Home improvements, Innings and Outings

Let's start with the Super Bowl party "Inning".  This was a boaters organised event in the Captain's Lounge.  Drinks and BBQ food followed by the game.

Richard overseeing Dan at the barbecue.  Richard's team went out in the semi finals.  Dan's didn't and went on to win.

After knocking a guest child into the harbour from their boat, Shawna immediately dove in to the rescue.  Here she is drying out. 

Next some home improvements.  The dash and switch panels were apparently never covered by the previous owners so they faded in the strong Florida sun.  I have wanted to replace them but put it off because it is such a gutty job.  Here's the old switch panel with a couple of my stuck-on labels:

I got some custom panels made with more appropriate labelling.  Here's the old instrument panel behind the new one.  The new one still has protective film on it.

This is the new switch panel with custom labels and new rocker actuators.

To do the job I had to remove the wires from each switch and remove the switch from the panel.  I then reattached the wires to the switch before moving on to the next switch.  I could have removed all the wires from all the switches but I couldn't be sure of accurately recording all the connections.

As it was, I photographed each switch back before removing the switch so I had a record.  I had two switches with burned out bulbs and one with a broken connector.  You can't change these bulbs so I ordered three new switches.  Finally I had to remove the electroluminescent back-light strip before applying it with contact adhesive on the new panel.  The back light strip is the foil like tape between the rows of switches with black and white wires in the picture above.

 Then I removed the wires from each switch, re-inserted in the correct spot, re-attached the wires and moved to the next.  Then installed the new actuators on each switch and reinstalled the panel.  Once the protective film was removed I could admire the renovation.  Nice new shiny woodgrain; well, simulated wood grain...

Same process for the instrument panel

Fewer instruments than switches so about half the time! Here's the finished product:

Our good friends Bill and Beth from home in Canada had rented a house across the state in Cape Coral so we were invited over for a couple of nights.  We had a great time catching up and enjoying various beverages!

Thursday we took in the Miami Boat Show again but just for the day this time.  It's a two and a half hour drive under normal circumstances.  These conditions weren't normal.  The traffic was horrendous throughout the day and almost spoiled it for us.  We went in our rental car with Dan and Jacque to the American Airlines Center and used the bus system between the venues afterwards.  

These are our friends from this marina and are leaving with us in April.  They will be doing the entire loop through Chicago after we stop off in Ontario.  By the time we made it to the Convention Center it was lunch time so we went to a Cuban Restaurant for lunch.

The boat show was the same as always.  Great fun, too much to see in one day for sure but we spent a couple of hours looking at accessories and then a couple of hours touring the boats we wish we could have.  No pictures that I took would encapsulate the boat show. Around 5pm we decided to hit the road home.  The highlight was this establishment that might warrant a return visit by Dan and I. But, again, the traffic was intolerable. 

Now, I will admit that I have a reputation for "positive" driving but this reaction from Jacque was totally unnecessary.

And they did drive with us the next day to Fort Pierce so all is ok!