Main Cabin Makeover

After five months living on the boat, our poor Mai cabin had taken quite a beating and it needed a bit of a remodel, new cushions and the table needed to be refinished.

Our dining table is half an antique, Duncan Phyfe table my dad had hanging around, it needed to be refinished and he gave it to us, since it had the sides that fold up and down. Dad cutting it down to the biggest size we could afford in the boat, we needed a table right away so we installed it without refinishing the top, it didn't look this bad when we first put it in but now it really needed some work.

The cushions we had were cream and blue, but the table was very large and the pedestal we had it on was too tall. Well the pedestal was the right size but our table floor is built up about half a foot which made it too high. Anyway the table was too high for the kids to actually sit and eat, they needed to sit on stools so we ended up just taking out those cushions. And with our living space being so small, the cream colour did not stay clean looking for long, I was getting tired of looking at it all, felt like such a mess.

To fix the table problem, we decided we needed to drill through the raised floor and install it on the actual floor, this meant cutting another hole, there is now three. 

We thought we needed to have as big a table area as we could manage, but with the table taking up that whole space we never actually got to use half of our seating available. So we cut the table much shorter. 

A much more functional table, we can now access the couch from either side.

The table opens up still and can rotate to face lengthwise 

Or width wise across the aisle way for someone sitting on the opposite bench. 

Can't believe this is the same table, we cut  and rounded the edges and sanded her down, she looks so beautiful. 

New fabric on the cushions and new pillows and rug for the floor and we are all refreshed for another five months at least. 

With three kids, a dog and a cat,  I hold no illusions that these cushion will fair much longer than the other ones did.

Instead of sewing new covers  for the cushions, because I know I will have to recover them again in a few months, I stole an idea from one of our other boat neighbours. We cut hardboard to the shape of our cushions and then stapled the new fabric over the cushions onto it.

Fabric, cushions, hardboard. 

I really like this solution, it's quick, easy and cheap and I guess that's all Im looking for in a cushion. The hardboard gives it more stability on the benches, it doesn't slide around and gives a snugger fit, as well as creates a cover for a hatch  in the bench we didn't have a lid for so every time we would sit down on the old cushions we would sink down into the hatch a bit.

I reused the foam from the old cushions and bought six yards of upholstery fabric from Walmart for $20 and some spray scotch guard to give it a fighting chance. Now that the table is lower the kids can actually sit down and eat but I've discovered that in the past five months they seem to have forgotten how to actually sit at a table and eat, at least three times a day, I'm saying to them, "butts on the cushions, feet on the floor." We'll get there someday, I'll eventually retame these feral, boat children.

Shivering in Seattle

This fall has been uncharacteristicly cold here in the PNW. We have had a few weeks since the end of October that have been below freezing every day. Up until then the little space heater has been sufficient to keep the boat warm but even with the addition of two more space heaters, it just wasn't cutting it anymore.

One of the first purchases we bought for Sweets was skippy, a shipmate, cast iron wood stove.

Mark spent many painstaking hours installing the tiling and heat guards around it.

So pretty. We couldn't wait to use it and were completely sure it would keep our business at toasty warm all winter long.

Unfortunately, as with everything else on a boat, nothing is as easy as we anticipate it would be. Firstly, the stove is very small, so we can't use regular firewood, we need to buy the energy logs and coin them up to fit. They are decently cost effective but because of their small size they do not burn very long and the stove needs to be restocked every hour, not very convenient for overnight heating. 

Second, we struggled with a backdraft down the chimney. The combination of the crazy wind here, the addition of the cockpit enclosure dating and negative pressure inside the boat, we spent many days, trying to light a fire just to be choked out by smoke billowing into the cabin. 

Finally we managed to get the hang of lighting the fire very hot, very quickly, so that the heat creates an instant updraft and once it is going, it's fine for the day. 

We have all been snuggling up in touques and warm coats. 

On the freezing days, we wake up to the marina completely covered in ice, it was a bit disconcerting to see an inch layer of ice over the ocean. 

We love our little skippy, it heats the main cabin really well, with the addition of the thermoelectric fan, it circulates the air to heat better. Unfortunately because of the way the boat is laid out, the heat doesn't reach in the kids cabins or up front to the v berth very well, so we still use the electric heaters in these spaces.

Energy logs 

We needed to put heat sealant around the creases in the chimney pipe because when the fire would die down, smoke would start to seep through the cracks until we got it hot enough again for a strong draft, worked like a charm.

With so many option when it comes to boat heating, we researched them all, propane, diesel, alcohol, butane, wood, there are pros and cons to all options but we are happy with our choice of solid fuel. Even with the added hassle and mess of having to chop and haul in wood, we feel it is the hottest, driest and safest heat.