December 1-5 Huckins Boat Yard

At Ortega Landing Marina we were up early armed with the knowledge that we were first on the pump out list.  And sure enough, Joe showed up a little before 9.  We pumped out and left the dock about 9:30.

Ortega bridge opening for us as we head out to the St. Johns River

We drove out of the Ortega River and ran up (south) the St. Johns River for a few hours at, for us, a blistering pace of 9 mph!  Of course we had the help of a substantial current.

I started the generator and we made water to top off the tanks.  As we approached the route into the Ortega River I ran the engine up to 2100 rpm for a few minutes to blow them out a bit.  We resumed a more normal speed and slowly made our way into the river.  Mary called Sara from Huckins, on the phone and after a few minutes battling the swift current (we happen to hit peak velocity) Joey, one of the fine Huckins yard workers, was out waving at us so we pulled in and snuggled up to the inside of the outer most dock.

Ortega Landing Marina with out vacant slip next to the big boat, Foxy Lady

The railroad bridge right next to Hukins

WoLo (We Only Live Once), a large Hatteras motor yacht, arrived shortly after us and went right into the slipway.  The slipway is like a very long boat slip where the Travelift can be positioned to lift boats out of the water.

Tied up at Huckins

After we were tied up we went in to the office and met Sara and Trish and then briefly discussed the work we wanted to do with PJ, the yard manager and Justin the mechanical supervisor.

Sara and Tricia are Debbie's replacement.  Debbie retired a month ago and, of course, we went to the retirement party.  We know Debbie pretty well.  She's a dog lover and we got to know here because of our old dog Cleo who was with us when we first stopped here a few years ago.  Sara texted Debbie saying we were at the yard and she replied that she'd bring her dogs down to meet us the next day.

The next morning true to her word, Debbie was in the boat yard with her dogs which were scampering all over and getting loved up by the yard crew and technicians.  We had a nice chat with here.  She's doing just fine in retirement and hasn't visited Huckins since the day she left.

It's one of things we love about Huckins.  The relaxed friendly atmosphere.  Not many places would tolerate a couple of old Labs running around and garnering all sorts of attention from the boat yard guys.  The shop spaces here are old but expansive and the staff are all craftsman.  Best place to have boat work done in our opinion.

A Huckins yacht in the travelift

Huckins is known for their Fareform Flyers, and the Quadraconic hull form they use on their yachts.  Very distinctive boats.  They service them here and pretty much build them here too.  They actually designed and built some WWII PT boats.

Cold front moving through downtown Jacksonville 

I'm able to walk a familiar walking route across the Roosevelt Bridge, along the river and back across the Ortega River Bride.  But the second day we here it turned cold and damp as a weather system moved through.  We had sustained high winds too.  It  plunged to the fifties at night.  We are warm weather wusses.  This is cold!

Mat from Boatswains Locker down the street, does canvas work and he came on board to give us an estimate.  We have a few windows that need replacing and some extra work we'd like to have done to our front facing fly bridge windows.

Mary picking out carpet with Andrew, Frank's son

In the afternoon we walked a few miles to Carpet Concepts where Frank led us through some carpet selections for our stairs.  The existing carpeting is badly worn so we figured since we are in a boat yard and on the hard (out of the water), why not just get this done too.  The samples of a carpet he was recommending to us were at another store so we vowed to return Monday and make the proper color selection.

And Monday, the rest of the Huckins yard guys meet with us on board so they can generate estimates for the work we are considering.  The plan is to be hauled out early Tuesday morning and then leave for Destin that afternoon.

But we need to get the dinghy down and in the water because they have to repair a check valve in the tilt mechanism and change the gear oil and impeller.  So we scrabbled up on the sundeck and got the davit set up.   Setting up the davit requires me to lift the crane arm up so Mary can put the large shear pin in the hole which holds the crane arm in place.  As we were doing this I noticed one of the struts, which help reduce the weight of the arm, had bent and sheared off.  I guess my impression that the davit was heavier was correct.

Resting easy before 

Once it was in the water we put the davit back in its normal, unused position and then I  started the dinghy and ran it around for a few minutes to make sure the oil change I did earlier in the week was ok.  I brought it back and tied it up in the covered dock where they will lift it out of the water so they can work on it.

I was able to take several walks around the Ortega River while we are here.  It's about a 4 mile route and my knee, which was had been really hurting earlier, seemed to respond to the long walks began feeling much better.  No leaping off the boat yet, but at least I can walk almost normally now.   Go figure.

Treats anyone?

The boat yard cats, about a dozen, are cared for by Jerry, the night watchman.  He feeds them normal dry cat food.  I, on the other hand  feed them memorable, soft and chewy treats.  I found them on sale at Publix.   I bought a few bags and give them out to the less shy cats who come out and stand next to me.  The shy ones vocalize their displeasure but I figure the least they can do is walk over to me.

But this is spiraling out of control because whenever I walk by, I'm swarmed by half a dozen cats, all expressing their desire see me pull out a bag of cat treats.  They even slid up to Mary who is not the most ardent cat lover.

Sunday, we are to be interviewed by the Dog Inspection Lady from BRAT.   The ongoing "discussion" on whether or not to get a dog is, well, ongoing.   Mary, ever the canine optimist, decided to be certified to own a Basenji.

Before the inspection we headed over to the Metro Diner again for breakfast.  This really is the classic "where the locals eat" diner .    Seems we are on a eating-out roll today.  We ate dinner at Panera.  But I should make not that we have used our on board grill a few nights when the winds are from the east.  Since we are facing east the winds just blow the smoke out the back.  And yes, we have a smokey grill.  I refer to it as seasoned.   Others brusquely label it in less elegant terms.

The inspection lady turned out to be an older couple.  She had a clip board.   I made myself mostly invisible trying to configure what turned out to be a defective wifi extender.  So Mary took the brunt of the interrogation and did so well, that we are now approved to adopt a Basenji.   Whoopeeee?

Bet you didn't know they are the second least trainable breed did you?  This is according to the book, The Intelligence of Dogs.   

Hatteras owners, boxer

There is a 1973 Hatteras motor yacht in the yard.  The owner and I chatted a bit about the boat and his travels.  They (wife and dog) had the boat up in Lake Superior last year and have traveled the rivers and the coasts many times over the course of their 30 years of cruising.  The boat has 2 inch thick fiberglass in the hull and even though its several feet smaller than ours, probably weighs several tons more.  It also has soft rounded chines and a single engine.  Pretty boat.

Finally got around to backing up the ship's main computer.  It took 18 hours over a creeping usb connection.  Never got around to doing any of the others we have.

Last year I had purchased a new Bullet, a wireless booster.   They were having a sale of sorts so I also picked up a wifi repeater, an Air Gateway.  In short the Bullet picks up open wifi signals and sends it to the Air Gateway which will be our on-board wifi access point.   When I set it all up.  Our existing installation uses a type of Bullet with fixed parameters which can be problematic when accessing marina or other open wifi signals.  So I intend to configure this new Bullet with different parameters less likely to cause us problems.

Speaking of wifi, the boatyard wifi access point here isn't accessible due to certification errors (old cert server) so when I pointed this out to Sara in the office she gave me the office wifi credentials which are working perfectly!  Well, as long as out equipment is working which is another story.

PJ had provided us with  the key to one of the boat yard trucks.  I was planning on going to Walmart while the dog inspectors were here grilling Mary.   Never got there.

Instead of wandering through a Walmart seeking things on Mary's list, I fought most of the day with this little wifi extender box we use with media player.  It ultimately proved to be broken so I began fiddling with a new extender but it balked at connecting to anything.  By then I was worn out battling gadgets, so just left everything.

While I was playing with gadgets I noticed a boat down on the next dock, drifting out into the fare way.  It's stern line parted and only the shore power cable was holding it to the dock.  I took a break from electronics and went over and tied it up again to the dock.  Mild excitement.

My knee felt almost normal so after the dog lady left I went off for a 6 mile walk.  No running yet.  Met Mary at Subway where we picked up dinner, and then stopped at the Chinese takeout place right around the corner for two egg rolls and some egg drop soup.  It's getting chilly here which is why I think we both had a sudden craving for hot soup.

We finished up season 5 of West Wing minus a few episodes because the discs are all scratched.  Not our day for technology.  Maybe we'll just chuck it all and go back to VHS tapes.

We at least got the luggage out this evening since we have to pack.  But I had to toss out my old bag because it was really moldy.  It was about 20 years old, but still.  I suppose it is true .... boats can harbor dampness.

Moving in position for a power wash

Plucked out of the water

Next morning bright and early I was up and talking with Joey about hauling out.  He confirmed, it was going to be now, 8AM.  So I quick made coffee and woke up my resident morning person who, after some coffee, was awake enough to hear me start the engines.

Dressed for the Metro Diner

Joey came aboard and I drove the boat back out of the dock area into the slipway.  We all moved the boat by hand into the slings, and after positioning it, we got Mary off and Joey hauled it out of the water.

They started preparing to power wash it and we, unable to get on the boat until it was blocked up, walked to the Metro Diner for breakfast.  Luckily it's a local place so there is no appropriate attire.  I did have to go fetch a ladder and retrieve my wallet off the boat before we went.

They were still power washing when we returned so I called Enterprise and they picked me up, I got the car, a Kia Optima, and drove back to pick up Mary because we had to buy Damp Rid at the Publix.  We use it in closets to keep moisture levels down thus inhibiting mildew growth.

We also bought a dozen donuts for the Huckins office staff and the other boat yard guys.

That's us on the right

The boat was just being settled on blocks and jack stands when we returned.  Once set we got on board and I started packing.  But since the boat was out of the water my attention wandered to the rusty bolts on the swim platform mainly because Mary mentioned them for inclusion on the estimate.

Setting the boat on a keel block and jack stands

I thought I'll save some money and figured 20 minutes to removed them.   An hour later with an annoyed wife I had most of them off.  Packing took me 10 minutes and shutting down boat systems etc. took another 30 minutes.

We said good bye to everyone, fed the cats the last of the treats and drove off into the setting sun bound for Sandestin.