It's a Sign!

She loves sitting on her dock. Soon we will celebrate her 94th birthday!

 Now to mow that lawn...

Bringing Her Home Again

With her new cabin top and bottom all back together and safe, it's time to bring her home from YPM (opens new window) to do more work.

What finger?

Such a beautiful spring morning with a little frost still on her cockpit roof.

She was so quiet, I didn't realize she was on her way already.

The conditions were perfect all the way home. What we expected to be 5 or 6 hours was only 4. 

Here is a video (14MB 12 secs):

The noise you hear in the background is actually a lawn mower nearby.

Here's another one (24MB 23secs):

She's Done!

...at least done with the work from the yard. Now, I need to sand and finish and put all the stuff back on board.

They did an awesome job on repairing the galley ceiling. 

I will need to figure out a new way to mount the [original] center light so that the 

Looks great anyhow. You would never know it's not original (once I put on a finish).

<----   What it looked like before

Cabin top is as good as new!

Yankee Point Marina (opens new window) really knows their stuff.

So clean and smooth.

It's nice to see her decks repainted and spiffy.

Cabin top before -->

Now, all we need is a warm day with calm seas to bring her home and put her back together.

More restoration... CABIN TOP

 Well, we're back at Yankee Point, who did such a top notch job on the bow pulpit and installation of the generator to make her a hybrid--at least if we need to go more than 6 hours. They also refinished all the exterior brightwork a couple of years ago. (THAT was an expensive-but-worth-it year)

Anyhoo, we are getting the cabin top repaired and re-glassed by a wonderful guy named Phillip who looks like a modern day Santa (at least he has a white beard).

Phillip is doing a fantastic job and I am excited for Volta and looking forward to showing off her. 

This is the ceiling over the galley where Phillip and or Wayne will be replacing the wood slats to hopefully match and not have those ugly black stains from wood rot and the current patchy ick.

The upper right (large patch) is the upper side of the galley ceiling repair. Other patches are where the handrails attach and the other side around the navigation light areas and logo "fins."

I'll post after pics once it's done, but wanted to post these goodies as I got them.

She's finally home again...

It's so nice looking out at the home dock and seeing her there.

I spent the past two days cleaning her. She wasn't *THAT* dirty, but it's wicked hot so I have been starting early so I can quit before the heat gets to me.

I also managed to clean below and put her aft and forward tarps on to protect from UV light while she is not under cover. The clock needed a new battery and all the instrument & chair covers needed to be washed. Sunbrella washes so nicely. They look new!

It's awesome having her home, but I have mixed feelings about her exposure to the elements. At least her bright work is "AllWood," so I am less worried about it being in the sun. It will probably stay good the rest of our lives.

Her refinished flooring is looking great. I'll post pics as soon as Roger finishes installing the harder to fit pieces.

Her reinstalled window (Thank you again Roger) actually opens and closes so much better than it used to. AND you can't tell that the glass was replaced.

NEW WINDSHIELD

Roger researched and studied, watched many, many videos, and asked lots of questions on forums and was able to successfully replace the broken windshield. You can tell which one was replaced as it's the only clean thing on her right now.

She is so dirty and in need of fiberglas refinement. Need to bring her home to fix it all. 

The windshield crack was a casualty of the all work done last year along with some missing screws to brass oil lamps. I am still trying to find them, so I don't have to replace the whole lamp. It's a matched pair. The work they did was fantastic, but more care could have been taken on the items they didn't need to mess with.

Anyhow, you can see the nice neighborhood Ingram Bay Marina is in the reflection of the nice clean (for now) windshield glass. We are so grateful for a covered slip within driving distance in such a beautiful and safe place.

IT'S BOTTOM WASHING DAY

Getting new zincs and getting her bottom washed today. Hoping to get more time on the water when we get back from our [land camping] trip.

LOOKING GOOD BAYBEE!

Thanks again to Jennings Boatyard for helping us maintain our sweet little baby yacht.

One of the best boatyards on the Northern Neck

The Gussies!

Volta is in the finals of the Gussies! (international electric boat awards)

Now, the voting is going to the public. You can help her win by voting at https://plugboats.com/vote-2022-gussies-electric-boat.../

Scroll down to the "Refitted/DIY" and click on the link at the bottom of the category and check the box next to "Volta" it's THAT easy! Be sure to vote in other categories, too. There are some really cool boats.

Tell your friends and PLEASE share. She deserves a trophy.

#TheGussies #electricboatawards

She's home again

 Volta is home again and we met a friend out on the bay to take photos of her farewell voyage on her way to donate "Ariel" to the Reedville Fishermen's Museum. While we were photographing her, she was photographing us. Such a gorgeous morning. Our top speed was 5.3kts at 55 amps when we were catching up to her. Then were able to maintain enough speed to circle around her a few times to get some good shots. We took 94 pics altogether. Here are some examples, followed by the pics she took of us.

WYE ISLAND RACE THIS FALL

Oh my goodness! So excited to be planning our trip up the Bay to St. Michaels for the Wye Island Race with Electric Boats of America.  We secured a slip at St. Michaels Marina, 

...and a room at the Old Brick Inn, just 2 blocks from the marina.  

We'll need showers and a bed for a couple nights (night before the race and night of the race).  The Race is September 30th, so we are planning on arriving on the 29th and leaving October 1st.  SO excited to finally plan our long trip on Volta up the Bay.

Tonight we plan our stops along the way up the Bay.  Should only take 3-4 days, but we'll see how it goes.  If the waves and/or winds allow, we can keep moving.  We will provision so that we can handle anything that comes our way.

FINALLY COMING HOME

Home today to clean her up and paint the face of the aft generator/storage compartment.  She gets so dirty at the covered slip and it's too far to periodically go over to clean her.  I think we will try to keep her covered there from now on, too.  The birds and spiders just can't help but leave their mark on her cabin & cockpit tops.  

Tomorrow, I'll post better pics after I clean her.  I truly have my work cut out for me.