White Out!

After restoring our interior teak, we were ready to tackle the plumbing.  We don't mean new, shiny fixtures (although we're getting those) .. we're talking sticky, moldy plumbing hoses throughout the boat that needed removing and replacing.  Again, those folks that say "just go" have never bought a project boat! Some things just can't be ignored .. including the moldy hoses that our drinking water will be running through.

Anyway, I digress.  After removing all of the plumbing from Nirvana, we decided it would be a good time to paint the lower storage areas that appeared to have never been painted in the past.  These storage areas will house all sorts of items for us .. from food to spare parts to extra hygienic items. We don't wanna be grossed out in our home, so it was important to us to paint these areas that were dark, porous and filthy.

After cleaning the areas, we primed them with a coat of Kilz and then we painted two coats of Sherwin Williams' semi-gloss "Solo" paint. This is an interior latex trim paint that Ken uses on his jobs because of how hard & durable it is when dry. Ken had some of this paint left over from one of his jobs, so the price was right!

Here's a few before & after pics .. so glad we didn't blow this project off!  This first set shows underneath the aft cabin, with the fuel tank. The yellow tape held the wires out of our way ...

Here's the "head", with a new storage area behind the toilet that Ken cut out ...

And here's a view of the v-berth area .. (the first pic in this post is a close-up of the v-berth storage area .. where one of our water tanks is stored).

Last but not least .. the salon & galley areas. We painted the areas behind and underneath the settee cushions (see the black holding tank), the bilge and the cabinet under the galley sink. 

The starboard side .. you can almost see our second water tank but it's cut out of the photo.

I tell ya, this has been just as dramatic of a change to us as the restored teak! The storage areas are now bright, clean and easily able to wipe down. Now we won't think twice about storing food n stuff in these areas.

Since this paint project, we've installed the new head sink & faucet, the new galley faucet & original sinks, and are almost finished installing the new plumbing & vent hoses.  Oh, and while doing all of this the macerator pump stopped working. Ken ordered a new impeller & gasket and it's now as good as new. Ken was dreading this crappy job of removing the pump and replacing the parts, but it really wasn't that bad.

We'll have running water soon!

Hasta luego .. until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Interior Teak .. Renewed!

A few months ago (I'm a bit behind on the blog with our projects), I finally tackled the job of cleaning & sanding Nirvana's interior teak.  The teak was in bad shape .. dirty, dull and water-stained.  This would be okay for weekend sailing, but with plans to live on Nirvana ... the teak needed some TLC!

The first thing I did was clean the teak with a mixture of salt & vinegar, then I wiped it down with a damp cloth.  I hoped this "trick" that I found on the internet didn't turn into a joke.  As I cleaned the teak, I could see some of the water stains lightening up!

After cleaning, I then went back (not all done in the same day .. I wish!) and sanded the teak by hand.  Can you see the difference?! I was getting excited to see my hard work was paying off.

Here's a few more pics of before & after throughout the boat ...

We had a shelf that was heavily varnished & water-stained, so after Ken stripped the varnish I convinced him to try another internet "trick" to remove the water stains ... "Bar Keepers Friend"!  Since I'd gotten Ken involved in this, I hoped this was also a legit trick.  As the cleaner sat a few minutes, we could see the stain lightening .. it worked!  Who would've thought that this metal cleaner would work on teak?!

After cleaning & sanding .. a huge difference!

 

Since the "Barkeepers" worked so well, I figured I'd try it on the salon bulkhead to remove the water stains from an earlier leak before we bought the boat.  This was one of the few areas that I hadn't yet tackled with vinegar & salt.  I wiped on the cleaner, let it sit a few minutes, then removed with a damp sponge.  It worked, but I couldn't capture the tons of tiny water stains on my crappy phone camera.  It worked good enough to hit a few spots that needed a little extra help after the salt & vinegar cleaning & sanding.  So rewarding, and what a relief to have the teak clean, sanded & ready for sealing!  The pic below is after cleaning & sanding the bulkhead ...

Ken removed the drawers & cabinet doors and sealed them and all the interior teak with two coats of Minwax "Helmsman Spar Urethane" in Clear Satin. We considered teak oil, but we want low maintenance on Nirvana so we decided against it. Also, we know that many folks put MANY coats of varnish on their teak .. we have way too many projects to spend that much time on this!  We've heard good things about the product we used, so we'll see.  It was very easy to apply and we're really happy with the results!

What do you think?

I found the perfect decal to dress up the plain white center on our head's cabinet door ...

I can't tell ya how much better it feels to walk into Nirvana with her teak restored and the rotten wood replaced! The boat not only looks like new, but it smells better too. I can really see ourselves making this our home. I can't wait to get the plumbing finished so I can get our cushions from my Dad's place in Mississippi, clean & recover them, and bring them back on board. We'll also be able to put the cabinet doors & drawers back inside when the plumbing hoses are replaced .. yeah!

We recently removed all of the old & moldy plumbing hoses, faucets & sinks throughout the boat and cleaned the two plastic water tanks. While the plumbing was out we also cleaned, primed & painted all of the storage areas that were filthy & grimy. They look so much better, and they now have a nice finish for wiping down. Stay tuned for a post soon about this, as well as another about our new plumbing. We're almost finished running the new hoses & installing our new fixtures .. woo hoo!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!