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.