January 18-30, 2017 Loggerhead Marina Stuart, FL

Nice cool morning today.

Mary was sick most of the day and she and the dog napped the afternoon away.  I rode to Home Dept for anticipated disposer parts assuming I would need to replace much of the “interesting” hoses. 

Then stopped at Total Wine for some wine and a new favorite, a Beaujolais.

Next was a stop at Publix.  Always fun to enter Publix lugging four bottle of wine along, all from a different store.  But leaving them out on the bike isn't the best idea.  Then rode back to the boat where I suddenly remembered why I stopped at Pubilx.  Stamps.  And I forgot them.  So another trip there and back.

I mailed the letter I needed to get in the mail and then tackled the new faucet.

Old stuff removed

New Faucett 

New Disposer

I removed the old disposer first and it popped right off the retaining ring which means I’m pretty sure I can just reuse it.

The faucet removal took some time because the plastic nut holding the sprayer and the faucet on the sink was sor corroded I couldn't move it.  I had to literally twist off the upper end to get it, and the faucet off.

The new one went in fine except I forgot to get the holder nut on the sprayer line so had to take the whole thing apart again, slip the nut on and reinstall everything.

Then the water lines I could barely reach.  Removing them from the copper main boat lines would have presented even worse access problems.  Finally got them tightened enough so they don't appear to be leaking.

In the forward shower I added a thicker and wider layer of caulk to handle the larger gap between the seat and the wall.  Not that anyone will be using it, but just maybe ...

Then, last job before wine, I dug around the hot water heater and discovered that the pressure relief valve was leaking a nice steady drip of hot water.

Tomorrow will be a other trek to Home Depot to replace that and I figure I might as well replace the anode while I’ve got the heater drained.

We had takeout from the Brooklyn Pizza place tonight.  I only went on a short stroll around the docks.  Ran into an older man who was walking a pug with sort of a sling on its hind quarters.  Turns out the poor dog is paralyzed in his hind quarters so the guy fabricated this sling thing so the the dog can walk.  He keeps the rear end up off the ground.  Quite amazing … 

Today is the Eve of Destruction (1965 by Barry McGuire)?  Tomorrow is inauguration day.  Speaking of inauguration I overheard several ladies at the bar this afternoon discussing politics.  The general idea being that they dislike the president–elect, but really hate the losing candidate.

And in keeping with the chaotic political landscape, in the parking lot there was a truck with the very large, prominent bumper stickers:  "3 nails+cross=forgiveness", "Hillary for Prison", and "Trump for America … before it's too late".    Another I've seen of here, depicts Trump being tossed out of heaven, in a rather amateurishly drawn, but very large billboard at a church.   I wonder what the Wiccans are thinking ...

Thankfully we can sort of escape the political quagmire we’ve created for ourselves and sail off into the sunset.

This morning while Mary walked the dog I installed the new disposal and noted a seeping leak from some of the old rubber hose serving as drain pipes.

Before I went off to Home Depot though, I fixed the flybridge stereo (corroded wires).

At Home Depot I bought another 1 ½ inch rubber hose segment and after talking with a Home Dept guy about marking anchor chain realized he was confirming my thoughts which are, there is no real good long term method to mark anchor chain.  So I bought some more gaily colored wire ties which we used in the past but the wear off after a few months.

Mary, Judy and Jeff

We cleaned up the boat and began stowing stuff back into cabinets.  Jeff and Judy swung by on their way to their boat in Tittusville.  We had, as usual a delightful time.  Jeff had the next revision of glasses with him and they are pretty cool.   A tiny HD screen that magnifies and concentrates the  imagery.  Even Dr. Nick, an ear doctor at the bar was interested so Jeff entertained him and few others with his stories and demonstrated his glasses.

It was a nice evening.  Now we just need to take care of the dinghy and we can head west.  Our last possible day here us the 28^th.

There are some around here so deliriously happy about the new administration last night, they’ve chosen to express their unbounded joy by firing off some startlingly large fireworks.   Last night was quite the display.

I put the galley sink drain back together this morning and added some new hoses.  Then tackled the outboard.  I soaked it in PB Blaster, squirting a good amount into the cylinder and letting it sit awhile.  Took apart the recoil starter exposing the crank nut and with a 17mm socket on it gave it two whacks with a hammer and it moved.  Got some oil in the cylinder then and cranked it around some more and it loosened up just fine.

Re-gapped the plug, and put it altogether hoping I wouldn’t have to take the carb off to clean it.

We inflated the DDD (Dead Dog Dinghy.  It's a name christened by Steve during a rousing game of Farkle when we were anchored together at Cumberland Island last year.  (I had just related the story of  how our old dog Cleo, died on the trip up the east coast and was bemoaning the fact that I had bought a small dinghy to take her to shore and was never able to try it out.)   Once it was in the water we got the motor down and on the dinghy and I spent 15 minutes yanking on the starter.  It didn’t even sputter.

Thus tomorrow is carb cleaning day.

Talked with Adam about the big dinghy.  It’ll be ready by Monday because they had to add an extra layer of Hypalon pint for the seams.  He says it turned out spectacular.  We’ll see Tuesday when I pick it up.  Even though it will be ready Monday, it's supposed to be stormy and I have to drive it back down the river which will be very rough.

Rode to Publix and then Total Wine for more Beaujolais wine.

After dinner and a walk we retired along with the dog who seems to think 8 PM is a proper bedtime.

Even the dog languished in bed this morning. and wouldn't get up.  It was a gorgeous morning.

We walked the dog and then I started on the little outboard carburetor cleaning.  Disassembly, cleaning and re-assembly two hours.  The needle valve fell out and I almost lost it.  But it all went back together ok, even the linkages save one washer.

Before all this though I figured I could find carb cleaner at a Ace hardware to the south of us.  It a bit closer than Home Depot.  Sure enough they had it.  But about $1 more.  And the other things I needed were either not found or twice the price compared to Walmart or even Home Depot.

So I only bought the carb cleaner.  I should really work on remembering these little life lessons.    While digging around to find some light machine oil guess what did I found under a tub of caulk?  I now own two nice spray cans of carb cleaner

Daisy, the last KK 42 

After re-assembly, and during a break in Mary’s boat waxing endeavor, we were going to try and run it but I didn’t have feeler gauges to gap a different (newer) spark plug.  I wandered over to Daisey, a Krogen 42 and Jim dug around and found his. 

So I gapped the plug and was going to get the little dinghy in the water (we had left inflated on the fore deck) but time was getting short because I had to ride to publix for broccoli and a few other things.  Mary was making beef and broccoli this evening and broccoli is a required ingredient.

At Publix, loaded down with water and other weighty things

While I was there I figured I get some bottled water too, since it was on sale.  Riding back was interesting with all that weight.

Ursa Major, a Krogen 54 across the way

We had some wine tonight and while Mary walked the dog I wandered over to Ursa Major and chatted  a bit with the lady whose name I’ve forgotten.  Their boat is a Krogen 54, one of only 8 made.  And they own hull #1.

They too sold everything and have been cruising around for 5 years until recently.  They bought a place in DeLand, a town west of Daytona.

I was expecting lots of night life in town tonight but Saturday paled in comparison to last night.  Icky bands too, one or two people singing or playing along to digitized music so it's sounds like a tinny version of a live band.

Tomorrow is a big Packer game and cold front is supposed to roll through.

We are waiting for the big low pressure system which is supposed to swoop down on us today and tonight.  Winds in the 20-30 mph category with rain.

The hot water heater pressure and temperature release valve is really leaking now.  I thought the water I was seeing was from the bottom of the tank which would mean the water heater was kaput. 

After a little research I figured out the cause.  One, its original and they do wear out.  Two, it wore out probably because it was activating quite  a bit.  Not because we had extended periods of overly hot water or water pressure but because we have been using dockside water recently and when I plumbed it all, I bypassed the expansion tank.  We also employ a pressure regulator on the incoming water line so we don’t let 80 psi into the boat.  It would blow off many of the ½ hose lines.

A pressure reducer like that also acts as a one way valve so when the water heater heats the water, it expands it cant push back through the regulator.  The expanding water under higher pressure, has to go somewhere.  Thus the presence of a T&P valve.  Once I bring the expansion tank into the dockside water side all will be fine.  Well, according to the theory.

Anyway, that occupied much of my time today.  That and cleaning the shower sumps.  Mary finished up some waxing and I started on figuring out how we are going to travel the Okeechobee waterway.

There 5 locks on the waterway and they operate from 7AM until 5PM  We don’t travel fast enough to make the third lock on the westward leg, Moore Haven.  So we have to stop somewhere short of that.

Our choices are Clewiston and a small marina there in a very narrow channel necessitating us either backing in or backing out.  Or tying up to the dolphins by the locks. 

Dolphins are large pilings meant for barges to use while waiting for a lock.   They have cleats but are rather tall.  The general idea is to nudge the bow close to one and then snag a cleat.  Then repeat the process with the stern so ultimately we would be tied between two dolphins.

I love to try the dolphin idea but we have a dog and the little outboard isn’t running yet so we’d have to haul the big dinghy down to get her to shore.  Ugh …

Mary watched the Packers and the dog was scurrying around trying to find a place to hide from the loud outbursts. 

They lost by the way.

Walking in town tonight, it was dead!  But very windy on the bridge.  In fact here in the slip, we are rocking and rolling quite a bit.  Hate these strong lows.

Tomorrow we fix the water heater, declutter in preparation for leaving either Wednesday or Thursday.  The weather forecast for Ft. Myers will be dictating which day we leave here.

We accomplished stuff today.  I rented a car for Feb, made arrangements with Mermaid to repair the A/C unit, have a slip at Ft. Meyers Marina from the 5^th thru the tenth.  Tomorrow we pick up the big dinghy, and test the small outboard on the small dinghy.  Then I peddled to WalMart for essential items.

We shampooed a portion of the salon carpeting and salon bench.  Mary did a little more waxing and then went off to do laundry while I finished up waxing.

The heavy winds last night really stretched out some of our lines so I fiddled with them to counteract the wind effects.  The worst of the winds should be over by tomorrow morning.

Tonight walking near the riverwalk in downtown Stuart, a spotted a cell phone on the sidewalk and took it to Duffy’s bar after leaving a message on the owner's home phone.

 The town is really dead tonight.  Yes, it's a Monday, but also because the winds are blowing hard and the temps are dipping into the high 60’s.

No Roosevelt's today for us.  We got up too late.  I called the dinghy place, A Sailors Place, and they had to recover from some ash caused by a recent fire the other day.  Evidently the ash covered everything and they were busy cleaning all that up.  We decided to meet at 2PM.

Meanwhile I retrieved the Temp & Pressure valve I had sent for the other day, and went down to install it on the hot water heater.  5 minute job.

Even my biggest wrenches couldn't budge the valve

But only if you can get the old one off.  I couldn’t.  I went through all my wrenches including this massive 18 inch long monster which barely fit in the tight space between the fitting and the bulkhead.  I used PB Blaster and let it soak in for a few hours.  Then used a 12 inch metal pipe as a helper to extend the leverage on the wrench.   Nothing moved..

Banged the wrench with a hammer.  Still nothing.

The last resort was to heat up the female end of the connection but it turns out it's way under the tank housing and there’s little chance I could get even my small pencil torch in there to heat that up.

Stymied.  So I went and asked Jim the dock master if he knew of a plumber and he did.  A Bahamian named Steve who works around the marina quite a bit.  I called him, and related the problem only to find out  was telling his wife all about the valve and tight confines.  She chuckled and told me Steve would call back later.

I got Mary to walk to Shepherds Park with me, about 1.5 miles.  Half way there she trip on a raised part of the sidewalk and tumbled over.    Guess we need to practice waking more?

We arrived at the park and Adam drove up after a few minutes.  While we were waiting there was a group of hearty and happy homeless couples having a beer.   They offered a beer to us but we declined.  Too early in the day.

Sparkling new-looking dinghy

The dinghy looks great although there are a few tape joints he didn’t touch which I’ll have to do.  The outboard finally tilts and doesn't sag back. 

The only bad thing was they took the bow line off and didn’t return it.  That was one of the best dock lines we had!  So he gave me another, less desirable one.

We left the park and went over to the city docks and walked up to Hoffmans for yogurt and then headed back to the boat.  Mary and the dog hunkered down for a nap.

Steve returned my call and said he’d come by Thursday afternoon and have a look at the valve on the water heater.

I rode to Home Depot to get a parts for the water system which I intend to re-plumb to include the expansion tank on the dock water side.

After I returned Mary was up and took the dog out again so I started cutting and installing the stair tread bullnose pieces.

Tomorrow we have to complete the bullnose installation, do the re-plumbing and test the small dinghy motor.  I also have to gas up the big dinghy.  And I need to ride to Walmart for things there.  So much cheaper!  And of course we have to eat at Roosevelt's one more time.

Karama being what it is, when I went to check on the leaky P&T valve tonight it doesn’t leak a drop.  Sheez …

This morning we made it to Roosevelt's for breakfast and talked with the owner Robson and his wife, Savannah

The hallowed halls of the Stuart WalMart

After breakfast I rode to WalMart and loaded up the bike with the last of our "necessary" items.

Finished installing the stair bullnosing.

Noted the pressure and T&P valve is still dry.

Moon Dance

Talked with Bill, the captain of Moon Dance who was riding a skateboard that was equipped with an electric motor.  Neat.  He offered to take me on a tour of the boat.  It’s a sweet boat too, 90’.

At the Sailors Return bar.

We took the dinghy over to Sailors Return for some drinks and snack things.

New bullnose.  The doig wont go down the stairs now.

Bubbie has developed a deep reluctance to go down the stairs now, with the bull-nose in place.  We, suckers of the highest order, note her standing at the top of the stairs and carry her down.  The dog, maybe old and afflicted with dementia, knows this now and will never go down another stair in her life.  ugh ... 

Tomorrow we see Steve who is coming over to take this stupid temp/pressure valve off.  I’m sure if I decline and leave it as is, in its non-leaking state, it will leak like a sieve once we are on our way.

I Rode to the wine store and then made a stop at Publix this morning.  Then spent some time updating most of our electronic charts.  Later I gassed up the big dinghy and our fuel can.

Decided to test the Nissan outboard.  Still won't fire.  So I’ll get a new plug for it since it appears  to me that its an electrical issue.  And Autozone is only a few miles away.

We walked over to get pizza tonight, the last time until we return this spring.

Steve, the plumber guy Jim recommended, never showed up.  The valve isn't leaking so its foreordained we are leaving without replacing the valve.

Had a nice run tonight through the city mostly quiet downtown.

After I came back from Autozone this morning,  we engaged in another dinghy motor test. with  a new spark plug.  It was an unexpected failure.  And we almost dunked the motor getting it back aboard.

Steve, the plumber guy got hung up in Ft. Lauderdale and basically gave the impression he forgot about us.  So I said forget it and we’ll leave the hot water heater as it is.

The fresh water leak was very noticeable this morning.  I finally traced it back aft on the starboard side of the transom.  My suspicion was the rudder stuffing boxes.  Nope.  It was the shower washdown on the swim platform,  The hot water was left on by some person who was working back there.  Someone younger than I whom we all know and love ...

We tried using the oven to make a pork loin. Oven went out three times before staying light.  All I can think of is a faulty thermostat.  But it did finally stay lit and cooked up a nice piece of meat.

Weather wasn't too bad as a weak cold front wandered through.  Cooler temps and moderate winds.  Tomorrow much the same.  We leave Sunday.

This morning we decided we are going to leave tomorrow.. maybe.  When I went out walking last night I suddenly was seize with gut cramps.  These were not those that I could just run through so I headed back to the bridge.

This morning after near zero sleep I couldn’t move.  Just so fatigued.  If  I'm like this tomorrow I'm staying in bed.  Actually the weather is supposed to be rainy and in the 50’s.  Delightful.

Only thing I did all day was clean-out the master head shower and floor, get the small dinghy out and filled the water tanks.  Then in a last gasp of ebbing energy I got the bike aboard.  I’m literally exhausted.  Heck, I never used to get sick like this.

\

Mary did a few items of laundry and cleaned the cabins otherwise we didn’t do much.

We have inflatable fenders, three to be exact.  They are about three feet long and 18 inches wide. Perfect for keeping the boat off the nasty lock walls.   Two leak, the other is fine.  Of the leaky fenders, one had three bad leaks and the other only two small leaks.   From reading about these Ares inflatable fenders, they do not repair well.  There are other ones out there that have welded seams which are much better.  Bet you’d love to hear me ask Mary about buying a few of those for $260 a piece!  Anyway the one with three leak we chucked while the other one I'll patch up as soon as I get some Hypalon cement.

In bed by nine.   Well I was.  If we leave tomorrow it has to be before 8 so we can get  across the lake and through some locks.

We will see how it goes.

I did wake up around 5AM feeling almost normal again and thinking hell, we should just leave today. I’m fine.  I started to dwell on this idea and when I woke up (yes, I guess I bored myself to sleep) it was 10:30.  So much for leaving today.

It was cold, mid 50’s.  And rainy so we didn’t miss much.  Ever been through locks on a cold and rainy day?

I did a bit of Blog work, and Mary watched NetFlix most of the day.  We are basically ready to go but I’m not allowed to disconnect the cable until later tonight.

So it was not a real exciting day.   Frigid, yes.  But not exciting.  Except for one chance meeting with a couple taking their dog out for a walk.  The man, a big guy, was carrying a little white poodle.  It was prepared for the rainy weather with a shiny pink raincoat covering its body and a jaunty little pink rain hat strapped to her head.  Just shoot me now …

Well we didn’t leave at 8, but we did leave at 8:30 this morning.  Mary and the dog sauntered up the dock after I had the engines going and all the systems cutover.  5 dock lines off and we spun out of the basin and were off. 

Railroad bridge in the foreground and Roosevelt Bridge just about to open beyond it

Roosevelt bridge opened for us.  We passed by a tug and barge and another trawler heading east.  Then it was to the St. Lucie Lock and hour later where we were raised 14 feet. 

Just entered the St. Lucie Lock.  We'll be going up

The lock here uses the lock doors to fill and empty the chamber by cracking the doors a foot or two and letting the water run where it may.  In our case it was running in so we were bopped around by the strong  currents at times.

Almost finished locking up.  Note the water spilling in from the lock doors

But we left the lock without an issue.  Good thing too because we passed by the visitor center area where perhaps a dozen people were watching us.  I waved and said hello and everyone one of them startled me by waving back and shouting good morning. 

Next was the Port Mayaca lock which was 20 some miles down river.  By that time the winds had picked up considerably from the Northwest and it was getting rough as we approached. 

Approaching the Port Mayaca Lock which is opened

But we were lucky in that they had just opened the lock and let us pass through, meaning the lock wasn’t operating as a lock.  The chamber, open on both ends was current filled but we powered our way through and out into the rough Lake.

It was beam seas for us during the next 3 hours.  Perhaps 2-3 feet but with a periods of maybe 5 seconds.  So we were rolling pretty good.  The dog is not fond of beam seas.and it was in the fifties which certain people consider arctic conditions.

After a few hours the waves calmed as we neared the big turn towards the Clewiston channel.

Clewiston Lock

Approaching Roland Marina

We headed up the channel and through the Clewiston lock which operates as a lock only during severe storms or high lake levels.

Its rather narrow going through and then you emerge in a basin where the Army Core of Engineers has a base.  Right beyond, less than a quarter mile is Roland Marina which is really just on long dock with a tiki bar along the bank.

Captain Sam taking out lines

We tied up at Roland Marina in front of a small down east type boat.  Captain Sam is the dockmaster here.  Energetic guy who lives on a small sailboat in the few slips behind the main dock.

We ate at the thriving tiki bar and it was surprisingly good.  Seems its a popular place.

Mary at the Tiki Bar

Tomorrow morning we leave around 8AM with the low temps forecast to be 44 degrees.  That’s near freezing!  And I have to refill the water tanks!

It was definitely cold last night.  Like in the mid 40’s.  Superb sleeping weather though!

The space in front of us wa jammed with boats not an hour ago.

I woke up about 6:30 with the parade of boats leaving at first light.  We of course did not follow them out.  I made coffee, Mary took the dog out and I got the boat ready to leave including filling the water tank.  When she arrived back I started the engines and backed out of the spot on the dock, turned around in the army Corp of Engineers turning basin and we backed out to the canal towards Moore Haven and the next lock.

That lock dropped us 6 feet, and the next lock, Ortana, dropped us another 6.  The last lock, Franklin took 5 calls on the radio to answer before they would answer.  But we ultimately were locked through and dropped 2 feet.  Recall the first lock, St. Lucie Lock raised us 14 feet.  The  next lock after that, Port Mayaca was wide open.

The canal/waterway here is pretty wild and undeveloped raising the possibilities of seeing wildlife.  We did.  Four alligators, one, a  really large one.  And a big old snake slithering across the canal.

We made the turn into the anchorage at Fort Myers around 5:45 and dropped anchor on a cool and relatively calm night.  We had a sip of wine before taking the dog into the Marina for her walk and my teeny little jog around the river front.

Fort Myers anchorage

Back aboard, we ate dinner and watched a few Frasier episodes.  The 5 GHZ wifi booster seems to have an issue which I think (and hope) is the cable.  So we switched to 2.4 ghz after switching my phones hotspot to the 2.4 ghz band.  Then everything worked just fine.