Blog 3 – November 27th – Thanksgiving
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| 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  |
| chainsaw art |
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| 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.
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| a pelegin wrapped in fishing line |
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| Derek helps remove line |
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