Finally a post about boats and boat-related stuff for you.

After six years of putting together the winter igloo, we felt it was time for a change.  For practical reasons it was time.  The old tarp that we’ve carried from the time R.E.D. came home with us in 2013, the PVC electrical conduit tubing that was labelled and colour coded port and starboard, numbered from bow to stern and all the plastic tie wraps that went into securing everything each year…it was time for an upgrade.

The discussion centred around what was practical.  It centred around costs.  Should we replace the tarps?  It was time, after yearly patching.  Should we re-design the igloo so there would be less stress on the rub rails and stanchions?

When we thought of what we would need do and the costs involved to make those improvements we decided it was long overdo to upgrade.  Shrink wrapping was considered.  A lot of boaters around here – mostly power boats – winterize in this manner.  For me it was an instant ‘no way’.  All that plastic wasted each year.  Not to mention the costs….each year!

If we were going to invest in something more long term then why not a portable garage shelter or what in Montreal was referred to as a tempo?  When I mentioned the term here a neighbour said: ‘oh you mean a Quebec garage?’

Decision made.  Order placed.

We were a bit late in the season winterizing R.E.D.  As usual we were one of the last to haul out and she spent a couple of weeks at a local marina waiting her turn for the engine’s three-year servicing.  Plus there was more focus on getting the Crow’s Nest roof tight for the winter.  It’s not been super cold but our worry about installing the garage anchors in frozen ground was becoming a real concern.

The order finally arrived…part of it that is…four out of six boxes, and you can be sure Francois counted every single nut and bolt, carefully checking it against the packing slip and assembly manual, highlighting discrepancies.  Lots of apologies from the company.  Lots of apologies from the shipper.  This was not looking good.  End of November.  Frozen ground.  No winter cover yet for our lady.

Until we decided how to proceed, Francois installed the full enclosure in case of snow and covered the anchor well to protect against water infiltration.  Because of the size we ordered  – 30‘ x 12’ – we needed to remove the mast, so carefully rolled it, ancient Egyptian style, under R.E.D.’s belly..

And  the solar structure was too high, but thankfully Francois had had the foresight to create a junction for easy removal.

Then we waited.  Company issued a new order with many more apologies but within two days the shipping company had located the two missing boxes…many more apologies issued…and boxes delivered…all bits and pieces accounted for…

…just in time for a wicked wind/rain/snow storm.  Luckily the snow missed us but wow, was it ever cold and windy! And yes, I still check the wind and wave charts daily…on or off the water.

This project is every kid’s dream…or kid at heart…to have a life-sized mecano set to assemble.

Once we got into a rhythm, assembly went well.  Between the two of us the skeleton was assembled the first day…

The next day I had commitments so Francois called friends to come help mount the tarp….

Now we have a place during our off-season months to work on the boat unimpeded by weather with lots of extra room for storage.

A beast of a structure it is, weighing in excess of 700 lbs, so bring it on Mother Nature.  We’ve got it covered!

With some of the leftover PVC conduit piping from R.E.D.’s old igloo I made a wreath to place on an empty space on RED by the SEA. To all who follow this blog, may this coming holiday season bring joy, health and happiness, however and where ever you celebrate.

Thanks for stopping by.  Just because there will soon be snow on the ground here on the south shore of Nova Scotia, doesn’t mean there won’t still be stories for us to share with you.  So drop by any time.  You know us by now…always another adventure on the horizon

 

For those reading this in a language other than English (see language choice upper right side bar of each post), please forgive the automatic translation.