EBB's PHOTO GALLERY THREAD

[ebb]

apropos GIMP, Kurt, my daughter explained it to me.
She said I'd never be able to do it.
I think it'll be like tyrying to fly an airplane.


Hey Tony,
About that cockpit well conversion to sleeping
Wonder if aye will care what any cos'facta ratio was
when I'm flat on my back in the Tropics looking up at the stars.

I'll make some cockpit gratings strong enuf to span the well at seat level -
bring those electric BLUE KURT CUSHIONS up from below - and retrieve that last can of ginger ale from the cooler.....
and 'Here's To Ya!' the whole damn universe.

I SWEAR, that's all I want!
EVER
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check out www.youtube.com The Seventh Skol
great animation
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I know why they are laffing in picture 354...
He's just hit his head AGAIN on the cabin rail while leaning back!

[Tony G]

Wonder if aye will care what any cos'facta ratio was
when I'm flat on my back in the Tropics looking up at the stars.

Zactly!!! I sat on an old rickety dock every night while down in Belize just amazed by all of the stars dipping to the horizon while everyone else sat at a bar just like they did Stateside. It was never more clear that this boat is a portal to real life rather than some machine or posession as many unfortunate people view them. I like to think you can either live on a boat or live with it. I prefer the latter.

I was thinking the same thing with the flooring grate resting on small risers in the footwell during the day and on cleats at night. It can't just be pretty-it's gotta pull double duty too. Wanna put a canvas liner in the footwell to have a bath every now and then too. What do you think about that?

[ebb]

I got a good price on what seemed like a huge roll of 200 Polar Tech fleece that produced 6 blankets.
Picking one blanket up folding it small standing made a tidy rectangular brick. With another stacked on top I asked the seamstress at the dry cleaners to makeup zippered bag/cases out of some bright printed PT fleece. What resulted are three firm but comfortable soft cushions, each with two blankets, that will decorate the dinette side.
Many cruisers seem to do versions of this. You can make up cushion shapes for sleeping bags, clothes, towels/rags, would think nearly everything, maybe even the laundry bag could be disguised as a cushion.

PolarTec (formally Malden Mills) seems to be perfect for a boat. Water falls out of it, drys quick. It is relatively warm when wet. It has a wonderful soft feel. It doesn't get pulled out of shape, so it is good for covers and cases. It comes in great cheerful colors. I won't buy any foreign fleece - you don't know what's in it, there might be outgassing of some sort, far east manufacturers have a history of poisoning products. True Polar Fleece is made from spun polyethylene NOT polyester blanket or work jacket liner. Chemically they are nearly the same.
But in a loft fabric the PT is way superior.

Mattress and sit cushions are a special situation in Littlegull. All flat surfaces have access panels and lid keepers that are not flat. The V-berths have access plates. Think that the 3/4" open 'horsehair' stuff* I've seen might make a good first layer.
It's intent is to get air circulation under mattress. It has to be a rugged material to stay springy under butt and body print. Haven't read about it recently.* On top of that a closed cell foam in a sunbrella type fabric will be used. Talking about double duty, That's major positive lifesaving flotation.
Closed cell foam tends to be firm, and it's too expensive to be very thick, but indeed where there is a will there is a way. Pillow, cushion, sleeping bag, blanket can all be used to soften a spartan pallet. This isn't the suburbs!

Seattle Fabrics, Inc, Outdoor & Recreational Fabrics seems to be a fantastic source for cargo netting, hydrostatic water repellent polyester (WeatherMAX 65), coated and uncoated nylon (Master Nylon), vinyl coated polyester and neoprene (coated mesh), and urethane coated ripstop tent material. I bought sample packs of each. They have Sunbrella and other rugged outdoor fabrics. What their prices are I haven't compared. But obviously they can provide appropriate fabric and thread (use Goretex thread with sunbrella) for any conceivable project.

Making a TUB LINER for the cockpit well seems simple enough. You'd have a tube sewn into the aft end of the liner for the tiller to slip into - to stretch out all the way in your tub - and to have four sides. You'll have difficulty making your choice - but a silver 4oz, 140 Denier with 1.5oz urethane coated Super K-Kote Ripstop, 60" wide, $9.50YD - would stuff into a small open-mesh sack. Might want heavier material. Don't know about soaking or having that many gallons of water. Yet with privacy curtains the basin might sub in as a SPA! I feel that a pullout shower hose would be my choice in the cockpit if I made electric hot water. That is very remote. This isn't the suburbs.

A good quality 4gal 'sun shower' can be filled from the tea kettle, hung from the boom, and a GI sitz wash in the unlined cockpit is how I see it.
Two bags full would be unparalleled luxury!
Managed to score a 2gal s.s. garden pump-up pressure sprayer. Too big to store easy, but we'll try it.
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*HYPERVENT
horsehair stuff is Hypervent Marine.com. Called them up because their website was not updated. It shows a black plastic wire mat material but refers to it as white. "Yes, we are in business." Asked the owner if buttloading was a problem as in a seat cushion where it is depressed in the same place all the time: "No memory, no problem, very tuff stuff." 39"W, $12 linear foot. Defender has it for $9.33 a foot by the yard.
Hypervent is made from Nylon 6, is 3/4" thick and comes with a scrim material on one side. This allows taping pieces together (indeed, hinging them) and perhaps incorporating hook and loop fastening. Haven't used it yet.
This stuff is NOT 'DryBunk' which is an absorbant foam underlayment that you have to drape on your lifelines to dry out - along with your sleeping bags.