A New Adventure Begins!!

So many big and exciting things happened the month of November!! Our wonderful boat was finally operational again and Ashley and I were able to take her out on a beautiful sail.  November also marks three years that we have been together and almost three years of owning "Wild Swan".   Ashley walked into a whole different world when she met me and the Sailing lifestyle and she has not missed a beat. Spending every last dollar we have on the boat and every spare minute as well. Dealing with furniture slowly disappearing from the house and countless surprises as we find major items needing repaired on the boat. She has been right there willing to help and changing her way of life to adjust and all so that we can be together and share our lives. 

Ashley has been a wonderful change in my life and I couldn't do any of it without her, So I wanted to make sure she stuck around! After our first sail in so long I proposed to her in the boat that has brought us so close and so now it's official! We're Engaged!! WOOO!!! Happy Dances all around!!  Not sure what she is thinking but I sure am glad she is thinking it!!  So November has been a good month for sure! 

After saying Yes!

Looks Pretty Good on her I'd Say!

In other news, we finally moved out of the house completely! So far so good with things on the boat. It was not a good week for moving aboard as a cold front moved through and it got down into the teens at night!! That just doesn't happen in SC! It made for a cold walk up to the shore to walk the dog every couple of hours, but we made it! It was a little chilly in the mornings on the boat, but the Propane heater warmed it up pretty quickly.

The last load of furniture out of the house! Only Lawn-chairs now!

We had a new custom mattress made at a local mattress factory that has greatly improved our comfort. I recently replaced the entire pressurized water system. The boat had all copper lines  and the original fixtures which I believe were designed to empty your water tanks as quickly as possible. The copper was replaced with all new PEX and shut off valves were installed at every fixture. With help from my brother who works in plumbing, we were able to get very nice high end fixtures that will greatly reduce our water consumption.  I also got tired of using a stupid little drinking water spigot and I installed a three stage water filtration system with UV light into the main water supply. Now we can drink the water right out of our tanks at all faucets!! It even gets rid of that funky boat tank taste! Definitely  a worthwhile investment. 

New Brass Fixture in Galley

Three Stage Filtration just after pressure tank. All New PEX Lines. 

New Bronze Fixture in the head.

We are now working on getting a new Dodger, Bimini, Stack Pack all made for the boat. All new frames and totally enclosing the cockpit if needed. We hope to have the boat ready for a trip back to the Florida Coast at the beginning of the year. Yikes!! I have some work to do!