Carpe Diem

Whenever, I get the chance, I love to ask other sailors about their boat name. Our name, Carpe Diem, may seem self evident. However, it really goes much deeper than just “good advice”. A few years back, Scott was told he had less than 6 months to live. Colon cancer had gone undetected for too many years. After 6 months of intense chemo... he finally made it. Then a few years later, complications from a double-by-pass almost killed him again. Today he doesn't let his BP and severe diabetes slow him down. Two years ago he lost most of his vision in one eye and partially in the other...and the list goes on and on and on.

Having a boat to work on (along with a regiment of insulin and dozens of medications) keeps him sailing and out of the ER. This boat probably saved his life! I often think “SURVIVOR” would be a good name for our boat. But that would be a constant reminder of the past struggles. So, for now we try to live one day at a time, and carpe diem, “seize the day”.

BELOW ARE BLOG ENTRIES (full of photos) and on the LEFT is our LOG BOOK (full of thoughts , musings, and dreams). At the bottom of this page is a feature where you can become a follower and be notified whenever we add a new blog. Thank you for visiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 14, 2011

New Canvas Work 2011

As we installed new equipment, we decided to protect it with a new dodger and bimini.

Here is a view of the boat "naked", with all the old canvas removed.


Here she is with new clothes!


No more leaks. All nice and cozy inside.





It is like having a new room added to our home. This is where we spend most of our time.







Here's another shot of that new anchor Scott calls his "sleeping pill"  :)






November 13, 2011

Summer 2011 / INSTALLING Equipment

During the summer of 2011 we added a few new toys; a new anchor, an electric windless, a Garmin  radar, a Garmin GPS, and also Garmin auto pilot. Since this meant going up the mast, we also replaced our tri-color light and anchor light, and it came with an emergency strobe. The strobe is one light I personally hope we never have to use.




Scott wasn't able to do the mast work for the autopilot, radar and GPS due to his poor vision. Fortunately, our friend Jeff was around to help out. We could not have done it without him.






Another friend on a boat just like ours, another CSY, gave us some helpful ideas on how to mount the autopilot under the aft berth.




We chose a Garmin Autopilot rated for an 80,000 lb boat. Since our boat only weighs 40,000 lbs
(not counting all my shoes and scrapbooks) we felt that this autopilot would do the job.

What do you get when you add a 73 lb Rocna anchor to a 40,000 lb boat? A good nights sleep!




 A new pedestal guard holds everything and there is still room for more stuff.







November 9, 2011

SPRING 2011 OMG! TERMITES!

Can you believe we had termites?  On a boat?


Spring 2011 / More Upgrades

                                        NEW TOYS FOR BIG BOYS  

1. 4210 GARMIN GPS    2. GARMIN AUTOPILOT    3. GARMIN WIND-SENSOR.

THIS PHOTO MAKES IT LOOK SO SIMPLE...HAH HAH HAH!





The best thing we ever did (besides auto-pilot) was to add an electric windless to pull up that huge anchor!!


March, 2011 / The Big Project

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2011


The Big Project

We bought our CSY in 2008.  She is a proud old girl (1977). Yet, like all old boats, she had issues. One of them was the refrigeration (or lack of). That is how "The big project" all began.


On the original 1977 CSY the refrigeration was a huge box in the starboard midsection that was neither useful nor cold.  This mate would almost need to climb inside the huge box to retrieve any item close to the bottom. 


For 2 years we just lived out of a cooler and used the refrigeration box as a counter. 

Then after much planning, the only option was to tear out the old and make room for the new. 



A saws-all and a sledge hammer were very helpful, yet created tons of dust and debris. 




With Scott in the hole you see how big it was.



We created a huge space to start from.


A good time to tear out the old instrument panels and add new breakers and wiring.





What a job this was!!


BEFORE                                                                                                                  AFTER


It really turned out nice; and still have room for future gadgets.


A new counter was added with shelves and a huge drawer. Storage! YES!!

Two new Engels were added. The top front-opening refrig was set stationary; and the lower freezer was mounted on slides. Scott designed this and it worked like a charm!



This was also a good time to replace the old invertor charger with a new MagnaSine 2800 watt invertor/120 amp charger.



While Scott was busy wiring, Annie began a project on the other side of the galley.
Notice how little counter space the original galley has?  Well believe it or not, behind that  small door directly behind the coffee pot is a huge wasted cabinet. 



Another wasted space behind the range. Could never reach anything stored there!


So while the old stove was out and before the new one (see below) arrived, Annie tore out the old wall and stupid sliding doors. Now, she can have a carpenter redo this area of the galley to be more user friendly.  This project is still not finished....more pictures to come....something is always in progress....


The microwave now fits perfectly into another wasted space between the stove and the ladder.
A new cabinet under the microwave is where a future ice maker will reside. 


A very useful pizza oven comes built in. It gets used during every Bears football game!!


BEFORE:                                                                                                  AFTER:  coming soon?









Started in January of 2011 and finished in July of 2011!


Finally a place to keep all canned goods and Tupperware below.
And above, a safe place for a liquor cabinet and wine bottles.


And here is our awesome carpenter, Tommy Avery,
an experienced shipwright and a true gentleman. 
We love you, Tommy!