With the long anticipated living and dining areas occupied, and the onset of summer, our attentions turned to recreation.

Through the remainder of May and into June we continued with the finishing touches in the living room—baseboards, window sills, ceiling light fixtures, etc. We also painted and hung the two doors between the living room and the future master bath and bedroom. All of this was approached at a much more leisurely pace than the previous interior projects, but progress is progress.

The pontoon boat had hung silently in the boat house for years. It was adorned with spider webs and the awning was home to more than a few yellow jackets and dirt daubers. The carpet and upholstery were sun-faded and stitching was coming loose indiscriminately.

Likewise, its outboard motor had not run in years, but the pistons did not seem to be locked up. It seemed repairable.

The first step in making the thing “sea worthy” was to replace the rotted out transom. I had no way of hoisting the motor up and off so I lifted the boat as high as it would go in the slings, suspended the motor with rope, then lowered the boat out from under it.

I removed the old transom and found that it was a single piece of plywood 1 3/4” thick. I didn’t know they made plywood that thick. I venture that there are many more things I don't know about boats and boat building. Well, I knew I could get pressure treated plywood in 3/4”, but two together would only be 1 1/2”. Then I remembered seeing a sheet of aluminum plate in the shed. Sure enough, there it was, and it was 1/8” thick. Am I boring you with fractions? Using the old transom as a template, I cut the plywood and aluminum and adhered the four layers with silicone.

I drilled the bolt holes for the motor mount and made sure they lined up. Then I installed the transom and bolted it in.

I raised the boat up again, and with a little alignment help from my wife, re-bolted the motor to the new transom. Then we raised the boat a little higher to slacken and remove the rope.

Knowing we'd have a crowd through the summer, we rearranged things on the lower level to accommodate them.

The need for a downstairs bathroom was obvious, but with other projects ahead of it, we opted to simply make a temporary facility. I hung sheetrock on the outside of the bathroom walls, leaving the inside unfinished to allow for future electrical and plumbing installation. I finished the framing at the doorway and installed an old salvaged door temporary. I set the toilet. The room was ugly yet functional.

Down by the water, I built a wide step at the junction of the boardwalk and the dock. The previous step was only half the width of the boardwalk and more than half as tall as the dock—uneven and quite dangerous.