Settee Rebuild

Sedna has a Cole brand wood stove on her saloon bulkhead.  It's a warming delight in the winter, but presents a couple issues that after 6 years I decided to fix.

First issue is that the stove sticks into the settee about 8 inches and is a real head bonker.

Secondly, ashes drop down on the settee cushion creating a mess and potential fire hazard.



So I decided to put a shelf/mantel/hearth under the stove to catch ashes and move the seat back away.






First I needed to demo the existing Settee while destroying as little of the beautiful mahogany as possible.  This was made easier by my reciprocating saw (seen here on the bilge) and removing screws piece by piece with care.

Sedna's bilge looks shallow because the potable water tank runs above the keel and fits a mere 2 inches below the sole boards.  There's a 3'x3'x4' deep well fore the companionway and aft the water tanks.  I sucked that dry and will repaint it.

Next, I checked for damage and painted the inside of the hull, bilge, and battery compartment while all the clutter was out... 

I removed the steel cover, cleaned, and flushed out the potable water tank...

After shortening the settee panel 9", I inserted a shelf under the wood stove. 

I re-positioned the settee back to fit on the face of the shelf and also be movable to leave a foot cubby-hole for my taller guests.  When done, i stored blankets and pillows in the cubby.

Here is a shot with the panel positioned for a sleeping giant.

Tube Plugs

Not perfect, but recently I needed to plug 5/8" tubes to replace my water heater on Sedna.

While at it, I needed to spread a little caulking and didn't want it on my fingers... so I covered my index finger with tape 

Sail Repair

Be prepared for sail repairs at sea with these supplies...

1. Roll of sticky-back Dacron sailcloth about 4 inches wide for fixing small tears along seams.
2. 6+ sq yds of Dacron sticky-back sailcloth (w/ rounded corners) for larger repairs or chafe patches...
3. Webbing to replace a clew.
4. Stainless steel rings to replace a grommet.
5. Heavy sail needles and strong thread or nylon sail twine. a sewing palm, and pliers.

Micro by Shop Vac (R)

Meet my new friend Mic, yeah he sucks but wet or dry he's there for me. Compact and light... Total impulse buy, think I paid $25 on sale.  

Right away I threw away the paper filter and used the foam sleeve filter. 
























When I need more filtration, I cut off some old pantyhose and stretch a leg over the foam filter. 

A  strip of inner tube makes a large rubber band to hold the pantyhose over the foam filter.

Wet vac is great for cleaning out the 4 foot deep bilge well...