Back after a week off.

It was definitely time to use last weekend for some housework. We changed the bag in the vacuum cleaner and went at it. Things look so nice after a thorough cleaning and we have to admit, it has been a while.

Two weekends ago, we removed the sea lip molding in our galley.

Once we got the molding home, we rubbed each piece down with paint thinner using fine steel wool. That helped, but really didn't remove all the old discoloration. Then we tried a palm sander with 120 grit sandpaper and, although it took a while, the molding cleaned up very nicely without removing too much material.

Our intention was to put on a couple of coats of Sikkens Marine Light, which we have used before very successfully on other areas, including our swim platform. But that was going to take some time since this molding is exposed both front and back. (It mounts against the 3/4-inch counter top in a groove that is milled into each strip but part of the back of each piece is exposed to form the lip.) That would mean applying the Sikkens to the front of each piece (all 14 feet of it), giving it ample drying time, then turning each piece over and applying Sikkens to the back. Two coats could take the better part of a week or more.

But Frances, the Queen of Process Improvement, came up with a better idea. Why not coat both sides of each piece of trim with Sikkens and then allow them to dry while mounted on toothpicks that had been inserted into the mounting holes?  Why not, indeed?

Toothpicks went into the holes in each section of trim easily and with a few pieces of scrap, into which we had drilled some small holes, we had a place to let each piece dry, both front and back.

That worked perfectly. Yes, we did wear disposable Nitrile gloves while applying the Sikkens to both sides, but we would have used those gloves anyway.

The result was some very good looking molding.

The miniature cleats were on there before the refinishing and are used by Frances to hang up various galley gadgets.

This weekend, we reinstalled the sea lip trim and it looks great. But, like so many of our little projects, we did this for ourselves. No one will ever notice it.

After the trim was reinstalled, we looked at our to-do list for the winter. We measured for the installation of new lights in the cabin and a new one in the head. We looked at the "dreaded Silverton triangles" about which you'll hear in coming weeks. Finally, we figured out how to remove the big glass sliding door in the cabin so we can replace the little wheels that allow it to slide smoothly. We got the door off but have yet to figure out how to remove the old, worn out wheels, which, we found out, you can buy at Home Depot.

To finish out the weekend, we did what lots of people here in New England do at this time of year: we raked leaves. We use an old tarp to collect them and then drag them out to the street where the city will pick them up soon. So far, we have about 50 feet of leaves, about three feet high and we'll add to that soon. Hopefully, that will happen before it snows.