Blog 3 – November 27th – Thanksgiving

Blog 3 – November 27^th – Thanksgiving

St Augustine Harbour

Just when I thought we had discovered affordable boating – someone invents a better mousetrap. We have been ‘getting out’ a little, including social meals and drinks. It wards off the cabin fever and we have a lot of sailing things to discuss. Last night, at one such event, friend Marty was telling me about Lithium Ion batteries. He made a convincing case for owning one or two. Apparently they charge four times faster. And apparently they can be completely discharged and come back from the dead many hundreds of times without any problem.  Both of these things mean that we can have fewer batteries aboard to carry the same electrical load. And ‘apparently’ their price is dropping significantly.  This would bring them into direct competition with the old type ones which are finicky to maintain and need replacement every 5 years under the best of circumstances.

So the ‘list’ shrinks by an item – and another item goes on the list.  This may stay pretty far down the list as neighbour Mike reminded me that it was lithium batteries that have caught fire in several brand new airliners recently.

Susan has decided that she admires varnished teak.    Go Sue,go! My opinion of our boat rises as she sands!  Such beauty!  And the boat is looking so much better too!

We have made great progress in the engine compartment, with redundant wiring removed, control cables rerouted in anticipation of the new engine, the new fuel tank finally nested into its location, a fresh air supply fan for the compartment. With the engine install in progress we have checked in to a motel for a week. This is for several practical considerations relating to the engine work – and the bonus is we can now shower in non-sulfurous water.  

With a great visit from Bob and Bonnie on the weekend , Debbie visiting aboard a nearby boat for the whole week and a day trip to St Augustine for boat parts and a restaurant tour with Peter and Kathleen

we have a busy social calendar.

chainsaw art

lighthouse at St A

We even stopped and had supper at ‘World Famous Dixie Crossroad Restaurant’ with Perry and Irene at Titusville on the way back from St Augustine.

“How do we expect to get anything done on the boat with such a crazy social life?”, you may ask. The way I figure it we are saving money by not working on the boat all of the time.  It usually takes a hundred dollar bill just to get things started, every single day!  A day off can save big bucks.

Time passes....

We kept the $185 per week motel room for a second week. We are still working on loose ends with the engine, which will be running in the boat any day now. One day the fuel system was connected and on the next day the exhaust pipes were finally assembled. One last tweak by Leslie at Apple Machine was required and presto. He has been most helpful in fulfilling the sometimes strange requests. Today's little effort saw the antifreeze side of the cooling system installed.  Tomorrow should see the raw water side replaced all the way to the thru-hull and with takeoffs after the strainer to supply the refrigerator cooling and with a branch for the ‘someday’ watermaker.

On Sunday the bathrooms at our marina were padlocked by the local authorities. The motel room is an even greater blessing since that development.

Sue is only just back from the laundry room with (literally)warm clothing.  To quote Susan as she passed me a pair of fabulously hot dockers: “I am just warming the cockles of your heart!”.   And her words were so true! I will be asking her to visit the dryers every night while it remains cool here. My Sue sure takes good care of me!

Friend Eric has returned to Canmore BC, the boat remaining ‘incomplete’ but owner Dave – somewhat optimistic that things will resolve...ahhh ...... a cruisers story.  Eric worked hard for an entire month with no splash! The ruptured fuel tank turned into a major event which could well take an additional month to resolve itself. This is a vital issue as Dave’s wife Wendy will be arriving direct from her ‘retirement’ from teaching any old day now.

We dropped Debbie off at terminal 4 at Ft Lauderdale yesterday after a great week of hanging out with her on Stettler . We took advantage of the occasion to visit Sailorman and the Ft. Lah Di Dah  Sally Ann. Sue bought me some pants! We could have bought a 2003 Alero with 103000 miles on it. I am glad that she ‘held back’. Ft. L continues to hold the ‘most interesting inventory’ award for Salvation Army thrift stores.  BTW please remember that every dollar that goes into a Sally Ann is directed to charity, unlike some other ‘thrifts’.

Recent e-commerce events include new stainless snag-proof folding mast steps, a new 11 foot inflatable boat, and a few more utilitarian knik knacks (or is that ‘nik knacks’?) as well as a new propeller shaft and coupling. We will be ready to leave here for the islands before we bug-out to Cape Coral for Christmas. If things stay on track we can just splash and sail after Christmas. Our sailmaker has told us that we will be disappointed if we install the Schaefer roller furler for our mainsail. On his advice, that project has been put on hold pending a financial breakthrough. 

a pelegin wrapped in fishing line

Derek helps remove line

November 19th -Bring Out Another Thousand season is here

November 19^th  - Bring Out Another Thousand season is here

busy yard

We are surrounded by boaters busily readying their winter homes for a season’s good use.  There are some sad tales to be heard in a walk around the boatyard. Some are mundane...not everyone is expert at changing-out the joker valve of their toilet. The reader may find it even more surprising to learn that not everyone aspires to learn how to do that. Other stories are not so frivolous. One friend arrived to find that his fuel tank has failed during the summer and deposited 120 gallons of diesel fuel in his bilges. And as if this isn’t bad enough, the tank replacement required that he rip up his cabin floor! The joinerwork on this factory-built Corbin 39 is probably the finest feature of this boat – so it is a great shame.

We successfully removed our own fuel tank, and upon cutting an inspection port – we condemned the thing. Not only was the corruption too gross for words, but the welding was just lousy.  West Marine had a price of a little over $300 US but a delivery date of 6 weeks in the future. I was looking for a shop to replace the tank top after blast-cleaning the aluminum interior – with a plan to install an epoxy liner in the old tank. I expected the cost to come up under the price of new but without the delay.  What I found was Apple Machine Works on Orange Avenue, who for $306 – have delivered a brand new tank with relocated fittings to suit the new diesel and a relocated filler location – in less than 5 days. 

new tank

This is a much better deal and the best part is that we expect to have the tank installed by Thursday....um, Friday. 

engine room

Oh well!...It has been a week since I wrote those words and the tank goes in tomorrow five days after we received it from Apple. We are installing acoustic foam insulation all around the engine and tank space, changing the hoses and wiring – while moving the refrigeration compressor to a location where it can get ventilation.

While the tank fabricators performed their craft, Sue and I have removed the old gland (rotten rubber) and ordered its modern (dripless) substitute, as well as a new Morse/Cutlas bearing.  The shaft will have to go too, it is so worn – but it will be worth the peace-of-mind, so we are not too unhappy about the expenditure.  Mike, with a 35 footer next door to us recently pulled his shaft to replace it and I inquired about the fate of the one being replaced. If nothing else, it would make a good alignment tool. He told me that I was welcome to it. I told him I was willing to pay something for it – based on usefulness – and possibly it could still be useful for our boat since we would be cutting it down for our strutless installation. Long story short – the mechanic (let’s call him ‘Jim’), with whom I had previously held a baffling and fruitless discussion about the ’old’ engine, was his same old self this year.  He simply would not let me take Mike’s old shaft despite Mike’s approval. He told a long story of how cheap new ones are ($300) and claimed that the old shaft is suffering from wastage (which it is not).  I left Jim’s shop without the shaft and later asked Mike if he had the same kinds of dealings with Jim that I seem to have. Apparently it is not only me.

We are going to the Sailors Exchange in St Augustine next week and will probably get a good one from them. The local used boat parts place wants $190 for ‘slightly’ used 7 and a half footer. If things are running true-to-form then Sailors Exchange may be under $100. The local store here in Ft Pierce, Boater’s Discount Warehouse, try to price within 20 % of catalogue new pricing. Last year they refused my offer of $150 for a Danforth HT 33 pound anchor, declaring that this scuzzy looking specimen had a wonderful pedigree and was easily worth the $250 they were asking for it. I did not even have to counteroffer when D’Arcy (the resident Canuck at Sailor’s Exchange) told me he would sell me the identical anchor for $80. Why would I insult him by beating him down on that great price?

We have been looking for a Sirius radio to give us music without success.  Radio Shack advises that Sirius took all of their products off the shelves a while back. We located a lot of them still in the package – at the Sailor’s Discount Warehouse and bought the large antenna as well. Now we need a good stereo and speaks. Music – at last!

We have decided that on the sunny days we can be at our best if we go to the beach on the nearest barrier island by 1:00 pm and watch the surf and the birds. It is not all about work – this cruising life. absolutely no hamburger salesmen projecting their message on this beach, nor any Golums hoarding their precious old prop shafts.

Yesterday we were totally alone except for four horses (with their riders) and a few dozen small wading birds running before the surf. While all of the others waded(the horses and the birds) – Susan and I sat in our folding chairs beneath our umbrella and soaked it in for several hours.

Another project includes copying Ken and Connie's main furler. Their boat Oz (a Toronto registered Gulfstar centre cockpit) has a really simple rig for this. As it happens we brought the main ingredients of a furling mechanism with us. Now – with the assistance of my new best friends at Apple Machine Shop, I hope to fabricate a useful rendition of their mainfurler at minimal cost. With any luck this will allow us to have all of our control ropes in the cockpit – which is a lot more practical for the two of us when sailing without extra crew aboard.

Cruising friends and new acquaintances continue to arrive from the frozen north every day. Sailor Sue has begun charting the trip which tentatively looks like Lake Worth to Lucaya, south to the Berry Islands, New Providence Island and then through the Exuma chain (not hastily...we love these islands) and on down to the Ragged Islands, a place where we have yet to visit. We are told that it is a relatively short hop from there to Puerto Vida in Cuba and then a couple of days including a 24 hour passage  west to Varadero. We would love to spend some quality time there again.

The dreams have been ‘amazing’ here. Susan and I have both noticed that our dreams seem to have different themes depending on where we are sleeping. Here in Ft Pierce we have been dreaming thriller plots from late night cable TV! (YUK!!!) When we compare notes upon waking it is interesting to note how similar the dreams are.  Perhaps television is being secretly broadcast and one’s declining to own a TV is not going to stop that person from being exposed to a Hollywood version of the world. Every dream is personal, so when Susan crashed our dirigible cruise-ship into the Marsh Creek Irving Station it saved us from a dire situation. The crash-landing found me in my bathrobe and with a young blonde accomplice (I think someone shot her later). I clearly recall my frustration – as my Walther PPK kept jamming. When I took out the magazine and cleared the jam I discovered it was loaded with marshmellow bullets.  No wonder it kept jamming!  My memory is a lot less clear about how I ended up in a bathrobe with a blonde while Sue drove the Dirigible. It is also a little unclear about who shot the blond girl.

So much for my dream of two nights ago.  Last night, in Susan’s dream, I got to drive! In Susan’s latest adventure dream we were the only two in a tour group under siege at a Thai resort who did not drink the wine. After the others succumbed – all frothing at the mouth or with very detailed gunshot wounds – yours truly out-drove our pursuers. And there were no crashes at the Marsh Creek Irving for me! 

Luckily we both woke up safe and sound.  I figure we are having previews of what comes after IMAX.

Needless to say the experience is still not totally realistic.  Since when would we decline a glass of wine?

Back in the real world – we are in a serious cold snap here. If it gets much colder I may have to stop wearing shorts! The cooler days are a boon to us – we don’t flake-out from the heat and humidity before we have performed a good day’s work. The ‘Florida’ layup fiberglass which I made this morning, before going to the library, is still waiting for some additional warmth before it cures.  Apparently the temperature dropped 14 Fahrenheit degrees after we left – and it continues to be cool.

November 8 Running Right

November Eighth   -  Migration Week and Getting the Boat ready to launch

Our travel blog was interrupted after we left Nunavut in August. Our return to home territory was characterized by a frenzy of activity, kicked off by Ethan and Sarah’s wedding. Tristan was back for the event too – so all three sons were together for a while. In mid September we arrived just in time for the birth of the new grandson, Felix. 

Felix

Lego fun

Visits to the daughters and grandchildren in Halifax and in Sackville were fantastic.   We tried to touch base with as many friends as possible during the brief time that we had in the Maritimes. 

Justin helping with mast

We also spent some time and effort getting the BIG boat ready for a survey, a survey which she ACED!!!   

Bow of BJB

With all of these things: the visits, the weddings, the grandkids and Sue’s mum and family in Harvey, massive boat cleaning (and then winterizing her) we were exhausted when we departed. The trip south got off on the wrong foot immediately when I misread the intent of a sign calling for ALL RV’s to use a certain lane at US Customs.  Seeing that sign (and not being in an RV), I chose the only other open lane, which turned out to be the NEXuS lane. We were invited to the main office while the customs guy had a look in the van. He was a little curious as to why we had a red diesel engine bolted to a pallet on the floor behind the middle seat. Our explanation was simple enough and we offered evidence for his perusal of the “Canadian engine going to a Canadian boat” kind.  His boss was looking on and he gave the Customs agent a shrug and on that note we were sent on our way.

There were snowbanks along the highways in Maine – but that was the last of the bad weather for our trip. We were feeling mellow and when lunchtime rolled around we left I-95 and drove into Hampton, NH for lunch at Fast Eddies Diner.  Sue was pleased with her Philly-cheese sandwich and I with my Reuben (top score: two thumbs up!).

 As the trip started – so did it continue.  I was pulled over by a Mass. State trooper, for a sudden lane change (Plexus?). My ‘last second’ lane change was another signage event. Could it be an eyesight event?. There is always a doubt... but in any event, if they don’t want ‘last second’ lane changes maybe the signage should not be ‘last second’ either. The cop wasn’t interested in anything I had to say. On the positive side – while he was writing me up, I left my vehicle to remove some debris which I would otherwise be forced to drive over – and discovered myself to be the new owner of a large yellow crow-bar.  Price tag of this WONDERFUL crow-bar: $210.00. We had been hoping to avoid the congestion of I-95 in New England and Washington, however, the join-up of I-485 and I-90 was a total shambles in the area of Framington, Mass.   The rest of the drive was great, with minor construction delays in Pennsylvania.  I guess they are spending some of the fracking wealth on highways in PA. One town appears to have changed its name in celebration of the new wealth, calling itself Fracktown, USA. Wasn’t that the name of one of those social commentary movies on the subject? Sad to say, the town did not look terribly prosperous, at least from what we could see as we passed by.  

Our retread van, a 2003 Chevy Venture given a reprieve from the ‘nackers yard’ was yielding fabulous fuel economy. The trip average of exactly 10 litres per 100 km was at posted speed limits as high as 75 mph, with most of the mileage being rung-up at 70 mph. Lower gasoline prices this year offset the more expensive to operate vehicle on this year’s migration. We actually drove three-hundred more kilometers to get south this year and only exceeded last year’s fuel costs by thirty dollars.  It is too bad the dollars we are spending have ‘cost’ us so much more this year!

We owe thanks for this fabulous vehicle to my brother Ken, who had parked it and de-plated it last year in anticipation of having it hauled away. Further thanks have to go to our mechanic, Firth, who handled everything the vehicle could throw at him. I really thought the stainless steel muffler from a Dodge was a great touch.

In a further attempt at parsimony, we ‘cheaped-out’ on motels when possible on the way south this year. The new ‘cheapest room’ title goes to:  {drum roll} ... the Royal Inn of Lumberton NC at a mere $34.56 taxes in – and while ‘clean’, the room was definitely ‘past its prime’.

 ( Question:  Which continent did their ‘continental breakfast’ celebrate? Answer: Lilliput!). 

We dropped by the St Augustine’s Sailors Exchange as soon as we arrived in Florida and talked to D’Arcy about roller-furling.  He advised me last year that when I was ready to buy – to come see him. He had some Hood 6-series units new on the shelf for $1400. A good price if I wanted a Hood furler – which is what we want to replace. I can’t get any enthusiasm for this unit at this price and will probably just put the new bearings in the existing Hood unit and get a separate Genaker furler this time around.

Susan reminded me as we drove away that the priority is for a furler for the mainsail, not for the jibs.  It’s a good thing she was able to remind me of this...I sometimes forget important details.

We were very happy to trade the snows of NB for the sea and sand of Fort Pierce.

With only a 3 hour drive to get us back to Panacea we have fallen into a dawdling mood yet again.  We drove the highways and side roads looking for a trader in dinghies and other small boats – but never did locate him. We over-nighted in St Augustine before finishing the drive south.

Arriving on Saturday (Nov 8^th) at about noon we set about rearranging the stored items from within the cabin so that there would be room for us aboard Panacea tonight. By late afternoon I had a vague plan of how I would remove the old and install the new boat engine. By early evening we were strolling the aisles of Home Depot when my eyes fell upon a display of Uni-strut, next to large sizes of ElectroMechanicalTubing. On Sunday, between the showers, we cut and drilled and bolted-up a pretty good facsimile of an R&G Roofers hoist.

Susan pointed out (quite correctly, might I be hasty to add) that we had never attempted to make this ‘new to us’ diesel run – and so Monday was spent getting diesel fuel, changing oil and filter, cleaning it off so that we might better see any oil leaks and then trying to run the lovely little thing. We were able to wiggle our van in between the neighbouring sailboats and their hurricane tie-downs, close enough to attach our booster cables to the starter.  The cables weren’t adequate to the task so we ended up putting a new battery with new cables on it for the test.  The glow plug relay engaged, the fuel pump ran smoothly...and after adjusting the throttle up a little she started and ran. First video without adjustments

wb started
https://vimeo.com/112426188

 There was just a little smoke to begin with but as she warmed a little, no more smoke. Second video running right

running right
https://vimeo.com/112426189

The raw water pump was not pumping and after disassembly it was clear that the impeller needed replacement.

damaged impeller

Luckily, West Marine had one on the shelf, as well as replacement anodes for the heat exchanger. In the matter of spare fuel filters – we were not so lucky- although we will probably find them online.

The Balmar high-performance alternator (with controller) was an unexpected bonus feature of this engine. When installing it I arrived at the conclusion that the 39.5 inch vee-belt which drives both the alternator and the internal cooling pump was too short. After much driving back and forth to the auto supply shop, I ended-up with a new belt of exactly the same size, and had upsized the pivot and line-bored it to reduce the misalignment of the alternator pulley caused by a bolt that was too small in diameter. The Balmar installation on this W-27 is second-rate design work. Simple maintenance has been made difficult either from mis-specifying the alternator model, lack of good design practice or simple laziness.

 The exhaust must be disconnected and the removed from the manifold in order that the alternator can get close enough to accept a belt.  Access to this end of the engine is ‘normally’ very restricted when these engines are coupled with a vee drive – and any designer would know this.  I wonder what Balmars excuse could be?

By noon on Wednesday we were ready to move forward. After just a little more wiping we opened our new can of epoxy white paint. The day was so hot that the paint got a second coat in the same afternoon.  Touchups followed on Thursday and then we went to work restoring the cooling system to its original layout for easy anode replacement in the heat exchanger.

 At 11:30 on Day 7 Susan went out to do some laundry while I prepped the Atomic Four for its removal. Sue found a laundromat with good WiFi and had I my final moments with the old engine. My fingers found the hidden connections, nuts and bolts, pins and wires with easy familiarity after last years festival of dirty fuel, ignition problems and a leaking head gasket.

The next morning saw the old engine lowered to the ground early in the day without incident.  The hoist worked as anticipated – but the deflection experienced on mid-span of the unistrut ‘track’ led me to the conclusion that we would need an additional support when the heavier new engine was brought inboard.

ready to hoist

We broke for lunch at 12A Buoy near Seaway Bridge, where Susan had fish strips and I had the lobster mac and cheese(two thumbs up). By the time we got back it was obvious that the new engine would not be going aboard on this day. In any event, I wasn’t prepared for the setbacks as they kept coming up. We made four separate trips for various bolts, ready rod and angle and by sunset we still had not found and tested the true centre of balance. The engine is endowed with three separate lifting rings, no combination of which will allow the engine to be raised ‘on an even keel’. My first lifting brace which diagonally joined all three of the lift points - was unsuccessful.  Susan has suggested removing the vee drive – but lacking useful Internet  (the WiFi at this marina was taken out by lightning) and also lacking a manual – all I can see down that path is a bigger can of worms.

Who can say what tomorrow will bring?  Tune in next week for another thrilling installment of Boatboy and Sailor Sue – fixing boats.