Thursday, December 19, 2013

December 19, 2013 Ixonia, WI

Leaving the swaying palm trees in Florida for the bright fields of snow in Wisconsin is not without it's pitfalls.  It's COLD!

We had an uneventful journey driving up here although we were leaving very early in the morning but everyone rose to the occasion and we made great time.   2 days!



Back when we were in Dog River Marina a reporter came bye during one of our cocktail parties and conducted an interview with all of us.  I sent him pictures but they weren't published with the article he wrote for the local paper.  We did finally find the Looper article and we are mentioned.  The party was on our boat.

On the night of this interview, several couples were gathered in the salon of another Looper’s trawler. It was a bon voyage party, as three vessels were leaving the next day. Their destination was Sandestin, Fla., where they had dinner reservations for Thanksgiving. The convoy had meet previously on the Loop, and decided to make the trip together.
“This is a fabulous experience,” said one Looper. They had come from as far as Wisconsin and Connecticut. One captain’s goal was to keep heading south until he did not see another snow shovel (he had left 18 inches of snow in May).
 We'll be here in the bright glow of ice and snow until after the new year.  



Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Dec 17, 2013 (still at) Baytowne Marina Destin,FL

Don and Linda took me golfing at Sea Scape Monday morning.  18 holes.  I didn't keep a firm score but rampant speculation was putting me around the very low 90, high 80's.  Maybe laying off golf for many months is the key to success?

We all had a few drinks at the marina afterwords when Mary Ann the parrot, just up and flew off her perch out over us heading out to the water.  After a short flight she ended up landing on the shore next to a raised walkway about a 100 yards away.  Her wings are clipped so flying is supposed to be near impossible for her.  Guess not.  Like I said she's a precocious avian we always seem to be crossing paths with lately.

Anyway I ran over, hopped a fence and she stepped right up on my arm.  I swear she looked relieved and a bit excited as if a latent talent was suddenly re-discovered.  Had a hard time getting up on the raised walkway with her on my arm but a kindly soul who knew birds took her and all was well.  Mary Ann though has been confined to her comfy closet/cage until the wing clipper person can render her flightless again.

No Green Flash
We returned to Elephant Walk that evening for a little impromptu cocktail party and dinner.  Clear skies an wonderful sunset.  No Green Flash though.









Dodge mini van for the trip north.  It has heat!
Any of you kids got a soccer game to go too?

Hertz, bless their hearts, picked me up this morning around 9:30 to finalize the rental car.  It was remarkably easy and  hassle free.  And I'm excited to report I used my new Florida drivers license to rent the van.

After a few errands we returned to the boat and began our always calm and measured packing routine.  Yeah...

A chilled snake
I went off to the fitness center for one last session but on the way stopped to check a phone message while on this deck pathway for a few minutes.  Felt an odd sensation on my right foot and lo and behold there was a demure brown serpent crawling across my ankle.  It made it's way across my foot onto the deck and then slithered under the side.  Fascinating!  Don't know what specie it was but probably a garter snake of some sort.  It was still pretty chilly so I guess the poor critter wasn't too functional in the cool air.



Found my boots!
Our packing is pretty much complete. The boat shutdown check list is ready, and we have all our dock lines secured.  And I found my Wisconsin shoes which are basically boots since up there snow seems to be all around.   Even located my gloves, jacket, heavy wool socks and sweatshirts.  Alas, no t-shirts or extra shorts.  But I'm obstinate!  I will be driving without pants tomorrow.  Long pants!  I'm still in shorts!




Leaving between 7 and 7:30 Wednesday morning.  Should be in Wisconsin by Thursday night.  I'll be the idiot in shorts.


Sunday, December 15, 2013

December 12, 2013 Baytown Marina Destin, FL


Wednesday December 11 was Mary's birthday.  This is her  ... (National Secret) birthday.  A few presents arrived here via the mail.  We slept in, some longer than others. It was a cool 55 so I turned on the stateroom heater and even made coffee!











Field Trip in the Travel-Lift
We had to help Field Trip leave the dock and run over to Destin's inner harbor in the morning.  It's about a 10 mile trip across the bay.  He needed to be hauled out so I went along to help.  And I really wanted to see the inner harbor at Destin by boat.  Next best thing is to ride in someone else's boat.

Mary and Martha stayed behind and drove down to meet at us at the marina where the boat was hauled.  We ate lunch and A J's on the harbor.

Grey Camry rental
Martha and Bob had borrowed a car from a relative living here in Destin but we rented one for a few days  to do our errands more easily since they would be tied up with the boat yard.  I was a little startled when they gave us the car though since it was almost identical to the Camry we owned for many years..

Quick and easy drivers license switch



And we had to get our drivers licenses for Florida. That process was incredibly easy.  So yes, we are now fully fledged Florida citizens!








Mary Ann in a less cranky mood
Mary Ann the marina parrot took a chunk out of Mary today.  Minor cut but she nipped Mary while on my arm attempting to grab Mary`s jacket.








Working on setting up my new laptop.  The wifi booster is still not working so it has to be the wiring in the cat 5 cable.  I'm just going to scrap the home made POE and buy one with a new cable.

Mary elected to stay behind when we were given a tour of Solaris, a big dinner cruise boat based here in Sandestin at the marina.  No bow thrusters on it either.  He maneuvers it all with twin screws and pivoting off of pilings to get it it turned around and in to the channel.  Pretty neat bridge too.







Field Trip had the new transducer installed and so we brought the boat back across the bay to Baytowne marina.  Well actually I drove it most of the way since Bob and Martha were getting Simrad integrated systems lessons down below from R1 (Robert #1) of Alpha electronics.  R2 (Robert #2) did the installation the day before.

It was blowing pretty good and the air was a cool 40 degrees.  I had to drive from the fly bridge with the windows open so I was bundled up like I was already in Wisconsin.

Went to the driving range to test my latent, skill-less golf swing.  No worries.  I'm as awful as I ever was.  The year long layoff didn't effect me at at all.

On Monday I'm golfing with friends of ours here, Don and Linda and they're really good golfers.  Hopefully the weather wont be too cold.  We have a north wind blowing around 20 mph here today and its only in the 40's.  Mary is next to the heater with a blanket.  I'm guessing she wont be moving all day.

We met another looper boat, Merchant Marine, that rolled in here yesterday.  We thought we were the last ones.  We had a nice little cocktail party on board with them.

Starting to gather together the few cold weather articles of clothing we own. Luckily we rented a mini van.  I'm sensing an approaching packing dilemma.







Sunday, December 8, 2013

November 28th - December 10 2013, Baytown Marina Destin, FL

Ready to Leave Pensacola Beach Marina
We did leave Pensacola Beach Marina at 7:45 on Thanksgiving Day.  It was a little choppy out on the bay but as we went into the more narrow portions of the  waterway it turned into an enjoyable ride.  We went along areas through Santa Rosa SoundMary_Esther and Okaloosa_Island.  These were areas we've always wanted to anchor around. Unfortunately not this time though.






Destin Inlet
We went by Destin amazed at how different it all looked from out in Choctawhatchee Bay.  The Baytown marina at Sandestin is about 9 miles from Destin and we had to pass under the Mid-Bay Bridge.  But we met a barge there and let him use the main passage while we went through one of the other pylons where we found plenty of water and clearance.






Channel to Baytown Marina
We came up to the private buoys marking the entrance to the marina and while the 3 more maneuverable boats went into to tie up we  hung back outside with Field Trip.  Once they were secured we started in through the narrow and rather shallow entrance channel.    








Backed into slip B8
We had to back into the slip which, on this boat, can be somewhat of a trial since I cant see anything behind the boat and have to rely on side looks and Mary telling me where to go (yeah yeah, go ahead make your jokes ;-)).  But I've done this several times now so it's not too difficult any longer.  We got backed in with no problem with Jeff and Chip helping secure our lines.  The marina has a webcam if your curious about the place.






Thanksgiving with the flotilla
After we all were settled in we hopped a shuttle to the Hilton for a Thanksgiving feast.  We had a big round table for all ten of us and enjoyed several hours of food and fun.  We loitered around until they began closing up.  Jeff and Judy inquired as to the fate of all the food still left out and the kind waitress noted much of it would be thrown out.  After a few more questions we secured 2 large zip lock bags and filled them with boiled shrimp (about 5 pounds) and got back on the shuttle for the ride to the marina.

Just Fakin It heading out
Just Fakin It and Good Grief left Friday morning around 8.  They were trying to make it another 100 miles east to catch a weather window to cross the Gulf (which they did successfully Monday!).  We said our good bye's and then began planning the next nights departure party for Arin E since they were leaving the following day.







We decided to try the Marlin Grill restaurant located a few blocks away in the Baytowne Wharf.  And it was great.  Good food, wine and a wonderful time.  We'll miss Chip and Pat but may re-connect with them further down the Florida Coast.








The day Arin E left,Brent and Susan on Once upon a Time" pulled in.  We met them up in the river system a few weeks ago and they were at Turner Marine which was right next door to Dog River where we stayed a few days ago.

They were just passing through and planned to leave the following day so of course we had to have another "going away diner" so went to the beach side bar/restaurant which was previously named Finz, but is now called Elephant walk.  Dont ask me why  because it looks pretty much the same.  More expensive though.  Anyway,  we had a great time.

They left Tuesday afternoon.  Brent and and Susan (who's a really phenomenal artist) are fun people.  We'll catch up with them on the Florida coast or Marathon Key.

We went walking and returned to the Fitness center here in Sandestin where we talked with some friends we met a year ago when we were in the condo here.  I'm thinking after we have our fill of this boating adventure we just may settle here.  For some reason we're really comfortable in this place.  Go figure!

In our effort to reverse the trend this loop journey has precipitated upon us (we're talking about the extra 10 pounds we are carrying around) we started up our old routine to walk to the Fitness Center and then hit the machines for an hour..

And I started taking my 5 miles walks around the Sandestin grounds.  Nice to see the place hasn't changed all that much.  Not so nice to see my pants still dont fit.  What to do?


We met some friends here last year, Don and Linda who lived in the condo right next door to the one we occupied last year.  We had intended on surprising them at the Fitness center while so we didn't mention anything about being here.  But Linda wrote me asking where we were before we even had a chance to settle in..  We did get a night photo of Mary standing next to their car the second night we were here but it was late and they're early risers (golfers) so we didn't want to wake them up.

Mary Ann
The marina has this parrot, Mary Ann which roams a tree near the bar/restaurant.  She's out most every day and then gets put back inside at night or during cold snaps   She is precocious with an alarming intelligence.  And not a quiet creature either.   Mary was standing close to her the other day when she reached out and grabbed Mary's expensive (I jest ... Dollar Store) glasses off her head.  She would attempt to nip my fingers when I got too close to grab them back which turned into a game.  I was at least able to grab the glasses and tug at them but the bird is an avian Hercules.  So I lost the game.  The glasses survived 7 minutes.  The bird, annoyed at the flimsy construction screeched for another pair.  Precocious little beast.

The parrot actually hopped off it's perch and sat on Mary's shoulder for a while which is in violation of the parrot rules but seemingly overlooked this time.  And she'll hop up on my hand and then make a wild attempt to pluck at my beard.

Marriage Savers charging up for a test
We noted that Marriage Savers were on sale so we bought one.  These are full duplex headsets which enable us to talk in sweet tones to one another rather than shouting back and forth which usually results in one or both of us not hearing the other very well leading to repeated  "What??" at an ever increasing volume.  We chuckle listening other couples go through this just as they, I'm sure, snicker at us.  But soon, we'll be able to exchange critical boat operational information in a sweet whisper.  I'll let you know how that all works out.




Outlet mall with 150 stores.  Ugh ...
Field Trip rented a car.  Well actually it's a giant black Suburban.  We all felt like government agents running around in this thing.  Went an afternoon errand run which for all practical purposes meant slogging up and down this million store outlet mall looking for the perfect pair of pants.   I will say they have thoughtfully considered the plight of the poor non-shopper and placed multiple benches outside each store.  This is where I met another poor soul following his wife around except they came in on a bus from Alabama for this one day.  I could see it in his eyes ... mentally calculating how the hell he was going to haul the stuff his wife was purchasing back to the bus much less his house.  A happy shopper Not!

Alan, the previous owner of  our boat was in the area and met us for lunch at Harbor Walk near the inlet at  Destin.  He toted along some additional spare parts which he handed over.  We have a floating spare parts warehouse!  Great to catch up with the always informative Alan!

Our BadBoy Xtreme arrived today in the mail.  It's a wifi booster that allows us to use the boat's wireless router as a gateway to the internet from any open wireless connections we can find.  We can pick up very weak signals from a good distance away.  We had one before but the transmitter burned out so we now have a replacement. Just have to hook it all up.

Mary's laptop up and died yesterday morning.  Wont even power up.  She offhandedly mentioned there was some water dripping out of it the other day.  Oh well.  I salvaged the hard drive so we at least have that info.

And not to be out done, my laptop's keyboard is rapidly dying as well.  The whole lower tier of keys wont function even after I' blew them out with compressed air and reset the pivot arm.  I'm typing this on one of our wireless keyboards locked into the laptop.  The new one was delivered here today though so no worries!

We're planning on leaving here on December 18 for Wisconsin with Bob and Martha from Field Trip.  They live in Wisconsin so we figured we'd just share a ride up there and back.  It's a mini van too which certain people will find humorous.!  We're returning here on the 6th of January and then plan to depart on the 8th for Panama city and ultimately Carrabelle where we'll head across the Gulf to Dunedin.   Not sure when that will happen since the weather windows in January are more infrequent than not.

Meanwhile we sleep late, do a little boat maintenance, walk and then eat and drink.  I guess there are worse ways to spend winter.  And thanks to a very helpful group of people back in Wisconsin we have been scouring the boat for warm weather clothes in preparation for our return to the arctic.  Might even sneak in a heater.








  



Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Storms ...

Incredible.  We're getting drifts here that obstruct access to the beach!  What  the hell is going on?!  This is weather more consistent with the northern states where we "used" to reside.  Not down here in  Pensacola.

It's severely disappointing to trudge through 2 and 3 foot drifts to get to the ocean!  What's the world coming too!? !  And no one sells snow shovels down here!  What?  Do I have to call Lorleberg's and order one?


Drifts









More drifts!










There is something amiss here!  Perhaps certain residents of Florida, who we know have rather unsavory reputations (and I know where you all live!), have deliberately disturbed the weather gods who have seen fit to make it inconvenient for us to journey south where it's warm (Tampa was 81 while we were at at fiery 47!)?  It remains unclear why this is happening, but we continue to ponder this in our long underwear sipping copious quantities of alcohol to prevent perishing in the frigid north winds.

It's going to be so cold tonight I put a heater in the engine room (sorry Mary) so our engines wont get too cold.  I hope we can actually start everything up tomorrow morning for our journey to Destin and a Thanksgiving buffet.

I"m still digging for an additional pair of long pants.  Maybe I packed my long underwear?

We have finalized our departure plans.  Leaving tomorrow morning at 7:45 am for Sandestin and Baytown marina.  Hope to make there by 4-5 pm and gorging on turkey by 6:30 pm!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


Monday, November 25, 2013

November 24-25, 2013 Pensacola Beach Marina

Woke this morning to a raging north wind and temps in the low forties.  What state are we in?  Went to flip the breaker that powers up the galley heater only to suddenly notice the AC main breaker was not powered.  Uh Oh.  This situation usually means we are only drawing 30 amps not 50 from dock side power!

 So on the coldest morning in recent memory with a 30 mph north wind whipping a fine mist off the water I bravely went out to wrestle with the 50 amp plug out of  the receptacle so I could try another.  Couldn't budge it off the first time. But I returned with my lock handling rubber gripper gloves and was able to twist it off and then plug it into a different 50 amp outlet.  Success!  We now have heat!

Yes, it  maybe the warmest part of the day and all but whats a little more warmth.  We're in Florida after all and since Florida's furnace seems to be malfunctioning I'm stepping up and providing as much heat as possible to help the poor state limp back to respectability as a warm place.

Making water
I brought the water maker back to full capacity by putting the newly replaced 3rd membrane back in line with the other two.  Fired it up and aside from a few tiny leaks which responded to the wrench, all is well!  So we made water, and did some laundry.









Pensacola Naval Air Museum
Field Trip and Arin E both rented cars and since we have time we headed off to the Pensacola Naval Air Museum which is in the Pensacola Naval Air Base.  We were told they check everyone's ID when entering the base.  Someone though forgot to bring along their purse so we spent a few seconds wondering if the whole car would be shunted off to a small interrogation garage.  But no, only Martha the driver had to show her drivers license and we were waved through.

Wonderful place!  We even ate a really good meal at the CUBI Cafe.  Could have spent many more hours in there but they do close around 5 pm and usher people out.

On the return trip we stopped at Joe Patti's  a stellar Florida Sea Food emporium.  We didn't purchase anything but the variety of sea food was pretty astounding.  All fresh and on ice.  Reminiscent of Pikes Place in Seattle.





We had an early night except for a quick discussion on the weather and when to leave.  Nothing much decided other than the winds are strong and the forecast keeps changing for the worse.  It looks like we'll be here for at least another few days.

Today, Monday we just hung around the boat most of the day.  I took a long walk around the vicinity but most establishments are closed up for the season and the Gulf was kicking up pretty good so walking on the beach wasn't pleasant.

The increasingly strong winds and temperatures in the 50's drove us inside for most of the day.  I did move our boat forward about 3 feet to keep a the swim platform from banging on the concrete pier pilings when the winds swing around to the northwest tonight.  They are blowing out of the east now which is keeping us off the dock.   And we'll have plenty of rain tonight too.  Just another day in paradise ...

We've had alter our Thanksgiving plans in light of the weather.  We were at first going to try and find a place here that was hosting a Thanksgiving Buffet.  Instead everyone seems to think just driving to Destin (about 90 minutes away) is a fabulous plan.  And since we have two cars I guess we'll be driving there.  Martha and Pat will be doing the driving.

Jeff and Bob are mulling over leaving on Thursday to head east.  The forecasts will become more refined on Wednesday so they may revise their plans.  We'll be discussing this tonight at our planing meeting at 5pm.

Captain Ron, the dock master from Baytown Marina in Destin called me again today and I gave him our latest plan which is simply, we'll be there Friday.  They have a Webcam so once we're situated we'll wave every once in a while.

Meanwhile we're keeping the heaters running.  And I felt we were totally prepared for Florida when we got the air conditioners back on line a few weeks ago!  Sheez ...




Sunday, November 24, 2013

November 23-24, 2013 Pensacola Beach Marina Pensacola, FL

Sole occupant when we pulled into Ingram Bayou
When we pulled into Ingram Bayou last night there was a lone sailboat anchored there in the calm waters.  We went in and anchored several hundred yards away but one of the sailboat crew shouted over asking if we were going to raft up all of our 5 boats on the side towards their boat.  It struck me as a rather odd concern but I shouted back our with our usual raft-up configuration which seemed to placate them. 

During our normal planning/cocktail meeting it was noted the weather forecast had changed for the the next few days.  Instead of "windy" and "breezy" it simply stated "gale force winds".  Basically it meant the weather was going to present a problem.  We had intended on anchoring closer to Destin but this forecast rendered that idea null and void.  So our goal was to find a marina as far east as we could travel.

Leaving Ingram Bayou at 6:15 AM
We ran out of the Bayou and back into the ICW with a light fog.  And at 6:15 AM.  The fog gave me a chance to tweak our radar now that it's functional again.  The air was almost still and the water flat.  Too bad it was cloudy and foggy.










Back in Florida!
The transition from Alabama to Florida was hard to discern but  when we began seeing condos, white sand and big fast boats It became clear we were home!  Oddly though the temperatures remained cool and the sun hidden away behind the clouds.  You'd think at least a little sun to welcome us back.








Approaching the marina
We finally reached a marina, Pensacola Beach Marina which had room for us.  There were several other choices further away from the Intra Coastal Waterway but we wanted to be close to the ICW for the run to Destin which will be about 55 miles.

Pensacola Beach Marina is located in Little Sabine Bay which is small bay with a narrow entrance.  It's pretty shallow in there and Field Trip momentarily ran aground but was able to back off.  We ended up on the face dock and I was able to spin the boat so we're pointed out towards the channel.

Oddly enough we were pretty much tied up and secure before noon.  This getting up at 6 am might have a small benefit.  Maybe ...

The marina has no bathrooms open during the night.  No showers and no laundry.  A bit sparse on services but located adjacent to an entertainment district.  Just what we need is yet more places to go out and eat.  If this continues we'll need to buy a bigger boat to handle our expanding girth.

But luckily the beach is a few blocks from the marina so we availed ourselves of the afternoon hours with nothing to do and walked the beach.  The winds began to pickup in earnest as we started back and by the time we reached the boat they were roaring out of the north.  North winds means chilly air.

For some reason when it gets cold and windy we always seem to go out an eat.  Which we did.  Field Trip and Arin E both rented cars so were were able to drive the four blocks to the place.  Decadent!

We returned and headed off to bed as the boat rocked and the lines groaned under the strain.  It's supposed to be worse tomorrow but the forecast seems to be changing every few hours so who knows.  But as it looks now, we wont be leaving here for at least another day or two.







Friday, November 22, 2013

November 21-22, 2013 Dog River Marina Mobile, AL

After a few false starts caused by equipment problems we, as a group are finally ready to leave tomorrow.  Pat and Chip returned from their automobile travels and Jeff and Judy seem to be recovered enough from bronchitis to tackle the 44 mile run tomorrow.  And we, after  3 (yes, that is THREE) failed water pumps are finally able to use the water on board again (thanks Shawn).  But we're planning on leaving tomorrow.

Mary, Judy, Brent and Bob
And so of course we had to have a leaving the marina party.












Wait.  Not so Fast!  We were actually ready to leave this morning but the new, high tech water pump I bought for a princely sum failed after this morning and so we simply went and purchased yet another pump. But a very simple and less powerful model than the one we had on board all these months.  It works.  So we are happy.

Unfortunately that cost us another day here at Dog River Marina.  But we have Friday to get to an anchorage (Ingram bayou)  and we'll decide then whether to stay there for a few days or move on deepening on the weather.  Its supposed to be very windy and crappy out the next few days but forecast sources all differ on the intensity of the winds.  We will see I guess.

Heading out int MObile Bay from Dog River
So this morning we waited until 9am to leave while the guys from Turner marine tried to get Jeff's AIS working.  No joy.  So we proceeded out into Mobile bay for the 20+ mile journey down the bay and into the Intercoastal waterway.   Seems like we're coming home.







LuLu (Jimmy Buffets sister)

The ICW here is a long ditch for about 15 miles until it opens up into several bays with barrier islands.  










Ingram Bayou anchorage

But tonight we're anchored in Ingram Bayou which is very quiet and uncrowded.  Its close to Pensacola Bay.











Further on down the ICW there a barrier islands with ICW on one side and the Gulf on the other.  One can anchor and dinghy to shore for a walk on the beach.  Except the weather is turning nasty with strong northerly winds bringing with it a chill.  Ugh.  We're deciding tonight where we want to ride out the winds.  But we did decide to stay at Baytown marina which is in Sandestin, the resort where we've been spending the last few winters.






Saturday, November 16, 2013

November 12-20, 2013 Dog River Marina Mobile, AL

We're still unsure of how long we will be here, probably at least until next Tuesday or Wednesday.  It's all dependent on the work being completed.  And we're traveling with Field Trip and a few other boats so will stay with them if their work is delayed.

But it's not like we have to dash off to meet a schedule or anything.  Just planning on anchoring out near the beaches as we make the 100 mile journey towards Destin and their Thanksgiving buffet which, so I was told, we are attending.

Also found out we wont have to pay any dockage fes  if our yard/repair bill exceeds $1500!  What a bargain!


Wednesday November 13, 2013

Dog River looking out towards the entrance road
We explored the marina a little yesterday.  Its definitely a working boat yard.  No pools or bars here!









The clattering check valves
We talked with the boat yard this morning and will be having  an engine guy come out to adjust the valves so I can watch and learn.  We're also having this vexing bilge pump problem taken care of.  The yard manager wants to move these check valves down closer to the pumps to eliminate the chatter and siphon effect.  He wasn't phased when I pointed out one of the pumps was under the generator so I guess that's what they will be doing.



The dead water pump.  Replacement is identical model
Our water pump is dis-functional too.  Earlier I swapped out the old one when it failed.  I replaced it with a  spare I have on board, but the spare just runs until the breaker trips.  After talking with their tech support, I'll be disassembling the check valve assemblies to clean them out which is likely the cause of the problem.  Luckily I can return the original defective pump for a free replacement!  Meanwhile we flip the pump on when we need water but have to be careful because it will create more pressure than some of the hoses and clamps can withstand.  Already had to re-clamp the master head sink water line which as you can probably guess, is back behind a cabinet just large enough to allow one hand and half my head.  Ibuprofen anyone? 

We're having a canvas guy repair a few broken zippers on the fly bridge, one of which is at the joint of the top and windshield. He's also going to replace one of the windows on the sundeck which has developed an expanding crack.

Our radar problem is corrected for now by some simple adjustments to the controls, but it's heading towards failure and cant be repaired.  We do have another radar set on board so its not a critical failure.

It was blowing a cold 20 mph wind yesterday afternoon and into the night the gust increased to around 40mph .  We all had doubled up our lines but still spent a noisy and rocky night with all heaters running.  The winds are moderating now thankfully but it's left us with a band of cold air.  40's cold.  Today we're all huddled in our boats with heaters still roaring and rarely venturing out.  Captive!

Our dinghy cover blew off last night so I was up on the top deck fighting against the wind to get it hauled inside.  I noticed the pontoons on the dinghy were really deflated.  The cold is adversely effecting everything.


Thursday November 14, 2013
Glen, the engine mechanic arrived around 9 this morning and proceeded to set our valve lash.  Nice guy, a Coast Guard reservist with a delightful southern accent.  Calls me Mr. George every once in while.  Usually it's just sir which startles me and I catch myself looking around to see who he's taking too.

Glen took care of the starboard engine, and then ran into a problem with the port engine.  He found the timing pin sheared off.  He was able to extract the little plastic piece but needed to remove the starboard timing pin and  use it in the port engine to set the valves.  He came up with the idea of using a small piece of wood as a replacement though and took it back with him to fit the wood into the housing.  Neat!

The beloved marina F150
After Glen left, six of us packed ourselves into the marina F150 and drove the 10 miles to Walmart where we all stocked up on food.  The Walmart is the only food store that was large enough to carry some of the more  esoteric items we required.  And we knew where it was located (right off I-65).

We came back and had a little cocktail party on board. It turned out to be a hors d'oeuvre dinner for most of us.


Friday November 15, 2013
Curved piping in the center is the new fuel line
Glen the mechanic returned this morning and replaced the marginal high pressure fuel line and the faulty clamp which only had a single screw instead of two.  We also tried to set the idle on both engines but discovered stripped threads on one of  the low speed idle adjustment screws.  Luckily he was able to find another one so we got the idle speeds set to around 700 which is good.

I got the VHF antenna up and cable run through the bulkhead.  Slapped a connector on and now the radio is working normally.

I'm going to have to purchase a new starboard start battery since the slow starting of the starboard engine I was noticing has gotten worse.  It's not the starter according to the mechanic so another AGM group 34 battery will soon be ours.  It's another joyous job of hefting a battery around a corner and into a tight fitting battery box.

While Mary when off walking with some of our cruising partners I took apart the spare water pump I had installed the other day.  The tech support guy thought there would be some debris in the rubber check valves.  I didn't notice any but cleaned it out anyway and put the thing back together only to realize the pump's valve housing rotated 90 degree's putting the two ports pointing in the wrong direction.  So I had to disassemble the whole thing again.

And finally, like a liquid metal man, I flowed into the tiny bilge access whole and re-attached everything.  Flipped the switch and .....  Yeah.  Same result.  So back goes that pump.  I'm ordering a brand new one off the internet tonight and it should (after forking out a startling fee for express delivery) be here Monday.   So we'll ultimately have three water pumps on board.   Meanwhile we shuffle back and forth to the water pump breaker when we want water.  Had to put the ice maker on hold too.  Back to those camping skills again.

The other work we need to have completed seems to be languishing leaving us here at least until next Tuesday.  But on the bright side ... well, on the dimly lit side, there is a Walmart a few miles away and the marina truck is a Ford F150 which sometimes doesn't start unless you jiggle the shifter just the right way.  And we're close to the USS Alabama and some other interesting sights.

At least the TV works and they have a decent internet connection here.  I might even take the time to put our new computer in service as a navigation computer.  But it's 5 o'clock and time for a soothing elixir out on the sundeck where we can watch ducks frolic in the rain.  Hey!  Its the little things in life ....


Saturday November 16, 2013
Planning on taking a little parts buying trip to Walmart, the Cummins dealer, Batteries Plus and NAPA to purchase, food, air filters, a new starting battery and filters.  What better way to spend a cloudy Saturday than driving 40 miles in a flaky truck.

Our new battery
As it turns out I only made it to Batteries Plus where they had a group 34 AGM battery which I bought.  And yes, I have spent less for some cars I've owned over the years than what this cost us.

The owner of the place and I got into a discussion and it turns out he's from Illinois and spent many summers up on Okauchee Lake skiing in Stumpy Bay.  By the time we parted it was too late to head to the NAPA store because I had to have the truck back so my anticipated errand jaunt turned out to be just a battery purchase journey.  There's always Monday though so all is not lost..

You can see our boat along the face dock on the right
Mary and I took a walk over the bridge and kibitzed with a few fellow boaters when we returned and before I started cleaning the stern of the boat.  It's  pretty dirty with exhaust residue and caked mud from some of our recent anchoring episodes.





I think we need one of those really big boats were other people scurry around cleaning and waiting on you. It would be so much easier.

Party!
We're having another cocktail party tonight at 5 so I guess I'll have to vacuum too.  And I had to start up the ice maker so it makes ice again which means we'll have to flip the water pump breaker every half hour or so.






The thin white hose is the line I have to re-attach
And of course the water pump ran a little too long and blew off the master head hot water hose again just as people began leaving.  My theory is the more rum you've drunk the less painful the contortions when repairing things in impossibly small crevices.

Bad picture but trust me, it requires some flexibility beyond what can normally be expected from an aging body.