Mariner Mike's Below Decks [Completed!] - Home Tiki Bars

MM Mariner Mike Member Joined: Jul 24, 2017 Posts: 11	MM Mariner Mike Posted posted on Wed, Jan 2, 2019 10:45 AM Aloha and Ahoy! I know I've left you guys hanging for some time, but Mariner Mike's Below Decks finally opened this New Year's Eve! Completion and party pictures at the end of the post! But first, the last of the story: When we last left off, I had just finished the wiring and was about to start the plumbing. I found a great sink from the orange big box store online, square and nice and deep so I can get those big mugs in there. The plumbing was actually surprisingly easy once we got everything we needed. Turns out Pex bite fittings really are that simple. Once the plumbing was done, there was the much hated job of cleaning up all the dust and construction leftovers strewn about. Started out with a broom and a shopvac, quickly learned just how fine construction dust can be. a quick trip to the hardware store for a new HEPA filter for the shopvac and a mask for me and We were finally able to get that finished. Unfortunately the big shelf from the old place wouldn't fit in the new, so we replaced it with one from Ikea, which we then stained to match The floor doesn't even remotely resemble level (it's an old previously dirt floor basement, and the back half slopes for drainage) so I affixed it to the wall best I could Not exactly earthquake proof but that's one advantage of living out on the east coast (but so far away from the tiki greats)! We found some fantastic wood tile "flooring" to give the effect of being on a ship, and got a couple of natural looking woven brown rugs for the back I spray painted the PVC drain pipe with flat black primer to keep it from reflecting so much light, covered that side wall with reed fencing, and then put up thatch to cover the HVAC vent As I'm sure any of you who've worked with thatch already know, we had to give it a pretty significant haircut to bring it in line, but we're really happy with the result, messy as it might have been. This left one major piece left: barrels. I've wanted to put barrels in the bar going all the way back to the old place, and the nautical / shipping crate style I was going for really felt like I could swing it. I did some research and found out that there is a barrel warehouse not too far outside the city, and quite convenient to my day job: Northeast Barrel Company. If any of you guys happen to be near here and are looking for barrels, I heartily recommend giving these guys a shout, they really hooked me up, and I always love a chance to support a local business. That being said, my day felt like a story completely out of time long past. After making an appointment to come in, my brother and I pull up in my dad's pickup truck (because there's no way I could fit barrels in my Focus RS). There's no clear front entrance, but we can clearly see barrels through the window, and the smell of dried spirits and wood is heavy on the air. We climb up to their outdoor loading dock. We know we're in the right place. It's an old brick building that was clearly built there to be serviced by the old Reading Railroad line (now a commuter line) that goes past. A guy is unloading a tractor trailer at the outdoor loading dock, so we call up, "Hey, we're here to see about some barrels." (Google Street view for reference) Turns out there were stairs just the other side of the truck. So we climb up, and get to talking. He showed me the different Wine and spirits barrels they had available, then we went over to the ones they call "furniture grade", aka not-refillable. a couple of them caught my eye, and when he told me they were old rum barrels I was sold. They used to hold Flor de Caña 12 year, and they're about 30 years old. Perfect. Hand over some cash, back the pickup to the dock, and we slide the barrels right in. All the trappings of a classic backdoor deal. Unfortunately it was raining that day. But we did come prepared. We brought pallet bags, which are large enough to be slid over the barrels, to keep the rain out, and we cinched up a strap to keep them from sliding around. I get about halfway home, and I see in my rearview mirror that one of the barrels is uncovered. "Oh no," I'm thinking, "did i have a bag go flying off on the highway?" I get to a gas station and thank goodness it just slid off the top and was still strapped in. I slid the bag back over and continued on my way. Monitored my speed to keep it from coming off again, but I did have to stop a second time to re-secure. I finally get them back home. Of course, I live in the city and have street parking, which does not make unloading a barrel the easiest thing in the world. But I took a page out of the old stevedore playbook and rolled 'em down the sidewalk. Then I hoisted them in through the front door. Some help and a little time later and we got them down to the bar That last major thing in place we were finally able to unpack all the old stuff and start laying out the new. We had long been shooting for New Year's Eve as our goal, and we hit it. We already had our friends coming over for a New Years party, and they were already buzzing about whether it would be open or not, so to set the stage we set out a sign. A little before time I snuck downstairs and threw on a Hawaiian shirt and a Panama hat. As the clock turned over to 9:30, I queued up the sound system to play the "Treasure Island" theme from Muppet Treasure Island (It has that great air of mystery and feeling of escalation), and jumped out of the basement door. I led them all downstairs, and this is what awaited them: And with that, we kicked off the second phase of the New Year's Party. I had batched Planters Punch and the Yuletidal Wave from the back of the Smugglers Cove book, and they both went over really well. Everyone loved the new place. I got more than a couple "you outdid yourselves". Two of my friends who live out in SF told me that they were instantly put in mind of Smuggler's Cove, which I took as high praise. And even better than complements, everyone had a great time. It proved that the layout and flow of the room works even when there's more people than I had in mind, which was a great thing to find out. It was a great night. Here's some party pics to show off the bar in use:

Aloha and Ahoy!

I know I've left you guys hanging for some time, but Mariner Mike's Below Decks finally opened this New Year's Eve! Completion and party pictures at the end of the post!

But first, the last of the story:
When we last left off, I had just finished the wiring and was about to start the plumbing.

I found a great sink from the orange big box store online, square and nice and deep so I can get those big mugs in there.

The plumbing was actually surprisingly easy once we got everything we needed. Turns out Pex bite fittings really are that simple.

Once the plumbing was done, there was the much hated job of cleaning up all the dust and construction leftovers strewn about. Started out with a broom and a shopvac, quickly learned just how fine construction dust can be. a quick trip to the hardware store for a new HEPA filter for the shopvac and a mask for me and We were finally able to get that finished.

Unfortunately the big shelf from the old place wouldn't fit in the new, so we replaced it with one from Ikea, which we then stained to match

The floor doesn't even remotely resemble level (it's an old previously dirt floor basement, and the back half slopes for drainage) so I affixed it to the wall best I could

Not exactly earthquake proof but that's one advantage of living out on the east coast (but so far away from the tiki greats)!

We found some fantastic wood tile "flooring" to give the effect of being on a ship, and got a couple of natural looking woven brown rugs for the back

I spray painted the PVC drain pipe with flat black primer to keep it from reflecting so much light,

covered that side wall with reed fencing,

and then put up thatch to cover the HVAC vent

As I'm sure any of you who've worked with thatch already know, we had to give it a pretty significant haircut to bring it in line, but we're really happy with the result, messy as it might have been.

This left one major piece left: barrels. I've wanted to put barrels in the bar going all the way back to the old place, and the nautical / shipping crate style I was going for really felt like I could swing it. I did some research and found out that there is a barrel warehouse not too far outside the city, and quite convenient to my day job: Northeast Barrel Company. If any of you guys happen to be near here and are looking for barrels, I heartily recommend giving these guys a shout, they really hooked me up, and I always love a chance to support a local business.

That being said, my day felt like a story completely out of time long past. After making an appointment to come in, my brother and I pull up in my dad's pickup truck (because there's no way I could fit barrels in my Focus RS). There's no clear front entrance, but we can clearly see barrels through the window, and the smell of dried spirits and wood is heavy on the air. We climb up to their outdoor loading dock. We know we're in the right place. It's an old brick building that was clearly built there to be serviced by the old Reading Railroad line (now a commuter line) that goes past. A guy is unloading a tractor trailer at the outdoor loading dock, so we call up, "Hey, we're here to see about some barrels."

(Google Street view for reference)
Turns out there were stairs just the other side of the truck. So we climb up, and get to talking. He showed me the different Wine and spirits barrels they had available, then we went over to the ones they call "furniture grade", aka not-refillable. a couple of them caught my eye, and when he told me they were old rum barrels I was sold. They used to hold Flor de Caña 12 year, and they're about 30 years old. Perfect. Hand over some cash, back the pickup to the dock, and we slide the barrels right in. All the trappings of a classic backdoor deal.

Unfortunately it was raining that day. But we did come prepared. We brought pallet bags, which are large enough to be slid over the barrels, to keep the rain out, and we cinched up a strap to keep them from sliding around.

I get about halfway home, and I see in my rearview mirror that one of the barrels is uncovered. "Oh no," I'm thinking, "did i have a bag go flying off on the highway?" I get to a gas station and thank goodness it just slid off the top and was still strapped in. I slid the bag back over and continued on my way. Monitored my speed to keep it from coming off again, but I did have to stop a second time to re-secure.

I finally get them back home. Of course, I live in the city and have street parking, which does not make unloading a barrel the easiest thing in the world. But I took a page out of the old stevedore playbook and rolled 'em down the sidewalk. Then I hoisted them in through the front door.

Some help and a little time later and we got them down to the bar

That last major thing in place we were finally able to unpack all the old stuff and start laying out the new.

We had long been shooting for New Year's Eve as our goal, and we hit it. We already had our friends coming over for a New Years party, and they were already buzzing about whether it would be open or not, so to set the stage we set out a sign.

A little before time I snuck downstairs and threw on a Hawaiian shirt and a Panama hat. As the clock turned over to 9:30, I queued up the sound system to play the "Treasure Island" theme from Muppet Treasure Island (It has that great air of mystery and feeling of escalation), and jumped out of the basement door. I led them all downstairs, and this is what awaited them:

And with that, we kicked off the second phase of the New Year's Party. I had batched Planters Punch and the Yuletidal Wave from the back of the Smugglers Cove book, and they both went over really well. Everyone loved the new place. I got more than a couple "you outdid yourselves". Two of my friends who live out in SF told me that they were instantly put in mind of Smuggler's Cove, which I took as high praise. And even better than complements, everyone had a great time. It proved that the layout and flow of the room works even when there's more people than I had in mind, which was a great thing to find out. It was a great night.

Here's some party pics to show off the bar in use:

Post #792214 by Mariner Mike on Wed, Jan 2, 2019 10:45 AM