years of boating we have never had this experience.  No moving your boat to the fuel dock for a pumpout, no dragging long hoses to your boat and pumping out at the speed of sludge moving thru a drinking straw.  Pumpouts are on Wednesday and Saturdays. You arrange it with the office and they showup , hookup, pump on and the job is done in less than five minutes. That pump really sucks. Slick.  

In project news - the Captain came up with a solution to support the post that is directly under our mast up top. As commented in the previous blog, the yard had placed the support post over the opening causing it to deflect down and necessitating an additional post, added by the previous owner. To correct that, the  Captain placed the new cabinet back directly under the back edge (or forward in boat direction) of the support post or mast load point. An angle iron directly under the post and attached to that back cabinet wall (doubled in that area) will transfer the load to the wall. Well there's some physics and engineering involved and that's getting boring. But, bottom line, now things are as they should be; one post supporting the mast load. And, the Admiral is commenting on how open it looks now without the ugly 
stained 2 x 4.

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The new cabinet for the TV.  Angle iron concealed and now to the rest of the wall.

The new veneer replacing the de-laminated teak veneer.  Decided to cover the existing veneer with a birch ply which was thin enough to simply apply over the old and still sit within the existing trim - so now the fun begins........

Coming up with a stain so the birch ply will match the 20 year old teak vaneer ply. Can it be done? - the workshop has now become the stain testing center.

How many sample does it take to find the correct stain? And then what will the varnish do to the stain color? And will the full panels take the stain the same as the test samples? And should we use a pre-stain over the plywood?

Another fun part and more tight spaces- running the new electrical, antenna cabling and speaker system wires required a venture into the cabinet under the kitchen sink.  The duct tape on the kitchen sink drain pipe is not for leaks, but to keep the Captain from gouging his body parts on sharp fittings (especially his head) as he was coming in and out of the cabinet.  Posing the question - why does your drill battery die at the most inopportune times. 

While the sealing varnish was drying - we took a break to visit Cape Canaveral National Seashore.  The park covers 57,000 acres and is the longest stretch (24 miles) of undeveloped beach on Florida's east coast.

It's a National Park so they do charge an entry fee of $5.00 per person, but if you are 62 and over and you don't already have a Golden Age Pass - get one! The cost is $10.00 a onetime lifetime fee allowing you and everyone in the car to get in free at most National Parks.  We also used it in St. John's USVI - mooring balls for 1/2 price and the Franklin Lock Campground/Marina on the Okeechobee Waterway - dockage for 1/2 price. 

Oh, why not add another item to the endless boat list. A Supra washer/dryer combo unit. Now the back cockpit has become an appliance repair shop (in between staining and varnishing).   Our 11 year old Washer/Dryer combo has developed a wobble in the drum - the Captain thinks it's worth a look see. The Italian company has since gone out of business and parts which came from a company in Spain is also out of business, makes parts scarce. Plus none of the repair guys are familiar with the brand. Maybe it's something like a bearing so before we throw it overboard and get a replacement - a tear it down and look see is in order.   These items that pop up keep life interesting and challenging. Right?

On a brighter note - we are enjoying our time here.  Izzy loves her walks in the park and her friends at the dog park - she mostly enjoys stealing tennis balls that have been left behind, but hey if they are left there, it's not really stealing. And of course she brings them back the next day for another exchange. The temps are a mixed bag - several days of warm temps then another front blows thru dropping evening temps into the 30's with daytime highs in the 50-60 degree range.  We are not complaining - no snow and not below zero (sorry Minnesota).  

  

Stay tuned for our next adventure, and updates on the TV cabinet and washer/dryer "inspection".