A Dazzling Makeover

Sitting around watching the Kiwi world pass by one day at a time gives you time to ponder many things.  Spiritual, metaphysical, chemical, biological and interior boat design.  Where did that come from?  LOL  Well, Dazzler’s interior saloon cushions have been on board since I purchased her in 2003.  In fact, her saloon cushions may even be original making them 33 years old.  That’s really not bad life expectancy if you ask me.  In 2014 I did replace the seat cushion foam but not the fabric.  With the reality of seeing tread bare areas on some of the cushion surfaces it was time to consider having new cushions made for her.  

You can imagine all the possibilities to consider.  What kind of foam? What kind of fabric? What color fabric?  What style of finished cushions and so on…  If I need to fix something on the engine there is only one part that fits that one engine.  You don’t care about the color or style as long as it is the right part to correct the issue.  Cushion hunting is a different animal.  It’s not like buying a pair of men’s Levi’s 501 jeans.  No no no!  It has to be uplifting, add style and refinement to her interior with just the right amount of je ne sais quoi.

So, while being locked in New Zealand at level 2, we headed to one of the local canvas shops to look at marine fabric and ask enough questions to create another Spanish Inquisition.  We first stopped at Canvas and Covers here in Whangarei as we had bought some fabric from them for other projects on Dazzler.  Lynn at the front of the store was very happy to answer all of our questions and Jilly found a fabric sample that met her criteria for possible cushion fabric for Dazzler’s interior.  

We next needed to schedule a time for their cushion specialist, who by the way, has been sewing fabric and cushions since he was 15 years old.  He looks to be well seasoned with several decades of experience.  A day or two later Paul was on Dazzler taking measurements for a quote.  The quote was provided the next day via email.  It seemed reasonable but we wanted the get a second opinion, as you do.  We made arrangements with another canvas company here in Whangarei.  Their specialist was timely and provided his company’s quote within a day of being on Dazzler.  

The second company was a few hundred dollars cheaper but had too many restrictions on finished styling.  Plus, we both had a very positive feeling from Paul and his level of expertise as well as the personnel at Canvas and Covers.  All of which made our decision very easy.  We had a good Sunbrella fabric selected, a good finished style and a business that we both felt a high level of comfort with.  

We stopped by on a Friday afternoon to leave a deposit and went back to Dazzler to bask in our buyer’s glow.  About 10 days later Paul was back on Dazzler making patterns for the cushions. He was on and off in little over an hour.  The business did allow us the opportunity to take some photos of the manufacturing of the cushions along the way.  We even caught Paul behind the machine actually working.  LOL  Seriously though, from what we’ve seen he is an exceptional worker with a high level of experience and integrity in his work.

The saloon cushions would be removed during the process which would make it a bit uncomfortable.  We decided to be a bit more comfortable and decided to acquire an Air BnB that was about a block away from Dazzler during the cushion construction phase.  While off the boat, I decided to add a little face lift to the galley and navigation station varnish as well.  

The first day I started by removing all the hardware to make varnishing a bit easier.  Bells, whistles, cleats, lights, barometer gauges, wooden phallic symbols, I mean tiki statues, adorning the top of the navigation station.  Once all items were removed I started sanding.  We hadn’t moved up to the Air BnB yet so I made some plastic drop cloth curtains that separated  the saloon from the galley area.  I then started creating a white cloud of sanding dust.  The vacuum was running and the orbital and dermal sanders were whirring; followed by intermittent hand sanding of all the nooks and crannies.  

Day 2, we moved daily operations up to the Air BnB so Jilly could start binge watching West Wing with the provided free Netflix and Amazon Prime video along with full internet access so she could also work on our blog.  I walked down the hill and finished sanding and vacuuming and preparing surfaces for varnishing.  A long day, but a lot was accomplished.  Tape was put down, initial sanding done and I was ready for the first coat of varnish.  During this job there were several areas that did not require being sanded down to raw wood, however, many of the fiddle block edges needed a deep sanding to remove all the old finish from years of use.  Before heading back up to the flat on top of the world, I wiped the raw wood with some good quality teak oil as a wood sealer to help bring back some of the rich teak look on all of the raw wood.

Day 3, I was on board Dazzler early and started the electric heater to warm up the air.  I wiped down all the surfaces to be varnished with a wet rag followed by acetone in an attempt to clean the surfaces from any moisture and dust particles.  Varnish stirred and mixed at about 5:1 ratio of varnish to thinner for the first coat.  I was done varnishing by 0930 hours.  The varnish was setting up well so I added a second coat to those areas that had been sanded down to raw wood.  It was now about noon and time to clean up for tomorrow.  

Day 4, again I was up early and walking down the Vale Road expressway, LOL, at about 0700 hours on my way down to Dazzler for another productive day of sanding and dragging a wet brush of varnish across the boards.  Anyone who has done varnish work knows that preparation is about 90% of the whole job.  I personally find that scratch coating freshly dried varnish is much easier than grinding down those old finishes preparing for the first coats of varnish.  As is the case today.  I scratch sanded all the varnished surfaces and was ready for additional coats of varnish by 1000 hours.  I applied the second coat all over and in some cases a third and fourth coat on those areas that had been sanded down to raw wood.  By 1400 hours I was in clean up mode and getting ready to lock things up for another day completed.  

Day 5, I struggled with the decision of whether to apply a hand rubbed varnish finish or leave the gloss finish.  I finally decided to pull up short and leave the gloss finish in the galley and the navigation station.  Part of me wants to believe that it may be a bit more water resistant around the galley and the opened companion way.  Only time will tell if I have chosen wisely.  LOL

Day 6, early morning again and down the road of life to start cleaning up the mess I had created down below.  Pulled all the tape, re-installed all of the hardware, radios, electronics, gauges, phallic symbols, I mean wooden tiki statues, hula girls, Hector the fire breathing alien and other assorted doodads.  Next clean the saloon with the vacuum, and dust to get Dazzler’s interior ready for the new cushions.

Magic day!  The cushions were going to arrive.  We checked out of our Air BnB, loaded up the car and decided to stop by Canvas and Covers to check on timing of delivery.  We were given a mid afternoon arrival time, so we headed over to one of our local watering holes for an early lunch and then back to Dazzler to wait around the Tiki Statues for Santa Clause to arrive with our new cushions.  Funny that Santa in our case was Paul from Canvas and Covers with his elf, Brendan, the owner.  Just as I had to leave to pick up our floor coverings from the dry cleaners, I saw the Canvas and Covers truck pull up near the dock.  Oh well, I had left Jilly on board just in case they called while I was out.  Upon returning to Dazzler I found Brendan and Paul were still onboard.  A small measurement error and a few cushion backs had to go back for modification.  Knowing how boat projects go from living on board since 2003, we took it in stride.  Just a small bump in the road and everything will be just fine tomorrow. 

The final day.  We were told that it would be about noon for the cushion return.  Actually it was about 0900 hours when the phone rang to inform us that Paul was on his way.  The West Wing binge marathon had caught up with Jilly as she was still slumbering in the bunk.  Even after my attempt to be a human alarm clock earlier.  I’m not sure I have ever seen her move that fast before.  Grape Ape and I just stood back out of the way while the white tornado dressed, applied make up and did her hair in about five minutes flat.  So now the truth has been revealed.  It is possible to get ready to leave the boat in much less than 1-1.5 hours.  Note to self here.  And then Paul was here with our new cushions.  Push here, push there and snap!  Everything looked outstanding.  Dazzler’s interior is so much brighter and cleaner looking.  It is awesome and completely exceeded our expectations.  Color, style and function have now pulled her interior into a much needed fashion update from her time capsule era. 

The finished product looks amazing and we are very satisfied with our choice of fabric, style and the upholstery services of Canvas and Covers in Whangarei, New Zealand.  A little varnish work completed along the way and we are now ready for our next project.  Something greasy I’m guessing!  Ha Ha Ha

Cheers!

Captain Dan

P.S. A few notes from Jilly:  I’m not going to address the West Wing comments because, well, he’s right. I did find myself completely immersed in a week long marathon of West Wing that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning. That said, I did manage to get a lot of work done on the blog for our Dazzler Approved Business pages and I got a nice new haircut!

Our Air BnB was absolutely perfect for us and the added bonus of being able to watch TV and movies we haven’t seen in years was even better. Susan and her hubby David live upstairs and were excellent hosts. The location, just up the hill from the marina was perfect and we definitely recommend their place for yachties or anyone who wants to be close to town and have a terrific unit at a great price.

As for the cushions…I’m beyond happy with them. Paul, Lynn, Brendan and the entire crew at Canvas and Covers did an outstanding job! I simply cannot thank them enough for everything. They were helpful, easy to work with and their work is top quality! I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone looking for canvas or upholstery work in this area.

Stand by though…the job is not complete yet. With the beautiful new cushions our old throw pillows simply don’t fit. They don’t match and they look old and ugly so now we are working on finding material to have new ones made. Of course Dan is enjoying every second we spend in fabric stores while I pour over swatches and samples. HA HA  Honestly I think he’s ready to fly my mother in to help.