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Ceiling Panels: A New Hat

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The original ceiling panels on Sugar Shack are made of corrugated PVC.  They are well over 23 years old and were in need of replacement.  We had replaced the salon ceiling panels in 2016 and it was beyond time to replace the panels in all of the cabins.

We took some of the panels down to fix the leaks a few months ago.  It is a very long, time consuming, and uncomfortable project.  Matt has to carefully remove the old ceiling panel without it cracking, tearing, or disintegrating.  I then come in and remove all the glue and sticky residue which requires me to work upside down.  Not a comfy position to be in for days on end.  

To remove the glue I use multiple tools to scrape it off (scraper, knife, pick, brillo pad, acetone, elbow grease).  Once I get the majority of the glue off I get to work on the sticky residue which is much harder to come off.  I use sand paper, brillo pads, and glue gone.  It has to be smooth and clean in order for the VHB tape to stick.

Complete Chaos onboard

Each cabin has been exposed.

Office and Guest Cabin

Office and Guest Cabin

The main guest cabin (port bow) had some serious issues.  Once Matt removed the panels, the frame sort of collapsed.  Evidently the 5200 (glue) that was applied 23 years ago lost its stick.  So, Matt had to create new supports and reglue the frame prior to beginning work.

Guest Cabin

Guest Cabin

Normally it takes two people to put each panel up.  One holds one end while the other peels the tape and secures the panel.  However, Matt was able to do the ceiling panels all by himself.  He used everything at his disposal to get these panels up.  The green is just a protective cover and will come off once we are done.  I was in the states and unable to help him so he set up the GoPro to take time lapse photos.

Office Ceiling

Office Ceiling

And the finished Office with nice beautiful ceiling panels and new lights.

Completed Office

Completed Office

And the completed Guest Cabin.  Keep in mind that when we have guests we actually put bedding, towels and a little lovely decor out to make it more welcoming and homey.  But since this is just a “hey we finished the ceiling panels” photo I did not do all of that.

Master Bath “Head”

He also worked on the master bath which has a combination of corrugated pvc and fiberglass.  Unfortunately, we cannot remove the fiberglass panels so we will have to sand them down and paint them but that will be a project for another year.

In the photo below you can see where Matt is installing the new pvc panel and replacing the gross light fixtures that turned green from the salt air. He also removed the old shower head.

The updated bathroom or “head” is looking good.  We replaced all of the ceiling lights, the shower head and trash can. I bought a new scale, rug, and full length mirror.

Master Bath (Head)

Master Bath (Head)

There are not many times I need a full length mirror, but I’ve wanted one for years.  It keeps me honest.

New Full Length Mirror and Shower head

New Full Length Mirror and Shower head

On to the Master Bedroom Ceiling Panels

Back to the ceiling panels.  It was a really long project with us living in chaos and mess for months!  We finished the port side office and guest cabin and the starboard master bath but we still needed to work on the master cabin.  Once we had the ceiling panels off we needed to address the leaks.  Yep, we have a few leaks.  Some were from joints that needed new glue, some from worn out fittings.

The elbow fitting and hose were just old and warn. We had to replace them in all four corners of the boat. All the water from the deck flows to the four corners of the boat and into these drains.  They all were replaced with new drains and new hoses.  But of course to get to them you had to remove years old thickened epoxy

Master cabin and leak above bed

Master cabin and leak above bed

We install the new drain and hose, replace the thickened epoxy and start working on leak under the bimini.  Lucky for us we can do this outside rather than inside.  So, we put our new ceiling panels and new lights in the master cabin.

New Lights

Since we had all of the ceiling panels off we decided to upgrade our lights.  The current lights stated that they were stainless but we found out later on that they were not as they turned green and speckled.  

We found a great lighting store that sold stainless steel framed lights and white ceiling lights that fit our holes perfectly.  We ended up buying 4 small and one large stainless steel lights for the salon and galley,  But for the cabins, master bath and hallways we bought 15 white ceiling lights.  They look super sharp!

I must say that it is glorious having the ceilings completed as it was a mess along with all of the other construction projects.  

Events from this blog post occurred from November 2022-May 2023.  Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind schedule.  In our last blog post I shared our brand new stainless steel counter tops – they are spectacular, did you see them?

It’s Been Long Enough: New Counter tops

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When we purchased Sugar Shack back in 2010 she came with “lovely” turquoise green counter tops and matching pleather interior cushions.  We could not fathom owning a boat with turquoise green pleather cushions so we had those changed immediately.  Matt promised me that we would replace the counter tops “soon” but since they were in decent shape we lived with them for 13 years!

Matt decided he did not want Corian or marble countertops, he wanted stainless.  We ask our friends at Absolute Stainless to do the work.

Prep Work on the Countertops

Absolute Stainless said that they did not want to touch the 23 year old wood fiddle around the counters.  I really could not blame them as the chance for them to break is high and they don’t have a wood shop.  The fiddle is the wood lip that surrounds the edges of the counters.  They are curved and nailed in to the cabinetry.

So, Matt tackles the project himself with the hopes of removing them without damaging them.  It is a super slow process which required a lot of patience and tools.  But he was successful!

Next, Matt has to remove the veneer.  What would seem like a fairly easy project ends up taking the major part of a two weeks.

He then removes the other side of the counter tops.

Creating a Template for the New Counters

Absolute Stainless sent over Damon to create the template for our new counter tops.

Then we wait for the magic to happen.

Installation Day

So excited for installation day!  Damon and Harry (apprentice) arrive with our new countertops!  Before we bring the new pieces in we have to do some trimming of the wood to ensure a nice snug fit.

In comes the new pieces.  Matt is holding the small side by the refrigerator (the large hole is for the refrigerator door).

It’s a little tricky getting the long countertop inside and fitted.  

We ended up grinding the larger piece to fit properly by the wall (near Matt’s side), had to remove our light switches and shave a little more wood from the sink area – but it fit!

Damon loads up the undersides with a ton of special stainless steel glue and they leave behind over 400 pounds of weight to hold the counters in place as the glue dries.

We end up having to wait a week for them to come back.  Mostly because there was a weekend, 2 holidays, and Matt and I had to go to Auckland for 2 days.  Sort of a pain as we had no kitchen sink and no refrigerator.  

The Final Touches

The big reveal and we are both anxious and excited.  Wow, they came out looking terrific – what do you think?

The larger, longer piece with the sink and stove top came out stunning as well.  We bought a new sink that was welded into the countertop and since we had a new sink and new countertops we bought a new stainless steel faucet too.

It took us another few weeks to reinstall the wood fiddle around the edges, but the final product exceeded our expectations!

Now I need to learn how to clean them 🙂

Events from this blog post occurred in late March thru end of May 2023.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  In our last blog we take my family to the northern most part of the north island during a massive thunderstorm.

North Tip of the North Island

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My family, Kimberly and Troy, came for a visit to the North Island after they spent 10 days in the south island.  We had each day all planned out but did not account for the increment weather.  Unfortunately, a rather large storm system had plans to visit the North tip of the North island during the same time.

We decide to make the best of it.  On their first day in Whangarei we go on a 10.6km hike.  I had never visited the Whangarei Falls – despite being in the area for 6 months.  Since it was raining when we left, we decide to drive to the falls.  As luck would have the rain stopped or at least slowed to a drizzle!

The Whangarei falls were beautiful with loads of water from the recent rain storm.  

Whangarei Falls

Our plan was to hike around the falls and then drive to another waterfall.  But it was so nice out that we just kept hiking.  We crossed lots of rivers and everything was such a vibrant green!

Whangarei Falls Hike

Whangarei Falls Hike

Along the way we stumbled across the “Canopy Walkway.”  There were a surprising amount of Kauri trees in this beautiful forest.  I just love these majestic trees!  They are simply stately and regal without even trying.  Just by merely growing for centuries.

Of course we are required to clean our shoes as we enter and exit the park.  Kimberly got a surprise when she stepped on the green peddle which shoots water on your shoes and up your legs.

We ended up crossing over to another track and came to a beautiful lookout point.  Then we took the Ross track back to Whangarei.  

Our total walk ended up being 10.6km and we were exhausted, hungry and thirsty.  We did not plan to walk this far and left our provisions and water in the car back at Whangarei falls.  Oops.

North Tip: Tana Mahuta

The next day we all gather into the car and  head east toward the Waipoua Forest.  The first Kauri tree we come to is the “Father of the Forest” called Tane Ngahere (bottom two photos) and then we drive 10 minutes to the “Lord of the Forest” Tane Mahuta (top photos).

Tane Ngahere is 16.41 meters around, 29.9 meters tall and has a trunk volume of about 208.1m.  Tane Mahuta is 51.5 meters tall and has a trunk volume of about 244.50 meters.

We continue north and make our way to 90-mile beach.  It was a gloomy rainy day so we just did what everyone else does and drove around in circles on the beach – just because we could.

Cape Reigna

The next day we drive all the way to the North tip of the North island, Cape Reigna.  It rained and rained and rained the entire drive up there.  We were not surprised as the weather showed the storm system hitting the north tip on the very day we were visiting.  We had heard that gusts could be as high as 45kts.  But we wanted to see what we could see.

By the time we got all the way to the parking lot of Cape Reigna, the rain had stopped!  What, seriously how amazing and lucky for us.

It was still blowing really hard when we started the walk.  We had a fun time trying to walk and stand at the outer tip.  We later learned that the winds were actually gusting up to 70-75kts!  Oh dear.  Check Matt leaning into the wind in the lower photo.

We leave Cape Reigna and head to the Bay of Islands and Russel.  It was a beautiful drive through the windy roads, over the mountains, and across the valleys.

We enjoy a lovely lunch at Omata Vineyards which I highly recommend!  The restaurant overlooks the vineyard and they have wood burning stove.

A truly lovely property that would have been absolutely breathtaking on a normal, non-rainy day.

Here are just a few fun photos worth sharing.

It was a super short visit, but so nice to be able to show the North Tip of the North Island with Kimberly and Troy.  Unfortunately it was time for them to head back to the States.  Lucky for me, I was blessed with a beautiful sunset later that night to lift my spirits.

Events from this blog occurred at the end of April early May.  Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.    Did you read our NZ North and South Island Road Trip highlights from our last blog?  Super fun recap!