Small mods, big improvements

One thing we think we have noticed with being on a trawler is how much it rolls. Even a small fishing boat motoring past our pier will set First Light to rolling port and starboard like she is trying to rock a baby to sleep, or make an adult turn green. It isn't much of an issue as long as the curtains are open. Having an expansive view of the horizon helps keep the stomach and the inner ear in synch. Ah, but with the port and starboard curtains closed in efforts to keep the blazing sun from competing the with A/C? Not only is that expansive view of the outside world unavailable, the curtains themselves sway like palm trees in a storm. That movement compounded by the motion of the boat and with no real view outside will have the inner ear and stomach at odds in short order. 

The curtains on the aft windows, which are mounted on a slanted part of the wall, have both top and bottom curtain rods. Mmm... So why not mount some bottom curtain rods in the side windows for when those walls are slanted in a roll? Parts were ordered that arrived in a day or so. On the first day that working inside to escape the heat seemed a good idea, packages were opened and work commenced.

The project took a couple of hours. Mounting the rods was easy, it was hand sewing 52 separate rings into the bottom edge of the curtains that chewed up a majority of the time. Grandson Eldest and I managed to finish the task for the two curtains on the starboard side in about twice the time it took Deb to finish the two on the port side. Maybe the fact that she has been an expert seamstress for all the years I have known her had something to do with it. The good news is that the rings are mounted to the back of the curtains, so the difference in the skill levels involved in the hand stitching is hidden out of sight. The really good news is that the curtains no longer sway, making for a remarkable improvement in the comfort level of the boat when sitting around the salon enjoying boat life.

Another small improvement was made by taming, at least to some degree, the rat's nest of wiring clumped up in the salon near the table. Looking to plug a charger into phone, iPad, or computer meant pawing through a tangle of tangled up wires which seemed to get even more tangled as one tried to untangle the one needed. It still isn't "happy wiring" but at least a couple of levels of "tangle" have been eliminated. 

It is often that way. Putting up a few pictures from “home”, having drink holders in place, adding a simple charging port next to a favorite sitting place, changing a latch on a cabinet or door for easier access; small improvements make the day just a little easier and the boat “fit” a little better. When one lives in a relatively small space, fit is important.