I've spent several weeks, since returning north from Florida, expanding my workshop. The addition of a surface planer, a drum sander, a new router table, a miter saw and a woodworking bench necessitated the need for more floor space. I more than doubled the size so it's nice a roomy with ample room around the machinery.
This is the part that was added.
And a nice wood storage area with racks to get all the stock off the floor.
It was a big job with some new wiring and constructing some walls to contain the dust. I also installed an air filtration system to get the dust out of the air when I'm working in there
That's all finished now so I'm chomping at the bit to get the Sea Ray wet.
I traveled to my winter storage facility, Cheboygan Village Marina, last week to put a shine on the hull.
The process is to apply a cleaner and wipe that off, then apply a paste wax. After about six hours, I had nice shiny hull sides.
I polished the deck just before it went into storage so the top side should just need a good washing to get the storage dust off.
Service this winter included a hull inspection for structural soundness and the replacement of a leaky drain plug. The drain plug issue made me wonder about the condition of the transom so that is why I had the hull inspected. Fortunately, all is in excellent condition and the drain fitting has been repaired.
I also had a new bottom coating applied this year.
The paint goes on as a bronze color. Once it's exposed to the water, it will turn black.
So, I'm all ready for launch.
Cheboygan Village Marina is an awesome facility. I don't expect to be in the area at the end of the season so will store elsewhere next year. It's bittersweet. These guys are fantastic to work with and the facility is second to none.
So here I am, with the weather improving and number one son just rubs it in by going out on Saginaw Bay and finding a few fish of his own.
Those are the kind of perch that were common in the bay back in the 1960's. Its been a while since I've seen perch like that.
Anyway, after checking the northern webcams, reality set in.
Those are midge flies on the camera lens. Word from the north land is that the flies are nasty at the moment. It's probably better the boat is still in storage.
That's a lot of the reason for moving the boat back south this fall. In the far north, it doesn't warm up until sometime in May, then once it does, the midge flies swarm for another few weeks. When its all said and done, the boating season is four to six weeks shorter than the central lake area. Of course the absence of any fish outside of lake trout also is chasing me away.
So there you have it. Ready to go, just need conditions to improve a little. Target is to launch in about two weeks.
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