Galley Overhaul.......

I finally managed to locate a ships carpenter that I could

a. afford and
b. trust.  So far so good.

The butcher block counter-top is the  NUMERÄR in birch, $169 from IKEA.

The drawer unit is a stock Three Drawer Unit from Boat Outfitters in Florida.  I will use two of these units to replace the existing wooden drawers.  The fit with an inch to spare.  I have found Boat Outfitters to be a very good company to deal with and they sort out any minor issues very efficiently.

These are the two units prior to fitting;

I had them adapt one of the units into one normal drawer and one deep drawer to take nesting saucepans. 

Break everything on the boat.......

Sorry for the lack of posts.  Summer in Miami is like Groundhog day in reverse.  You open the hatch, see your shadow made by a scorching sun and scurry back and hide for another month.  Its too bloody hot here in Summer.

I did manage to fill my time with three deliveries;

1.  600 nm from the Keys to New Orleans on a Whitby 42.  5 day motor sail.  No wind except for the squall that ripped the main.

2.  1040 nm from Ft Lauderdale  to Newport R.I. on a Knysna 500 (South African Cat), verry nice.

3.  240 nm from Eleuthera to Stuart Fl. on an O'Day 30.  

Lesson learned?  Boats break.  In fact the the poor little O'Day broke the least.  Then again it didn't have an autopilot, no bimini, head didn't flush, had a hanked on genoa etc.  Not a lot to actually break.

On returning to TIH, while waiting for my sunburn to heal (never sail beyond Bimini without a bimini, duh) I spent the next few weeks breaking stuff on my own boat.  i.e. I took stuff apart and re-installed it.  First off, the engine electrical system.  When MacGyver installed my engine I had him replace the wiring harness.  The original one had lots of wires which had all faded to a vague beige color.  A nice lady at Perkins, England knitted me a knew one, at vast expense.   I knew I did not fully understand what every wire did, now I do.

My advice, FWIW, if you plan to cruise your boat, take stuff apart and re-install it, BEFORE IT BREAKS, and you are within reach of;

1.  A Marine expert.
2.  A fast internet with Mr. Google.
3.  Your local marine store.
4.  UPS/FedEx.

Replace consumable parts (belts, impellers etc.) with new ones AND, if the old one is still serviceable keep it, as at least you will know that it fits.