Saturday, February 16, 2014 - Settling In!
Errands are on tap for today. First, a bus ride to West Marine. Too bad they didn't have the check valve I need for the water pump. Upon our return to the marina, we set out on foot for the Farmers' Market we we picked up fresh strawberries for $1.69/pint. Not a bad price and delicious! We took the bus back to the marina and noted that the route has changed from last year. It seems like they tinker with the route a little each year. We also noticed that they have installed a video surveillance system.
Sunday, February 17, 2013 - A Visit from Friends!
Our friends George and Pat stopped by for a visit. It was great to see them, hear what they've been doing and what their plans are for the summer. We hope to spend more time with them for the month that we are here in Vero Beach.
Monday, February 18, 2013 - Wheels!
George took us to Titusville so we could pick up the Truck. It was really great of him since it's a 4 hour round trip. Thanks, Geo!
Upon our return to the marina we loaded up the dinghy outboard and took it to the repair shop.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - Wheels II!
The bikes were off-loaded, unfolded, inflated and assembled in the span of about 1/2 hour. After a brief test ride around the parking lot, we pedaled up and over the Merrill P. Barber Bridge and all the way to the medical center campus. On the day, we pedaled almost 7 miles. It was a good first effort.
We've been trying to reduce our carbon footprint. When cruising, we either sail, walk or bicycle. Yes, we motor when conditions aren't conducive for sailing. When we reach port, we walk a lot. Several days each week involve hikes of about ten miles round trip. The bikes allow us to extend that range to about 25 miles round trip. range.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - Sailing!
What a terrific day! After a five mile bike ride and a 1 mile walk, we met George at the local boat ramp where he was in the midst of prepping S/V Sweetie for launch. Too bad we forgot the camera.
Sweetie is a 2004 West Wight Potter and George's newest toy.
Anna Marie and I helped when possible, but George did most of the set up. It seemed pretty straight forward and it didn't take long to figure out what to do next. After the launch, George and I boarded Sweetie while Anna Marie went back to SUNSHINE. She has a date with a washer and dryer.
Once out on the water, we found the water outside the channel to the north of the bridge was too shallow to sail. We did a 180 and ran with the wind for several miles. For the most part we stayed in the channel. By the time we tacked for home, the wind had shifted just enough to allow us to claw to weather.
Sweetie proved her admirable pointing ability and did well in the light air. We had a great day.
Thursday, February 21, 2013 - Two Trips to the Mall!
After breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed off to the transfer station where we boarded the Route 2 bus to the Indian River Mall. We strolled through the mall three times before the store we needed opened. To make our next purchase we had to walk back to Lowes and then the Walmart to catch the bus. It took awhile to realize the bus doesn't go into WalMart anymore. Instead, it stops on the highway now. That's useful information.
In the evening we returned to the Mall so we could go the the 24-plex AMC Movie Theater where we would see "Life if Pi." the cinematography and computer graphics were excellent.
Friday, February 22, 2013 - Barefoot in the Sand!
When in Vero Beach, we usually find time to take a long beach walk. Unfortunately we have been unable to procure water shores locally, despite having shopped for them at a half dozen stores. Even the shops on the beach didn't have them.
The lack of appropriate footwear didn't discourage us. We set out on our walk in bare feet. I hate walking in bare feet, but, hey, it's a beach, we'll be okay. We headed north out of Hummiston Park on an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun was shinning, there was a gentle breeze, and the temp was in the mid 80s.
Along the way we observed the usual beach activities one would expect. We're not sure how far we walked, but we didn't stop for 3 1/2 hours. By the time we got back, my feet were killing me! I didn't walk without pain until the next morning.
Saturday, February 23, 2013 - Les Miserables!
It's Farm Market Day and we're having dinner guests. Perfect, we'll get a few fresh items for dinner. Mission accomplished and then we were off to check out the Beer and Wing Fest across the Indian River at Royal Palm Point. There was quit a crowd when we arrived. For a $35.00 wrist band you got a small plastic cup to be used to sample 100 micro brews. Not sure if the wings were included.
Our guests arrived in time for a leisurely dinner (Key Lime Shrimp). We even had time for after dinner stories before we left for the evening performance of Les Miserables at the Riverside Theater. The show was excellent! I can't offer enough platitudes for the production. Anna Marie and I were surprised to see Andrew Foote, an actor who played many parts at our home theater in Beach Haven, NJ. We even got to give him greeting from The Surflight when we saw him in the parking lot after the show.
All four of us had a great evening and we were blown away by the show.
Sunday, February 24, 2013 - Lazy Day!
After all of our recent activity we took the day off. We enjoyed a relaxing day on the boat and around the marina. While relaxing on the dock, I even helped the Dock Master tie up boats that were coming in for fuel.
Monday, February 25, 2013 - Riding North!
Enough of the relaxing! It's time for a bike ride. As with the beach walk a few days ago, we headed north. The round trip covered a bit over 10 miles. Along the way, we found the Coco Village Shops. Included among the shops was a small cafe. We stopped for a cold beverage before continuing north. We reversed direction when we reached the traffic light on John's Island. On the way back we stopped for a beverage at the Village Beach Market.
Lunch was taken aboard SUNSHINE followed by some time for relaxing. Before dinner we went for a walk to Riverside and Veterans Parks.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 - A Visit to Stuart
Today's agenda included a trip to Stuart where we met with boating friends who have become landlubbers. Lunch was delightful, as was the guided tour of Stuart.
On the way back to SUNSHINE, we stopped in Fort Pierce to visit with Captain Dave. It was great to see him again.
We arrived back to SUNSHINE in time for dinner.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - Another Lazy Day!
The temp has dropped a bit and we're in for a few days of cooler temps. Lows are predicted to be in the 40s with highs in the mid 70s. After a few boat chores and cleaning, we looked into replacing the dinghy motor. I really want the Torqeedo 1003 portable electric motor but can't pull the trigger because of its price tag. I found a Honda 2HP long shaft that has 10 hours. It will work for our dinghy and will be perfect for the next dinghy. We made arrangements to look it over tomorrow.
Sunshine almost always makes me high! (John Denver)
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Keel Work, Waxing, Getting Underway, Valentine's Day and Vero Beach!
Considering our boat project work and connectivity issues updating the blog has been difficult. This post brings us up To date!
Saturday, January 26, 2013 - Keel Report!
The Keel project is coming along nicely. Tom is doing a masterful job. By the time he's finished, the bottom of the keels will have six layers of biaxial glass. The will be much stronger than originally built. He is also doing a great job fairing the keels and the area where his work meets the hulls. We are very pleased with this project to date.
Besides watching Tom, we drove to Cocoa but the hardware store, which was our objective, was closed. We also visited West Marine, in an effort to secure a couple of canisters of butane for the cook stove. We can't find it anywhere!
We had an outstanding lunch at the Catfish Cabin. The blackened cod was outstanding. We like the cabin much better than the more famous Dixie Crossroads!
Sunday, January 27, 2013 - Work on Keels Continues!
Even though it's Sunday, Tom continued his work on SUNSHINE. he faired the keels, applied three coats of Interprotect 2000, and one coat of bottom paint. He should be finished tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, SUNSHINE will be placed back on the jack stands. She has bee hanging in the slings of the travel lift since Friday evening to give Tom access to the bottom of the keels.
We've been camping about 10 miles south of the boat since we arrived on last Thursday. Tomorrow we move aboard, even though SUNSHINE is still on the hard. Over the next few days, we have to clean inside and out, bend on the sails, put up the canvas, inflate the dinghy and attach it to the davits, and attach the bow nets. There is also the little matter of waxing but since my power buffer was destroyed in the hurricane, we may farm out that little job.
Monday, January 28, 2013 Breaking Camp!
Time to break camp and move onto the boat. We enjoyed our stay at Manatee Hammock County Park. It is a decent facility. Certainly not one of our favorites, but adequate for sure. During the day, there was a strong propane odor in the tent area. We didn't notice the odor anywhere else in the park.
It is a very busy campground and popular with the RV crowd. Many stay for the winter. There is a 180 day limit. It looks like a lot of RVers maximize their stay.
The campground also boasts a pool, rec room, canoe/small boat launch ramp and a fishing pier.
Back in the marina, Tom finished up his work on the keels. He still has to finish bottom painting the rear quarter of the port hull. He ran out of paint. We ordered another gallon. It should be here tomorrow so he can finish.
We started to clean SUNSHINE's interior. All the wood surfaces were wiped down and the refrigerator was cleaned and started. It is running fine as it the inverter/charger. The batteries are fully charged, compliments of the solar panels.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - Cleaning!
The cleaning of S/V SUNSHINE begins in earnest today! Tom finished his work yesterday so we can have at it without getting in his way.
We worked all day; the boat has never been this dirty. It'll take several days for Anna Marie to clean the inside. It may take me longer to do the outside! We got a good jump on it though.
In the evening, we watched a movie rented from a nearby Red Box.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 - Cleaning Again!
Yippee, more cleaning today! Anna continued her fun on the inside. I washed and waxed the cockpit. We knocked off early 1600 hours, to get ready for what we expected to be a fun evening. Boating buddies Dee and Lee picked us up at the marina and whisked us off to the Catfish Cabin where we enjoyed dinner and conversation. The evening flew by! In no time, it was time to go home.
We got back to the marina in time to walk to the adjacent park to watch the launch of an Atlas V rocket with a DRTS satellite aboard. It is the next generation data reception/ transfer satellite. The launch was right on time and spectacular as usual.
Thursday, January 31, 2013 - More Cleaning!
Oh boy, more cleaning today! The deck is scrubbed, but still blotchy. I'll have to do it again. I managed to find time to replace the Racor fuel filters too.
Anna Marie continued her inside work. While I was washing the deck she checked for leaks. She reported that there were none. Given the high coefficient of expansion on the plexiglass windows caused by the intense Florida summer sunshine, I always expect that it will be necessary to rebel some of the portlights. It looks like we're good to go this year.
Friday, February 1, 2013 - Build Me Up Buttercup!
Most of the cleaning has been accomplished. What's left can be done while underway. The last major projects will be to clean the deck lockers and inflate the dinghy. We plan to do the lockers on Saturday and the dinghy on Sunday. Then we'll be ready to splash.
We'll also have to find time to provision.
BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP -THE MUSICAL
We took Friday evening off to attend the world premiere production of the aforementioned show at the Cocoa Village Playhouse. The show was written by Tony Macaully, who has written 20 hits in the 60's and 70's, including four that topped the charts. Those four songs plus 14 other new ones were in the show which chronicled the trials and tribulations of the music industry furring the period.
The music was great and boy oh boy, could the cast sing. They had outstanding voices. Unfortunately, the choreography was lacking, probably because the cast members couldn't dance! During the few dance numbers, the dancers looked like they had two left feet!
There is a lot of buzz about this show being Broadway bound. It certainly has the pedigree. With some tweaking, it just may make it.
Saturday, February 2, 2013 - Wax On! Wax Off!
Compounding and waxing are on the schedule today. Robert and Jerry, two of the yard workers, are doing it on their day off. We completed most of our pre-launch tasks. What's left (metal polishing, top side waxing, bilge pump repair, shower sump repair) can be done whilst underway.
Earlier in the week, we made arrangements to meet Dee and Joe for dinner, so we had to leave the marina by 1600 hours. A couple of hours prior, we decided that we should drive home for a week to attend to some family matters. We met Joe and Dee and, upon hearing our plan to go home for a week, they invited us to stay for the night. They are so gracious and always invite us to stay over. We enjoy their company and are grateful for their hospitality and friendship.
Sunday, February 3, 2013 - A Super Bowl Sunday Drive!
We left the Fritz's home at 0715 without waking our hosts. It was a picture perfect day for a drive. We discussed driving straight through, but at about 1800 hours, we decided to get a room, rest up, watch the SuperBowl, and finish the final six hours tomorrow.
Monday, February 4, 2013 - Home!
Surprise! After an uneventful drive, we arrived home at 1455 hours. Everyone was surprised to see us. We saw all of the grandkids and planned a week of activities. We expect to begin the return trip to Titusville, FL, one week from today.
Sunday, February 10, 2013 - Back on the Road!
After helping Sandi and Matt with a few house projects and bidding another sad good bye to Shelley, Sandi, Matt and the kids, we got underway at about 1630 hours with the goal to get south of Washington D.C. before stopping for the night. The strategy worked well. We didn't encounter any traffic and made it to Fredricksburg, about 50 miles north of Richmond, BT 2030 hours.
Monday, February 11, 2013 - A Long Travel Day!
Today will be a long travel day. The goal is to get to the boat in Titusville, FL. We expect to drive time to be about 12 hours, but we have to stop at an outlet store to replace two pair of sneakers, so I expect the actual travel time to be closer to 15 hours.
Once again, we disn't encounter any "jam-o's," nor did we hit any rush hour traffic. We were approaching Savannah at the afternoon drive time, but stopped for a bit and fuel. We passed through the outskirts of the city at 1845 hours, late enough to miss the drive time traffic.
We made it to SUNSHINE at 2230 hours. Secured a few items and watched part of a DVD before hitting the sack.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - It's Hot in FL!
It's hot in FL! The temp went above 80 and it was humid. And no, I'm not complaining! Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter!
We did a few boat chores to get everything ready for tomorrow morning's splash. The most time consuming task was inflating and setting up the dinghy. When we were here two weeks ago, we discovered a Red Box at the CVS. We rented a movie or two when we made the discovery. We did again tonight. We finally saw the Hunger Games. It was interesting, nicely filmed and very predictable.
Splash is scheduled for 0900. We're ready to hit the water!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - Splash!
Splash! That's right! We're floating... And a quick check of the bilges and thru hulls show that we are bone dry... Just the way I like it!
I only had some minor difficulty firing up the engines. The starboard choke Cale was frozen. Some WD 40 and a couple of raps with an appropriate tool loosened things up. The port engine wasn't getting fuel. The simple fix was to disconnect the fuel line and reconnect it again. That did the trick.
The Nissan 2.0 HP dinghy engine wouldn't fire at all. I'm concerned about it because the engine may have been compromised by salt water during Hurricane Sandy. The is debris under the helmet that was obviously brought in by water. I replaced the spark plug. It didn't help. Tomorrow I'll check the carburetor.
As luck would have it, we're supposed to leave tomorrow, but a cold front in moving in and we're having a thunderstorm. The weather may not be good for a departure.
Thursday, February 14, 2013 - Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Our scheduled 0800 departure Didn't happen on time. Several manatees were hanging out around and under the boat. We waited for 15 minutes when the folks on a neighboring vessel suggested that we might be waiting all day. Not wanting to hurt the beasts with our props, I decided to trick them with the hose. I fired up the hose and shot a blast of water about 20 feet on the other side of the dock. Five of the manatees hurried over to the water stream looking for a drink. That left two between the hulls. As we pushed off the dock, the manatees swam away. We put the motors in gear and headed out of the marina. SUNSHINE hadn't cleared the entrance channel when the starboard engine stopped. Of course it wouldn't start up again so we motored under the Titusville Bridge with the poet engine. Once on the other side of the bridge, I put on my mechanic clothes and started to troubleshoot the problem. It only took two minutes to find two potential causes. First I resealed the Racor fuel filter. The gasket wasn't seated properly. A quick check showed that gas wasn't being delivered to the motor. While performing that check, I found an air leak around where the gas line fits onto the priming bulb barb. A few turns of the hose clamp screw and viola, no more air leak. The starboard engine ran without missing a beat for the rest of the day.
At 1415, the anchor was down at Dragon Point. The odometer showed 37.8 miles. Not too bad for the first day back in the saddle! It was surprising to see a boat anchored in the Indian River near the entrance to the anchorage just around Dragon Point in the Banana River. It was even more surprising to see a dozen or so boats anchored in the anchorage. It crossed our minds that we'd be alone for the evening. The southerly migration is just about over and the northerly migration may start in earnest in two to three weeks. By 1700 hours, we were joined by two more boats!
With major assistance from Anna Marie, I whipped a very special Valentine's Eve dinner. Traditionally I make Key Lime Scallops with, that's right, Scallops! Unfortunately the market was fresh out, so we went with Shrimp. The Key Lime Shrimp, with angel hair pasts and Italian bread was scrumptious. Later in the evening, we enjoyed a slice of Key Lime Pie. This Valentine's Day was a very nice time together.
Of course, Valentine's Day wasn't perfect. Besides the problems articulated earlier, there were significant rain showers all day. They seemed to settle into a stray rain in the evening and through the night. This soaking reveled that 5 of SUNSHINE's windows leak. Two of them were resealed last spring before we left the boat. I'm wondering it hanging in the travel lift and perhaps the stress of launch have caused the seals to break. Either way, we have more work to do when we get to Vero Beach.
Friday, February 15, 2013 - To Vero Beach!
Showers greeted us this morning as we awoke from our slumber. They are expected to be with us until about 1300 hours. We'll enjoy a leisurely breakfast before raising the mud hook. Usually we leave an anchorage at first light, but given the showers, we'll leave between 0800 and 0900 in an effort to limit the numbers of hours we'll be traveling in them.
Well the showers were with us pretty much the entire run to Vero Beach. As it happens, the Vero Beach City Marina has a slip available that will accommodate SUNSHINE. That sure is a surprise. The dockhand thought we had won the lottery. We decided to stay for a month. Looks like we won't be heading to Marathon this year!
After dinner, we took a stroll to the beach to check out some of our usual haunts. We expect to do a lot of walking and biking during our stay. We'll also attend some shows at the Riverside Theater. We picked up tickets for Les Mis, and we plan to get tickets for Woody Sez, a show about Woody Gutherie.
Saturday, January 26, 2013 - Keel Report!
The Keel project is coming along nicely. Tom is doing a masterful job. By the time he's finished, the bottom of the keels will have six layers of biaxial glass. The will be much stronger than originally built. He is also doing a great job fairing the keels and the area where his work meets the hulls. We are very pleased with this project to date.
Besides watching Tom, we drove to Cocoa but the hardware store, which was our objective, was closed. We also visited West Marine, in an effort to secure a couple of canisters of butane for the cook stove. We can't find it anywhere!
We had an outstanding lunch at the Catfish Cabin. The blackened cod was outstanding. We like the cabin much better than the more famous Dixie Crossroads!
Sunday, January 27, 2013 - Work on Keels Continues!
Even though it's Sunday, Tom continued his work on SUNSHINE. he faired the keels, applied three coats of Interprotect 2000, and one coat of bottom paint. He should be finished tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, SUNSHINE will be placed back on the jack stands. She has bee hanging in the slings of the travel lift since Friday evening to give Tom access to the bottom of the keels.
We've been camping about 10 miles south of the boat since we arrived on last Thursday. Tomorrow we move aboard, even though SUNSHINE is still on the hard. Over the next few days, we have to clean inside and out, bend on the sails, put up the canvas, inflate the dinghy and attach it to the davits, and attach the bow nets. There is also the little matter of waxing but since my power buffer was destroyed in the hurricane, we may farm out that little job.
Monday, January 28, 2013 Breaking Camp!
Time to break camp and move onto the boat. We enjoyed our stay at Manatee Hammock County Park. It is a decent facility. Certainly not one of our favorites, but adequate for sure. During the day, there was a strong propane odor in the tent area. We didn't notice the odor anywhere else in the park.
It is a very busy campground and popular with the RV crowd. Many stay for the winter. There is a 180 day limit. It looks like a lot of RVers maximize their stay.
The campground also boasts a pool, rec room, canoe/small boat launch ramp and a fishing pier.
Back in the marina, Tom finished up his work on the keels. He still has to finish bottom painting the rear quarter of the port hull. He ran out of paint. We ordered another gallon. It should be here tomorrow so he can finish.
We started to clean SUNSHINE's interior. All the wood surfaces were wiped down and the refrigerator was cleaned and started. It is running fine as it the inverter/charger. The batteries are fully charged, compliments of the solar panels.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - Cleaning!
The cleaning of S/V SUNSHINE begins in earnest today! Tom finished his work yesterday so we can have at it without getting in his way.
We worked all day; the boat has never been this dirty. It'll take several days for Anna Marie to clean the inside. It may take me longer to do the outside! We got a good jump on it though.
In the evening, we watched a movie rented from a nearby Red Box.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 - Cleaning Again!
Yippee, more cleaning today! Anna continued her fun on the inside. I washed and waxed the cockpit. We knocked off early 1600 hours, to get ready for what we expected to be a fun evening. Boating buddies Dee and Lee picked us up at the marina and whisked us off to the Catfish Cabin where we enjoyed dinner and conversation. The evening flew by! In no time, it was time to go home.
We got back to the marina in time to walk to the adjacent park to watch the launch of an Atlas V rocket with a DRTS satellite aboard. It is the next generation data reception/ transfer satellite. The launch was right on time and spectacular as usual.
Thursday, January 31, 2013 - More Cleaning!
Oh boy, more cleaning today! The deck is scrubbed, but still blotchy. I'll have to do it again. I managed to find time to replace the Racor fuel filters too.
Anna Marie continued her inside work. While I was washing the deck she checked for leaks. She reported that there were none. Given the high coefficient of expansion on the plexiglass windows caused by the intense Florida summer sunshine, I always expect that it will be necessary to rebel some of the portlights. It looks like we're good to go this year.
Friday, February 1, 2013 - Build Me Up Buttercup!
Most of the cleaning has been accomplished. What's left can be done while underway. The last major projects will be to clean the deck lockers and inflate the dinghy. We plan to do the lockers on Saturday and the dinghy on Sunday. Then we'll be ready to splash.
We'll also have to find time to provision.
BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP -THE MUSICAL
We took Friday evening off to attend the world premiere production of the aforementioned show at the Cocoa Village Playhouse. The show was written by Tony Macaully, who has written 20 hits in the 60's and 70's, including four that topped the charts. Those four songs plus 14 other new ones were in the show which chronicled the trials and tribulations of the music industry furring the period.
The music was great and boy oh boy, could the cast sing. They had outstanding voices. Unfortunately, the choreography was lacking, probably because the cast members couldn't dance! During the few dance numbers, the dancers looked like they had two left feet!
There is a lot of buzz about this show being Broadway bound. It certainly has the pedigree. With some tweaking, it just may make it.
Saturday, February 2, 2013 - Wax On! Wax Off!
Compounding and waxing are on the schedule today. Robert and Jerry, two of the yard workers, are doing it on their day off. We completed most of our pre-launch tasks. What's left (metal polishing, top side waxing, bilge pump repair, shower sump repair) can be done whilst underway.
Earlier in the week, we made arrangements to meet Dee and Joe for dinner, so we had to leave the marina by 1600 hours. A couple of hours prior, we decided that we should drive home for a week to attend to some family matters. We met Joe and Dee and, upon hearing our plan to go home for a week, they invited us to stay for the night. They are so gracious and always invite us to stay over. We enjoy their company and are grateful for their hospitality and friendship.
Sunday, February 3, 2013 - A Super Bowl Sunday Drive!
We left the Fritz's home at 0715 without waking our hosts. It was a picture perfect day for a drive. We discussed driving straight through, but at about 1800 hours, we decided to get a room, rest up, watch the SuperBowl, and finish the final six hours tomorrow.
Monday, February 4, 2013 - Home!
Surprise! After an uneventful drive, we arrived home at 1455 hours. Everyone was surprised to see us. We saw all of the grandkids and planned a week of activities. We expect to begin the return trip to Titusville, FL, one week from today.
Sunday, February 10, 2013 - Back on the Road!
After helping Sandi and Matt with a few house projects and bidding another sad good bye to Shelley, Sandi, Matt and the kids, we got underway at about 1630 hours with the goal to get south of Washington D.C. before stopping for the night. The strategy worked well. We didn't encounter any traffic and made it to Fredricksburg, about 50 miles north of Richmond, BT 2030 hours.
Monday, February 11, 2013 - A Long Travel Day!
Today will be a long travel day. The goal is to get to the boat in Titusville, FL. We expect to drive time to be about 12 hours, but we have to stop at an outlet store to replace two pair of sneakers, so I expect the actual travel time to be closer to 15 hours.
Once again, we disn't encounter any "jam-o's," nor did we hit any rush hour traffic. We were approaching Savannah at the afternoon drive time, but stopped for a bit and fuel. We passed through the outskirts of the city at 1845 hours, late enough to miss the drive time traffic.
We made it to SUNSHINE at 2230 hours. Secured a few items and watched part of a DVD before hitting the sack.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - It's Hot in FL!
It's hot in FL! The temp went above 80 and it was humid. And no, I'm not complaining! Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter!
We did a few boat chores to get everything ready for tomorrow morning's splash. The most time consuming task was inflating and setting up the dinghy. When we were here two weeks ago, we discovered a Red Box at the CVS. We rented a movie or two when we made the discovery. We did again tonight. We finally saw the Hunger Games. It was interesting, nicely filmed and very predictable.
Splash is scheduled for 0900. We're ready to hit the water!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - Splash!
Splash! That's right! We're floating... And a quick check of the bilges and thru hulls show that we are bone dry... Just the way I like it!
I only had some minor difficulty firing up the engines. The starboard choke Cale was frozen. Some WD 40 and a couple of raps with an appropriate tool loosened things up. The port engine wasn't getting fuel. The simple fix was to disconnect the fuel line and reconnect it again. That did the trick.
The Nissan 2.0 HP dinghy engine wouldn't fire at all. I'm concerned about it because the engine may have been compromised by salt water during Hurricane Sandy. The is debris under the helmet that was obviously brought in by water. I replaced the spark plug. It didn't help. Tomorrow I'll check the carburetor.
As luck would have it, we're supposed to leave tomorrow, but a cold front in moving in and we're having a thunderstorm. The weather may not be good for a departure.
Thursday, February 14, 2013 - Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Our scheduled 0800 departure Didn't happen on time. Several manatees were hanging out around and under the boat. We waited for 15 minutes when the folks on a neighboring vessel suggested that we might be waiting all day. Not wanting to hurt the beasts with our props, I decided to trick them with the hose. I fired up the hose and shot a blast of water about 20 feet on the other side of the dock. Five of the manatees hurried over to the water stream looking for a drink. That left two between the hulls. As we pushed off the dock, the manatees swam away. We put the motors in gear and headed out of the marina. SUNSHINE hadn't cleared the entrance channel when the starboard engine stopped. Of course it wouldn't start up again so we motored under the Titusville Bridge with the poet engine. Once on the other side of the bridge, I put on my mechanic clothes and started to troubleshoot the problem. It only took two minutes to find two potential causes. First I resealed the Racor fuel filter. The gasket wasn't seated properly. A quick check showed that gas wasn't being delivered to the motor. While performing that check, I found an air leak around where the gas line fits onto the priming bulb barb. A few turns of the hose clamp screw and viola, no more air leak. The starboard engine ran without missing a beat for the rest of the day.
At 1415, the anchor was down at Dragon Point. The odometer showed 37.8 miles. Not too bad for the first day back in the saddle! It was surprising to see a boat anchored in the Indian River near the entrance to the anchorage just around Dragon Point in the Banana River. It was even more surprising to see a dozen or so boats anchored in the anchorage. It crossed our minds that we'd be alone for the evening. The southerly migration is just about over and the northerly migration may start in earnest in two to three weeks. By 1700 hours, we were joined by two more boats!
With major assistance from Anna Marie, I whipped a very special Valentine's Eve dinner. Traditionally I make Key Lime Scallops with, that's right, Scallops! Unfortunately the market was fresh out, so we went with Shrimp. The Key Lime Shrimp, with angel hair pasts and Italian bread was scrumptious. Later in the evening, we enjoyed a slice of Key Lime Pie. This Valentine's Day was a very nice time together.
Of course, Valentine's Day wasn't perfect. Besides the problems articulated earlier, there were significant rain showers all day. They seemed to settle into a stray rain in the evening and through the night. This soaking reveled that 5 of SUNSHINE's windows leak. Two of them were resealed last spring before we left the boat. I'm wondering it hanging in the travel lift and perhaps the stress of launch have caused the seals to break. Either way, we have more work to do when we get to Vero Beach.
Friday, February 15, 2013 - To Vero Beach!
Showers greeted us this morning as we awoke from our slumber. They are expected to be with us until about 1300 hours. We'll enjoy a leisurely breakfast before raising the mud hook. Usually we leave an anchorage at first light, but given the showers, we'll leave between 0800 and 0900 in an effort to limit the numbers of hours we'll be traveling in them.
Well the showers were with us pretty much the entire run to Vero Beach. As it happens, the Vero Beach City Marina has a slip available that will accommodate SUNSHINE. That sure is a surprise. The dockhand thought we had won the lottery. We decided to stay for a month. Looks like we won't be heading to Marathon this year!
After dinner, we took a stroll to the beach to check out some of our usual haunts. We expect to do a lot of walking and biking during our stay. We'll also attend some shows at the Riverside Theater. We picked up tickets for Les Mis, and we plan to get tickets for Woody Sez, a show about Woody Gutherie.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Getting Ready for the Splash!
Friday, January 25, 2014
Tom is continuing his work. We can't do anything until he's finished. We did put a bunch of stuff we brought from home back on the boat.
We watched a crane lift a 48 ' catamaran out of the water this morning. The marina stared handling big cats this way a year or s ago. The owner hires a crane, the crane company lifts the boat and the yard gets storage feeds. The yard fees are 1/2 what they are in other marinas, so even though the owner has to pay for the crane service and crew, he saves a significant amount of money.
In the evening, we met up with the Fritz's. During dinner at PJ's, we heard about their boat trip the Marathon and Key West, and about Joe's latest foot infection. He seems to be doing pretty good and is just a couple weeks away from discharge.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Keel project is coming along nicely. Tom is doing a masterful job. By the time he's finished, the bottom of the keels will have six layers of biaxial glass. The will be much stronger than originally built. He is also doing a great job fairing the keels and the area where his work meets the hulls. We are very pleased with this project to date.
Besides watching Tom, we drove to Cocoa but the hardware store, which was our objective, was closed. We also visited West Marine, in an effort to secure a couple of canisters of butane for the cook stove. We can't find it anywhere!
We had an outstanding lunch at the Catfish Cabin. The blackened cod was outstanding. We like the cabin much better than the more famous Dixie Crossroads!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Even though it's Sunday, Tom continued his work on SUNSHINE. he faired the keels, applied three coats of Interprotect 2000, and one coat of bottom paint. He should be finished tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, SUNSHINE will be placed back on the jack stands. She has bee hanging in the slings of the travel lift since Friday evening to give Tom access to the bottom of the keels.
We've been camping about 10 miles south of the boat since we arrived on last Thursday. Tomorrow we move aboard, even though SUNSHINE is still on the hard. Over the next few days, we have to clean inside and out, bend on the sails, put up the canvas, inflate the dinghy and attach it to the davits, and attach the bow nets. There is also the little matter of waxing but since my power buffer was destroyed in the hurricane, we may farm out that little job.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Time to break camp and move onto the boat. We enjoyed our stay at Manatee Hammock County Park. It is a decent facility. Certainly not one of our favorites, but adequate for sure. During the day, there was a strong propane odor in the tent area. We didn't notice the odor anywhere else in the park.
It is a very busy campground and popular with the RV crowd. Many stay for the winter. There is a 180 day limit. It looks like a lot of RVers maximize their stay.
The campground also boasts a pool, rec room, canoe/small boat launch ramp and a fishing pier.
Back in the marina, Tom finished up his work on the keels. He still has to finish bottom painting the rear quarter of the port hull. He ran out of paint. We ordered another gallon. It should be here tomorrow so he can finish.
We started to clean SUNSHINE's interior. All the wood surfaces were wiped down and the refrigerator was cleaned and started. It is running fine as it the inverter/charger. The batteries are fully charged, compliments of the solar panels.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The cleaning of S/V SUNSHINE begins in earnest today! Tom finished his work yesterday so we can have at it without getting in his way.
We worked all day; the boat has never been this dirty. It'll take several days for Anna Marie to clean the inside. It may take me longer to do the outside! We got a good jump on it though.
In the evening, we watched a movie rented from a nearby Red Box.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Yippee, more cleaning today! Anna continued her fun on the inside. I washed and waxed the cockpit. We knocked off early 1600 hours, to get ready for what we expected to be a fun evening. Boating buddies Dee and Lee picked us up at the marina and whisked us off to the Catfish Cabin where we enjoyed dinner and conversation. The evening flew by! In no time, it was time to go home.
We got back to the marina in time to walk to the adjacent park to watch the launch of an Atlas V rocket with a DRTS satellite aboard. It is the next generation data reception/ transfer satellite. The launch was right on time and spectacular as usual.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Oh boy, more cleaning today! The deck is scrubbed, but still blotchy. I'll have to do it again. I managed to find time to replace the Racor fuel filters too.
Anna Marie continued her inside work. While I was washing the deck she checked for leaks. She reported that there were none. Given the high coefficient of expansion on the plexiglass windows caused by the intense Florida summer sunshine, I always expect that it will be necessary to rebel some of the portlights. It looks like we're good to go this year.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Most of the cleaning has been accomplished. What's left can be done while underway. The last major projects will be to clean the deck lockers and inflate the dinghy. We plan to do the lockers on Saturday and the dinghy on Sunday. Then we'll be ready to splash.
We'll also have to find time to provision.
BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP -THE MUSICAL
We took Friday evening off to attend the world premiere production of the aforementioned show at the Cocoa Village Playhouse. The show was written by Tony Macaully, who has written 20 hits in the 60's and 70's, including four that topped the charts. Those four songs plus 14 other new ones were in the show which chronicled the trials and tribulations of the music industry furring the period.
The music was great and boy oh boy, could the cast sing. They had outstanding voices. Unfortunately, the choreography was lacking, probably because the cast members couldn't dance! During the few dance numbers, the dancers looked like they had two left feet!
There is a lot of buzz about this show being Broadway bound. It certainly has the pedigree. With some tweaking, it just may make it.
Tom is continuing his work. We can't do anything until he's finished. We did put a bunch of stuff we brought from home back on the boat.
We watched a crane lift a 48 ' catamaran out of the water this morning. The marina stared handling big cats this way a year or s ago. The owner hires a crane, the crane company lifts the boat and the yard gets storage feeds. The yard fees are 1/2 what they are in other marinas, so even though the owner has to pay for the crane service and crew, he saves a significant amount of money.
In the evening, we met up with the Fritz's. During dinner at PJ's, we heard about their boat trip the Marathon and Key West, and about Joe's latest foot infection. He seems to be doing pretty good and is just a couple weeks away from discharge.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Keel project is coming along nicely. Tom is doing a masterful job. By the time he's finished, the bottom of the keels will have six layers of biaxial glass. The will be much stronger than originally built. He is also doing a great job fairing the keels and the area where his work meets the hulls. We are very pleased with this project to date.
Besides watching Tom, we drove to Cocoa but the hardware store, which was our objective, was closed. We also visited West Marine, in an effort to secure a couple of canisters of butane for the cook stove. We can't find it anywhere!
We had an outstanding lunch at the Catfish Cabin. The blackened cod was outstanding. We like the cabin much better than the more famous Dixie Crossroads!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Even though it's Sunday, Tom continued his work on SUNSHINE. he faired the keels, applied three coats of Interprotect 2000, and one coat of bottom paint. He should be finished tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, SUNSHINE will be placed back on the jack stands. She has bee hanging in the slings of the travel lift since Friday evening to give Tom access to the bottom of the keels.
We've been camping about 10 miles south of the boat since we arrived on last Thursday. Tomorrow we move aboard, even though SUNSHINE is still on the hard. Over the next few days, we have to clean inside and out, bend on the sails, put up the canvas, inflate the dinghy and attach it to the davits, and attach the bow nets. There is also the little matter of waxing but since my power buffer was destroyed in the hurricane, we may farm out that little job.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Time to break camp and move onto the boat. We enjoyed our stay at Manatee Hammock County Park. It is a decent facility. Certainly not one of our favorites, but adequate for sure. During the day, there was a strong propane odor in the tent area. We didn't notice the odor anywhere else in the park.
It is a very busy campground and popular with the RV crowd. Many stay for the winter. There is a 180 day limit. It looks like a lot of RVers maximize their stay.
The campground also boasts a pool, rec room, canoe/small boat launch ramp and a fishing pier.
Back in the marina, Tom finished up his work on the keels. He still has to finish bottom painting the rear quarter of the port hull. He ran out of paint. We ordered another gallon. It should be here tomorrow so he can finish.
We started to clean SUNSHINE's interior. All the wood surfaces were wiped down and the refrigerator was cleaned and started. It is running fine as it the inverter/charger. The batteries are fully charged, compliments of the solar panels.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The cleaning of S/V SUNSHINE begins in earnest today! Tom finished his work yesterday so we can have at it without getting in his way.
We worked all day; the boat has never been this dirty. It'll take several days for Anna Marie to clean the inside. It may take me longer to do the outside! We got a good jump on it though.
In the evening, we watched a movie rented from a nearby Red Box.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Yippee, more cleaning today! Anna continued her fun on the inside. I washed and waxed the cockpit. We knocked off early 1600 hours, to get ready for what we expected to be a fun evening. Boating buddies Dee and Lee picked us up at the marina and whisked us off to the Catfish Cabin where we enjoyed dinner and conversation. The evening flew by! In no time, it was time to go home.
We got back to the marina in time to walk to the adjacent park to watch the launch of an Atlas V rocket with a DRTS satellite aboard. It is the next generation data reception/ transfer satellite. The launch was right on time and spectacular as usual.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Oh boy, more cleaning today! The deck is scrubbed, but still blotchy. I'll have to do it again. I managed to find time to replace the Racor fuel filters too.
Anna Marie continued her inside work. While I was washing the deck she checked for leaks. She reported that there were none. Given the high coefficient of expansion on the plexiglass windows caused by the intense Florida summer sunshine, I always expect that it will be necessary to rebel some of the portlights. It looks like we're good to go this year.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Most of the cleaning has been accomplished. What's left can be done while underway. The last major projects will be to clean the deck lockers and inflate the dinghy. We plan to do the lockers on Saturday and the dinghy on Sunday. Then we'll be ready to splash.
We'll also have to find time to provision.
BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP -THE MUSICAL
We took Friday evening off to attend the world premiere production of the aforementioned show at the Cocoa Village Playhouse. The show was written by Tony Macaully, who has written 20 hits in the 60's and 70's, including four that topped the charts. Those four songs plus 14 other new ones were in the show which chronicled the trials and tribulations of the music industry furring the period.
The music was great and boy oh boy, could the cast sing. They had outstanding voices. Unfortunately, the choreography was lacking, probably because the cast members couldn't dance! During the few dance numbers, the dancers looked like they had two left feet!
There is a lot of buzz about this show being Broadway bound. It certainly has the pedigree. With some tweaking, it just may make it.
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