A grueling week ended with a bang - my tax return e-filing instructions - and the CPA's bill - greeted me in the mailbox tonight when I returned from having dinner with a friend. Bad news is that I owe some hard earned money to Uncle Sam. Good news, NY State cut me some slack and is returning some of the money it extracted from me. No more on that subject, bad for digestion. Good thing for the wine tasting that preceded dinner!
So we all knew I wouldn't get to this blog during the day, right? To be honest, I thought it might happen several times, but that was not to be. At least I'm not starting with the dreaded words, "sorry folks". Tom B. and I did chat for about a half hour right before noon. Though we worked through my list, not everything could be finalized or added to the "Completed" side of the build sheet. Seems some items need more tweaking by some of the vendors. Great thing about this build is that we're not up against the clock or a freighter waiting to load the boat and take off. That would put me right over the edge. This is not the time to rush through things, especially the items with big price tags that will be in place for awhile, if not forever.
So, here's what happened today:
- confirmed that there will be one satellite dome on the mast.
- 16' VHF antennas will be on port and starboard sides of pilot house aft of the doors, towards the boat deck. Other antenna will be placed on the pilot house roof as needed. We had this conversation while I had the 55 brochure open on my desk so I could actually look at where things would go.
- AIS will be both transmit and receive.
- Tom B. gave me some homework - I need to read up on the Garmin and icom radios. Looking at what I printed from the internet gives me a headache, but I promised Tom B. I'd read enough to try to make sense of what we need to discuss in order to make a decision.
- we initiated a discussion about canvas. I eliminated hatches in the pilot house at the suggestion of several seasoned boaters. Since the 55's pilot house is all windows, having the sun beat through hatches would be more of a liability than the light they afforded. It will be bright enough in there. So, one less location for canvas. There will be canvas on the 2 wing stations, the BBQ grill cover, and I plan on having 2 bow cushions. The big discussion up for thought is whether to put those pesky Textilene covers on the windows or coat them with the 3M filters that seem to be doing an awesome job on a couple of Krogens. As one who often battled with the Textilene covers on both of our boats, I'm leaning towards the 3M filters. No rush here, but do need to put it on the radar. Since there is no flybridge on the 55, I can cross off the need for all that canvas up there. Another item for me to think about is how to contain the cat while allowing her to get some fresh air. I saw a 48 that had a nicely screened aft cockpit to accommodate several on board cats. I like that idea - keeps the cat in and flying pests out. Have to give that some more thought. If anyone has suggestions, please don't be shy about sharing them.
- big item - entertainment system! We've pretty much discussed the components I want, but we are still tossing around several issues: the Home Theater system is the big one. I know for sure there will be those cute little Bose cube speakers strategically placed throughout the boat to provide beautiful music in the areas most likely to be visited regularly - that's pretty much everywhere on a boat, but some areas are more conducive to kicking back with wine and music than others. There will be speakers in the usual places, including the boat deck and aft cockpit. I'm considering a Fusion system that will be unique to the pilot house and boat deck rather that have remotes below to control the pilot house components. It will have the usual components of iPod/iPhone dock, will be Sirius XM ready, have an AM FM radio, etc. The spaces below will be powered by Bose components and include a 42" Samsung TV and Blu-Ray disc player. Tom B. and I are doing a bit more research on the Bose Acoustimass System at the moment.
I think I'm spending more time on this entertainment system than we did on the generator selection (which by the way is a 16 kw Northern Lights with sound shield). My Tom and Tom B. did discuss the generator for quite a few go-rounds. For a while, we considered having 2, one large and a smaller 8 kw one. Knowing how I will use the boat, one 16 kw will do the job just fine.
The struts for the salon table from the new manufacturer arrived and need to be inspected by Tom B. I know the pedestal table is secure and functional, but I do like the look of the original table used on earlier boats - we had one on our 39. It's more like a piece of furniture. I'm going to just let this issue coast along until Tom B. makes a determination on the struts - and I make a determination on the cost.
I understand the yard is looking for the granite I liked and sent a picture of. Good luck to them - not one of my favorite chores.
I may be really nit picking here, but I made a note to ask Laura if the dishwasher was quiet. We had a Bosch at home and in the days immediately after it was installed, Tom and I used to argue about who forgot to turn it on, it was that quiet. In contrast, the dishwasher in my apartment sounds like a cement mixer - with a block of cement caught in it. I'll be happy with something on the quiet side with perhaps nothing more audible than a gentle swishing sound - and only when really listening for it.
Still many more decisions to make, but we are making consistent, definite progress. Thanks to KKY's knowledge and patience, and the owners who are taking an interest in helping me navigate unfamiliar territory, my dream is becoming more of a reality with each decision made and each item selected.
In a couple of weeks, I will look forward to sharing pictures from the yard. I have seen nothing since the pictures sent on September 12, so am looking forward to seeing the progress made since then. Granted there was a 6 month work hiatus, but there has been a solid month of work since I decided to move forward with the build. Much more fun to read with pictures sprinkled in.
Thanks for reading everyone. The number of page views since March 11th is amazing - 1, 153!
Have an enjoyable weekend! I'll be back on Monday.
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