New Swim Platform

44°55′7″ N 75°50′5″ W

When we purchased Santosha in 2017 it had a teak swim platform on the stern that was the full width of the transom.

I removed the platform and the transom mounting brackets while my fiberglass contractor was refinishing the hull.

It had obviously been on the boat for many years and was not in very good shape. It was a bit “springy” in a few spots between the mounting brackets and was also beginning to come apart at some of the joints. This was likely due to the platform being sanded and stripped several times over the years for refinishing.

Last year I added some hardwood pieces as a temporary fix to try and strengthen the weak spots. They helped a bit but looked awful. Bottom line was that I needed a new swim platform soon so I started researching my options. I also began paying much closer attention to ones that I saw on other boats during my travels.

Teak is very expensive so I figured I had 4 main choices (listed below in order of my preference):

  1. another type of wood
  2. marine grade plywood covered with fiberglass
  3. engineered or synthetic wood
  4. aluminum

I like woodworking projects but felt that this was quite a bit beyond my skill level – plus I don’t have the tools needed to do the job properly. I talked to Jim and Steve Flewitt at Aylings Boatyard in Merrickville where Santosha is stored and they suggested that I consider using mahogany because this type of wood stands up well to constant exposure to water and it is considerably cheaper than teak. They also had the skills and equipment needed to build a new one for me right on site at a reasonable price. With that information at hand it was an easy decision for me.

They started the build with six rough cut mahogany planks each measuring 2″ thick x 10″ wide x 12′ long. I asked Jim if I could help so he assigned me the job of pile-it. He cut the wood and I piled-it. That was the full extent of my involvement in this project :).

Jim set up their table saw. It cut the planks into long strips measuring about 1 1/2″ wide (by 12′ long). We ended up with about 20 strips of mahogany ready for final sizing.

Jim’s next step was to run all of the strips through a 4-dimension planer which planed and sized each strip to the final dimensions in one pass (approximately 1″ thick x 1″ wide by 12′ long).

Now it was time for assembly. We had decided to make the new swim platform roughly the same dimensions and layout as the original – with some modifications to improve the swim platform’s function when installed. The original swim platform was the same width as the boat’s transom. I wanted the new swim platform to be a few inches narrower than the transom on each side because if I was not really careful the outside edge of the original platform would rub up against the dock as I pulled away. Hopefully a slightly narrower swim platform will stop this from happening so much.

Jim laid out a template on his workbench that matched up with the inside curve of the transom and also ended in a gentle curve on the outside edge. Laying this out was much more complicated than I had anticipated. I did not realize that the transom had such a curve in it – I always thought that it was basically flat from port to starboard – not so!

Long strips of mahogany were spaced apart using shorter strips. This design uses much less wood, makes the platform lighter without sacrificing strength, and allows water to quickly drain away when the boat is travelling in rough waters.

All pieces were clamped, glued and screwed into place. Jim’s design allowed for the screws to only go into the adjoining piece of wood through the sides and then each screw head is completely covered by the next strip. By doing it this way no screws are exposed to water, reducing the opportunity for wood rot. The swim platform is also designed to be fastened to the transom’s stainless steel mounting brackets from the bottom so no screw heads will be exposed on the top.

Once the build was finished Jim sanded the wood and ran a router with a smooth edge bit around the perimeter and around the inside of each divider section.

The final step was to stain the wood followed by several coats of varnish. The end result is fantastic and will really look smart when it is installed on Santosha next spring.

Thanks Jim!

If you need a new swim platform for your boat be sure to call Jim and Steve at Aylings!

 

Bottom Refinish – Part 2

Lat/Long: 44.918701, -75.835843

In September 2019 I had Santosha’s bottom stripped by a contractor using a high pressure waterjet “sandblaster” – but the blasting media was tiny glass beads, not sand. This blasting media is much more environmentally friendly and safer for everyone involved. You can follow this link to read about the glass blasting job: CLICK HERE

I stored the boat over the winter inside a covered shed at Aylings Boatyard in Merrickville. The covered storage allowed the boat hull to thoroughly dry out before beginning the the next phase of this project.

My plan was to have Jay, my fiberglass contractor refurbish the bottom in the spring of 2020 and then launch the boat and go cruising on the Trent-Severn Waterway for the summer. Unfortunately, Covid-19 significantly got in the way of those plans!

Santosha remained in storage for the summer and in late August Jay began to refurbish the bottom. While I was sad to not be able to go cruising this past summer it was a benefit to the boat hull to have a few more months to dry out.

Jay began by grinding out all of the spots where small osmosis blisters were evident. This was a cosmetic problem to be fixed – there was no damage to the integrity of the hull.

Once the grinding work was completed all spots to be repaired were rinsed with acetone and filled with a waterproof epoxy filler product that is designed especially for use below the waterline.

After this work was completed the entire hull was sanded and inspected for any small spots that had been missed as well as any “pinholes” and low spots that showed up after sanding. This entire process was repeated two more times. It takes a lot of labour and is very time consuming.

The hull was rinsed again with acetone and then sprayed with a thick layer of gelcoat. The gelcoat was allowed to cure for several days. Then another inspection for any remaining pinholes which were subsequently filled and sanded.

Finally we were beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel! Easy for me to say – I was not the one who was doing all of the filling and sanding! Jay and his assistant had that lovely job.

After all of this prep work the entire hull below the waterline was lightly sanded, rinsed with more acetone and then four coats of Interlux epoxy barrier coat were applied – one a day over four days.

Each application was an alternating colour (grey, white, grey, white) so it was easy to see where the coverage was needed for each coat.

Once the final epoxy barrier coat was cured the hull was lightly sanded and then Jay applied 3 coats of light blue antifouling paint. The job was then “topped off” by a new dark blue bootstripe along the waterline.

I am very happy with the end result and I am sure that Jay and his assistant are happy that this epic job is done – especially the sanding part!

 

December 6 – Last Day of Our Cruise

Noon Sighting
29°30′18″ S 153°44′35″ E

Sadly, today is our last full day for the cruise. We arrive back in Sydney around 6:00am tomorrow & take a transfer to the airport at 8:00am. Our flight to Vancouver departs at noon.

The air temperature has dropped noticeably since yesterday. There is also a lot of smoke in the air as a result of all the bush fires in New South Wales & Sydney city areas.

Visibility in any direction is down to just a few hundred meters.

I expect that the low visibility is stressful for staff on the ship’s bridge. Even with all of the modern navigation & radar equipment they have on board, traveling through this smokey haze is like being in thick fog.

Hopefully the bush fires will be extinguished soon. I read in the online media today that 40 firefighters from Manitoba are coming to Sydney to help local fire crews.

Catherine was up early again this morning & off to the gym – such dedication! It worked out well for me too – as I could watch the European soccer league highlights on TV without disturbing her.

But I’m not a total slouch. I was up early enough to attend a 9:00am presentation by the Great Barrier Reef Pilot – a continuation of his talk yesterday.

This morning he talked about some of the routes the Pilots take ships through & also about several of the ships he has been on for his work. He’s been on numerous cruise ships like this one, bulk cargo ships, container ships, car carriers, freighters, livestock carriers (25,000 head of cattle on 1 ship! 🙀) – it must take a big propeller to get that ship moooving! (Sorry, that was sooo bad).

He’s also been on fishing scows that should have been scrapped years ago & on multi- million dollar mega yachts! Now spending a few days on the big yachts would be a treat!

This afternoon we focused on organizing our belongings & packing our bags. We have to have our luggage packed & placed outside our cabin before dinner tonight. Now reality is setting in hard!

After packing our suitcases we went down to the main concourse area of the ship & treated ourselves to a couple of double-mocha coffees. It’s going to be very hard to give all this up!

It will also be hard to say goodbye to Michael (above), our cabin steward. He spoiled us for sure!

Here are a couple of photos of one of my favorite spots on the ship. Deck 16, the Lido Deck is where all of the outside action happens. Two swimming pools, a giant outdoor theatre & two glass-bottomed walkways (one on port & the other on the starboard side) that extend out over the edge of the ship.

When you go out on these walkways you are looking straight down at the ocean, over 100 feet below. I’m not a big fan of heights but this is pretty cool!

The adults only swimming pool area was pretty nice too!

Lots of very nice places to relax & gaze out over the water, read a book, blog, or even have a snooze.

We had our final dinner in the Allegro Dining Room & had a nice visit with the couple seated at the table beside us. Peter & Vicki are from Canberra, Australia & have traveled extensively. Over the past number of nights we have had many interesting conversations about life in Australia & Canada – comparing things our countries have in common & learning about the things that are different.

It’s nice to make new friends & who knows, maybe our paths will cross again at sometime in the future.

Time for one last sunset & then off to bed. We disembark early tomorrow morning – unless we can find a good place to stow away.

Cheers!

December 5 – At Sea En Route To Sydney

December 5 – 1:00pm Sighting
23°47′30″ S 153°13′27″ E

Today was our 2nd full day at sea as we are on a multi-day passage to Sydney. No more stops along the way. We will have another full day at sea tomorrow & then we will arrive at the dock in Sydney around 6:00am local time on Saturday.

I’m trying to avoid thinking about that & have been discreetly scouting out places for Catherine & I to stow away so we can stay on board. The ship’s next cruise, starting on Sunday evening is a 10-day trip to New Zealand!

We had multiple activities lined up for today. First on the agenda (after breakfast, of course) was to watch a cooking demonstration put on by the ship’s Head Chef & Maitre’d. This is a popular “event” on most Princess Cruises. They work together to prepare a full meal on stage & their efforts include much fun joking around.

Today’s menu included a cold seafood salad as a starter, followed by seafood pasta as the main course & then finished off with a Black Forest Cake “competition” between the Maitre’d & the Head Pastry Chef who is in charge of all breads & desserts on board.

The Maitre’d’s cake ended up having an entire bottle of Kirsch in it. Needless to say it was pretty soggy & it was garnished with a big straw to consume the liquid portion of the dessert.

There are 600 crew involved with preparing 25,000 meals a day (3,500 guests and 1,500 crew). The numbers are staggering – for example every day 1,700 lbs of fish are prepared, 6,000 pastries made, 800 lbs of butter used and just to balance it out 8,000 lbs of fruit is served! And when it’s all done, 140,000 dishes are washed!

After the cooking demonstration a talk & slideshow presentation about piloting ships through the Great Barrier Reef was given by the Pilot who was on board our ship for this portion of our passage.

He had lots of interesting facts & stories about his work & the ecology of the reef. The talk will continue tomorrow morning.

Early in the afternoon there was some unexpected excitement aboard the ship. One of the passengers had seriously injured themselves last night & had to be taken to hospital on shore by a medivac helicopter.

The Captain of our ship had several of the upper decks evacuated & then he slowed down to a crawl. A helicopter ambulance circled the ship a few times & then came right overtop our cabin, hovered above the top deck & the injured person was hoisted aboard in a stretcher.

A small medical evacuation jet was also circling the ship while the helicopter crew were completing their task. Hope the injured person recovers ok. Made us think of how important it is to have good medical insurance coverage when traveling abroad.

Something similar happened a few years ago when we were on a cruise in the Caribbean with Catherine’s mom & dad. We were headed back to Florida & going past Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. An American military helicopter came out to the ship around midnight & lifted a person off who had suffered a heart attack. Same procedure, several upper decks of the ship were evacuated while the rescue process was being completed.

Back to today – After all the excitement died down, we got ready for the last formal night and the “Captain’s Circle” reception in one of the lounges at 5:00 pm. It was an impressive event with the captain and crew in dress whites. Cocktails and canapes were served. Captain Sagani hails from Italy and had over 20 years training and experience before becoming a full fledged captain.

Having done a few Princess Cruises before we are in the “Platinum” level which gives us a few perks. The more days cruising, the more benefits. The couple on this ship with the most days sailing are from Seattle with 1,949 days. That is a lot of buffets!

We enjoyed the sunset from the open area on deck 7.

Catherine soaking up a warm sunset memory. We won’t see any of those for a few more months.

We had a great dinner yet again but were sad to hear that our waiter Leonel was out of commission with a back injury. We were looked after by the lovely assistant waiter Hazel from the Philippines and another gal from Serbia. Hopefully Leonel will be back on his feet soon.

We have some forms to fill out for disembarkation & luggage tags with bags out by dinner time tomorrow for loading on the bus to the airport early Saturday morning. Thinking ahead to long pants, sweaters and socks on the airplane(s). It doesn’t feel like we have been away for 5 weeks! These last few days have gone quickly!

Cheers!

December 4 – Willis Island

Willis Island – 09:00
16°16′31″ S 149°57′60″ E

This morning we arrived for a brief stop at Willis Island, an Australian weather station in the Coral Sea.

This island is very remote as it’s about 450 kilometers off Australia’s east coast & beyond the Great Barrier Reef.

No going ashore here! This island is tiny, measuring about 1,600 feet long by 500 feet wide & it’s highest point is only 30 feet above sea level.

The cruise ship stopped a few hundred yards off the shore & the Captain broadcast a conversation between one of the island’s meteorological staff & the Great Barrier Reef Pilot who was on board our ship.

There are only 4 persons stationed on the island at any given time & each staff member stays for 6 months before rotating out. I guess they had all better get along with each other because there’s nowhere to go if you don’t want to deal with someone on your shift!

Each morning the staff release a weather helium-filled balloon that rises over 20 kilometers, collecting & relaying data to the station on its way up. Once it reaches its maximum height the balloon bursts & it falls back to earth & sinks into the ocean, instruments included.

We watched the balloon being released & then got back underway on our passage to Sydney. Our Captain gave the islanders a special salute on the ship’s horn as we sailed away.

Click on this link below for a special video/sound treat that I made:

https://youtu.be/x8egUAiQ9dc

There are many seabirds – terns & red-footed boobies living on the island. As we approached it the birds came out to meet the ship. The Captain informed us that the birds like to follow the wake off the bow for an easy meal of flying fish.

The birds stayed with our ship for the rest of the day & into the night. The sea was very calm, so great conditions for us & for the birds.

We spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the Lido deck & then shifted over to our cabin balcony in the afternoon. Not sure if we can maintain this pace for 3 more days!

The weather is still hot – over 30 C, but now that the ship is headed south, our cabin gets the morning sun & is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. That makes sitting on our balcony much more comfortable.

I wish this cruise could go on for another month (or two) but I would have to get some new clothes because what I have with me now is getting too tight! Cath is doing a much better job than I am at resisting all the temptations available on the buffet. She also heads to the gym each morning for a workout while I lay in bed & watch European soccer highlights on TV. Each to our own.

Early this evening we went to a live entertainment show featuring a comedian/juggler, “The Checkerboard Guy”, from Vancouver Island, BC. He was pretty good. Then it was off to the dining room for yet another meal.

We have been informed that the ship will cross into a different time zone tonight, so we all have to put our clocks ahead 1 hour. Hey, that means that we don’t have to wait so long for breakfast tomorrow.

Life is good. Cheers!