A couple of more projects finished

We've been inching toward completion of the stink'in triangles and this weekend, we finally got there. What a trial to custom cut and fit what were essentially patches in 3/4-inch plywood that had decayed because the factory caulking between the hull and bridge seam had failed.

On Saturday, we installed the epoxy covered patch pieces and then masked and caulked the seams. We also re-caulked the hull to cabin seams on both sides. The temperature wasn't bad (about 50 degrees) and we let the caulk set up overnight.

Before we left home for the boat on Sunday, we fabricated a mounting for Frances' new LED exterior light. We wanted this light to be up and out of the way but able to light the aft deck area. It took us a week or so of thinking about it before we came up with something that would work and something that received the Frances Seal of Approval. Hey, we know how things work on our boat!

On Sunday, we painted the wood surfaces on the triangle patches and let the paint set up for a while. Looked so good! We then mounted the mahogany trim and the original OEM handles on the two triangles.

Then we tackled mounting the new Frances light. We already had power at the point above the sliding door where we wanted to mount the new light. Our plan was to use what is known to some as a "project box," a small plastic box with an aluminum cover that is used to build small electronics projects. At home, we mounted the new light on the cover and drilled the necessary holes in the box itself.

On the boat, we mounted the box and then the new light. All of the wiring connections are hidden in the box. The work lights that we are using make working in the dark somewhat less difficult but after a lot trial and error, we made the 12 volt DC connections.

Disregard the extension cords hanging down. That's the new deck light behind them.

We put a switch on the side of the mounting box because we had one and we thought it might be useful. Next. we'll wire another switch for this light inside the cabin so it can be turned on and off from there. Frances lives on the boat during the summer and she'd like to be able to light up unwanted night time visitors to our dock. Stuff  sometimes happens once the bar closes, if you know what we mean.

That should be bright enough, don't you think?

Next, we'll tackle the rollers on the bottom of the sliding door. We did some internet research and it appears that the bottom of the door has to be removed to gain access to the two sets of rollers. That should be a fun project.

Two, hopefully not painful, minutes of video: