tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62045658827861408622024-03-13T22:56:46.402-04:00La Vida DulceWe lived aboard our Island Packet sailboat for five years preparing it and ourselves for extensive offshore cruising. This blog is about those preparations and modifications to the boat.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-35520475248654337812016-01-03T13:47:00.000-05:002016-01-03T15:38:54.130-05:00Control Freak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've been landlubbers for something like nine months now. We've painted the house inside and out, dug up the whole front yard and re-landscaped it. Got back into stereo gear and other hobbies. We're looking into getting a grill for the backyard. Hold on just a dadblamed minute here! What am I doing? I'm stuck in the dirt and I've become totally domestic. And I'm almost enjoying it! Yikes! What happened to the boat?<br />
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OK, so life does get in the way of our dreams sometimes. No problem. Just re-boot and we're back on track.<br />
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I got out the parts for my shelved water maker rebuilding project and got back to work on that. The new membranes are plumbed with high pressure hoses and everything is securely mounted. The next challenge was to rebuild the control panel. I was originally going to just clean it up but the low pressure flow meter was the wrong scale for the new feed pump and the new one required more real estate on the panel. I also found the smaller flow meter for the product water was damaged and needed replacing. Plus I wanted to add a digital readout for the TDS (total dissolved solids) probe. Maybe the real kicker was on the back of the panel. The plumbing components were badly corroded and made of brass. Brass parts are not rated for high pressure and this in itself convinced me to completely rebuild the control panel.<br />
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I carefully removed everything from the panel with plans to clean it up and reuse it. When I got it stripped bare I found salt water corrosion that had in some places eaten through the aluminum panel. At this point I decided to build my own panel with all new components and all stainless steel high pressure plumbing. I don't know why but all my projects seem to snowball. <br />
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I went down to the boat and made a detailed drawing of the bulkhead in the aft head, the planned location for the control panel and membranes. With measurements of every protrusion and obstacle I found that things were going to be kinda tight. I considered relocating but once I toured the boat with this in mind I realized that I was severely limited and my original choice was the only realistic location. The two 40" membranes are a limiting factor but the panel itself requires some serious thought. I want a location that I can get to easily to see the meters and gauges. Most of the plumbing is connected to the panel and if there's a leak I want to have easy access to repair that too. The forward bulkhead in the aft head is my best (only) choice. There's a large mirror mounted in the way so that had to go. It'd be a shame to lose it though so I'm planning to incorporate the mirror into the control panel enclosure. Not the highest priority so we'll see how that goes.<br />
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My next step was to go on-line and find a company that would make a custom panel for me. I found one called Front Panel Express (<a href="http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/?gclid=CNOB5sXWjcoCFYQYHwodXCEH1Q" target="_blank">click here</a>). Located in Seattle, WA they offer a simple free engineering program (CAD/CAM) to work up your design. Once you have the design finalized you send it to them and within two days your panel is completed and shipped. Awesome. I set my design on a grid with 1/8" spacing and went over it a number of times before I had what I wanted. I laid a towel out on the table and folded it to the size of the panel I wanted. I laid out all the meters and gauges on the towel to verify I had the spacing correct. Just as important was the spacing for the plumbing behind the panel. I went through eight different designs before I had what I wanted. With that effort completed I sent the design off to be manufactured. Total cost was about $135 including shipping. The panel is made of 1/8" black anodized aluminum and everything is NC machined to my design. I could have had instrument labels machined into the panel which would have upped the wow factor but also would have added unnecessary expense.<br />
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Assembling the controls and components went quickly and I'm now waiting on a few plumbing parts from McMaster-Carr to complete it. The next hurdle will be to build the cabinet to mount the panel and membranes in.<br />
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It feels good to be involved in boat projects again. I can't believe I had wandered so far off course. It's kinda like Jason and the Argonauts being tempted in to shore by the Sirens. Just like that. I was waylaid by the temptations of life on the beach. That was so close. I feel much better now.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-87401960908099781912015-09-23T00:20:00.001-04:002015-09-23T00:20:23.309-04:00Up A River.....<br />
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I've continued to make progress on the water maker. I've updated the "Project" page where more can be read about this on-going project (<a href="http://ip42035-25.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">click here</a>).</div>
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I had previously bought all new gauges and flow meters as well as a nice digital TDS controller as a start to my home-made RO system. When I figured out the meters and gauges on my watermaker project needed replacing I decided I was in luck and could just use the new ones I had stored on the boat. I drove down to get them last Saturday and discovered our boat had been broken into some time in the last two weeks. Some one had attempted to remove the wind generator, failed and left it dangling over the side. In the process they broke one of the carbon fiber blades. Total damage is about $650 in parts. They also broke the lock and hasp off the companionway hatch and made themselves at home down below. They went through everything, looking for God knows what because it doesn't appear that they actually took anything. When we had the boat pulled we removed everything we could so the boat was fairly empty but it still had all the instruments, radios, outboard engine, etc. Nothing was missing. When they departed they left the companionway open. With daily storms blowing through, some of them serious, rain water was blown through the opening and all our teak woodwork down below is now covered with mildew. All the cabinets in the galley and the entire bulkhead enclosing the aft cabin and aft head need at least a good cleaning. I reported this to the marina office and they got this stunned look on their faces. I took a shot in the dark and asked them how many other boats had been broken into. Ours made fifteen that they knew of. They asked me if I wanted to file a police report and I said no thinking that the damage was less than my deductable so what's the point. Cheri and I went back on Monday to clean down below and replace the lock on the companionway. It was then that we realized the entire interior of the boat is coated with mildew. Grrr. What a bummer. With no power or running water in the long term storage area this becomes a very big job for two people. I think we may have to have the boat moved to a different area that has power and water and bring in a cleaning crew. We went ahead and filed a police report and are in the process of dealing with our insurance company.</div>
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Looking around at the other boats around us I'm pretty sure there are more than just fifteen that have been broken into. There's another Island Packet next to us and looking into his cockpit from ours I can't see a lock on his splash boards. I also found some rope and a pile of stripped out bolts next to another boat. Not a good sign. While we were there another boat owner came by and I mentioned that he should take a close look at his boat. His lock was also broken off and some things were missing from down below. When I was getting ready to leave he was standing at the gate to the long term storage area. He was going to close it for me after I drove through but he didn't have a key. I asked him how he got in and he said he just squeezed through the gap in the gate. Gee, that's not so good. I mentioned all this to the marina office manager. She mentioned that they were investing in motion sensor cameras for the storage areas. Great! How 'bout a security crew too? This marina has hundreds of boats scattered around several remote lots. They have zero security other than a chain link fence with some barbed wire at the top. When they set our boat in there they put the stern within two feet of the fence. Someone with a little initiative could back a pickup truck up to the fence, throw a blanket over the barbed wire and walk right onto our boat (they're supposed to move the boat further back today). Of course with the gap in the gate if they're skinny enough they could just walk right in. The marina used to keep an extension ladder in the area for folks to get on their boats. That's probably not such a good idea either. With millions of dollars in boats and gear being stored at this marina they just don't seem to get it. Security should be a high priority, not an afterthought.</div>
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So here we are at Green Cove Springs Marina. There aren't very many places to keep a larger boat on the St. Johns River which is really too bad. It's a beautiful river, naturally protected from big storms and just a few days run from the Bahamas. If I wasn't so anxious to sail away I'd consider opening up a real marina here and give these guys some competition. Anybody out there looking for a good business opportunity?</div>
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Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-13351276687300698512015-09-13T06:37:00.000-04:002015-09-14T08:04:30.613-04:00Going With The Flow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, here we are in Jacksonville, Florida waiting out the hurricane season. We bought a small house on the west side of town and have been adjusting to being stuck in the dirt again after six years of living aboard. I like gardening and putzing around the house so it's not all bad. Plus we have a big garage so I have plenty of space for a shop to work on all those unfinished boat projects.<br />
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La Vida Dulce is in long term storage on the hard at Green Cove Springs Marina. When we arrived back in the middle of May we found this place to be more of a third world boat yard than a marina. They use old concrete Navy piers that were abandoned years ago. The place had been used for the moth ball fleet because it's located way back on the St. Johns River, very well protected, and has a history of very little impact from tropical storms and hurricanes. This is the main attraction for us bringing our boat here. Plus it's only 45 minutes from our new home. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHcvQDF36EeJHaoVfrLIJHcVRXSP3EFr5Nu_i81sD7vi1egeg3i4_5r2xuFZSGDvt6Wq22swObzZ8MDUk8-OVJ8O3k6Mmw0ca-bk1uvv7uNAIOO7kibpwHj9qSJ_okizp9mljSSY8OeM/s1600/IMG_6460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHcvQDF36EeJHaoVfrLIJHcVRXSP3EFr5Nu_i81sD7vi1egeg3i4_5r2xuFZSGDvt6Wq22swObzZ8MDUk8-OVJ8O3k6Mmw0ca-bk1uvv7uNAIOO7kibpwHj9qSJ_okizp9mljSSY8OeM/s200/IMG_6460.jpg" width="149" /></a>The downside is that the pier is in terrible condition and has been condemned by the local government. The wooden pilings along the sides are all rotted through and the deck of the pier is way above the level of most pleasure boats requiring a climb up. There is no power or water either. When we came in the wind was blowing about 15 knots from the SE, across the pier, making it a challenge to tie up. Where most marinas have someone come out to the dock and lend a hand, here we had to ask for assistance since this is a "do-it-yourself" marina and everyone is expected to fend for themselves. We managed to get tied up but the pilings were completely rotted through at water level and we were concerned about the boat getting pulled under the dock if the wind shifted around to the north. We did manage to move the boat to a position that had a few good pilings so we left the boat over night with some peace of mind.<br />
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The next day she was scheduled to be hauled so we got down there bright and early to unload. Since she was going to be on the hard for months to come we decided to unload everything and rented a U-Haul truck to bring it all home. When we got the truck there we found that we couldn't drive it out on the pier (although the pier was plenty big enough) and would have to cart everything out to the parking lot. Between handing everything off the boat up to the dock 6' above deck, bucket-brigade style, and then hauling it down the pier to the truck we didn't get finished until noon. <br />
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To get the boat hauled it was then decided that we'd have to loosen the backstays to make room for the hoist. This also required laying down the wind generator and removing the SSB antenna connection. With all that done the boat was finally hauled and placed in the long term storage area behind the marina. This is a large lot with high chain link fencing surrounding it. There is no power or water available so being able to work on the boat while in storage is pretty limited. Bummer.<br />
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Our insurance company requires the boat to be strapped down to anchors driven deep into the ground as a precaution against storm surge. When we told the owner of the marina this he laughed and said they hadn't had problems with storms in 35 years. He asked if we were Canadian since apparently only Canadian insurance companies require the storm straps. Uhm, no. Not Canadian. We were finally told the straps would be put on by the end of the month. OK, great. Just in time for the official start of hurricane season. About a week into June, three weeks later, I went down to check things out. No straps on our boat but a number of boats pulled after ours had been strapped down. When I asked about this at the office I was told the marina had decided to strap all boats down and ours would be done within the next two weeks. I checked back in two weeks and still nothing, was told another two weeks. My insurance company is calling me twice a week asking for pictures of the boat to prove it's been strapped down. I keep calling the marina and keep getting told two more weeks. This went on for three months. In August I got fed up and got very vocal with the poor gal running the office. She handed me off to the owner who feigned surprise about my situation, giving me his "word" that the boat would be strapped down within two weeks. Uhm, gee, I've heard that before. To my complete surprise they finally came through.<br />
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During the past three months of frustration I had searched the internet to see if others had had problems with this marina and found a number of others who had similar experiences. The folks who work there are all very nice but the place is very poorly run as a business. Everything is very laid back and run down. They offer the lowest prices for boat storage and I guess that's the big attraction because they have hundreds of boats on the hard. But the few hundred dollars saved are lost in the frustration of dealing with these people. The marina bills itself as a "do-it-yourself" yard which is just fine and would be very attractive to me, being a "do-it-yourself" kinda guy. Where they fall down is in not doing what they say they're gonna do. For me, a man's word is his bond. Nuff said.<br />
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So, we've been using our time ashore to get the house settled in. We had no furniture or anything so we were really starting over. That's been kinda fun. Also did a lot of yard work since the house we bought was an eyesore from the street (two weeks ago we got "yard of the month"!). We've also used the time to get some medical issues taken care of. My right arm required several surgeries, all completed now, so I should be back to 100% in time for sailing this winter.<br />
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So now I'm using my time to get some of those projects finished up. I didn't get my shop built in the garage before I had the surgery on my arm so now I'm working one-handed in the dining room. Maybe mounting the bench vise on the dining room table wasn't such a great idea but I'm out of the heat and am now making some progress.<br />
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I started in on the watermaker. This has been shelved for over a year now and we'll definitely need it when we go to the Bahamas this winter. This project started out as a complete do-it-yourself system and I had it all planned out for parts and configuration. Then someone donated an old Sea Recovery system with everything I needed including filters, pumps, hoses and tubing and the controller. The system is 11 years old so parts of it need to be replaced but everything was in working condition when I got it. The dealer in Annapolis came through with an owners/installation manual and a rebuild kit for the high pressure pump. The membranes and housings were in bad shape so I tossed them after stripping off all the fittings and hardware. Replacing these was the biggest expense for me now. I decided to increase the fresh water output from 23 to 40 gph by using two 2.5" x 40" membranes (FilmTec SW30-2540, $170 each) and housings (HCTI PV-2540-SW, $395 each). Most of the fittings on the old membranes were brass and I wanted to use stainless steel so I had to replace those too along with a new high pressure hose to join the two membranes in series. I got all these parts from Discount Hydraulic Hose (<a href="http://www.discounthydraulichose.com/" target="_blank">click here</a>) and McMaster Carr (<a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/" target="_blank">click here</a>). The stainless fittings are pricey but I got everything I needed for about $200. The high pressure hoses I got with the system are all in very good condition and have stainless swivel connecters. All the low pressure tubing and plastic fittings for the product water are also in very good condition. The braided 3/4" hose for the feedwater is looking kinda sad so I'll replace that but reuse the fittings and clamps. There are several relays that I'll reuse if they still work but I'll probably back them up with replacements just in case. The system also included several nice two and three-way valves that I'll clean up and reuse.<br />
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I've had the new membranes and housings since last February. These don't come with any assembly instructions so I spent some time on the net. Found this paper from FilmTec (<a href="http://50.244.15.10/techlib/FilmTec/Filmtec%20Loading%20Procedures.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>) which was a help. The end pieces for the membranes are anodized aluminum with three "O" rings at each end, two on the outside surface and one where the membrane nipple gets inserted. The end that goes toward the high pressure pump also has a brine seal on the membrane. The "O" rings need to be lubricated with silicone or glycerine or you'll never get them into the housings. The membranes come packed in a sealed bag with hydrogenated water or some such thing to keep them moist and well preserved. Rinse out the housing to clear any dust and particulate matter. Mount one end piece on the intake side of the membrane and slide it into the housing from either end. The end piece has to be tapped into place with a rubber mallet so only the flange extends past the end of the housing. Two anodized aluminum half shells clamp over the end of the housing and hold the membrane firmly in place. The other end piece is installed in a similar manner.<br />
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With the membrane housings put together I'll next assemble the fittings and connector hose. I'm mounting everything to a short length of 1/2" plywood to hold it all in place as a sub-assembly. The housings are held in place with some vibration damping clamps modified to work in this setting. I got these from McMaster Carr (<a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#pipe-routing-clamps/=yx27et" target="_blank">click here</a>) but they're meant to be welded in place so the base needs to be modified so they can be screwed down to the plywood. To fit the high pressure housings I had to get these sized for 2 3/4" pipe.<br />
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After I get the valves and fittings cleaned up I'll concentrate on the control panel. For now, it feels good to back into this project. I plan to break it down into sub-assemblies mounted to plywood so when the time comes for installation on the boat it should go fairly smoothly. Originally I was going to mount everything in the chain locker and under the sole in the forward cabin. Plan B now has the membranes, filters and control panel mounted in the aft head and the pumps mounted behind the cabinets in the Main Salon.<br />
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In addition to the watermaker I have several other projects to wrap up before we depart next winter. It's going to take about three months to get full use of my arm back so I have some time to play. Our original plan for circumnavigation is on hold for a while and in the mean time we'll be spending five to six months of the year in the Bahamas. I guess that doesn't sound so bad.<br />
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Going with the flow in Jacksonville, FL.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-10336911512076374692015-06-16T13:39:00.001-04:002015-06-20T05:43:41.849-04:00Heading South on the Intracoastal Waterway - Part 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLc_nGZkPYpXi7Bl1sEikms76zkUT5ASlzvR8Tp5UbIebqAQ00tRpUIS4T-Q22vWBdbGxjS7Yk_IxY4kLcQVUhceieTOgOWBWHQe6EyFmSrp19nfbM5uI2_HbvuQma2oHkst9-wlVAPE/s1600/IMG_6227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLc_nGZkPYpXi7Bl1sEikms76zkUT5ASlzvR8Tp5UbIebqAQ00tRpUIS4T-Q22vWBdbGxjS7Yk_IxY4kLcQVUhceieTOgOWBWHQe6EyFmSrp19nfbM5uI2_HbvuQma2oHkst9-wlVAPE/s200/IMG_6227.jpg" width="200" /></a>5/8/15 - We departed Cane Patch Creek anchorage (mile 608.4) at 0930. This was such a beautiful location it was difficult to leave but we had plans to meet a friend in Brunswick in a few days and time keeps marching on. Motoring out through the Georgia salt marsh is different from the one we travelled through in South Carolina where we followed a fairly straight 45 mile cut. Here the ICW is a path of narrow creeks winding it's way through lush green marsh grasses interspersed with low islands of trees. It's incredibly beautiful. The Georgia coastline is only about 130 miles long but it's made up of barrier islands with the marshlands forming a seven mile wide corridor between them and the mainland. The marshlands see tidal changes of six to eight feet and are mostly unpopulated. The barrier islands have all (except one) been set up as preserves and are for the most part uninhabited. Cumberland Island is a "national seashore". Blackbeard Island was once the hangout of the famous pirate and it's rumored that his treasure is buried there. In 1800 it was acquired by the Navy as a source of live oak timbers for shipbuilding. In 1924 it became a preserve and in 1940 was made a National Wildlife Refuge. Jekyll Island was once a winter get away for the ultra-rich. In the 1880's the Goulds, Rockefellers, Astors, Goodyears, Pulitzers, Morgans and Vanderbelts all built mansions here on huge estates and formed a club of their "social equals". To encourage social interaction their homes had no kitchens and they were expected to dine together at the clubhouse that was staffed by Delmonico's Restaurant of New York. This exclusive club held one sixth of the world's wealth and at the start of WWII the government feared for their safety and evacuated the island. In 1947 the state of Georgia purchased the island for a grand total of $675,000. It's somehow comforting to know that in this great country everyone gets screwed by the government indiscriminately and proportionately.<br />
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As we continued working our way down the ICW we were contacted on VHF radio and told that an Army Corp of Engineers survey boat was approaching us from behind and that we'd need to allow it passage without it's having to change course. We pulled off to the side and let them by. The boat was moving at about 10 knots and we watched it disappear around the next bend. About an hour later he returned and covered the same ground several more times. It's good to know the Corp is keeping up to date data on the ICW through here. The Georgia stretch of the ICW has a reputation for poor maintenance with severe shoaling in some places. We would get a taste of this in a few days.<br />
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The rivers flowing through Georgia's lowlands run together between the barrier islands and form large waterways. These are called "sounds" and we crossed three of them this day; St. Catherines Sound, Sapelo Sound and DoBoy Sound. While crossing Sapelo Sound we were buzzed by an Air Force C-130 four engine transport plane. He dropped down low to the water and flew across our bow, then banked hard and flew down our starboard side. Quite a show and really added some pizzazz to the day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2FUJsOe5MO1p-H1AqGF-nUU8GahdhBK8G-lnkl2VBb-WfVfdpGSEfZ5QtcobuUe4PcZ8Z_-JjIZkTIZ5bv5dRpYaJv57dBqhH2EGocPzGguLdVvDZt5WV7VhZxUI9Kyelzn5Ap3Sb_4/s1600/IMG_0649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2FUJsOe5MO1p-H1AqGF-nUU8GahdhBK8G-lnkl2VBb-WfVfdpGSEfZ5QtcobuUe4PcZ8Z_-JjIZkTIZ5bv5dRpYaJv57dBqhH2EGocPzGguLdVvDZt5WV7VhZxUI9Kyelzn5Ap3Sb_4/s200/IMG_0649.JPG" width="149" /></a>We anchored that night on the North River (mile 651.3). We found a quiet spot around the first bend with about 18' of water. The anchorage was fairly exposed with the only protection being from the tall marsh grasses on either side. We did have a nice sunset that night and also spent some time working on our 3D puzzle of St. Basil's Cathedral.<br />
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5/9/15 - Our destination was Brunswick which is about 30 miles away, probably about five or six hours. We wanted to time our arrival there so we'd have most of the first day to visit with our friend and we chose our next anchorage so we'd be closer to town. We departed around 1000 and headed south. Just 15 miles down the ICW we turned into the Frederica River and wound our way back the narrow channel for five long miles. We found an excellent anchorage at a bend in the river within sight of old Fort Frederica (mile 665.9) and the state park. When we first got there we tried anchoring in the wide entrance to the bend and circled around checking the depths. The entire area was over 40' deep so we continued on past the bend and found a good spot in 25' depth just off the dinghy dock for the park. This was a beautiful spot with big old live oaks just dripping with Spanish Moss lining the side of the river and within sight of the fort. We were tempted to blow up our dinghy and go ashore but the heat of the day and the bugs were all the argument we needed to keep us on board. This area has an interesting history. Founded in 1736 by James Oglethorpe, a Brit, it was to serve two purposes. The Spanish had claimed all of Florida and Georgia and this colony was meant as a poke in their eye and was enough to go to battle over. The town was also a social experiment where England's poor and unemployed could make a fresh start in the "New World". Wikipedia has a good explanation of the history (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Frederica_National_Monument" target="_blank">click here</a>).<br />
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5/10/15 - The Frederica River makes a loop on the ICW and joins it at both ends. We weighed anchor (lardy dar term) and headed south for another five miles to get to the intersection. From here we motored across the St. Simons Sound and up the Brunswick River. We passed under the Sydney Lanier Bridge (suspension type, 185' clearance, picture at top) and turned into the East River. Our destination was the Brunswick Landing Marina (mile 679.4) at the head of the river. On our way there we passed a group of fishing boats dressed out with flags and we found out later this was for the "blessing of the fleet", a prayer given for the local fisherman each year by the local Catholic priest on Mother's Day. Once we got settled in at the marina we called our friend Bobbi and spent the rest of the day at her house.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWLuYRf1ijN99JSjGtK1aW0z8mNqPOPTgSpjb4xm5UpKyD170dTgOe5RYFlEXCuhf1Qi00sD2K-x906PwKyaK14rzWBc_QJEmzWEoY1pISk_xRmn-lYiyDMmQQwMxsd3tPrWEFdmG_03w/s1600/IMG_6323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWLuYRf1ijN99JSjGtK1aW0z8mNqPOPTgSpjb4xm5UpKyD170dTgOe5RYFlEXCuhf1Qi00sD2K-x906PwKyaK14rzWBc_QJEmzWEoY1pISk_xRmn-lYiyDMmQQwMxsd3tPrWEFdmG_03w/s200/IMG_6323.jpg" width="200" /></a>She offered to take us sight seeing the next day and we spent most of it on St. Simons Island. We visited the Christ Church, the location where John Wesley (founder of the Methodist church) had preached outdoors under the branches of the live oaks in the 1730's. The church itself was built in 1880 by Anson Dodge Jr. in memory of his bride who died on their honeymoon. The small chapel is picture perfect. Across the street is a park with footpaths winding through the woods and a memorial to John Wesley. We followed the path out to the other side of the park and found Wesley United Methodist Church. Built in 1987 with post and beam construction it has walls of concrete embedded with seashells and a humongous pipe organ inside. Really a beautiful church. Back to the marina by early afternoon we spent the rest of the day doing laundry and cleaning the boat. It had been nice to catch up with old friends and we found Brunswick and the surrounding area to be well worth the visit. We were getting close to the end of our voyage though with plans to be in Green Cove Springs by the middle of May. It was time once again to move on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQKfPY0wiSRwukQI5qY83rLyFv8qLJ0CB2r__P77GzoeZdiXbADPaUan4dgTdN7FZdvFEe090BmVfu-Z_hf0g7FUArAraq1MZfpFEBWiUE0L-uzkClWgJwUcaDCTUzEX3I4FLoLdTBO4/s1600/IMG_6336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtSJhadVv9yqrTqKX3S0HMndLDU4tFoT1XhJDUGcCvs34iXLU4kAEYf6e8BWf9n0N40mXHBxrPqPUTwQ5CQIMmrNxgU5mEuayLsFIDZfCdXa4CVY-pbO4fi6jMK017OgCFHDVKat41_4/s1600/IMG_6334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtSJhadVv9yqrTqKX3S0HMndLDU4tFoT1XhJDUGcCvs34iXLU4kAEYf6e8BWf9n0N40mXHBxrPqPUTwQ5CQIMmrNxgU5mEuayLsFIDZfCdXa4CVY-pbO4fi6jMK017OgCFHDVKat41_4/s200/IMG_6334.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQKfPY0wiSRwukQI5qY83rLyFv8qLJ0CB2r__P77GzoeZdiXbADPaUan4dgTdN7FZdvFEe090BmVfu-Z_hf0g7FUArAraq1MZfpFEBWiUE0L-uzkClWgJwUcaDCTUzEX3I4FLoLdTBO4/s1600/IMG_6336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQKfPY0wiSRwukQI5qY83rLyFv8qLJ0CB2r__P77GzoeZdiXbADPaUan4dgTdN7FZdvFEe090BmVfu-Z_hf0g7FUArAraq1MZfpFEBWiUE0L-uzkClWgJwUcaDCTUzEX3I4FLoLdTBO4/s200/IMG_6336.jpg" width="200" /></a>5/12/15 - After topping off our fuel tank we headed back out beneath the Sydney Lanier Suspension bridge and entered Jekyll Creek to continue on the ICW. We found some serious shoaling as we entered the creek with the posted depth of 15' in actuality being more like 6'. As we passed a northbound boat we hailed him on the radio to warn of the shoaling he was approaching. He responded to say that it was nothing compared to what we were headed for. Several more miles down the creek we entered a one mile stretch of water that was only 5' deep and we literally plowed our way through the mud. It was a relief to get back into water that was 6' deep or more. In the chart at left the shallow area we encountered was next to the airport, shown in purple. Further on we crossed St. Andrews Sound which brought us briefly out to the edge of the Atlantic with breaking waves on the shallows around us. We entered the Cumberland River and turned off into the Brickhill River (mile 696.2) where we found a secluded anchorage around the first bend tucked in close behind Little Cumberland Island. Nice peaceful spot with trees on one side and salt marsh on the other.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9FZNBR3IGq912RyZvKCjiuW0btTzcYHvouc-_eI_6g6gNqMYX9v2NBfH7KaRNzdxj3DkZKy_Ai9BcEZSGooGn-Ba5y_TMRIMC_9wG0uQw_ILIDMLCb9pGG_qmSbET78zan4L5MT92hgE/s1600/Aground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9FZNBR3IGq912RyZvKCjiuW0btTzcYHvouc-_eI_6g6gNqMYX9v2NBfH7KaRNzdxj3DkZKy_Ai9BcEZSGooGn-Ba5y_TMRIMC_9wG0uQw_ILIDMLCb9pGG_qmSbET78zan4L5MT92hgE/s200/Aground.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
5/13/15 - We departed Brickhill River around 0930 and turned south on the Cumberland River. Just a short way down the ICW we came to a spot called Cumberland Dividings where we would turn onto the Crooked River. As we approached the junction I could see multiple red markers ahead, all in the same spot. Our chart showed the channel being to the left of center because of a sand bar and there were two red channel markers about 20' apart. Our chart also showed very shallow water on our port side so I steered for the red marker farthest to the left planning to keep it close to our starboard side. As we got closer our depth gauge went to zero and we ran hard aground. I figured the sand bar had extended past the red marker so I tried plowing through to the port side but all that did was turn us sideways and wedge us in harder. I tried backing down but we were in good. Or bad. Since it was low tide all we had to do was wait a few hours and the water level would raise enough to float us off so we shut the engine down and waited. After about an hour a sailboat approached from the south, went across our bow and turned down our port side into the Cumberland River right along the shore. Apparently they'd been through this area before. By my chart they were actually 20' onshore, on dry land, but when I talked to them on the radio they said they had 17' of depth all the way through. Gee. Missed it by that much. I fired up the engine and put it in reverse again and backed down hard, full throttle with the wheel over hard. We straightened up in the river but just sat there for a few minutes making noise. Then we inched back a bit. I swung the wheel over and we inched back a bit more. Swung the wheel over to starboard and we slowly slid off the sand bar into deep water. Woohooo! We backed further up the river until I felt safely distanced from the sand bar and then shifted back to forward gear and turned over to port. We went in the secret channel right along the shoreline, 17' of water, and followed it out to the Crooked River. The entire time our chart plotter showed us 20' inland. Funny.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYVfhAElNs3pR0-m4WRZ4g2PURUQYARuyWORlxfgTuJLE0XcBROkRiG0SV7pU_cpUzdVIVMBkrB1CKnmEdEtt88gjBot0gOA_HeVraWP8djVIw3PdY6ilzxExUVIohMYOFIpFPZbHK3Q/s1600/IMG_6367.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRH9Ijw8Q11eMTrau9kdfAAMvPI5ayjWl4EW9YpW-3EetwzaalSAa9JTcUIp21580HoCkh9qGloFqvy8Lc4PJ-rrHuGn18P7de5GsZAGQ-HRrtmUAGkOYAkQgHUfOodA7adrc_jApkpDw/s1600/IMG_6385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRH9Ijw8Q11eMTrau9kdfAAMvPI5ayjWl4EW9YpW-3EetwzaalSAa9JTcUIp21580HoCkh9qGloFqvy8Lc4PJ-rrHuGn18P7de5GsZAGQ-HRrtmUAGkOYAkQgHUfOodA7adrc_jApkpDw/s1600/IMG_6385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRH9Ijw8Q11eMTrau9kdfAAMvPI5ayjWl4EW9YpW-3EetwzaalSAa9JTcUIp21580HoCkh9qGloFqvy8Lc4PJ-rrHuGn18P7de5GsZAGQ-HRrtmUAGkOYAkQgHUfOodA7adrc_jApkpDw/s200/IMG_6385.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Wr1yk9aPmXRmZtsji4S3YlTxu18QyKPOZU8KJtCInRlfKzz0mnWdurSvfs_kH90GRhcIZmZbCQpb7MVQso86pEl9D2hm_UgSNoxOa2XwU_BsBozsL6thmkMXPNre1eYT8x7C-0bIVDw/s1600/IMG_6382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Wr1yk9aPmXRmZtsji4S3YlTxu18QyKPOZU8KJtCInRlfKzz0mnWdurSvfs_kH90GRhcIZmZbCQpb7MVQso86pEl9D2hm_UgSNoxOa2XwU_BsBozsL6thmkMXPNre1eYT8x7C-0bIVDw/s200/IMG_6382.jpg" width="200" /></a>About 3.5 miles down we came to Cumberland Sound and civilization. There's a major nuclear submarine base here and beyond that is a very industrialized part of Amelia Island, and our entrance into the state of Florida. We motored past the town of Fernandina Beach on the Amelia River, crossed Nassau Sound and entered Gunnison Cut behind Talbot Island. Our final anchorage for this trip was on the Fort George River (mile 735.0) within sight of the Kingsley Plantation. The history of Fort George and the surrounding area is pretty interesting. Originally it was the site of a major village of the Timucua tribe and there are massive mounds of discarded oyster and snail shells, fish bones and pottery shards (the mounds are called middens) testifying to their long residence there over hundreds of years. The Spanish built a mission here in the late 1500's that existed for over one hundred years before being destroyed by the English in 1702. In 1736 our friend James Oglethorpe (Fort Frederica, Georgia) built Fort St. George here and over the next 90 years the French, Spanish and English wrestled possession of this island from each other. During the Spanish possession after the end of the American Revolution there were three major plantations owned by Americans here. One of them, the Kingsley Plantation, left it's mark in history when Florida became a US possession in 1821. Laws were then established severely restricting the rights of slaves and free blacks and it was at this time that Zephaniah Kingsley lobbied hard for the laws to be changed. Zephaniah was married to the daughter of an African chief and felt that blacks were the mental equal to whites but that slavery was their destiny. He worked this twisted logic to his advantage. He trained thousands of slaves to be skilled labor and sold them for premium prices. After fifteen years of legal battles he abandoned his plantation, freed his slaves and brought them with his family to Haiti.<br />
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5/14/15 - We were now within one days run to the end of our journey. Ever since we anchored out at Cane Patch Creek on 5/8 I'd had this feeling that we were close to the end and I didn't want it to stop. We'd had such a great time coming down here, spent more time together than in the last six months and really enjoyed it. The funny thing is that before we decided to do the ICW I had no interest in it at all. We had always planned to start our trip, our circumnavigation, by sailing straight to the Bahamas, taking maybe ten days of direct ocean sailing to get there. I mean, why bother motoring for a month on inland waters? But then life happened and we had to modify our plans. Buy a house, do the islands on a part-time basis for a while. We still hope to see the world some day but ya gotta play the cards you're dealt. Once we realized we wouldn't be able to go to the islands this year we decided it really made sense to make the most of the inland waterway trip. And now that's coming to an end. Bummer. There are upsides to being stuck in the dirt like being able to spend time with my Mom who's been lost in Scotland for the last ten years. And we both really do enjoy fixing up the house and having space to do our hobbies and blah, blah, blah. We'll make the most of all that. It's just that when you're in the midst of something that was unexpectedly good you hate to see it end. These were my thoughts on the morning of this day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg24MvnTY3nydjIfdZ8apSUAEd09LbSgTjvohyhmaRpxLy49TBitFUghXKInpFSSP8tuhi1cCvT_Z_pQHSQM-eJn-cAnmhNUA7fXMpMsgunvwEUNgVcp2Fx9RqODLBlp5jhTgAIFmEM5c/s1600/IMG_6406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg24MvnTY3nydjIfdZ8apSUAEd09LbSgTjvohyhmaRpxLy49TBitFUghXKInpFSSP8tuhi1cCvT_Z_pQHSQM-eJn-cAnmhNUA7fXMpMsgunvwEUNgVcp2Fx9RqODLBlp5jhTgAIFmEM5c/s1600/IMG_6406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg24MvnTY3nydjIfdZ8apSUAEd09LbSgTjvohyhmaRpxLy49TBitFUghXKInpFSSP8tuhi1cCvT_Z_pQHSQM-eJn-cAnmhNUA7fXMpMsgunvwEUNgVcp2Fx9RqODLBlp5jhTgAIFmEM5c/s200/IMG_6406.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4v8pmSaraFysVpBGTZHU5j1NXoPYcqqcGae5q-62szyZTvzRGTSL5Cb5BAb6CKZrdCDmYOocgbSgs7TBJ25SypJBgsZMZxfZ10hZvso_c0gL7vT5W3Gl8uLfYcegMeQqQxRB2AzTYG1k/s1600/IMG_6426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4v8pmSaraFysVpBGTZHU5j1NXoPYcqqcGae5q-62szyZTvzRGTSL5Cb5BAb6CKZrdCDmYOocgbSgs7TBJ25SypJBgsZMZxfZ10hZvso_c0gL7vT5W3Gl8uLfYcegMeQqQxRB2AzTYG1k/s200/IMG_6426.jpg" width="200" /></a>We departed Fort George anchorage and continued south. We passed through Sister's Creek bridge (bascule) and shortly after turned up the St. Johns River (mile 739.7). This officially ended our time on the ICW but we still had eight bridges to contend with before reaching the end of our journey. The first three were high fixed bridges with plenty of clearance for large ships. As we got into downtown Jacksonville we ran a gauntlet of four more. The first was the Main Street bridge (lift) and we called ahead to let the bridge tender know we were on our way. As we approached, the bridge raised with perfect timing and we passed beneath. Just on the other side though we encountered three more tightly grouped together. The one in the middle was a railroad bridge and as luck would have it we got there just was a train was approaching. We drifted, backed and circled with several other boats while waiting to get through. The bridge finally opened and we had an uninterrupted run up the rest of the river, passing under the Buckman Bridge (fixed, 65') several miles further on. We had a beautiful day and put up the sails for a short while but neither of us were really into it so we motored in the rest of the way. We arrived at Green Cove Springs Marina around 1530. End of story. Actually, this was the end of our voyage but there's more to the story which will continue at another time.<br />
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Here's some stats:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Distance of voyage - approximately 900 miles including 90 miles at the beginning from Herrington Harbour to Mobjack Bay, 32 miles from there to Hampton Roads and then 12 more down to Hospital Point (mile 0.0 on the ICW). At the end on the St. Johns River we added another 35 miles too.</li>
<li>Bridges - way too many, something like 78 bridges</li>
<li>Groundings - hard aground twice and bumped about six or seven times.</li>
<li>Fuel consumed - approximately 210 gallons. 71 gallons at Dowry Creek Marina ($2.99/gal), 70 gallons at Charleston Harbor Marina ($3.65/gal), ? gallons at Brunswick Landing Marina. We haven't topped off the tank since we arrived in Green Cove Springs so I'm guessing 70 gallons more including Brunswick.</li>
<li>Stayed in eight marinas for a total of 15 nights. $$$</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>Dismal Swamp Welcome Center, 4/9 - 4/10</li>
<li>Dowry Creek Marina, 4/14</li>
<li>River Dunes Marina, 4/15 + 4/16</li>
<li>Cricket Cove Marina, 4/21</li>
<li>Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown, 4/23 + 4/24</li>
<li>Charleston Harbor Marina, 4/27 - 4/29</li>
<li>Lady's Island Marina in Beaufort, 5/1 - 5/4</li>
<li>Brunswick Landing Marina, 5/10 + 5/11</li>
</ol>
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<ul>
<li>Total length of voyage was 40 days, 4/5 to 5/14. I guess that means we spent 25 nights at anchor.</li>
<li>We saw bunches of dolphins and eagles and all kinds of wildlife but not one single alligator. I really was hoping to see one.</li>
</ul>
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All in all this was a great trip and I'm glad we decided to do it. I'm not sure I'd ever want to do it again because I think it would get kinda monotonous after the first time but it was a great experience and I picked up some new skills along the way too (like getting off sand bars and avoiding strong currents). We saw some old friends along the way and made some new friends too. This was definitely a nice way to start out our retirement.</div>
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<br />Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-45767802619913400192015-06-12T06:36:00.003-04:002015-06-13T06:15:45.982-04:00Heading South on the Intracoastal Waterway - Part 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0t6mRRM3NngGVApZ3XRvYUuUOg0sTdGrCZaplnnFTD7Ao0uFRivLKRX-ucHJ48jEJlxYfZXWKJNMwgyR4H9KiNuzlIM212SqsUL0OMCm_2Volht2_eDtOEKfoXFKb1twv16oH330vjA/s1600/IMG_6069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0t6mRRM3NngGVApZ3XRvYUuUOg0sTdGrCZaplnnFTD7Ao0uFRivLKRX-ucHJ48jEJlxYfZXWKJNMwgyR4H9KiNuzlIM212SqsUL0OMCm_2Volht2_eDtOEKfoXFKb1twv16oH330vjA/s200/IMG_6069.jpg" width="200" /></a>4/30/15 - After settling up our bill with Charleston Harbor Marina (mile 464.5) we prepared to be on our way. We usually manage our own lines but have always had offers from the host marina for assistance. We had no offer this time and it didn't occur to me that this might be the one time we really would need it. The change in tide here can be as much as 6.5' and because of this they use floating docks exclusively. Backing out of the slip was when I realized how strong the outgoing tide was. As soon as the stern came around the rushing water caught us and forced us back down towards the dock and other boats. We narrowly missed contact with a power boat but did get pulled sideways into the open slip beside it. Under full throttle we pulled ourselves back out into the fairway between the docks but managed to drag the port side against the rubber bumper surrounding the finger pier. We later discovered a 2" wide black racing stripe down most of the length of the boat. I don't have a lot of experience operating a boat in these ripping currents but I suspect the only way to deal with it is to time your arrival and departure during slack tide. It would have been helpful if the staff in the marina office had mentioned this. Driving down the fairway we were starboard side on to the outgoing current and it continued to push us sideways toward the pier. It was a battle getting out into open water and the sense of relief was strongly felt once we were away from this marina. All my experience has been on the Chesapeake Bay with 2' tidal changes. Coming down the ICW we experienced strong tidal flow at anchor but this marina is located on the side of the Cooper River and has no protection from the current. I may be an old dog but hopefully I'm still learning new tricks. I won't put us in that kind of situation again. Woof.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Li4skXUXS6lSkCxBjQgOqAjG4KRAOevJchAC1k5hmTocZ4sPanHrM-kR7gO4mNTlc43GBLAJLjTA-nnNtS5DrfCWxlAOmye1EFBFutR5LTqQKnu-s-u4zh-WQQ2Eb5_D4kDzTi5cMps/s1600/IMG_6093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Li4skXUXS6lSkCxBjQgOqAjG4KRAOevJchAC1k5hmTocZ4sPanHrM-kR7gO4mNTlc43GBLAJLjTA-nnNtS5DrfCWxlAOmye1EFBFutR5LTqQKnu-s-u4zh-WQQ2Eb5_D4kDzTi5cMps/s1600/IMG_6093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Li4skXUXS6lSkCxBjQgOqAjG4KRAOevJchAC1k5hmTocZ4sPanHrM-kR7gO4mNTlc43GBLAJLjTA-nnNtS5DrfCWxlAOmye1EFBFutR5LTqQKnu-s-u4zh-WQQ2Eb5_D4kDzTi5cMps/s200/IMG_6093.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboKBkOvd51KDnj2vNpRqVrtx7E-8xXkgqURBt59z0-H2g4ZMIm0gsOcKaxG6WZFedyoZwb2i5Gxud4nsiLUsGg-BXWNwrJ2iW_81IADPqwnmSu8bE1gv8Mo7kptugQ_3XtL3m4eYmNlk/s1600/IMG_8203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboKBkOvd51KDnj2vNpRqVrtx7E-8xXkgqURBt59z0-H2g4ZMIm0gsOcKaxG6WZFedyoZwb2i5Gxud4nsiLUsGg-BXWNwrJ2iW_81IADPqwnmSu8bE1gv8Mo7kptugQ_3XtL3m4eYmNlk/s200/IMG_8203.jpg" width="200" /></a>We motored out across the river and rounded Battery Point into the Ashley River. We saw numerous dolphins along the way. Entering Wappoo Creek we continued south on the ICW. At the head of the creek is a short and narrow cut connecting to the Stono River. The outgoing tide was so strong through here that we could only make 3 knots under full power. We continued on down several connecting waterways over the rest of the day before finally reaching Fenwick Cut off the Edisto River. This connected us to the Ashepoo River where we pulled off the ICW and anchored behind Fenwick Island (mile 511.6) in 18' of water. This area is salt marsh to the south but Fenwick Island is covered with trees providing good protection from any wind from the NW to NE as it was that day. This is an unpopulated area and the only lights we saw at night were from the channel markers upstream on the ICW. We felt totally secluded and were caught off guard the next morning to be passed by a large cruise ship, apparently returning from an offshore gambling run.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeaBLlIyphvR4GfxYFptWdQsYH1wNxNopIMXyiCUzQr7zMlgbpofK5yPePVD0ahz7avG4WpYQqy1CSqG2QhCTpuvLjNoq06qjeJbtUso2yHGqz3jiTInatnH83wmkyJuhCpvsKnOOLBw/s1600/IMG_6110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeaBLlIyphvR4GfxYFptWdQsYH1wNxNopIMXyiCUzQr7zMlgbpofK5yPePVD0ahz7avG4WpYQqy1CSqG2QhCTpuvLjNoq06qjeJbtUso2yHGqz3jiTInatnH83wmkyJuhCpvsKnOOLBw/s1600/IMG_6110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeaBLlIyphvR4GfxYFptWdQsYH1wNxNopIMXyiCUzQr7zMlgbpofK5yPePVD0ahz7avG4WpYQqy1CSqG2QhCTpuvLjNoq06qjeJbtUso2yHGqz3jiTInatnH83wmkyJuhCpvsKnOOLBw/s200/IMG_6110.jpg" width="141" /></a><br />
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5/1/15 - We departed our anchorage at 0900 and proceeded into the Ashepoo Coosaw cut which brought us out to the Coosaw River. Here we had a long upstream run with a headwind of 20 to 25 knots and made slow progress at 4.5 knots. We finally got to Brickyard Creek which wound it's way down to the town of Beaufort, SC. Just upstream from the swing bridge is Factory Creek and we turned up the narrow channel here to get to Lady's Island Marina (mile 535.9), which turned out to be so friendly and accommodating that we ended up staying for four nights.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh454fSK3AtztalX1VlWa68h8CRv4isprlgJOA8M7hN3vEZb6pSH3LO7sgl8Syqu3eDQzg9lJoPNLlnCI0Lnvg8yiu_0LvZ9tvJT26p5EreOi8GZNycmaNuSXcS65g7GqkWyltJZI7HV30/s1600/IMG_8232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh454fSK3AtztalX1VlWa68h8CRv4isprlgJOA8M7hN3vEZb6pSH3LO7sgl8Syqu3eDQzg9lJoPNLlnCI0Lnvg8yiu_0LvZ9tvJT26p5EreOi8GZNycmaNuSXcS65g7GqkWyltJZI7HV30/s200/IMG_8232.jpg" width="133" /></a>We arrived on a Friday afternoon and decided to make use of the marina's loaner car to replenish our groceries. The next day we struck out on foot and crossed the bridge into Beaufort. There was a festival going on in the waterfront park and we spent several hours wandering around the booths and listening to the live music. We walked into town and checked out some shops then headed down Carteret Street in search of a cigar shop, which we finally found out past the college. We each got a cigar and an ice-cold beer and enjoyed them while sitting outside under a large sun umbrella. We continued our walk back through the quiet tree lined streets, eventually finding our way back to the boat in time for dinner. On Sunday we again borrowed the loaner car and drove out to Hunting Island State Park where we spent the day on the beach. Just in from the beach the park is covered in forest with an interesting mix of deciduous trees and palms. There's also a lighthouse here that we viewed from a distance, not feeling up to the challenge of climbing to the top. We walked up and down the beach for several hours before heading back into town. Monday we spent doing laundry and cleaning the boat. It was here that I managed to polish out the racing stripe. This was a quiet day and we spent the afternoon with drinks in the cockpit. We also made use of the car one more time and drove out to Lady's Island for some authentic Low Country eatin' at the Gula Grub.<br />
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5/5/15 - We departed Lady's Island Marina around 0930, passed through the swing bridge and continued south under power. We crossed Port Royal Sound and entered Skull Creek behind Hilton Head Island. This brought us out to Calibogue Sound and the Cooper River. Our next anchorage was just off the Cooper River on Bull Creek (mile 565.7). We anchored around the first bend and shared the spot with several other boats. That evening we worked on our 3D puzzle of St. Basil's Cathedral and took in a pretty spectacular sunset<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrgccdXz9KOahrhLHGmZZOA3isOd3trMl9KllSEJ5uU6Bo4DXEXsqDODbeItI131pEqUe0uS4srIvnJgM2h58_LatPOwbpnKcdMBGzQPnOFruoB8hGiT14oaHtOhhGmtoW48EobxSZdI/s1600/IMG_6208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrgccdXz9KOahrhLHGmZZOA3isOd3trMl9KllSEJ5uU6Bo4DXEXsqDODbeItI131pEqUe0uS4srIvnJgM2h58_LatPOwbpnKcdMBGzQPnOFruoB8hGiT14oaHtOhhGmtoW48EobxSZdI/s200/IMG_6208.jpg" width="200" /></a>5/6/15 - We continued south through several cuts before crossing the Savannah River and entering into Georgia. We had originally planned to visit Savannah but everything we read said to avoid it because of the 9' tides and strong currents and would be better visited from the nearby town of Thunderbolt. Bummer. I had just finished reading "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which is a bazaar true story that takes place in Savannah and I was intrigued to see some of the places mentioned. We'll hafta come back by car for a visit some day. We passed through the Elba Cut into the Wilmington River and drifted by a cemetery right on the edge of the river. I instantly recognized it from a picture I had seen and the description as the Bonaventure Cemetery that had played a major role in the "Good and Evil" book. Cool! That kinda made up for not going into Savannah. Just downstream from there we passed the town of Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt Marina. This place caters to megayachts and we saw a number of them on the hard and tied up at the docks including a sloop that must have been at least 80'. If you stay at the marina overnight they'll greet you in the morning with a newspaper and Krispy Kreme donuts. In spite of that temptation we continued to move on. <br />
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After passing through four more bridges we came to our next anchorage on Cane Patch Creek (mile 608.4). This entire area is part of a vast salt marsh and has meandering, intersecting creeks. I hafta admit that I totally missed our turn for Cane Patch Creek and we had to backtrack about a mile or so. We had been running with the current making about 8.5 knots and I was just enjoying the feeling of driving a formula one car through the twisty turns of the creek. Or something like that. Anyway, we anchored way back on Cane Patch Creek between tree covered islands. The tall green grass of the salt marsh and the trees provided good protection from the wind and rain that came in that night. The next day we were joined by three other boats and we all waited out an extra day here with reports of tropical storm Ana forming just off the coast. On the morning of 5/7 we saw heavy rain with winds as high as 35 knots but remained safe and secure in our anchorage. During the day the storm worked it's way north up the coast and by the next day we had clear skies again.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-76092843071955277012015-06-10T07:06:00.000-04:002015-06-10T07:06:18.483-04:00Heading South on the Intracoastal Waterway - Part 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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4/25/15 - We departed Georgetown (mile 403.0) with our next destination being Charleston, SC which was over 60 miles away. This would make for a very long day so we chose an anchorage from the guidebook that would work better for us and still get us close. Heading south on the Waccamaw River into Winyah Bay we entered the Estherville Minim Creek Canal (4.9 miles). This empties out into a series of landcuts and canals that wind around for the next 45.5 miles through salt marshes. Driving a boat through the salt marshes is kinda like driving your car through a town with endless intersecting creeks that form a maze forcing you to pay attention to the roadmap, er, charts. There's also a strong tidal flow and it's associated shoaling through here and that requires paying close attention to the depth gauge. After 45 miles we felt exhausted and were ready for the next anchorage. We pulled off the ICW into Dewees Creek and turned into Long Creek (mile 454.3). We chose this spot because it offers some protection from the strong winds blowing that day. We anchored in 18' depth with the wind blowing 25 knots and a strong tidal flow in the opposite direction. Because of the depth, the 6' tide and the strong wind I let out 120' of chain. Cheri and I use simple hand signals when anchoring for communication and to minimize yelling and confusion. To ensure that we got the anchor to set properly I gave her the signal for backing down hard in reverse. When the anchor bit into the sand, mud and shell bottom it was like it had been set in concrete. We stopped so quickly the bow of the boat dipped down and I was almost thrown over. Guess we don't have to worry about dragging anchor tonight! That evening a storm blew in with rain and lightning which lasted through the next day. We decided to just sit it out for an extra day.<br />
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4/27/14 - Our anchorage on Long Creek was just 10 miles out of Charleston (mile 464.5) and from that distance we could see the Ravenel suspension bridge (first picture at top) and the city lights at night. We departed Long Creek at 1030 and headed south on the ICW, passing under the Isle of Palms bridge (fixed, 65'). The approach to the second bridge, the Ben Sawyer swing bridge, had severe shoaling with depths as shallow as 5'. We touched bottom several times and there was quite a bit of VHF traffic about how best to get through. When we arrived at the swing bridge we had to wait half an hour for it's next scheduled opening.<br />
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We had tried to make reservations at marinas in the city but they were all full so we ended up across the Cooper River at Charleston Harbor Marina. We found this place to be very expensive with diesel priced a dollar higher ($3.65/gallon) than anywhere else on the ICW and slip rates at $2.15/ft. The location also suffered from a strong tidal flow that made entering and departing the slip very difficult. Grrr. They did offer a water taxi service ($6.00 in each direction) but redeemed themselves with a free shuttle that only took 15 minutes to get into Market Street in Charleston. We made good use of the shuttle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ejHBNJye5frHrASlQxrd1EFAAMzuoIBKZFJ94Yul_QDnWcirf5IKE38JGN-0P7lQVLCmfpk5OEXyz4NuZC4ycCoSJgzyzntaofjZwrHuGqph4bcVNLnTyr-Rw3tTT0CxEgsKonJIO3U/s1600/IMG_8192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ejHBNJye5frHrASlQxrd1EFAAMzuoIBKZFJ94Yul_QDnWcirf5IKE38JGN-0P7lQVLCmfpk5OEXyz4NuZC4ycCoSJgzyzntaofjZwrHuGqph4bcVNLnTyr-Rw3tTT0CxEgsKonJIO3U/s200/IMG_8192.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wSJgYoZd1bGKt80NvXM4U1FxBlNND_l1at44ldnPGPEbu9juQ12YZqIY7sotKcDey5NqimNT7zK6jehx_VjsxpWiE27PfKvnyLVO860j1xGJ0nJSl0EMBBvjVDOEI_uRSj1uaOw33UY/s1600/IMG_8196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wSJgYoZd1bGKt80NvXM4U1FxBlNND_l1at44ldnPGPEbu9juQ12YZqIY7sotKcDey5NqimNT7zK6jehx_VjsxpWiE27PfKvnyLVO860j1xGJ0nJSl0EMBBvjVDOEI_uRSj1uaOw33UY/s200/IMG_8196.jpg" width="133" /></a>Once we got settled in at the marina we headed over to Charleston and spent the afternoon touring the city. We started at the Slave Museum where we picked up a book for a self guided tour of the city. We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of the old part of town, learning the history and enjoying the beauty. Had lunch at the Brown Dog Cafe. On 4/28 we returned for another day of wandering. Charleston is known for fine dining and has a long list of excellent restaurants. We stumbled on 82 Queen for lunch and enjoyed our meal while seated outside in the courtyard. We had no real plans for this day, mostly intentions to shop. We didn't get far though before we discovered a nice little cigar shop that also offered beer and wine. We commandeered a table just inside the entrance and stayed there for five hours. We spent the rest of the day making new friends with the shop owner and several of the locals. One in particular was an older gal who turned out to be a professional walking-tour guide in the city. She loved to talk and if you had listened in on the conversation you would have thought we had all known each other for years. Another character we met was an author who was working on a book about serial murderers in the US. This was the highlight of our visit to Charleston. Fine wine, great cigars and friendly and interesting people. Who could ask for more?<br />
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Our last day there was a rainy one so we spent it at the marina doing laundry and cleaning up the living quarters on the boat. Next to the marina was a Naval Museum with an aircraft carrier (USS Yorktown) and destroyer (USS Laffey). We wandered over and took a look but didn't want to invest in the $40 (for two) entry fee.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEpgJS8D-wsgg4XTbaKGYyp1zBRXrg_xXIUOr82QHPrlud6-Xo6fOoG0QTr-yHyP9x32ZWXXawsrMcZSsOE7_N8o3juGKqTibZVtZuYbLSgFDmuQNyC9mtHNoXZPkWfVUcM7aiDxFrz4/s1600/IMG_2292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEpgJS8D-wsgg4XTbaKGYyp1zBRXrg_xXIUOr82QHPrlud6-Xo6fOoG0QTr-yHyP9x32ZWXXawsrMcZSsOE7_N8o3juGKqTibZVtZuYbLSgFDmuQNyC9mtHNoXZPkWfVUcM7aiDxFrz4/s200/IMG_2292.jpg" width="150" /></a>This is a beautiful city with history going back to it's 1670 origins. In 1718 the city was besieged by Blackbeard the pirate and in it's early years was under constant attack by the French, Spanish and Native Americans. During the Revolutionary War the city was attacked by the British fleet several times. The first time they were repelled by a hastily built fort made of Palmetto logs. The "liberty" flag flown in this battle became the state flag for South Carolina with the addition of a Palmetto tree emblem commemorating this battle. The second attack in 1780 was more successful and the British held the city for two years. This was considered the greatest American defeat of the war.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0DffZjM4w3fRhyphenhypheniwS1c4adXtYSqrEJrIzd4koUWomLMAaA0u7OMgJSwZPTItvN3pyMvnRrxv3nI-nUYKfijzPtry6UsvpnxFL_UwM1kJQZrnpJstXqrzpaaeQ65UFgExJAK48T_JBCE/s1600/IMG_2285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0DffZjM4w3fRhyphenhypheniwS1c4adXtYSqrEJrIzd4koUWomLMAaA0u7OMgJSwZPTItvN3pyMvnRrxv3nI-nUYKfijzPtry6UsvpnxFL_UwM1kJQZrnpJstXqrzpaaeQ65UFgExJAK48T_JBCE/s200/IMG_2285.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0xfKjVRmuuH16JyLoFI2mRgIdJGFhYE0VEWo7PZJlkQLSvU3hqhTd1cf-vY-6tRSP_41cUcPjOgGOBtJ7-K_SCZcwi1T24xQ9H20cZStjDA3TPsX1nNMysnCQlg7-MUn6e8vU8KK8Sk/s1600/IMG_2283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0xfKjVRmuuH16JyLoFI2mRgIdJGFhYE0VEWo7PZJlkQLSvU3hqhTd1cf-vY-6tRSP_41cUcPjOgGOBtJ7-K_SCZcwi1T24xQ9H20cZStjDA3TPsX1nNMysnCQlg7-MUn6e8vU8KK8Sk/s200/IMG_2283.jpg" width="150" /></a>Charleston played a leading role in the slave trade with something like 40% of all slaves in America brought over from Africa. When international slave trade was outlawed in 1808 Charleston became the center of an even larger domestic slave market with slaves being brought there for sale from all over the south. The slave museum we visited had been a huge indoor slave market in the mid-1800's. We learned that our home state of Maryland was a major contributor. During this time Charleston also became a big exporter of Indigo, a blue dye that was in short supply in Europe. It's also what's used to make bluejeans blue. In 1862 the attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston's harbor began the Civil War. During the war a blockade was established that effectively ended commercial traffic in the city. It was at this time that one of the first submarines, the H.L. Hunley, was used in naval warfare, attacking one of the ships in the blockade. In 1861 Charleston was ravaged by fire, unrelated to the war, which burned over 500 acres of the city. In 1886 the city was nearly destroyed by one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the East Coast, registering 7.3 on the Richter scale, second only to the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. The city's economy languished for decades but has recovered to become well known world-wide for it's art, music, local cuisine and fashion. We found Charleston to be a beautiful city with an interesting history and plenty of interesting people. This was easily the best part of our trip down the ICW.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-59982915904983489342015-06-08T07:28:00.000-04:002015-06-08T07:28:04.999-04:00Heading South on the Intracoastal Waterway - Part 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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4/22/15 - We headed out around 0900 (apparently the best we can do) and entered Pine Island Cut, a 28 mile land cut. When this was built in the 1930's by the Army Corp of Engineers they encountered a stretch of hard rock 2.4 miles in length which took them two years to blast through. Because of the difficulty they had this stretch is much narrower than the rest of the muddy bottomed cut and has become known as "The Rock Pile". It's only wide enough for one boat at a time and you're supposed to announce your intentions on the VHF before entering. Since we were running early in the cruisers season we didn't encounter a lot of traffic through this part. This is the Myrtle Beach area and we passed through and under a total of twelve bridges this day. Once through the cut we entered a beautiful cyprus swamp where we saw numerous Bald Eagles and their nests. We anchored on Bull Creek (mile 381.0) in 15' depth, way back off the ICW and about 50 yards from an Eagle's nest. This was one of the nicest anchorages we had on the entire trip with total seclusion from any sign of man, completely surrounded by the beauty of nature. At night the only light was from the stars above and once my eyes adjusted to it I found that was enough to make out the trees on the shoreline.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsNHiWYc_sKepOesr_Ww4jGT167abfYQY39YHqOBgPWY0TBLNzy5hg1_KoO-JpTdQ7OwnbAMhDWDVpBP-1ZTFBug60Z-UBj5UDkkhpaTMJW4bZmr6tL1OARSOd-xcud1lZngrKUmLlrg/s1600/IMG_0607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsNHiWYc_sKepOesr_Ww4jGT167abfYQY39YHqOBgPWY0TBLNzy5hg1_KoO-JpTdQ7OwnbAMhDWDVpBP-1ZTFBug60Z-UBj5UDkkhpaTMJW4bZmr6tL1OARSOd-xcud1lZngrKUmLlrg/s200/IMG_0607.jpg" width="200" /></a>We had been in touch with friends Pete and Sharon (m/v Emerald Lady) who were heading north on the ICW after spending the winter in the Bahamas. The plan was to meet up with them in Georgetown, just 21 miles to the south of us. If it wasn't for that we would have stayed longer at Bull Creek. We got underway at 0930 and meandered through the cyprus swamp before passing under Lafayette Bridge and entering Georgetown Harbor in the early afternoon. We had reservations at Harborwalk Marina, just walking distance from the historic downtown part of the city. Pete and Sharon met us on the dock and we got together on their boat for drinks before heading into town for dinner. We ended up at "700" on the advice of a local and weren't disappointed. The food was excellent and we had a good time catching up with old friends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVdqGqHONR_hKbGOt5q-bLbpfU75QMwXCmptZ4cWc57H-arYRWppB40VAsYwzil6GIPt5LNYScAfrWYaewesIlccBBQqxPGRmcM8URrCslWx_MpEoTvxe3ckHE61HVB0ULd_gfcLChpk/s1600/IMG_8152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVdqGqHONR_hKbGOt5q-bLbpfU75QMwXCmptZ4cWc57H-arYRWppB40VAsYwzil6GIPt5LNYScAfrWYaewesIlccBBQqxPGRmcM8URrCslWx_MpEoTvxe3ckHE61HVB0ULd_gfcLChpk/s200/IMG_8152.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJlMqMw7ierrxam-ykweS6uqoHIrgS7cpOOLGOUG4m9Vmj3ETwLDIYqsxOA5UR3TFOePAUwzacrkWtB0206TXBI189f-WhETQ38EP8eurzZ5-vPloOYHyQ8BZ1Wcii6Kw46Uz45mLoYE/s1600/IMG_8151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJlMqMw7ierrxam-ykweS6uqoHIrgS7cpOOLGOUG4m9Vmj3ETwLDIYqsxOA5UR3TFOePAUwzacrkWtB0206TXBI189f-WhETQ38EP8eurzZ5-vPloOYHyQ8BZ1Wcii6Kw46Uz45mLoYE/s200/IMG_8151.jpg" width="200" /></a>Emerald Lady departed the next day but we stayed on to take in the sights. We walked down Front Street and checked out all the shops before heading over to get groceries at the Piggly Wiggly, a mile and a half away. We walked back through the old residential part of town in the shade of the old oak trees lining the streets. Georgetown has a lot of history going back to 1526 when the Spanish attempted a colony here. In the Revolutionary War two signers of the Declaration of Independence came from Georgetown as did the Swamp Fox, Francis Marion, originator of guerrilla warfare. By 1840 Georgetown was the largest rice-exporting port in the world and there was considerable wealth in the area with many of the fine homes remaining to this day. Throughout the next hundred years Georgetown hosted the largest lumber mill on the East Coast and the largest paper mill in the world. The town suffered major damage in 1989 from Hurricane Hugo but on our walk through the neighborhoods it appeared to be completely restored. Visiting Georgetown was one of the highlights of our trip down the ICW.</div>
Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-17492560665065388912015-06-03T08:21:00.001-04:002015-06-24T07:39:27.163-04:00Heading South on the Intracoastal Waterway - Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ahkARGi1HvQ-dQ-yoNIXD5skKlmDeFZOm0QMeGjuyneK0D40y_D0u_pHuwxobJGKIhcuVAcYsCz8PnDz9EM5Mj9VprL3ZPea9Qcz1wacLB5CjELoAoDlB2epSs4xtx7s-c096abGHIA/s1600/IMG_0544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ahkARGi1HvQ-dQ-yoNIXD5skKlmDeFZOm0QMeGjuyneK0D40y_D0u_pHuwxobJGKIhcuVAcYsCz8PnDz9EM5Mj9VprL3ZPea9Qcz1wacLB5CjELoAoDlB2epSs4xtx7s-c096abGHIA/s200/IMG_0544.jpg" width="200" /></a>4/17/15 - After several enjoyable days at River Dunes Marina (mile 173.9) we decided it was time to move on. We had a long day ahead of us so we opted for an early start (early for us) and were on our way by 0830. We were headed out to the coastline and would be passing through five bridges. We motored out Broad Creek and brought out the main and Genoa for a nice sail across the Neuse River into Adams Creek where we motor sailed up to the canal connecting to Core Creek. I spotted my first dolphin in Core Creek but the crew wouldn't believe it since we still seemed to be so far inland.<br />
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Core Creek empties into Newport Marsh and this brought us to Morehead City and the town of Beaufort. These two towns face each other across the ICW and have distinctly different personalities. Both are popular stopping off points for cruisers but power boats tend to go to Morehead City and sailors seem to favor Beaufort. We favored neither and passed them both. Once we got past the highway and railroad bridges connecting the two towns we continued on for a while before realizing we had missed our turn and were headed out to the Atlantic Ocean. Oops! The chart at left shows our track as we turned around and headed back to Morehead City. This part of the coast has barrier islands and the ICW runs behind them staying well protected from the ocean. It's still influenced by the ocean tides though and the current is constantly an issue here, either with you or against you. Running with it we made as much as 8.5 knots but against it we slowed to sometimes less than 4. Because of this and the nice sea breeze we brought out the sails again and motor sailed to keep our speed up above 6 knots the entire way. Being able to sail through here kept the day interesting because the view doesn't change all that much throughout this region. As wide as this waterway is through here it's mostly shallow water and the ICW has sand bars on either side of it. At low tide the water drops 4' to 5' and I quickly learned to drive with the depth gauge as my primary instrument. I found I could slowly work my way over to the side until I saw the depth go from 8' to 7' to 6'. We draw 5' so I'd then veer back towards the deeper water to stay in the channel. This method made it easy to pass oncoming boats as this was a busier part of the ICW. Up until today we had for the most part been the only boat on the water. We marked our progress by the bridges that connected the mainland to the beaches. This was also where we saw our first problems with shoaling where the rushing tidewaters filled the channel with sand in many places.<br />
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Around 1630 we tried anchoring between two large dunes in about 9' of water. Seemed like a perfect location with dolphins all around and a nice view of the barrier island but as the tide changed we found ourselves in the middle of a ripping current. We quickly pulled up the anchor and moved on. Several miles further on we came to the town of Swansboro (mile 228.0) where we anchored just off the town dock with two other boats. The pictures at left show our first anchorage between the dunes and our second choice in the creek off Swansboro. This was a nice location and the tidal changes kept us swinging in tight circles all night. I woke up at 0300, shortly after the tide had changed, and went up on deck to check things out. While I sat there for 20 minutes I watched the current pick up and slowly bring the boat through a 180 degree turn. The only real drawback about Swansboro was the bar at the end of the bridge that had a live band cranking out tunes until early morning hours. It's fine when you're in there with a cold beer in your hand and your lovely wife on the bar stool beside you but not when you're at anchor trying to get some sleep. Party on Garth.<br />
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4/18/15 - We departed Swansboro anchorage and continued south under power with overcast skies and light rain. We have a full enclosure on our cockpit which keeps us out of the wind and rain but the Eisenglass windows at the front don't have windshield wipers and it makes it difficult to see where you're going. Every now and then I'd ask Cheri to wipe them down. We kept this day's run short and stopped at Mile Hammock Bay (mile 244.4), a large basin at Camp Lejeune Marine Corp base. When we arrived there was just one other boat at anchor but towards 1700 it quickly filled with northbound cruisers. The next morning it just as quickly cleared out but because of the continuing rain we decided to stay another day. We spent our time working on our 3D puzzle of St. Basils Cathedral, playing Carcasonne ( a great game we had picked up for this voyage) and relaxing with Bloody Marys and cigars. Also took the time to service the genset, changed the oil and filter. It was nice to just sit back and do pretty much nothing for a day.<br />
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4/20/15 - We woke up to a beautiful, clear day. Got underway late, around 1100, because our next anchorage was only 39 miles away and we figured we could be there by 1700. This next stretch of the ICW was through a more populated area with McMansions built along the edge of the waterway. Since this area is a beach resort we also saw some interesting vacation homes with lotsa pinks and blues and turquoises. We also experienced 6' tidal changes and some serious shoaling. In some parts the channel was shifted over considerably to one side with only room for one boat to get through at a time. Temporary channel markers were in place to help show the way. When we arrived at our anchorage (Motts Channel, mile 283.4, chart at left) we found it to be in the middle of a village. Restaurants were built right along the ICW and we felt like we were on display as we cruised through. Of course it was in front of all these observers that I missed my turn for the anchorage. I doubled back and eased into the cut that would take us back behind the barrier island. The guide book and the charts all showed this entire area to have 15' depths so I proceeded without fear. We immediately ran hard aground in the middle of the channel. Everyone watched as we tried to get free. A tow service came out thinking they had some easy money but it was just then that we broke free and backed our way out to the ICW. OK, plan B. The next anchorage was another 12 miles further south, at least two more hours, which would get us there after dark. We pushed on regardless. As the sun got lower in the sky the wind began to pick up and by the time we got to Carolina Beach it was blowing 20 knots. Carolina Beach (mile 295.1) has several anchorages in deep water (30') right in the center of town. We chose an area between two islands and a mooring field. The tide was running strong and the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. The boat wanted to lay at 90 degrees to both and we had a hard time setting the anchor. Because I felt uncomfortable with it I went up on deck throughout the night and tried to verify our location using the lights from buildings on shore. Seemed OK. When we got up in the morning we found the anchor had dragged about 100 yards. Yikes! Luckily there were no other boats around and we were still in deep water. We also found a duck sleeping on the bowsprit, apparently exhausted from standing the anchor watch all night.<br />
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So this had been an "Oops" day. Better charts might have made a difference at Motts Channel but with all the shoaling we saw along the way I doubt we would have had any better luck. Our anchoring at Carolina Beach was another matter, something to learn from. We have a new anchor, a Rocna 33, that has a world-wide reputation for holding under any condition. I had become comfortable with this notion and paid the price here. From this point on we made absolutely sure the anchor was set by backing down hard in any condition until we really felt the anchor bite in. In fact at one anchorage in a South Carolina salt marsh it bit in so well the boat came to a screeching halt as though we had slammed on the brakes in a car. Almost threw me overboard. Didn't have to worry about dragging the anchor that night!Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-50435360425446955422015-06-01T17:13:00.000-04:002015-06-03T08:26:36.067-04:00Heading South on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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4/13/15 - The pictures to the left show the sunrise from this morning and the totally unpopulated shoreline where we anchored. We departed Southshore Landing (mile 81.9) anchorage on the Little Alligator River and continued South under power. The channel taking us back out to the Alligator River is about 7' deep, narrow and surrounded by knee deep water. It winds around for about 4 miles, doubling back on itself so you pass within a hundred feet of where you were twenty minutes ago. By this time I had realized that my electronic charts were really meant for bigger water and the coverage on the ICW was often offset to one side (sometimes showing us on dry land!) and depth information was mostly non-existant. I had gotten pretty good at glancing at the chart, reading the surface of the water and paying close attention to the depth gauge. It's a wonder that by the end of this trip we had only run aground three times.<br />
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Once we got back out to the big river we passed through the Alligator River swing bridge. This was the first bridge we encountered that didn't have any kind of schedule for opening. The two bridges on the Dismal Swamp Canal had a relaxed schedule but they were on small roads and were a simple operation. This was on a major road, maybe the only road in the area, and it's a large bridge. We hailed the bridge tender and he let us know that by the time we got close enough he'd have it open for us. They man this bridge 24/7 and open on demand. This was a real indication of how far out in the sticks we were. As it turned out, many of the bridges for the rest of our trip were either a fixed span (65') or opened on a schedule every hour or half hour except during morning and evening rush hours.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-03ItuOeAtLC_jDv539kjayWIweTK7vu9QbY8prqpGqdsungENopt9VsIqL1iDGSf8-X14GRRFzqo4RzEBmxzuj3BtnQVcAuzvoStgq5R1yYw0o1HMc1zijw5uwj3KJX81uJ_ux3RUw/s1600/IMG_4136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-03ItuOeAtLC_jDv539kjayWIweTK7vu9QbY8prqpGqdsungENopt9VsIqL1iDGSf8-X14GRRFzqo4RzEBmxzuj3BtnQVcAuzvoStgq5R1yYw0o1HMc1zijw5uwj3KJX81uJ_ux3RUw/s200/IMG_4136.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-03ItuOeAtLC_jDv539kjayWIweTK7vu9QbY8prqpGqdsungENopt9VsIqL1iDGSf8-X14GRRFzqo4RzEBmxzuj3BtnQVcAuzvoStgq5R1yYw0o1HMc1zijw5uwj3KJX81uJ_ux3RUw/s1600/IMG_4136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>At the southernmost end of the river we entered the Alligator River / Pungo River Canal. This is a 21 mile long cut between the two rivers and it's wide, deep and straight as an arrow. About the first 2/3 of it is all Cyprus swamp. We saw only two other boats the whole time we were on the canal. Around 1530 we came to the Pungo River. I had chosen an anchorage that was just off to the right but when we turned into it we found it poorly protected from the strong SE wind that was blowing across the river. We decided instead to try another anchorage a little further south on Scranton Creek (mile 129.5). This was indeed just a creek with a narrow channel that wound it's way back into a salt marsh (?) with tall trees on the higher ground providing good protection. At first we were a little concerned because there was just enough room to make a tight turn in the creek but the depth was 15' with good holding for the anchor. We settled in for the night with the wind howling above the mast but having no effect on us down at the surface. Beautiful anchorage.<br />
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4/14/15 - It's now been nine days since we started on our trip. It was time to restock on groceries, top off the fuel tank and pump out our holding tank. It was time for a visit to a marina. Our guide book mentioned several in the area and we opted for one right across the river from Scranton Creek, Dowry Creek Marina. It took us about 45 minuted to get there and get tied up. It looked like a nice place but we quickly found out it was owned by a couple and they'd apparently grown tired of it and were anxious to sell. There was no pump-out service available although it was advertised. They claimed they were concerned about their lines freezing and wouldn't get it operational until May 1st. What? Our marina back in Maryland had their systems up and running by the end of March. I suspect the owner was just too lazy to get it running until he had a little more business to make it worth his while. They also advertised a loaner car to use for running into town, just a few miles down the road. The car was a beat up Dodge Durango with power windows that wouldn't roll down, no A/C, no fan and it was only running on five cylinders. We had to drive into town with the passenger door held open to get some fresh air. It was a joke but it got us where we needed to go and we restocked our groceries. When we got back to the marina early that afternoon I had a question for the owners but they were not to be found. This is a very laid back operation, a little too laid back for us. When we finally found the owners we settled up our bill and planned to leave early the next day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCd0Dyj4mB9hSJTOwKwTrwHC4vLhNWp2w0E3TDkz-CVfxcMVyE6y1DzXuVKdmuyCMjFT60WnrCebU2cjv5taACLQUMBqhy8kFsjFg1uLa_iULSpm4ZK6Ld3FhNKwJYerLGIvxhuRTtSQ/s1600/IMG_4152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCd0Dyj4mB9hSJTOwKwTrwHC4vLhNWp2w0E3TDkz-CVfxcMVyE6y1DzXuVKdmuyCMjFT60WnrCebU2cjv5taACLQUMBqhy8kFsjFg1uLa_iULSpm4ZK6Ld3FhNKwJYerLGIvxhuRTtSQ/s200/IMG_4152.jpg" width="200" /></a>4/15/15 - We left early and motor sailed down the Pungo River with 15 knot winds out of the NW. We crossed the Pamlico River into Goose creek where we furled the sails and entered another canal which brought us out onto Bay River. Here we found the wind had picked up to 20 knots NE and it continued to build as we entered Pamlico Sound and the Neuse river. Seas were pretty rough with short period waves at about 4' but the wind was blowing with us after we turned into the Neuse. We ran down a short way and turned into Broad Creek. Here we found good protection from the wind and we meandered our way back to River Dunes Marina. This place is pretty amazing. The entire peninsula had previously been owned by Weyerhaeuser Corporation where they harvested the trees. The new owners dug out a 23 acre, 15' deep marina and opened it out to Broad Creek. They also began building a town and selling lots for high-end homes, all built with a late 1800's theme. The marina is top-drawer but their rates are competitive with everyone else, even Dowry Creek. We stayed two nights and spent time riding bicycles around looking at the homes and dreaming up ways to buy some land. We used the loaner car, a brand new van with everything working properly, and drove about 8 miles into the nearest town, Oriental. This town is a major stop-off for cruisers on the ICW and has many nice shops and good places to eat. We enjoyed a great dinner at the Toucan Grill down on Raccoon Creek. We had a great time at River Dunes and Oriental. The top two pictures here show one of the cool-man homes and the marina. The building with the red roof is the marina office. How cool is that?<br />
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<br />Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-51530400570049980952015-05-31T09:44:00.002-04:002015-06-01T15:01:09.165-04:00Heading South on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Easter Sunday April 5, 2015 - We departed Herrington Harbour North on the Chesapeake Bay at 1430 and motored over to HH South for fuel. Finally headed out into the Bay at 1530. We deliberately chose this late day start because we had a long overnight run down to Hampton, Virginia and wanted to arrive in morning light to make maneuvering and anchoring easier. The entire trip down, the wind stayed out of the south at 15 to 20 knots, right on our nose, so we motored the entire way. Averaged 6 to 7 knots. After 19 hours we decided to pull into Mobjack Bay and get some sleep. Motored into Ware River and anchored behind Windmill point. Quiet, peaceful spot. We liked it so much we stayed an extra day.
Mobjack Bay is really quite beautiful with blue salt water from the ocean and sandy beaches. There are some houses along the shore but they're spread out and you get a more secluded feeling than what we're used to further up the Chesapeake.<br />
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4/8/15 - In heavy haze weighed anchor and motored out into Mobjack Bay. Haze turned into heavy fog with 100' visibility. Ran with radar and AIS. As we got out into the Chesapeake visibility reduced to 50' to 75'. This was my first experience with sailing in fog and it had my nerves on edge the entire time. If we didn't have the radar I would have gone back and anchored for another day. We ran under power for 32 miles like this but as we came into Hampton Roads the fog lifted.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZoUyDo9F09cRJz7EAVt9YDpMOIIoFWaCI_TYltgNtD-oFWJ5RJx29HLtOJS7F5raq92bDnMaGhyphenhyphenE6jM6AVIHYevo5YvXRFDW8GjUdPkD66gOUYeHn6wssjknTIYEb11J6W8NkL8fYKk/s1600/IMG_4027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZoUyDo9F09cRJz7EAVt9YDpMOIIoFWaCI_TYltgNtD-oFWJ5RJx29HLtOJS7F5raq92bDnMaGhyphenhyphenE6jM6AVIHYevo5YvXRFDW8GjUdPkD66gOUYeHn6wssjknTIYEb11J6W8NkL8fYKk/s200/IMG_4027.JPG" /></a>This is a heavily industrialized area with large ships and constant tug and barge traffic. There's plenty of room and deep water but having good visibility really adds to the feeing of security.<br />
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We turned into the Elizabeth River and anchored at Hospital Point, a wide spot in the river with the Navy hospital on the near shore and downtown Norfolk across the water. At night the lights from downtown Norfolk lit up the sky. Not a very pretty skyline but it had plenty of color. In the chart to the left you can see where we anchored (blue arrow) just off the main shipping channel. Not an ideal anchorage but it's a good "in between" location with about a days run to our next stop. Hospital Point is considered mile 0.0 on the ICW.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ08dowuxBy_GGhl2yQKKdZ_HyRfHdKu_4GPEeNeto48Me5EoPt_xOM8GgVp4FHWCmu_7oH0iCElKpVYofwQQ5Jx2JbjPJKE_Ue34pAgG6jA_eG-Ab9NFaYmcb_5kwbDkl0BE51TxdCM/s1600/IMG_0502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ08dowuxBy_GGhl2yQKKdZ_HyRfHdKu_4GPEeNeto48Me5EoPt_xOM8GgVp4FHWCmu_7oH0iCElKpVYofwQQ5Jx2JbjPJKE_Ue34pAgG6jA_eG-Ab9NFaYmcb_5kwbDkl0BE51TxdCM/s200/IMG_0502.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UxFFr-VZnz5k0U-ZVcIEBFjeZeNSijVWp_uV2NCm7i95X9td8qPDAdW2stxGfR1VUs5yY6OQ7XWKB60Ofv9JabnvKLSoxV0bO8yXJKfPjUtPMGkQ8PwMhju5vJqjNBt7iPIso7k0rJQ/s1600/IMG_0503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UxFFr-VZnz5k0U-ZVcIEBFjeZeNSijVWp_uV2NCm7i95X9td8qPDAdW2stxGfR1VUs5yY6OQ7XWKB60Ofv9JabnvKLSoxV0bO8yXJKfPjUtPMGkQ8PwMhju5vJqjNBt7iPIso7k0rJQ/s200/IMG_0503.jpg" width="200" /></a>4/9/15 - Departed Hospital Point anchorage, overcast with temperatures in the mid 60's. Today we had a gauntlet of bridges to run, something like six in just a few miles. The first was a railroad lift bridge for the "Old Virginia" RR and our guide book had it listed as being usually open. As we came around a bend in the river we found it closed for maintenance. We had about a twenty minute wait so we pulled over to the side to stay out of the way of the tugs that were circling around, waiting to go through too. When the bridge finally opened the tugs all rushed through. I hit the throttle and discovered a strong vibration at the helm. We could hear something whacking the hull and our top speed was about 2.5 knots. We crept through the bridge and stopped just beyond. I was pretty sure we had wrapped some rope around the prop and pictured myself jumping into 48 degree water (filthy 48 degree water) to clear it. I tried revving the engine in forward and reverse and it seemed to make things a little better. After doing that three more times the prop cleared and we were on our way. We were really fortunate there.<br />
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After we passed through the final bridge we continued on for a while before realizing we had missed our turn into the Great Dismal Swamp Canal. Bummer. A quick turn and retracing our path brought us back to the final bridge. The turn-off was just beyond the bridge and we missed it because Bella had freaked out from the traffic noise going under the bridge.<br />
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The canal is narrow and overgrown on both sides with vine-entangled trees and overhanging branches. The water is the color of root-beer, caused by the tannin in the Cyprus trees. This dark brown water eventually created a brown "mustache" stain at the bow of our boat. Speed is restricted to 5 knots to keep the wakes to a minimum and prevent erosion. This canal was originally started as a way to bring harvested trees in from the Dismal Swamp. A company was formed in the 1700's by George Washington and a short stretch of the canal was begun. It was added onto over the years. What's truly amazing is that this canal was all dug by hand using slave labor 200 years ago and it's still in use today.<br />
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At mile 10.6 we came to the first lock (of two), Deep Creek Lock. This provides about an 8' rise up to the Dismal Swamp. It also provided us with our first experience in a lock. It was pretty laid back. The lock tender opens the doors to the lock and you slowly bring your boat in. We tied up along our starboard side. The doors close behind you and the water slowly rises inside the lock. You have to keep adjusting the lines and keep the boat from scraping up against the sides. Once the water level is up the doors at the other end open and you continue on your way. Each lock in the Dismal Swamp has a bridge after it which is also manned by the lock operator. By the time we got to the bridge he was stopping traffic and opening the bridge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewHvu_aIBCNz29YEJes4fq3yEu7ydVSb4qkYRSE51LFKMq7IaVSLmarR7mLNYdQVOexqEb-4PrUGzZEqdApp7reDPghI9kGuRl3vW35HaELjukHdF8lZYZASq487WiYJ5lhBcopb5H6s/s1600/IMG_0518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewHvu_aIBCNz29YEJes4fq3yEu7ydVSb4qkYRSE51LFKMq7IaVSLmarR7mLNYdQVOexqEb-4PrUGzZEqdApp7reDPghI9kGuRl3vW35HaELjukHdF8lZYZASq487WiYJ5lhBcopb5H6s/s200/IMG_0518.jpg" width="200" /></a>Cruising down the Dismal Swamp Canal is pretty mellow with its slow pace and peaceful surroundings. Highway 17 runs along one side in some areas but it's not very distracting. Our goal was the Welcome Center at mile 27.8.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-w3Fx41DX7foloYxk_iSVg-UhI-2DKZcjQKQfin7bbcjxtl4xCrpmhYkE-6UUsHZqyodDdlMPvJJTV0nA40VgNBZazpN4gc1t4A2P6i7nKNPZx4G5wV7OSmjY1OxVIKtC44VA31IxqM/s1600/IMG_0514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-w3Fx41DX7foloYxk_iSVg-UhI-2DKZcjQKQfin7bbcjxtl4xCrpmhYkE-6UUsHZqyodDdlMPvJJTV0nA40VgNBZazpN4gc1t4A2P6i7nKNPZx4G5wV7OSmjY1OxVIKtC44VA31IxqM/s200/IMG_0514.jpg" width="200" /></a>About a mile before we got there we came across a barge used by the Army Corp of Engineers. The barge dwarfed the canal and took up about half its width. With our 15' beam we had to get over close to shore. As we came closer to the barge we caught a tree branch in our lower spreader on the port side. The branch was fairly rotten and it exploded all over the boat. We were covered in mistletoe, leaves and pieces of the branch. We looked like we were camouflaged for jungle warfare. Worse yet, there was still about 15' of branch still hanging on at the first spreader, about 20' off the deck. As we drifted past the barge we collided with another branch from another tree and added to the debris. A quick visual inspection showed everything was still intact (except the branch) so we continued on.<br />
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When we pulled over into the visitor center there were already two other sailboats tied up to the wharf with just enough room for us to pull in at the end. As soon as we tied up several folks came over offering help. One older guy suggested tying a crescent wrench to a string and heaving it over the brach still hanging from our rigging. We tried this once and decided it was too dangerous. Another gentleman suggested pulling a spare halyard back over the branch and using that to knock it loose. We tried that and it was effective in knocking one part of the branch down but we still had the larger part of it snugly wedged into the port side shrouds. In the end, a younger dude offered to go up in the bosons chair, tie the branch to a halyard and safely lower it down. This worked and once we cleared all the debris you'd never know we had been playing lumberjack.<br />
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The visitor center turned out to be a rest stop for Rte 17 in combination with a North Carolina state park with a museum, campgrounds, kayaks and canoes. We decided to stay for two nights so we could have a full day to hike some trails and check out the museum. The museum was interesting with a good explanation of the history of the canal. Plus it was air conditioned. One trail we walked on was a raised Boardwalk through part of the swamp. Very nice. The second trail we tried wandered along the canal for miles and included an example of a whiskey still, something that was common to the area. While we were contemplating how to add a still to our boat we discovered we were being taken over by ticks. I removed six in about two minutes and Cheri had at least three on her. That was pretty much the end of our hiking for that day. We hustled back to the museum bathrooms and stripped down searching for more ticks. Once we passed inspection we returned to the boat.<br />
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The next day (4/11) we cast off around 0930 and continued on our way. The next stop was the South Mills bridge and lock. We had to wait about a half hour for the bridge because several boats were headed north through the lock and things had to be coordinated with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZo-F3rDYfRmLWT31ZuKPTANM9jhKGi9OQAPoKqBw4UiMjj-TcU_z4PMBVlAda_2kjd5t673p6SDzIx5VUy-_gOujEf_HZCVcIft_fFxw_RFzMr3QGOaa2FjyzNKSags3urXc30YZIhs/s1600/IMG_0524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZo-F3rDYfRmLWT31ZuKPTANM9jhKGi9OQAPoKqBw4UiMjj-TcU_z4PMBVlAda_2kjd5t673p6SDzIx5VUy-_gOujEf_HZCVcIft_fFxw_RFzMr3QGOaa2FjyzNKSags3urXc30YZIhs/s200/IMG_0524.jpg" width="200" /></a>Once we got to the lock it lowered us 8' and we found ourselves in Turners Cut and eventually the headwaters of the Pasquotank River. Here we found the route to be wider and the forest at the sides to be much cleaner with less undergrowth and it held our first examples of Cyprus trees. The Dismal Swamp Canal was interesting because of its history but it was straight and narrow and obviously man-made. Once we got out on the river our route meandered through natural forests and the experience was more of being out in un-molested Nature.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fNtLd7UGuZQq0-VU6F3m1kLpQsf5BbicaoVP5f9gbpg9bc1rPvJUVXejntJlkQ8lDBNQCJxG8cifKiDor3M7X0nsv2j2wNsZuvTivs7QlinoB3ljsMjPajSfHSjKCKfFU90RUuEkSR4/s1600/IMG_0529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fNtLd7UGuZQq0-VU6F3m1kLpQsf5BbicaoVP5f9gbpg9bc1rPvJUVXejntJlkQ8lDBNQCJxG8cifKiDor3M7X0nsv2j2wNsZuvTivs7QlinoB3ljsMjPajSfHSjKCKfFU90RUuEkSR4/s200/IMG_0529.jpg" width="150" /></a>We had planned to anchor out behind Goat Island but when we got there we still had plenty of daylight so we decided to continue on to Elizabeth City, NC (mile 51.3). This is a popular stop-off on the ICW and has lots of small shops and good places to eat. Unfortunately for us, once we got through the Elizabeth City Bridge (twin bascule) we found a brisk 15 knot wind blowing straight up the river into the docks. We made several attempts to pull in but the wind and waves made it hazardous so we pulled out and continued down the river. We were now pressed for time and the only other anchorage in the area was a poor choice due to the wind. We decided to try across the river in an undeveloped cove with hopes the trees along the shore would give us some protection. As we got about half way there we were pulled over by a Coast Guard patrol boat for a safety inspection. They boarded us while we were still underway and gave us a complete inspection, including the bilges, sea cocks, paperwork, fire extinguishers and more. In the end we passed with flying colors and received a gold certificate to show we were 100% in compliance. After they departed we continued on to our anchorage behind Anson Point where we spent a somewhat rocky night but in complete safety and comfort. In the chart to the left our anchorage is shown by a blue arrow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK-phMFBjDy3AaAC6sRSFKCheibGYoNKZOZvN-f1MJH57sCAXtmPhSs3PUGikeWDWkqFuxJQLEJ9olPP5ktewufHSJlH0fq3EFNJCdigNoMCSwWe_DZjqC4igbbMZ-uS7tXKXEHBCAzw/s1600/IMG_0542.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK-phMFBjDy3AaAC6sRSFKCheibGYoNKZOZvN-f1MJH57sCAXtmPhSs3PUGikeWDWkqFuxJQLEJ9olPP5ktewufHSJlH0fq3EFNJCdigNoMCSwWe_DZjqC4igbbMZ-uS7tXKXEHBCAzw/s200/IMG_0542.png" width="150" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_9gWWDCDgLtbZSxwmipTo3mfoZCP8xzDpkhy9TXPBBhX2Lh6-TVwFElBVWhKHQVjPSLLtxrxlfwiWnwSsIILpRedj0RCFf0tPtSftgutGnXegsxc6V3TxL60uBXyquxAk9Owyl9rwLk/s1600/IMG_4086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_9gWWDCDgLtbZSxwmipTo3mfoZCP8xzDpkhy9TXPBBhX2Lh6-TVwFElBVWhKHQVjPSLLtxrxlfwiWnwSsIILpRedj0RCFf0tPtSftgutGnXegsxc6V3TxL60uBXyquxAk9Owyl9rwLk/s200/IMG_4086.jpg" width="200" /></a>On 4/12 we got underway around 0900 and motored out the Pasquotank River where we saw a dirigible hangar at what turned out to be the only dirigible manufacturing facility in the USA. Go figure. We continued from there into the Albemarle Sound. This is a wide crossing that can be rough with a brisk wind but we lucked out with about 10 knots out of the NE. We brought out the main and Genoa and enjoyed a good three hour sail into the Alligator River. As we came into the mouth of the river we furled the sails and continued under power which would prove to be the norm for the rest of our voyage. Once past the narrow entrance into the river we turned W into the Little Alligator River and followed a circuitous channel into a nice, well protected anchorage at Southshore Landing. The chart to the left shows part of the Albemarle Sound at the top, the Alligator River in the lower right and the Little Alligator River and our anchorage (blue dot) in the lower left. This was a nice undeveloped spot with the only sign of humans being an abandoned barge on the shore, apparently used as a hunting lodge or something.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-66431994024732527292015-04-15T18:40:00.001-04:002015-04-16T09:50:48.426-04:00Tieing Up Loose EndsNote: This post was written at the end of March but didn't get posted until we were halfway down the ICW.<br />
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The month of March has come and gone and for us it came in like a lion and went out like a lion. Life has been a whirlwind, lemme tell ya. We drove down to Florida at the end of February and closed on the house, turned around and came straight back to Maryland because I was still working. On the 12th I had my last day of work. Woohooo! More time for projects! On the 15th I turned 60, major milestone. On the 20th we rented a U-Haul truck and loaded up everything we still had in storage. This included a ton of stuff from the boat and a shed here at the marina plus a large collection of stuff our families had been keeping for us. The truck was packed to the gills. When we left Maryland it was in the 20's and snowing. When we got to Florida it was 80. Unloaded the truck, did some work on the house, rented a car and drove back to Maryland. With a week to go before our projected departure date (April Fools Day!) we had a long list of things to do to get the boat ready. Between working on the list and getting together with family for final farewells the time has flown by. We've now pushed our departure date back to Easter, April 5th. I think we can make that.<br />
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One project was getting a new anchor, a Rocna 33. That's 33kg. The anchor weighs 73 pounds and is a major upgrade from our 44 pound Bruce. To get it on board we had to move the boat so it was bow in first in the slip with the bow sprit hanging over the dock. The Bruce will now be our secondary anchor and the Danforth will move to the stern.<br />
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We also extended the cockpit railing forward to the gates on both sides. We used 1" stainless steel tubing (Sail Rite) and Bimini fittings (<a href="http://www.marinepartdepot.com/newststdehi.html" target="_blank">Click here</a>). I had to cut off the loops that connected the lifelines to the aft railing. I cut them off with a hacksaw and filed the nubs down smooth. For the top of the stanchion I could use a top slide (p/n MPD 462) that slips over the tubing. For the other connections I used hinged rail mounts (MPD 491) that clamp over the tubing. On each end of the 1" tubing that made up the rails I used top caps (MPD 171). The top caps have a single finger that fits between the two fingers on each rail mount. All these fittings are held in place with set screws and I used Loctite 242 on these to keep them snug.<br />
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The top slide on the stanchion had to be modified to hold the gate section of lifeline. The gate comes with a fitting made for swaging onto wire rope. I was planning to just cut this off and slip a bolt through the hole in the fitting that would thread onto a hole on the top cap. When I looked at the swaged fitting I realized it was threaded on the end that connects to the gate. I cut off the fitting and then found that the threaded part was the same threads as the set screw on the top cap. Perfect! It all went together like it was made to be even though all the parts came from different companies. The only drilling and tapping I had to do was for a new set screw location on the top cap.<br />
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I also ended up adding two upright supports between the upper and lower rails 21.5" apart using T fittings (MDP 474A) that slipped over the rails. These help to tie in the look of the side rails with the existing railing at the stern and add needed rigidity. Now if I need to remove the side rails for any reason it can be easily done by removing four screws and the whole assembly comes off in one piece. This was the main reason I went with assembled rails fittings instead of having it all welded in.<br />
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I got the cabinets installed in the aft cabin and they're usable but not finished. I'll do a blurb on them when I get all the finishing touches completed. For now I'm very pleased with how they came out. They added quite a bit of storage and look pretty nice too. It's nice having all the tools in one easily accessed location. No more hunting!<br />
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We've had this boat for over five years now and during that time we've repaired or replaced most of the problems that existed when we first bought her. One thing we didn't take on was the gauge for the water tank. We took it on for this trip figuring it'd be nice to know when we were going to run outa water. We'll also need it for the water maker so it was definitely time to do it. It's an interesting setup. The actual gauge is held onto a large 2.5" nut with two screws. Remove the screws and the gauge pops off with no connections. Huh? Turns out it's magnetic. Inside the tank there's a float slung between two brass rods. Through the center of the float is a third rod but this one is twisted down its length and has a magnetic bar at the top. As the float goes up or down the rod turns and so does the bar which causes the needle on the gauge to turn. The twist in the rod is something like 3/4 of a full turn so the gauge reads full scale, full to empty. Pretty clever. I found the rods to be covered in corrosion preventing the float from sliding up from the bottom. I cleaned everything up and when I tested it outside the tank everything worked great. But when I reinstalled it it still read empty. Hmm, bummer. Turns out the float, which is a plastic case with foam inside, was water logged. I replaced the float with a cork from a champaign bottle and it works fine now.
I'd like to point out here that our families have provided incredible support to us in our effort to prepare for our adventure. They've given us space in their homes for the things we just couldn't bear to get rid of and given us safe haven during tropical storms. Our biggest supporter has been my Mom even though she's none too excited about our plans. This last year she's helped us in so many ways without which I'd still be working and our plans would be a year behind. Thanks Mom and many thanks to all our family And friends for all the help and support over the last five years.<br />
<br />Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-2632703689752200762015-03-03T17:00:00.000-05:002015-03-04T15:13:01.655-05:00Workin' Onna Dockada Bay.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://youtu.be/rTVjnBo96Ug" target="_blank">Otis Redding - Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay</a><br />
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Originally written on February 25, 2015:<br />
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Another cold weekend. I know, I know, it's Winter. This is brutal cold weather though. You walk halfway down the dock and your face hurts from being so cold. The Bay is still frozen over and the ice at our dock is about 6" thick. I usually try to keep an open channel around the boat by breaking the ice with the boat hook and pushing the large chunks back under the surface. These last few weeks it got away from me though and now the ice is too thick to do anything about.<br />
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On Friday I picked up another 30 gallons of diesel to feed the heater. In coast mode it uses about 0.1 gallons per hour but with this bitter cold we have now it's running full blast all the time and still not able to keep up. I have to supplement the diesel heater with an electric heater to get the temperature up to 70 degrees F. I had both of them going full blast out in the salon to keep things cozy. When I went to take a shower I found that I had no cold water and the hot water was just a trickle at first. I suspected a frozen hose but it could have been something worse like a blown out hose. I checked the bilge and found about 4" of water, more than normal but I hadn't checked it in a while. I did notice ice down there too. If a hose had blown off there would have been a lot more water so that was a good sign that it was most likely a frozen hose. I opened up the water panel for the shower and pulled off the cold water hose to verify no flow. I noticed that the hoses snaked down into the cavity between the shower wall and the starboard hull. Hmm, might get kinda chilly in there. I decided the best thing I could do would be to position the electric heater so it blows against this spot. It took all day to get water flowing again and the heater now stays in the forward head all the time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSYICDQt5mkHdQA-R7DgRQp5ylsclJSyqgjD63yJD9V4_RmyKw-0RyviKC3Eqm-iR-L7UqXw4bvbiTLnKgOGRwo7U4CCcYZSfl-JiHXpdR9QfmozyZ0WnZpDMemxnmB9tdvvABCjqTJU/s1600/IMG_2257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSYICDQt5mkHdQA-R7DgRQp5ylsclJSyqgjD63yJD9V4_RmyKw-0RyviKC3Eqm-iR-L7UqXw4bvbiTLnKgOGRwo7U4CCcYZSfl-JiHXpdR9QfmozyZ0WnZpDMemxnmB9tdvvABCjqTJU/s1600/IMG_2257.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>It was so cold on Friday it was all I could do just to fill the Jerry cans. I left them in the car until warmer weather, which finally hit on Sunday with temperatures in the low 40's. T-shirt weather! I added 30 gallons to the tank to give us a few more weeks of heat. All I need at this point is for the water to get over 38 degrees and then we can switch back to the reverse cycle heat. After I did the fuel transfer thing I took Bella for a walk. I don't think she'd been off the boat for over a month. She was so excited she just ran back and forth on the dock. Pretty funny.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdR8WRV19kJ_CTmoLruN7xfgIPUG0BEJmw8n-5EuiYTTfyatAFhTvIU5RkdPMuGXXkYGalkF0ucZfNerrCwy0ZWw6bU3ssxPfVEoG4whW47Y0j-3DLrV54JwD1nqB_3B4CCg07aU5Ot0/s1600/IMG_2266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdR8WRV19kJ_CTmoLruN7xfgIPUG0BEJmw8n-5EuiYTTfyatAFhTvIU5RkdPMuGXXkYGalkF0ucZfNerrCwy0ZWw6bU3ssxPfVEoG4whW47Y0j-3DLrV54JwD1nqB_3B4CCg07aU5Ot0/s1600/IMG_2266.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinYPvDaoKKZUxzIWW-j2977j5TYcAkyuahzU9bWpb-G6rpgIEbCyayT_O-4DttnFyooHr0adTuNLmIio4naHNkusNESUh4OZqBbasZuEb5OgwPSuYTmIIHyjIskSxwrYnftnwo_EbVtI/s1600/IMG_2265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinYPvDaoKKZUxzIWW-j2977j5TYcAkyuahzU9bWpb-G6rpgIEbCyayT_O-4DttnFyooHr0adTuNLmIio4naHNkusNESUh4OZqBbasZuEb5OgwPSuYTmIIHyjIskSxwrYnftnwo_EbVtI/s1600/IMG_2265.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>In the afternoon I got to work on the cabinet project. Saturday I had hauled my 2' x 4' sections of 1/2" plywood down to the boat and laid out all the parts for the cabinets. On Sunday I pulled a cart down the dock and used it for a workbench. With my trusty cool-man saber saw I had everything cut out within a few hours. The end panel on the long low cabinet has a "skin" that I ordered from the factory. It's 1/8" thick and glues to the plywood panel behind it. This is the only outside plywood surface of this cabinet that shows and this "skin" really dresses it up nicely. For both these cabinets there are very few parallel or perpendicular surfaces. The aft bulkhead in this cabin angles out from the hull at about 20 degrees. The hull itself angles in towards the stern and also has a nice slope to it. This makes getting a snug fit kinda challenging and requires rechecking all your measurements. I used heavy cardboard for templates on the most difficult parts and that really paid off. Assembly is going nicely and I hope to have these in useable condition after one more weekend of effort.<br />
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We had originally planned to take off in April for the Bahamas and continue on from there into the Pacific. As our departure time got closer we realized this plan wasn't going to work for us. A major factor was in preparing our finances and investments for retirement. Over the last three years we've tried to refinance our boat several times and despite having adequate income, good jobs and high credit scores we were turned down because we live on a boat. Some banks claimed it was because live-aboards are vagabonds and are a higher risk of running out on their loans. Uhm, gee, that doesn't really apply to us. Others said it was because the Federal Government's "Department of Homeland Security" puts pressure on banks not to deal with anyone who doesn't have a home stuck in the dirt. Something to do with false identity and terrorists and the like. Oh yeah, that sounds more like us. Makes much more sense. The effect of this ridiculous prejudice is that it causes honest people to lie about where they live and with that they take the chance of losing their boat when the bank calls in the loan because they submitted false information. What terrorist in their right mind would want to live on a boat anyway? It's so much work they wouldn't have time to make bombs or plan terrorist kinda stuff. I think "Homeland Insecurity" would be a more appropriate name.<br />
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All that just to say that we decided to buy a house. We chose Florida because we have family down there and also because Florida has no state income tax. They also have really good prices on homes right now. We chose a nice little house in a good neighborhood located on the Atlantic side with a short drive to the water. For the first few years this will serve as our hurricane hole where we'll return from the islands and put the boat on the hard for the Summer and Fall. We'll have a place to store stuff from our voyages and Uncle Sam will be happy too.<br />
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Our plan for right now goes like this: I'll quit my job in eight days. That's not going to be a surprise for them because I gave almost three years notice. We'll move the stuff we have in storage along with one of the cars down to Florida, come back and sell the other car through CarMax. With that taken care of we'll cast off and take the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) down the coast to Florida. If we leave by the end of March we'll have about three months to make the 1200 mile trip. That works out to about 13 miles per day! That's a very slow pace and should give us plenty of time to explore and see some sights along the way. Maybe even stay for awhile if we really like a spot. We'll start out from Hampton, Virginia and take the canal through the Great Dismal Swamp. Cheri found several good books, <a href="http://www.landfallnavigation.com/managing.html" target="_blank">Cruiseguide for the Intracoastal Waterway</a> and <a href="http://www.landfallnavigation.com/anchorguideicw.html" target="_blank">Anchorguide for the Intracoastal Waterway</a> that give us detailed information about pretty much everything along the way, including what to see, where to go, where to anchor, sources for fun, food and fuel, etc. When we get the boat down to Florida we'll store her on the hard at a marina near our house. The marina has cradles that tie down to the tarmac and this is something the insurance company seems to like so that's a plus there too. Even though this is a major change from cruising the islands it only delays us for the next hurricane season. We're both excited about just getting away and doing some exploring.<br />
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With the boat on the hard in Florida I'll be able to finish up the water maker and several other projects before we head to the Bahamas next Fall. What's more, I'll be able to work out of a shop at home instead of on the dock. Now won't that be a nice change?<br />
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<br />Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-50643232669241103512015-02-19T15:15:00.000-05:002015-02-19T15:15:22.799-05:00Never Fails<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past week has been very cold with sub-freezing highs and single digit lows. Most daytime temperatures have been in the teens. Yeah, pretty cold for our part of the country. Normally this is not a big deal since we only have to deal with it when running between the boat and the car. This being our final cold winter for many years to come we thought it would be no big deal.<br />
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We've had our diesel heater for four winters now. I calculated that amounts to about 9300 hours of usage with only minor maintenance such as replacing the glow plug and diffuser every year and the fuel pump once. That's pretty good. It's not an inexpensive way to heat your boat but it does keep it comfortable and it is fairly reliable.<br />
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This past weekend that reliability thing caught up to us. I guess with 9300 hours I should have been expecting something. Just as the temperatures dropped into the teens our heater no longer could keep up and temperatures inside dropped into the 60's even though the thermostat was set for 70. At first I thought it was just because it was extremely cold outside. Then I discovered strange sounds coming from the heater. At first it sounded like a baseball card in your bicycles spokes. It progressively got worse and developed into vibrations with the heater cutting out, usually in the middle of the night. <br />
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After a few days of this I climbed down into the cockpit locker and did some maintenance on the heater. I was pretty sure the problem was in the blower that supplies fresh air for the combustion process as well as the recirculated air that gets reheated. The error codes displayed on the controller included #32, "blower motor short circuit". The troubleshooting manual (<a href="http://butlertechnik.com/download/2r/Eberspacher_Airtronic_D5_Workshop_Manual.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>) suggests a blockage in the fan. I removed the input air duct and vacuumed it out. I also used a paint brush and the vacuum to clean the fan blades. I was kinda disappointed not to find any large dust bunnies in there. As I was putting things back together I discovered the output air duct had popped off and was hanging down about a quarter inch, allowing cold air to be sucked in. Yes! That would explain why the heater couldn't keep up. Not.<br />
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I fired up the heater and it seemed to run very nicely for a while but after a few hours it started making noises again and eventually stopped running. It never seems to fail....bad things happen at the worst possible time. At this point our weather had really deteriorated with a major snowstorm predicted for that night. Temperatures were supposed to go below zero at some point too. Inside the boat we'd be waking up to temperatures in the high 40's and 50's and that was because we were running two electric heaters to keep it from going any lower.<br />
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The next day I removed the heater and brought it down below for some major surgery. After pulling off the intake hood I spun the fan. It was locked up and after it broke loose I could feel resistance when I turned it. OK, this is definitely the problem. To remove the blower assembly I had to first remove the upper jacket shell and shell holder. The manual says the blower isn't serviceable and is simply replaced as a whole unit. The cost of this thing is about $700 so I wanted to play with it, break it down as much as I could. I can see why it isn't serviceable. Once you get down to the motor you still have the whole combustion side of the blower attached and it doesn't break down much beyond that.<br />
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I tried buying my replacement parts from the local distributor but they were closed because of the snowstorm that had blown through the night before. I ended up going on-line and buying my parts from Lubrication Specialists (<a href="http://www.lubricationspecialist.com/airtronic-d5/" target="_blank">click here</a>) located in Greenfield, Indiana. I've bought parts from these guys before and their prices are excellent and delivery is speedy. This time I asked for overnight delivery which added $86 to the bill. Well worth it considering the temperature on the boat this morning was 49 degrees. I also ordered a new injector and two new diffuser screens.<br />
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The parts arrived the next day at 1100, delivered to the marina office. When I went to pick it up I climbed the stairs to the second floor office and from there I could look out across the Chesapeake Bay. From up there I was able to see all the way across to the Eastern Shore and into the mouth of the Choptank River. The Bay was frozen solid all the way across except for the shipping channel. This is the first time I've seen this but it's not that uncommon. Sharps Island Light at the Choptank River entrance has an interesting history (<a href="http://cblights.com/lights/sharpsisland.html" target="_blank">click here</a>) of being damaged by ice on the Bay.<br />
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Although this could be considered a major repair for this thing the actual job itself is not difficult. Once I had the parts unpacked it only took me about an hour to reassemble the unit and I took my time, cleaning as I went. The Espar heater is really well built with a tight, compact design. Parts fit together well and the only drawback for me was the need to invest in a set of star drivers. This was the first time I've had to remove the cover and do major surgery but now that's it's done I'll have no fear if I ever have to go back in again. There are few serviceable parts and all components are pretty easily accessible.<br />
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Once I had it back together and reinstalled in the cockpit locker it fired up on the second try and has run well ever since. Just in time too because the weather went from bad to worse with temperatures dropping even further for the next three days. Yikes! That was close.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-56778822607978861152015-02-04T17:18:00.000-05:002015-02-11T08:58:46.677-05:00Strut Your Stuff<br />
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Did some interesting work this past weekend. Even managed to take care of a few things other than the radio.<br />
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But we did start with the SSB radio. I read an article on Latitude 38 (<a href="http://www.latitude38.com/features/SSB.html#.VM_f9S4ofbW" target="_blank">click here</a>) called the Idiot's Guide to Marine SSB. There's lots of good information about licensing, range and frequency and more but down towards the bottom is a section on testing reception and transmission. I've been able to pick up signals from as far away as Miami and they came through pretty clear. I don't know how the transmission is though, how clear my signal is at the other end. The best way is to have someone to receive your transmission at a prearranged time and frequency. We don't have that yet so we'll settle for plan B right now. You can get a pretty good idea of signal strength just by holding the mike up to your mouth and saying "four" loud, long and drawn out. I did this and pegged the power meter and never saw the SWR warning which would indicate transmitted signal bleeding back into the radio.<br />
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We got the GPS info fed to the SSB and VHF radios via the NMEA 2000 backbone. It's actually getting the GPS info directly from the multi-function display out in the cockpit. This provides an accurate Latitude/Longitude position of our boat which is displayed on the control head along with Zulu time. This information is nice to have ready access to for emergency situations such as our second day out on our voyage to Bermuda. We encountered a deafening explosion in our close vicinity and broadcasted our position to anyone listening. Our immediate concern was that the Navy might be doing some practice fire and we did not want to be an unintentional target. The Coast Guard responded right away and asked for our position. To have it displayed right at the radio is a huge time saver and prevents mistakes. They sent out a helicopter and with accurate information they flew right down our side. Never did find out what the explosion was though.<br />
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(<a href="http://www.icomcanada.com/products/marine/ic-m504/Marine_IC-M504%20Instruction%20Manual.pdf" target="_blank">click here for the ICOM M504 VHF Radio Manual</a>) One thing about this GPS connection. I had thought I could use both the NMEA 0183 input and output from the VHF radio (SSB only has 0183 input) for use with DSC, digital selective calling. This is kinda like making a private call over the radio because it uses MMSI numbers (Maritime Mobile Service Identity, assigned by the FCC and USCG, <a href="http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/index.php?pageName=mtMmsi" target="_blank">click here</a>) and digital coding. When you're traveling in a group of boats you can program each MMSI number into your radio and assign it a "group" name (manual page 15 thru 48). You can then make "group" calls that are only received by those boats. The MMSI number is also used in emergency situations and provides the USCG with pre-programmed information about your boat and it's location. Both of our radios have DSC capability but I've since found that the way I have the system set up I can't get the incoming NMEA 0183 info fed into the system and displayed on the chart plotter. Our local pros at MSC told me not to worry about it, that the few boats they've set up with that capability never actually use it. We'll still be able to do the "group" thing, just won't be able to see the other boats displayed unless we hit them with radar or if they have AIS. Since both radios have the capability I decided not to use it on the SSB. That requires setting up another antenna and I think we already have enough crap hanging off our boat. It would be redundant to the VHF radio anyway.<br />
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I finally got started on the cabinet project in the aft stateroom. I assembled the face frames, doors and hinges. Everything seems to be of a pretty nice quality and the color of the wood, honey maple, is a pretty close match to the teak, just a shade lighter. The doors are larger than I expected so I had to remove the fiddle that runs across the front of the shelf. This will be cut down to work with the cabinets and still help to tie the cabinets in with the rest of the boats woodwork. The hinges are a nice quality and have a spring-loaded closing action. The face frame is milled on the backside to accept 1/2" cabinet sides and tops in an 1/8" deep recess. That'll make assembly a little easier. The biggest problem I have working on these cabinets is unloading all the junk we have stashed in the aft stateroom. It all gets moved out into the main salon and forward stateroom so the boat is in a complete uproar while I'm working back there. At the end of the weekend it all goes back again. Hopefully these cabinets will help reduce some of that clutter. Life on a boat.<br />
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Another project I took care of (actually finished) this weekend was replacing the gas spring struts on our bunk and the lift-up mirror in the forward head. The one in the head was a direct replacement, cost about $30 and took two minutes to install. Our bunk was a different story. The mattress sits on a hinged platform that lifts to reveal multiple levels of storage underneath. We store all kinds of stuff down there and need access all the time. When we first got the boat it had a foam mattress and two 80 lb struts to lift the bed. We replaced the foam with an inner coil mattress and the struts still helped but it took an effort to raise. We added a memory foam topper and that just made things worse. We finally got rid of the inner coil mattress and replaced it with a 12" Latex foam mattress. Now the struts were way out of their league. Lifting that sucka was a real workout and to hold it up we used a length of wooden hangar rod that we borrowed from someones closet. I finally got around to replacing the struts and having never worked with these before it was a real learning experience. The originals had the part # marked on the tube so I looked it up on the internet. Made by Attwood they have an 8" range, 20" extended length and are rated at 80 lbs lifting force each. Attwood makes stronger ones with the same length and range, up to 120 lbs. I was hoping to find something that would use the same brackets to keep things easy but I wanted more force than 120 lbs. I did another search using the range and extended length and found some rated at 180 lbs. That's more like what I was thinking. There's a way to measure the amount of force you need which involves a floor scale but I tried it and couldn't do it safely because of the weight and location. So I was just kinda guessing what I needed based on the amount of struggle with the old struts. <br />
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The only problem with the bigger struts was that they have a bigger ball mount and would require a different bracket. When I looked up the brackets available for it I found them all to be way too big. It would have really hogged a lot of space beneath the bunk. I took another look at the brackets I had and decided I could modify them to work. I went ahead and ordered the struts along with spring clips (?) and the bigger ball mounts.<br />
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When I received everything I found the new ball mounts were threaded studs as apposed to the old ones which were smaller and pressed in. I filed off the backside of the old ones and popped them out and then drilled and tapped the bracket for 5/16"-13 threads. The tube-end of the struts mounts flush to the storage area wall so I had to cut the stud down flush to get it to fit. The rod-end sticks out in the air so I mounted a nut and lock washer to keep things tight. I had never worked with the clips though and had to do a search on YouTube (<a href="https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=AwrTca_PWdJUjKoAjiInnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTB0MzkwOG5yBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1lIUzAwNF8x?p=how+to+install+gas+strut+spring&tnr=21&vid=6F726D4ADDA6620D23C16F726D4ADDA6620D23C1&l=31&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DUN.608055060472464941%26pid%3D15.1&sigi=11rhso1sg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKuxEJioPkV0&sigr=11amfsuui&tt=b&tit=Gas+Spring+Retainer+Clip&sigt=10o8hclor&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dhot%2Bto%2Binstall%2Bgas%2Bstrut%2Bspring%2Bclips%26ei%3DUTF-8%26hsimp%3Dyhs-001%26hspart%3Dmozilla&sigb=13hkv70se&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001" target="_blank">click here</a>) to figure it out. Once you see how it's done it looks so simple but when I pulled the parts out of the bag I could not figure it out and there were no directions in the kit. Those two little holes in the ball housing are almost invisible. Once everything was mounted I tried lifting the bed. Very little effort to get it started and it slowly rose up to it's limit. Closing was a breeze. I had Cheri give it a try and she could also do it with little effort. Excellent! <br />
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So we're still making progress on things but the time is flying by. I need to get the cabinet finished and get to work on that water maker. We also have a new mainsail scheduled to arrive this month as well as a new life raft which will need mounting somewhere. Oh yeah, plus two more solar panels and the railing around the cockpit. Yikes! Now I'm feeling stressed. 36 days to go until I leave my job and just two weeks or so after that we take off for the Bahamas.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-71879983556651799432015-01-28T17:39:00.000-05:002015-01-28T17:39:36.912-05:00SSB Finishing Touches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Jt0x8a4yAit3V4eK74DolCYu85RdtjhVgIqE6-1UR8HY05yb-7cOO7gcGJWlmX2qrlSqSJBwjPA-VmzHIEy7UaJ1BkF9o90HQ0hZlRG-uEA2zIXH2nKSWBszkhLOLU-NXSy6mV1mF9b8/s1600/IMG_2228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Jt0x8a4yAit3V4eK74DolCYu85RdtjhVgIqE6-1UR8HY05yb-7cOO7gcGJWlmX2qrlSqSJBwjPA-VmzHIEy7UaJ1BkF9o90HQ0hZlRG-uEA2zIXH2nKSWBszkhLOLU-NXSy6mV1mF9b8/s1600/IMG_2228.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Down below at the Nav Station I'm making the power connection to the
house bank batteries. The transceiver draws about 25 amps while
transmitting and has a 30 amp fuse on the positive power input. They
provide about ten feet of #10 wire but I'm using #8 for most of the run
to ensure adequate voltage levels. Coming from the batteries located
beneath the starboard settee the wire runs through 40 amp fuses, one for
each leg. This is simply to protect the wiring in the event of a short. From there it runs up to
a terminal strip near the transceiver where it mates with the now
shortened #10 wire. I used non-insulated ring lugs with shrink wrap on all wire terminations. Using #8 wire required some
heavy duty crimping and I ended up investing in a ratchet type crimping
tool. Money well spent. For the shrink wrap I used Cheri's blow
dryer. Not as fast as a heat gun but it did the job. After I made some voltage checks I went back and dressed out all the cable runs and neatened things up.<br />
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Another connection on the transceiver is for GPS information. This is displayed on the head unit screen as latitude and longitude and also used in DSC mode so your position is automatically transmitted. Both our VHF and SSB radios have DSC capability. To get the GPS info I'm tying into the NMEA 2000 backbone using a gadget from Raymarine called a "VHF NMEA 0183 to STng converter" (p/n E70196, $75). Only one of these is required for both radios. The input side provides the GPS info and the output from the radio provides location information of the vessel you're in contact with. This might be handy if you're traveling with a group of boats and keeping in touch using the DSC mode. If you're spread out over 20 miles of ocean each boat will still be displayed and identified on your chart plotter with pop-up flags containing all the boat's information. Pretty sweet!<br />
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The final connection is for the modem, in our case a Pactor-4 Dragon DR-7400 from SCS (<a href="http://p4dragon.com/en/PACTOR-4.html" target="_blank">click here</a>). This little unit allows the SSB radio and our Mini Mac computer to communicate, giving us the capability of sending/receiving e-mail and downloading weather information. This thing costs as much as the radio itself but this is the main reason we wanted a SSB radio, being able to stay in touch with friends and family by e-mail, even when we're away from a WiFi connection. Maybe just as important is the ability to pick up weather forecasts anywhere in the world. This little box is a key component for our travel plans.<br />
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Once
I finished up all the wiring down below I went back topsides and
completed the connections in the cockpit locker. All our wiring runs
through the genset compartment so I needed to pull the genset forward to
allow me to get in behind it to finish the job. This is a tight space
requiring the dexterity of a contortionist and made it obvious to me
that I'm really getting too old for this kind of stuff. I can get into the tight spots but then it's a major struggle to get back out. It wasn't that long ago that I could do this stuff, no problem. Getting old sucks.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The mounting board has had over a week for the 5200 to set so I went ahead and mounted the antenna tuner in the starboard side lazarette. The location I settled on is basically up inside the aft coaming. This works well for a short direct run to the backstay but once it's mounted on the board most of the connections are facing away towards the center of the cockpit and have to be made by feel. The only really difficult part was the wing nut for the ground connection. Because of it's shape it's pretty tough to get it started and I managed to drop two of them before finally threading it on properly. This is one of those locations where anything that falls instantly rolls out of sight, in this case under the genset. At $2.42 each, it's already an expensive collection down there.<br />
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At the ground lug I made connections for RF ground and the green wire for the control cable. The RF ground is a critical component in the SSB antenna system. The actual back-stay wire between the insulators is really only half of the antenna. The other half is the ground which enables the RF signal to jump free of the antenna. A really good ground is key to having a good, clean and strong signal. It's important to understand that to keep system noise to a minimum an RF ground needs to be separate from all other grounds on a boat, including the batteries, engine and bonding system. There are different techniques for creating a suitable RF ground on a boat. One is to mount a bronze plate on the outside of the hull below the waterline and connect a heavy gauge 4" wide copper tape between the mounting bolts inside and the ground lug of the antenna tuner. This uses the water the boat sits in as the ground plane and is pretty effective. The drawback is that the bronze plate requires cleaning. Another method is to run that copper tape along the inside of the hull and connect it to through hulls and deck mounting plates. They recommend you use about 100' of copper tape for this.<br />
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I'm going to try something a little different called a counterpoise made by KISS-SSB (<a href="http://www.sea-tech.com/KISS.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>). This is a series of wires cut to exactly 1/4 wavelength for the most common frequencies used on the SSB radio. The tuned wires are contained in a heavy tube about 9' long that is run inside the hull and connects to that same ground lug. This sells for $149, requires no holes in the hull and installation takes about 10 minutes.<br />
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The high voltage output at the other end of the antenna tuner was pretty straight forward. It has a boot that slips over the insulator to prevent any moisture running down the wire from getting inside the tuner. It's designed so it can be mounted outside in the weather and that would explain the need for the boot. Probably not needed in this location but it went on anyway. I drilled through the back side of the coaming and installed a weather-proof feed through. The wire used to connect the antenna tuner to the back-stay is GTO-15, originally designed for use with neon signs. Since this is a high voltage cable I ran it through conduit with 1.625" stand-offs attached to the non-insulated part of the back-stay. I placed the stand-offs every 6" to give the conduit plenty of support and it's strong enough to be used as a grab handle while moving around the cockpit. The conduit exits through a PVC cap at the top of the conduit just above the bottom insulator and makes a gentle 180 degree turn before connecting to the back-stay with a "GO-To Bug" clamp. I sealed it up with tape but then read the "Sailor's Quick-Start Guide" where I found that this clamp is supposed to be left exposed to weather to keep it accessible for cleaning on a regular basis. OK, gotta go back and fix that.<br />
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The final part of my work this weekend involved installing an earth ground for the antenna tuner. I decided to go with this after discussing it with some friends with the same SSB radio and KISS counterpoise. The radio comes with 10' of 4" wide heavy copper foil. I ran this from the ground lug on the tuner down to the packing gland nut on the rudder post. Anywhere it changed direction I folded it over on itself to form a 90 degree turn. At a convenient spot I cut the tape across and mounted it to a block of wood, leaving a gap between the two ends. Across this I soldered four capacitors (0.15uf, 100v) to create a DC block that will prevent electrolytic corrosion. I then covered the edges of the foil with Gorilla tape to hold it in place and prevent injuries from the sharp edges.<br />
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As I was cleaning up at the end of the day I found the wingnuts I had dropped, both securely wedged in the wiring beneath the genset.<br />
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We fired up the radio and did a listen test to see if we could hear anything. Picked up some dudes chatting down in Miami. Cool! Now I gotta learn what all those knobs and buttons do so we can do some chatting of our own.<br />
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<br />Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-55438812293150555552015-01-12T16:20:00.000-05:002015-01-12T16:20:18.190-05:00The Continuing SSB Saga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8WkRaCsJckTExtqOTEQC9EEVOgWftQmweW_Ik2YTw8Vo7FfAcf5YWety1ZqW2fDNQAjqKc2ECj70-1ZRmLKBS8NVG811dnCPTOnoIn43Es-VAzojLRJOomLpLIU3x9-eJPgA9Z__hQs/s1600/IMG_2224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8WkRaCsJckTExtqOTEQC9EEVOgWftQmweW_Ik2YTw8Vo7FfAcf5YWety1ZqW2fDNQAjqKc2ECj70-1ZRmLKBS8NVG811dnCPTOnoIn43Es-VAzojLRJOomLpLIU3x9-eJPgA9Z__hQs/s1600/IMG_2224.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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My original estimate of having a four day weekend to install this thing was off by the speed of light. First of all, a four day weekend does not necessarily mean there's 8 hours per day available to work on projects. With everyday chores and unforeseen priorities I'm probably lucky to get in four hours per day. Besides, everything I do takes at least twice as long as I originally thought it would. Maybe even twice that.<br />
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I went back at it this weekend and pulled the cables through to the cockpit locker on the starboard side. I want to install the antenna tuner there because we're using the starboard side backstay for the antenna and we need to keep the high voltage wire as short as possible. After I got the cables pulled I spent some time looking around for a good mounting location for the antenna tuner. I needed a spot about 8" x 16", a good piece of real estate on a boat. Plus it had to be where the HV wire wouldn't run near any other wiring because this could induce noise into other systems. This is a pretty high powered radio. I've heard stories about people keying the mike and the lights in the cabin would flash, electric toilets would flush, etc, etc. I don't think we need that kind of entertainment. Let's see now, we've got the wiring for shore power running through from here to there and the wiring for the genset goes over there. Oh yeah, all that wire over there is for the auto pilot. There was plenty of space on the inside of the hull but there's too much wiring it would have to cross and it's further away from the backstay than I wanted to be. I ended up settling on an overhead spot tucked up inside the cockpit coaming. I cut out a board and pre-drilled it to mount the tuner. Glopped it up with 5200 and used gorilla tape to hold it in place on the fiberglass until everything dries. In this 20 degree weather that'll probably take a few days before I can mount the tuner.<br />
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With that delay in mind I went below to the Nav Station and concentrated on the power for the transceiver. This is mounted in a cabinet directly over the batteries for the house bank. Perfect! I plan to run power directly from the batteries instead of through the breaker panel to keep out any stray noise. I'm mounting 40 amp blade fuses just downstream from the batteries, one on each leg (+ and -). Up at the radio there's a 30 amp fuse on the + side but the bigger fuses will protect the wiring (fingers crossed, knock on wood, swing a chicken over my head, etc, etc) in the event of a nearby lightning strike. I'm running #8 wire from the batteries up to the transceiver. It comes with what looks like #10 wire so we'll mount a terminal block up there right next to it to make the connection. That way we'll have maximum diameter wire for most of the run to give us maximum voltage and minimum noise.<br />
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I also worked on finishing up the wiring at the transceiver. In the kit there is a pile of RF "chokes", ferrite clips, that are used to inhibit stray RF in order to reduce noise in the system. These get placed on cables connected to the transceiver by placing a loop in the wire and then snapping the choke in place. I ended up removing pretty much everything I had done last weekend to re-do the cables. I also found that after I installed the choke on the control cable for the antenna tuner I no longer had enough wire length to plug it back in to the transceiver. Now I hafta pull some back from the cockpit locker. Grrr. One step forward, two steps back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickAzcDmbrYssCpwOGTIWW5BG811wnNqU3Oe5rWFEGzz9zBrnbnM89bQttfviBM-r1zLmOVohgAJXoldA9t_3tKEI0lgDxOf1JewQz3x6VD3KC9fO6PG5YidbtRdpfrsiR-87Hm-bdkNo/s1600/IMG_2225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEickAzcDmbrYssCpwOGTIWW5BG811wnNqU3Oe5rWFEGzz9zBrnbnM89bQttfviBM-r1zLmOVohgAJXoldA9t_3tKEI0lgDxOf1JewQz3x6VD3KC9fO6PG5YidbtRdpfrsiR-87Hm-bdkNo/s1600/IMG_2225.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a> While I was at it I also added some chafe protection where the wires pass through the bulkheads. I used split plastic wire loom, 3/4", and forced it around the inside edges of the holes I had cut out with a hole saw. Even with everything tied down firmly there's a chance the wire will wear against the hard surface, especially where I had cut through fiberglass. This is good insurance.<br />
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That part back in the beginning where I went on and on about how I never have enough time to get anything done? Uhm, gee, go figure. On Friday I was climbing off the boat, literally. The wind had been blowing ferociously out of the NW for about four days and the water level in our creek had dropped about 4'. To get off the boat we had to climb up one of the pilings to get up to the decking of the dock. Once I got up on my feet I looked out over the marina and saw a huge column of smoke rising above the masts. At the same time I heard sirens coming in from all over the place. At first I thought the smoke was coming from Calypso, a local bar that's been closed for renovation. Oh no, not the rum! I later found out it was actually a house across the street. Bummer. I mean, it would have been bad either way but I hate to see someones home go up in smoke. Still, there's something beyond fascination about a fire. This one had equipment come in from miles away, as far away as Bowie. There musta been twenty fire trucks out there. Slow day at the VFD's I guess. They set up a pumper in the marina at the haul-out ramp. That little operation alone drew quite a crowd. There was fire equipment everywhere. They had so many fire trucks respond to this fire that they had to close the road off at Rte 2, about 3 miles down the road. Anyway, I managed to waste quite a bit of time scoping out all the action. Didn't get back to the boat for quite a while. Still can't figure out why all my projects take so long.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-83949774434718487572015-01-06T12:49:00.000-05:002015-01-06T12:49:53.406-05:00Projected Time Does Not Equal Actual Time<br />
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This time of year tends to get busy with family and all sorts of things going on. Most important of all, we recently hit a major milestone in our lives. Cheri has retired, ending a twenty year career as a Project Manager with the Federal government. Woohoooo! Congratulations Baby! This also marks a point on our calendar where we have just three months to go before throwing off the dock lines and heading south. I can't believe we've come this far. The last five years has flown by so quickly. It had better slow down now so we can savor some of that time we have ahead of us. <br />
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I did manage to make some progress on several of our projects and others....not so much. The most time consuming of them all, varnishing the teak, has come to a halt because of the cold weather. I had originally thought I could crank this one out in about four weekends. Over the duration of the project I lost track of just how long I had actually been working on it and recently realized that it's been since late October, about ten weeks. Yikes! Of course most of that time was lost due to weather or traveling (or procrastination) or whatever but the really significant thing about this is that I left all that blue tape on there. They say you're only supposed to leave it on for a few days at most because it gets really tough to remove after a while. It's now been somewhat more than a while and guess what? It's true. That blue tape is a bear to remove. I got out there this weekend and started peeling it off, very slowly, with a single edged razor blade to encourage the sections that didn't want to come up on their own. That's right! Give me a blade and my dark side comes out. This took hours with very little progress. Then it rained for two days. After the rain stopped I went back out and found that the tape came up much easier. OK, thanks for that. Somebody is looking out for me, fer sure.<br />
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Some other things went a little easier. I replaced the life lines (hand rail) this weekend. The old ones were covered in white vinyl or PVC or something and had developed rust stains. When I removed the stanchions for cleaning and re-bedding I took the old lines down to West Marine in Annapolis and placed an order for all new lines in bare stainless wire with all new fittings. We're only running the wire lines from the bow back to the gates on each side and will use 1" stainless tube from there back around the cockpit. Mounting the new lines was pretty painless I also added two stanchion mounts on the port side up by the bow for a whisker pole.<br />
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I have the parts for building the cabinet in the aft cabin and once this is finished I can get started on the water maker. I also have all the parts needed to install a single side-band (SSB) radio. Time for a priority list. I reasoned that the radio installation should come first because with that completed Cheri can spend some time getting familiar with it while I build the cabinet and install the water maker. Good plan. I had a four day weekend and figured this would be plenty of time. Best laid plans and all that.<br />
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Last year we had some cabinetry done in the galley and at the same time I reconfigured the instruments located in the Nav Station cabinet. In addition to working on the instrument panel I had a small cabinet added on top to house the radios, VHF and SSB. We didn't have the SSB radio yet but I knew we would eventually get one so I had the cabinet maker install the cut-outs for an ICOM-M802 head unit and speaker. Because of that the actual installation for that part was pretty simple. I actually sat down and read the instruction manual (<a href="http://www.manualslib.com/manual/281949/Icom-Ic-M802.html#manual" target="_blank">ICOM M802 SSB Users Manual</a>) and here I found a bit of information I hadn't considered when I re-did the Nav Station. In the manual it says to place the radio's head unit in a position that's easy to get to from a comfortable seated position, taking into consideration left or right hand use. Geez, good idea, although I'm not really planning on spending hours on this thing. Really just wanted it for weather and simple communications. I think we'll try it the way I have it for a while, years maybe, and see if it suits our needs. Maybe some day I'll decided to reconfigure the instruments again and can place it in a better position. Right. Because I have so much time for stuff like that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgJmrN6jTrk3L5zBD4f43iDEzmniXugSmgfay_qRjguJeTcVdLradrTRb_Py4hzotGpqJ_ESHLUi-zAgeuOV7NIy-X3njfh3WKZYw0lc7rUKq9wm8WqKEtoOMR_GWjEg-u8Yk8vstQ5U/s1600/ic-m802.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgJmrN6jTrk3L5zBD4f43iDEzmniXugSmgfay_qRjguJeTcVdLradrTRb_Py4hzotGpqJ_ESHLUi-zAgeuOV7NIy-X3njfh3WKZYw0lc7rUKq9wm8WqKEtoOMR_GWjEg-u8Yk8vstQ5U/s1600/ic-m802.tif" height="131" width="200" /></a>The bigger part of the SSB installation was mounting the transceiver and running the wires. The transceiver weighs about ten pounds and the manual makes a big deal about not hanging it from overhead and being sure to secure it firmly to a flat horizontal surface. It's dimensions are 11.5" x 11.5" x 4.75" so it's not so much huge as it is dense. If this baby broke loose it would do some damage. It also draws 25 amps so it must produce some pretty good heat. I spent some time trying to find a good location for this thing. I originally had wanted to mount it under the Nav Station desk but that would create a conflict with your legs when you sit down plus it would require a hefty shelf to mount it on. I ended up taking over the cabinet just forward of the Nav Station. It has a louvered door so hopefully it'll have sufficient ventilation. We had been using this as a catch-all for CD's and DVD's and pretty much anything having to do with a computer. Everything was just piled up in there and the space was poorly used. I decided I could build a shelf to support the "stuff" and mount the transceiver and the modem underneath. The cabinet is 15" deep and the shelf is only 12" deep with a gap in front and back so there should be good enough air flow. And yes, I added fiddles to both the front and the back of the shelf.<br />
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There are a number of cable connections to this thing. The control head and speaker each have one. The modem has another. There's also a port for connecting GPS. On the back there's three cables that run to the back of the boat and connect to the antenna tuner which then connects to one of the back-stays. This has already been set up with insulators at the top and bottom to be used as the SSB antenna. One of the cables goes to a separate antenna for DSC (<a href="http://www.vhf-dsc.info/" target="_blank">click here for more info</a>). Running these three cables turned out to be a major pain in the tukhus (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Yiddish_origin" target="_blank">click here for more info</a>). They come with connectors mounted at both ends and the two antenna cable connectors are pretty bulky. This makes pulling them through tight spots difficult at best. If the factory would install a connector at one end and provide a kit for the other it would make life soooooo much easier. I first tried pulling all three cables down the starboard side cable-run that goes behind the cabinets in the galley and dumps out in the cockpit locker. This was my number one choice because it's the most direct path and the main antenna cable is big and stiff and only 33' long. I spent the better part of a day trying to get the cables pulled through this location but in the end had to run them under the cabin sole, beneath the galley and then out through the genset compartment. I've only gotten them halfway through so far so I have at least a few more hours of work ahead of me. Even going this way is a tight squeeze and I'm beginning to see that this boat has way too many wires and hoses running down one side. No wonder she leans to starboard 2 degrees! Gonna hafta move all my future projects over to the port side. <br />
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While I was working on the physical installation Cheri has been installing the software to run the modem. This will allow us to send and receive e-mail by radio and pick up weather reports from NOAA. The biggest complication so far has been because we have Mac computers and the software is only made for PC's. She had to install Windows 8 to work with the e-mail program and the modem. Dang! We tried so hard but there's just no getting away from Microsoft. We'll see how it all works out when I get the radio up and running.<br />
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Right now the plan is to complete this installation next weekend. I'll do a complete write-up and add some pictures then.<br />
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Since we've been talking about time I'll just point out here that I have 65 days, 6 hours and 45 minutes to go until my last day of work. Two more weeks beyond that is our scheduled cast off time.<br />
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<br />Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-53856996647172178342014-12-10T09:45:00.000-05:002014-12-12T10:35:25.594-05:00Baby It's Cold Outside<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The weather has turned on us and Winter was pretty much here by mid-November. Temperatures have been in the 30's and 40's during the day and we've had some nights into the 20's. It's also been raining more often and all of this makes working outside kinda unpleasant. We've managed to get a few more coats of varnish on the teak and now have the toe rail and eye brow trim up to four coats and two coats on the cockpit coaming. My goal now is five all around but I need a few days of really nice weather back-to-back for that. We'll be putting the cockpit enclosure up this weekend so I can continue to work on the coaming through the Winter. Next March we'll get the final three or four coats of varnish on everything else and should be ready to take it South with no worries.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ao3eShl6rmPl4dmo0yecIVrFaRvrBNpSyNIM8PKZKm3aIa7A6AX7AuWO2nIfS2Sg2TNiTeAcCkJGR03w-56177vVJWduiO44FL4mx0nzmLpPuLEmLmNeKkLGzapd98pYw3ZvaCy82W4/s1600/Mark+Twain+Profanity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ao3eShl6rmPl4dmo0yecIVrFaRvrBNpSyNIM8PKZKm3aIa7A6AX7AuWO2nIfS2Sg2TNiTeAcCkJGR03w-56177vVJWduiO44FL4mx0nzmLpPuLEmLmNeKkLGzapd98pYw3ZvaCy82W4/s1600/Mark+Twain+Profanity.jpg" height="200" width="199" /></a>This past weekend, 12-5-14, we had several days of rain and it was clear but
cold on Sunday. Once things dried out we managed to get the rest of the
stanchions installed before we turned to solid ice. It was chilly out
there! I had masked off the area where the bases sat on the teak so
they were bare wood. We then had to mask off around that to protect the
varnish from the 5200 sealant. Once that was done I went down the toe
rail with my cordless drill and recessed all the bolt holes to help
force the sealant in around the bolts. I used generous portions of 5200
on the base, about a 1/4" thick bead around all the holes and around
the perimeter then filled the tube of the stanchion about an inch or
so in. As I screwed down the bolts I got a nice bead of sealant oozing out
evenly around the base plate. After 24 hours it'll be cured enough to
trim with a razor blade and the extra will come right up with the masking tape.
The next coat of varnish will then seal it all in. Just an observation on this little project with the stanchions. These are through-bolted to backing plates underneath the deck. They're accessed from inside by reaching through a narrow gap at the side of the overhead liner where it meets the hull. Some places are wider than others and some are partially blocked by cabinetry. The only way to see where the bolts come through the plates is with a mirror. All the stanchions except two on each side have threaded backing plates so this is a one-man job. For those other four stanchions it's pure frustration. My hand barely fits through the gap so I enlisted Cheri to work on the inside while I manned the wrenches out in the cold. Chivalry and all that. Each stanchion has four bolts and they use 7/16" lock nuts. You need to hold a combination wrench up in there at just the right angle for the ones closest to the hull and the inboard ones can be reached using a socket on a flex-extension. Anything that gets dropped is lost forever. Apparently these nuts also require a special vocabulary to get them started but Cheri quickly had it mastered. I gotta admit I've never heard a 7/16" lock nut defamed so eloquently.<br />
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Last weekend I had new lifelines made up with all new fittings and turnbuckles. We're going with bare stainless wire this time. Our old lines had the white PVC coating on and had developed cracks and rust spots. I think the plastic jacket holds dirt and water inside and this is what's rusting, not the lifeline itself. Aside from looking nasty you can't tell what condition the lifeline is really in so that's why we went with the bare wire. The stanchions are all freshly polished and re-bedded so once the new lines are on things should look pretty schnazzy. We're only running the bare wire from the gates forward to the bow pulpit because we're doing hard railings all the way around the cockpit starting at the gates and wrapping around the stern. We picked up the new lines on Friday but haven't gotten them installed yet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJ3evL7WvbNkzPSe789zH-W5Ro4VXXk4nsftauOioRg9IHtL_xeZGXqqE1PWWDb0g6nxh2Om8kv-eh8QGri1RV0aTR_RNl0DjoHxcSCWj7SBLPaR-EMQ8s3UAcSETN8YQE3LkczigwoA/s1600/Backing+Plates+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJ3evL7WvbNkzPSe789zH-W5Ro4VXXk4nsftauOioRg9IHtL_xeZGXqqE1PWWDb0g6nxh2Om8kv-eh8QGri1RV0aTR_RNl0DjoHxcSCWj7SBLPaR-EMQ8s3UAcSETN8YQE3LkczigwoA/s1600/Backing+Plates+1.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a>Right now I'm making up some backing plates for the line locks and pad eyes we'll be installing for the Main Boom Preventer. Once those are in place I'll be able to cross that project off the list. I'm using some scrap 1/4" aluminum plate for the backing plates. I first traced the pattern on the surface and center punched the holes to make sure I got them correctly centered. I'm using 1/4" thick plate because I want to thread the holes and not have to use nuts on the bolts when I install them. The bolts are 1/4-20 SS and I'll be using a #7 drill bit on the backing plates to leave enough metal to allow for tapping some good threads. I'll be using 5200 to bed the line locks and pad eyes on the toe rail so there's no need for lock washers. The 5200 puts a firm grip on the bolts and even after ten years you need some serious leverage to remove them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmymzvl0iFsrhuSSKeCk6zeuwARCjPLrK505RCa_wYDJj3q5KcE5Kw5e-nq4Q246qFqxTvql4B4c9wEhYbRuAF78y50cFwfA9kj2tJut8MvDy8Az-bVwpWHA489zD_WLrMsL7cPbnEo3w/s1600/Hargrove+Cinnamon+Cabinet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmymzvl0iFsrhuSSKeCk6zeuwARCjPLrK505RCa_wYDJj3q5KcE5Kw5e-nq4Q246qFqxTvql4B4c9wEhYbRuAF78y50cFwfA9kj2tJut8MvDy8Az-bVwpWHA489zD_WLrMsL7cPbnEo3w/s1600/Hargrove+Cinnamon+Cabinet.jpg" height="108" width="200" /></a></div>
My cabinet faces were delivered to the marina on Monday (woohoo!) so that'll be a project for next weekend. These are made of solid maple and stained "cinnamon". Hopefully it'll be close enough to the look of the teak but they'll be stuck back in a dark corner and shouldn't be too noticeable anyway. I've made templates out of heavy corrugated cardboard for the cabinet sides to help get a good fit against the inner surface of the hull. I'll be using 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood for the cabinet sides, top and shelf and any exposed ends will have a matching maple veneer. The hull will serve as the back of the cabinet and it's overall dimensions will be 18" high x 45" long x 15" deep. A friend of mine has offered the use of his table saw so if it's clear weather I'll get everything cut and ready to go in one shot. I plan to completely assemble the cabinet before installing it, then tear it down and reassemble it in place, piece by piece. The shelf where the one cabinet goes has a nice teak lip on it that sticks up 1.5". I'm thinking the doors will just clear this so I'm planning to leave the lip in place and build the cabinet behind it. That way there will be less demolition. The milling on the lip matches the rest of the Island Packet woodwork so I'm hoping it'll help tie it all together. Since I'm not removing the lip it makes installing the cabinet a bit more complicated and that's why I'm assembling it in place. Just aft and perpendicular to this cabinet is a second cabinet that'll be mounted lower on the bunk and against the aft bulkhead. This one will measure out to 36" high x 27" wide x 9" deep. It'll be dedicated to tools and have storage inside the 6" tall base to maximize space.<br />
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This cabinet project will open up some space needed for the water maker and get all our tools located in one place. Sounds almost organized, eh?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8YIlA7XTZ1XnW328tb1pM-QJLyVS2Yjx-M8w8XkdFikU4BBecHQUjZA1ScvQZWNbWLUUJqoLGmAQc-jXiEq9_xIxG_cpbBvBRpXgRuAL4r0CAWZ5rqoT9a4moUeSy5H6QODKW6nRft4/s1600/IMG_2209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8YIlA7XTZ1XnW328tb1pM-QJLyVS2Yjx-M8w8XkdFikU4BBecHQUjZA1ScvQZWNbWLUUJqoLGmAQc-jXiEq9_xIxG_cpbBvBRpXgRuAL4r0CAWZ5rqoT9a4moUeSy5H6QODKW6nRft4/s1600/IMG_2209.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
Oh yeah, one more thing. When we had the galley remodeled we had the lid for the freezer and fridge split in two so we could open one side independently from the other. We left the struts off the lids because they got in the way and without them the lids could open wider for better access. The only problem here is that there's a cabinet directly behind the lids which prevents them from laying back far enough to stay open on their own. I've been pondering this in my subconscious for about eighteen months now. Tell me something, do you do this......whenever I go into a hardware store for something I could spend an hour wandering around looking for inspiration for other unfinished projects. We have a great locally owned hardware store in our area and I was in there for wood glue or sand paper or something and came across these nice brass slide latches that would work great for our freezer lids. When I got home I cut up some scrap pieces of wood for a base to get the latches to the right height and installed them so they just catch the edge of the lid. This works great! You simply lean the lids back against the cabinet and slide the latch in from the side to hold it in place. Of course, I still need to stain the bases to match the cabinet so this is another unfinished project right now. That means I'll hafta go back to that hardware store again. Maybe I'll find another project solution while I'm in there. Hardware stores are like toy stores for growed ups.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-26238692463789908332014-11-17T16:55:00.001-05:002014-11-17T17:01:18.901-05:00More to the PointIn the continuing saga of the fogged varnish we left off last Tuesday with weather frustration. Fog had rolled in and ruined my plans to repair the work that had been damaged by dew. On Friday I got back to it. I went over it again with 180 grit paper, wiped it down and crossed my fingers. I had checked the weather and found that temperatures were going to be hovering right around 40 degrees F. That's not really ideal varnishing weather and I had heard reports that you don't want to lay down a coat if it's colder than 50 out. Well, that may be but I'm feeling kinda desperate here, mightily pressed for time and I'm concerned that if I don't get a few more coats on then the long cold winter will destroy what I've already done. The whole point of doing the teak this Fall was to reduce the amount of work that I'll have to do next March. So I gave this some thought and figured I wouldn't have much to lose if it didn't work out. What really pushed me on was the fact that the dew point on Friday was at 17 degrees F and was supposed to stay more than 20 degrees below the air temperature all day. I had read somewhere that this was the magic formula, 20 degrees of separation.<br />
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I got started at 1100 when the air temperature got above 40 and finished by 1400. I was just finishing up the bowsprit when I realized I couldn't hold the brush any longer. I pushed on and finished but I was shivering uncontrollably and babbling like an idiot. Hey, be nice! Got my brush cleaned up and called it a day. It took me until that evening to finally thaw out.<br />
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That night I had nightmares about ruined varnish and stripping down teak in the snow. I finally rolled out of bed around 0600 but it was still dark out, too dark to see if the teak had survived. Finally around 0730 I went out and checked it out. It came out fine. The 20 degree magic formula worked. I can't describe how relieved I was. The surface was still kinda tacky so I decided to leave it alone, let it cure completely. Rain was called for on Sunday so I was pretty much done with varnish for the weekend.<br />
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I sat out in the cockpit for a few hours with a heating pad under my butt and polished and installed two more stanchions. This completes the re-bedding on the port side. The four other stanchions on that side were done last week so I ran a razor blade around the bases of those and cleaned them up. They came out looking pretty good. The next coat of varnish will help to seal the bases but I wouldn't get that done before the next rain so I covered them over with masking tape. Be a bummer to have the teak turn black after all this work.<br />
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Next weekend the forecast is not prime for Friday but I may be able to
get another coat of varnish done on Saturday. The air temperature will
be around 41 but the dew point will be way down at 13. It'll be like
that for most of the day so there should be enough time to lay down
another coat and have it start to set before the conditions
deteriorate. Perfect!<br />
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I still need to order the stainless wire for the life-lines but I do have the tubing and fittings for the hard railing around the cockpit. Maybe I'll get started on that next Friday.<br />
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Since this teak project has taken over my life I've been re-thinking my goals. I had wanted to get eight coats on but realistically five would get me through the winter. I've got four coats on already down the port side and across the stern. There's three from the stern up to the side gate and two coats from there up to the bowsprit. I'm pretty sure I can get five coats on all around before I turn into a pop sickle. Then next March I'll be able to lay down three more to finish it up while the boat's out of the water for fresh bottom paint.<br />
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Once I have five coats on I can move on to something else. For this winter I have a few things at the top of the priority list. I want to install some cabinets in the aft stateroom along the hull on the port side. We have a ten inch wide shelf there above the bunk that would serve very nicely as a support for a "wall hung" type cabinet and then on the aft bulkhead I want to mount another for storing tools. We priced having custom cabinets made when we re-did the galley but for these two small cabinets they wanted $5k. Yeah, I know, custom work and all that. I'm still not willing to do that, even if we did have the money. I looked around on-line and found that Home Depot has a very nice maple cabinet selection (<a href="http://homedecoratorscabinetry.homedepot.com/c-41301-hargrove-cinnamon-hcn.aspx" target="_blank">click here</a>) and you can get cabinet faces that have just the face frame with doors and hinges. I figure I could use these and build some "custom" cabinets of my own. The frames and doors are solid wood with the recessed inner door panel being the only part that has MDF. It comes in a nice cinnamon stain that kinda resembles the color of our teak. Where these cabinets are going the only folks who'll be seeing them will be Bella or the occasional guest. Total cost for the cabinets will be less than $600.<br />
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Once I have the cabinets installed then I can get back to work on the water maker. That is the ultimate goal for this winter, to have that installed and running by February of '15. That's like, what, three months. My project history shows that to be about three months short. We'll see how it goes.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-70706346216359500242014-11-12T14:56:00.000-05:002014-11-12T14:56:32.613-05:00What's the Point?Here it is more than three weeks since I began refinishing the teak and I'm still not anywhere near being done. The varnish takes a full 24 hours in between coats and time becomes a major factor. We have four good coats on the Port side, three across the stern but only two on the Starboard side. I only have weekends for this and weather has been a problem. Between the rain and cold/damp weather I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle.<br />
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This past weekend I had five full days to play. I'm normally off Friday through Sunday and Veterans Day fell on a Tuesday so I took Monday off to take advantage of a streak of nice weather. Friday through Sunday were clear but the temperatures barely got above 50 degrees. Friday and part of Saturday I sanded and cleaned the teak on the Starboard side from the bowsprit back to the gate near the cockpit. I got one coat of varnish down late in the afternoon and it looked good. Sunday I had to wait until later in the afternoon to lay down a second coat because it was still a bit tacky. I added a coat across the stern while I waited. I finished the starboard side coat by 1600 and called it a day. Monday I got up early and went out to see how things looked. All the varnish I had laid down on Sunday was fogged and patchy looking. All of it. Ugh! I envisioned having to strip everything back down to bare wood and starting all over again. I'm running out of time though and really cold weather is right around the corner.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXm04JHcQzvQzJFwG_9oxfkT_5pdoJF2JpaU_p9D5EwWzAPLiPMICXyxAMN2mUj-KuxdQwLRX6DYldfLFkxS2xLbrNUL9u311IBKd_Pgc3SnG8inmZOr2AaSkZLaiHqmn-ww257AvvO8/s1600/Psychrometric+Chart+Dewpoint.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXm04JHcQzvQzJFwG_9oxfkT_5pdoJF2JpaU_p9D5EwWzAPLiPMICXyxAMN2mUj-KuxdQwLRX6DYldfLFkxS2xLbrNUL9u311IBKd_Pgc3SnG8inmZOr2AaSkZLaiHqmn-ww257AvvO8/s200/Psychrometric+Chart+Dewpoint.png" width="200" /></a></div>
I Googled "fogged varnish" and found that it's caused by the varnish not having enough time to "flash off" and dry before dew settles on it. According to Wikipedia "<span style="color: blue;">The dew point is the saturation temperature for water in air. The dew point is associated with relative humidity<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humidity" title="Humidity"></a></span>. A high relative humidity
implies that the dew point is closer to the current air temperature.
Relative humidity of 100% indicates the dew point is equal to the
current temperature and that the air is maximally saturated with water</span>". When varnishing, the dew point must be at least 20 degrees less than the air temperature or you're gonna have problems. At least that's what I read. On Sunday the air temperature was around 51 degrees and I suspect the dew point was around 40 or higher. I read on and found that the finish can be saved by scuffing the surface to allow the trapped moisture to evaporate. Of course this requires warm temperatures. Fortunately the temperatures for Monday and Tuesday were forecast to be in the 60's and clear. Perfect!<br />
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Monday morning Cheri and I talked ourselves into stripping down the teak on the cockpit coaming so everything would be done at the same time. I sanded down my fogged varnish and let it sit all day while we worked on the coaming. I figured things would be perfect by Tuesday for laying down a coat of varnish and having everything protected before bad weather settled in around the middle of the week. While Cheri sanded the coaming I worked on re-bedding the stanchions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptFoRocXfiV-63MQLxMPhzmdV3dg759-36SNLUiBEnk14Fv69OzaWebvSxi3DmvFXU58b4-KMMkstaF4ra7yy5Irq5pjY8YoScO9lhljOXPMnu0o8meYOhoj9Wy3VNF17DlG83ws9uXw/s1600/IMG_2204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptFoRocXfiV-63MQLxMPhzmdV3dg759-36SNLUiBEnk14Fv69OzaWebvSxi3DmvFXU58b4-KMMkstaF4ra7yy5Irq5pjY8YoScO9lhljOXPMnu0o8meYOhoj9Wy3VNF17DlG83ws9uXw/s200/IMG_2204.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRtx5J1xlJWGmG3fI0XRhBYdq89wB68E5k3vqV9ehy59N2lnx6Tnv5pIJKQ3bCkFSnLuf-d9ZEZZvdFDBEMJdvAwF4YUAz2qK6nmEvQqv43mDRsXRuSQtmm1nXEIyXFbsPBCrcpBLZDs/s1600/IMG_2205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRtx5J1xlJWGmG3fI0XRhBYdq89wB68E5k3vqV9ehy59N2lnx6Tnv5pIJKQ3bCkFSnLuf-d9ZEZZvdFDBEMJdvAwF4YUAz2qK6nmEvQqv43mDRsXRuSQtmm1nXEIyXFbsPBCrcpBLZDs/s200/IMG_2205.JPG" width="150" /></a>Before laying down any varnish on the Port side I had taped off the areas where the stanchions mount. Now with four coats down I had to run a blade around the edge of the tape to remove it but underneath I found clean and bare wood. Next I taped off the same spot and re-traced the base of the stanchion. This time I removed the tape inside the cut and left the outer area covered. Now when I install the stanchion the sealant can ooze out onto the tape and not ruin my beautiful teak. Cheri had already polished up four of the stanchions and had them ready to go. I squeezed 5200 adhesive all over the bottom of the base and up inside the stanchion a few inches, ran the bolts into place and lightly screwed them into position with just enough pressure to have the sealant push out all around the stanchion base. I wanted to let the adhesive cure first before going back and tightening them down all the way to get a really good seal. With Cheri's help I got all four stanchions re-bedded. Once we get the rest of the stanchions installed I'll replace the life lines. We've decided to go with bare stainless wire instead of the white plastic coated stuff. We're also replacing the life lines around the cockpit with hard stainless railing. I have all the parts I need for that on hand so that project is ready to take off. The hard railing will make a better place to mount our grill and the table we use for cleaning fish. We'll be able to sit on our newly refinished teak coaming (maybe on a towel or something) and cook up that Mahi-mahi we just caught. Can't wait!<br /><br />
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Tuesday I had some touch-up sanding to do on the coaming so I took care of that before starting the varnish. It was still kinda chilly out and after suffering the fogged varnish I wanted to wait for things to warm up a little more anyway. Around 1000 I was ready to go at it and collected my brush and can of varnish and headed for the bowsprit. I just happened to glance out towards the breakwater and discovered a wall of fog quickly descending on our creek. Fog = high dew point, maximum saturation, 100% humidity. Grrrrrrr. I can't believe this! I put away my varnishing gear and moved on to my next project. Unfortunately I may be done with varnishing for quite a while. Winter is coming on strong and temperatures are projected to be in the low 40's and 30's for at least the next week. If I could just get a few more coats on it'd probably be OK for the Winter but I think even that's gonna be a challenge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kCt87Z43VmXMnIEoPrAUjfYofRctTf-2epkKXQUaS9R6w4pKMo5AKCWZcVDSg2Q-DAYzqK_AUPQVW1VyUtckjnkOIGCe3vdODtj2Zhx9bdB1POCA62sNKjUyYaUYMB0kgafuNR4T8ss/s1600/IMG_2206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kCt87Z43VmXMnIEoPrAUjfYofRctTf-2epkKXQUaS9R6w4pKMo5AKCWZcVDSg2Q-DAYzqK_AUPQVW1VyUtckjnkOIGCe3vdODtj2Zhx9bdB1POCA62sNKjUyYaUYMB0kgafuNR4T8ss/s200/IMG_2206.JPG" width="150" /></a>So.....my next project was having the anchors galvanized. Last week I took them into Baltimore Galvanizing which is located in a heavily industrialized area near Essex. They had a minimum charge of $250 but I couldn't get them to divulge whether that was for weight or volume or what. I figured I could get a few other boat owners to go in on it with me and we could split the cost. This is a bad time of year to inspire folks to galvanize their anchors though. Seems that most everyone is concentrating on getting their boats pulled and having them winterized. OK, so $250 is still not so bad. That's about what I'd pay for new anchors and it doesn't make sense to just throw them out and replace them with pretty ones. I can get my 20' of chain on the Danforth re-done at the same time. The shop called me on Monday and said they were ready to be picked up. I drove out there on Tuesday in the fog and loaded them in the trunk. I talked to the dude for a few minutes about the cleaning process. He said they acid dip them first, fresh water rinse and then put them in the galvanizing bath. He said the chain took two days in the acid bath because it had paint on it and they need it to be bare steel for the galvanizing to work properly. I asked about the minimum charge and he said it really depended on the job, the size of the parts, weight, etc. He thought I coulda thrown in a few more anchors though, no problem. The anchors and chain look brand new. I'm really pleased with the results and feel it was money well spent. Now we'll see how long it lasts and if I still feel the same way in another year or two.<br />
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So, here we are. We're making progress here and there, even if it's not as much as I had hoped for. Even if the varnish project is stalled I can continue to work on the stanchions and railing. My project list intrudes on my sleep almost every night but if I keep chiseling away at it I can keep it at bay. I have a plan. The ultimate goal is to get the water maker installed this Winter. To do that I need to install some cabinets in the aft cabin to make room for the stuff located where I want to put the high pressure pump. The cabinets will also make a spot for our tools which in turn will open up some more storage around the boat. I have about three months to get these things done and install a single side band radio too. Should be do-able. Then next March we'll pull the boat, repaint the bottom and finish up the teak. Then splash and run. That'll be it.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-62504422967833811612014-10-21T15:58:00.000-04:002014-10-21T15:58:12.197-04:00Paying Pennance to the Teaki God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAoOdcI0DiZbmOl1du9pAn43M6EIvL9-k4m4ZkRfNv4Pd_BYxyGv_zocOCpYrysoanuFaFI9dwBIxy_3v_UxS1pau0ZQtrF_mJXcX7kC-QQO-qG8KVilaGpFd9nqj6zjdIbEf8zHIIbVQ/s1600/IMG_2202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAoOdcI0DiZbmOl1du9pAn43M6EIvL9-k4m4ZkRfNv4Pd_BYxyGv_zocOCpYrysoanuFaFI9dwBIxy_3v_UxS1pau0ZQtrF_mJXcX7kC-QQO-qG8KVilaGpFd9nqj6zjdIbEf8zHIIbVQ/s1600/IMG_2202.JPG" height="230" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><b> Bella Boo-Boo Houdini - Official Teaki Guardian on La Vida Dulce</b></i></div>
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For the last four years we've oiled our exterior wood trim with teak oil instead of using a varnish. We really like the look of oiled teak and felt the maintenance was easier than dealing with varnish. After our trip to Bermuda we discovered that teak oil doesn't hold up well to being bathed in salt water. We've cleaned and oiled it several times since then but all along we knew that eventually we'd be refinishing the teak and using varnish. The time has finally arrived to take this on. With less than six months to go before we depart this job has risen to the top of the priority list. If we leave in March 2015 I won't have much time or good weather to fool around with outside projects. I do plan to have the boat hauled so we can paint the bottom but once that's done I want to head South. So here it is halfway through October and I've finally decided to refinish the teak.<br />
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On our boat we have what's called a toe rail which forms a cap over the hull-to-deck joint. It's made of 1"x 1" laminated teak and is about 5" wide on top and drops down the side about 3". On the side of the cabin above the ports is a trim piece called an eyebrow that is made of 3/4" half-round teak. This runs from the forward end of the cabin all the way aft to the back of the cockpit coaming on each side. Since we knew we were going to be refinishing these parts we let the oil finish go, probably for too long. The wood now looks black and grey and the grain is raised. <br />
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Before anything else could be done there's a bump strip that had to be removed from the side of the toe rail. This is a rounded strip of stainless steel maybe a 1/2" wide that runs around the full perimeter of the boat and protects the teak from undue blemishes. It's held on with wood screws about every 8" and whoever took this off the last time re-installed it with a variety of screws and stripped out about half of them. Once I had this removed I found the wood underneath was about 1/16" higher than the surrounding surface due to previous re-finishes and was packed with dirt and crud. I kinda got a notion at this point that the job was gonna snowball.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpr8Z6W4j0cjV9_N0tb2sq6hM7SdglmvUDtxEnNuulh7wdC-bn0bHIRMmVkBM2JkclTX8XoLGbGHaOtTRVT70RpIyGkcgQtfXI3lPNS7r6Xfq_ydmzGIZBfBeRc8BH2GLsnwM67jGYRAs/s1600/Bahco+Scraper.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpr8Z6W4j0cjV9_N0tb2sq6hM7SdglmvUDtxEnNuulh7wdC-bn0bHIRMmVkBM2JkclTX8XoLGbGHaOtTRVT70RpIyGkcgQtfXI3lPNS7r6Xfq_ydmzGIZBfBeRc8BH2GLsnwM67jGYRAs/s1600/Bahco+Scraper.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
Because of the condition of the wood I decided to attack it first with a carbide scraper. This is a handy tool with a long handle to give you leverage and a 2.5" wide carbide blade. I shaved off the raised grain and ended up with a fairly clean surface. This was a pretty laborious job though and it took all day last Sunday to complete just 3/4 of the toe rail and one eyebrow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31OcHrdoIkUqt89NJYL3SnZkeIBWkEmh2aMWF0DA9gyK1oKlthIt-tbp6QorawkqmUycUkabvoWAW5_W1RD4ONXamVEVOwWiMBNyE_W5AghAEOZ30Q3uAJam_XTuVDR2hvHMw-WSCHYM/s1600/IMG_2198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31OcHrdoIkUqt89NJYL3SnZkeIBWkEmh2aMWF0DA9gyK1oKlthIt-tbp6QorawkqmUycUkabvoWAW5_W1RD4ONXamVEVOwWiMBNyE_W5AghAEOZ30Q3uAJam_XTuVDR2hvHMw-WSCHYM/s1600/IMG_2198.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
Since the port side was completed Cheri suggested we focus on that side and sand it down and get a coat of varnish on before taking on the starboard side. Good idea. A little variety makes the job much more bareable. This past weekend (10/25) I started in by taping off around all the teak to prevent any damage to the surrounding fiberglass. I then went at it with an orbital sander using 60 grit paper. The upper flat surface of the toe rail wasn't too bad but the 3" wide section going down the side of the hull was a bear. Trying to apply pressure to grind down that 1/16" rise while hanging over the railing was not a job for an old geezer like me. If the boat was on the hard it would be much easier to stand on a ladder and lean into it. Because I was using an orbital sander there were parts of the toe rail where cleats and other fittings were mounted that had to be done by hand. With the coarse sanding finished we sat back and looked over our work. This picture shows the bowsprit under three phases of attack; weathered, sanded and varnished teak.<br />
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For as long as we've had the boat we've fought water leaks into the interior. One on the port side is pretty severe and we always get water into the hanging locker in the main salon, which just happens to be Cheri's clothes locker. It's bad enough that when we had carpet in the salon it would get soaked in that area. There are several possible sources including the port window seal, life-line stanchions where they're through-bolted in the deck, and gaps in the laminated wood of the toe-rail. I guess there could be other sources but I can't picture what they could be.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihztxpx7KJuaYfc9X4VDJp80Km95CGAiYMxra2aZcqZ3eWkcP_wMokDVS-SgeNsAm6n55F48pmYbPL37_JeMF-WWqAa7xgI0_OS2NnSI5uoTjXkpvPj2TSeqKjHeTKUx3le2EBm7taG0w/s1600/IMG_2189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihztxpx7KJuaYfc9X4VDJp80Km95CGAiYMxra2aZcqZ3eWkcP_wMokDVS-SgeNsAm6n55F48pmYbPL37_JeMF-WWqAa7xgI0_OS2NnSI5uoTjXkpvPj2TSeqKjHeTKUx3le2EBm7taG0w/s1600/IMG_2189.JPG" height="200" width="144" /></a></div>
So, standing there looking at our beautiful sanding job we realized that this was the best time to take care of those water leaks. The stanchions definitely needed to be re-bedded and removing them would make it easier to finish the toe-rail. The life-lines also needed replacing so that was even more incentive. Thus we have the true beginnings of our "snowball". The bases of each stanchion are held on with four bolts that extend through the toe-rail and deck into the interior. Most of them are backed with threaded backing plates but a few had plates and nuts which required two people for removal. The base plates and bolts are packed with an adhesive/sealant called 5200 which is the most tenacious material known to man. It made unscrewing the bolts a Herculean effort and cleaning the bases and wood of the stuff became the source of some salty new terminology. With the stanchions off we took the time to polish them up like new and refurbish the reefing line blocks (see picture) that had been attached to them. Snowball.<br />
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With the stanchions out of the way it was a simple matter to sand down the areas where they had been mounted. We then used a two-part cleaner on the teak. Using cheap foam brushes we applied Part A which instantly turned the teak dark brown. After light scrubbing we went back with Part B and another light scrubbing which left the wood beautifully cleaned with a nice natural blond color. Once the wood was all cleaned we went over it with 180 grit paper, sanding by hand.<br />
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On close inspection of the toe-rail I identified four places where the laminations had separated. The gap was small, less than 1/16", but would need to be sealed up before applying the first coat of varnish. I used a two part epoxy in a syringe to seal up the gap and let it sit for half a day to harden up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LBTMAEueBWNHg_PKE7ule1y2VFw9C9I27CD5ILNkb3MLjcOdwWk8q7OHkkMIclnpiV_OqqRo466AHyvQKm12tuQu1NqzWcpsV6UxZV-5kEI_VLRWBvLL2JPhLVJ0i1kH_SIsIMZINF0/s1600/IMG_2197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LBTMAEueBWNHg_PKE7ule1y2VFw9C9I27CD5ILNkb3MLjcOdwWk8q7OHkkMIclnpiV_OqqRo466AHyvQKm12tuQu1NqzWcpsV6UxZV-5kEI_VLRWBvLL2JPhLVJ0i1kH_SIsIMZINF0/s1600/IMG_2197.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
I'm planning to re-bed the stanchions with 5200 and I know it'll seal much better to natural wood than it would to varnish. I'm in a conflict now though. The weather report is calling for rain in 24 hours and lasting for two days. If I don't get a coat of varnish on this wood it'll start to go grey on me and I'll hafta clean it and sand it again. I've come too far for that so I taped off the areas where the stanchions get mounted. With the stanchion held in place with two bolts I ran a razor blade around the base. Removing the stanchion I peeled away the outside edge of the tape and now had the base area taped off and could put on my coat of varnish which would have a full 24 hours of drying time. After the rain I can get the stanchions mounted to bare wood and put a second coat of varnish on the toe rail that will also seal the edges of the stanchion base. By the time we get the fifth coat of varnish on we should have everything sealed up pretty well. This shot shows the taped off areas for several stanchions. It also shows how much it opened up the toe rail by removing them. Compare it to the previous picture, same location.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOTAQpPXLWc0t1MDsP94M341dfBfg76AANZw2WRYpfe4p9Lgthxs4xKevqyKoxxFhB3oMeHUTaQ3DtX1Aapxx1RwPHrUY2dq6eEzHYEIxrSyDU0SXg-lhDpMLqSO8ZH3aGrucvv7LYmw/s1600/IMG_2196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOTAQpPXLWc0t1MDsP94M341dfBfg76AANZw2WRYpfe4p9Lgthxs4xKevqyKoxxFhB3oMeHUTaQ3DtX1Aapxx1RwPHrUY2dq6eEzHYEIxrSyDU0SXg-lhDpMLqSO8ZH3aGrucvv7LYmw/s1600/IMG_2196.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
Originally we were going to use Cetol which is not a varnish but a "wood treatment". It's an alkyd resin with UV absorbing pigments which make it translucent, not quite clear. We have Cetol on our cockpit coaming and it looks nice and holds up well but has a glossy orange kinda look to it, not quite natural. Because it's translucent it doesn't show the full grain of the teak either. I went as far as buying a can of Cetol but in the middle of the night I woke up thinking varnish is the only way to go. The next day I took the Cetol back and got a can of Epifanes high gloss varnish. As I laid down the first coat I knew I had made the right choice. Epifanes gives the teak a nice golden glow. Five coats of that will have a traditional high class look. Perfect! After all this work I wouldn't want anything less.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-67550163327654673522014-09-29T14:51:00.002-04:002014-10-01T08:23:01.972-04:00Heater Maintenance<br />
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<a href="http://butlertechnik.com/download/2r/Eberspacher_Airtronic_D5_Workshop_Manual.pdf" target="_blank">Airtronic L "Troubleshooting and Repair Instructions"</a><br />
<a href="http://butlertechnik.com/download/2q/Eberspacher_Airtronic_D5_Technical_Manual.pdf" target="_blank">Airtronic L "Installation, Operation and Maintenance"</a><br />
<a href="http://www.espar.com/fileadmin/data/countrysites/EB_Kanada/pdf/Airtronic_D2D4_Hydronic.pdf" target="_blank">Airtronic D2D4 Basic Repair Analysis</a><br />
<a href="http://esparparts.com/techsupport/pdfs/Marine%20installations/Airtronic%20marine_installation_manual.pdf" target="_blank">Airtronic Marine Installations</a><br />
<a href="http://www.rixens.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Digi-Controller-Manual.pdf" target="_blank">Espar Digi Controller Manual</a><br />
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With one more winter to contend with we want to make sure our diesel heater is going to be ready. Over the last two winters we've averaged something like 2500 hours of non-stop running between December and early March. Last year just as we were going to shut it down with the onset of warmer weather it decided to quit on it's own. I let it go because it was no longer a high priority item and I had plenty of other stuff to work on. As August rolled by I realized that time was getting away from me and decided to put the heater back up at the top of my priority list.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVY-hQZgW83xvUsIoVMc9LAAJhCPAKn719FgW-AvcGYx9b4_yjzVuAkUlNXF6nvyd0cGu1UlpOJHKm5NbKFIB-MLdf4J5lfYto_s_jPHcNVmFvt4gducIXT_zNGWl6zHX81r7wMPhNpU/s1600/Airtronic-D5+pump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVY-hQZgW83xvUsIoVMc9LAAJhCPAKn719FgW-AvcGYx9b4_yjzVuAkUlNXF6nvyd0cGu1UlpOJHKm5NbKFIB-MLdf4J5lfYto_s_jPHcNVmFvt4gducIXT_zNGWl6zHX81r7wMPhNpU/s1600/Airtronic-D5+pump.jpg" height="172" width="200" /></a></div>
I did some preliminary troubleshooting and narrowed the problem down to the fuel metering pump. It has a screen filter on the inlet and that was totally plugged. I tried to clean it but punched a hole through the screen in the process. That did give me better fuel flow but I still had errors and the heater wouldn't run for more than a few minutes. I priced a new pump through our local supplier and they quoted me $300. Uhm, sorry, but this little thing is not worth that kind of money.<br />
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This is a simple little piston driven pump, nothing complicated. I saw the same pump priced on-line for $165. I sincerely believe in supporting the local dudes but this was just ridiculous. Even at $165 this thing is way over priced. I shelved the project for a few weeks and gave it some thought. This past weekend I opened up the manual and did some proper troubleshooting. Following the error codes I came to the same conclusion, that the pump was bad, but I learned a lot about the system in the process.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVh8S3GtJdRftkSUPUwQTXIc7pdm1DuVOi2qqhZMoQZ2q3jBXkqW-sy-GmGafW1GpslCaZvVwF7pzAdEQLpGeIgcAbjHYiFJ7sKm53ItqERKXWR4E8oWOxPxFYCRqOa1osuQc9WltOJ4/s1600/Airtronic+Digi+Control.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVh8S3GtJdRftkSUPUwQTXIc7pdm1DuVOi2qqhZMoQZ2q3jBXkqW-sy-GmGafW1GpslCaZvVwF7pzAdEQLpGeIgcAbjHYiFJ7sKm53ItqERKXWR4E8oWOxPxFYCRqOa1osuQc9WltOJ4/s1600/Airtronic+Digi+Control.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
Our D5 heater came with a small four button "digi controller". To get the error codes you have to hold the top two buttons down simultaneously for about three seconds. It'll then continuously cycle through all the codes in it's memory. For this problem it showed #11 (under voltage cutout), #13 (flame sensor over temp), #48 (metering pump interruption), and #52 (safety time exceeded). Espar has an excellent troubleshooting guide (<a href="http://butlertechnik.com/download/2r/Eberspacher_Airtronic_D5_Workshop_Manual.pdf" target="_blank">Airtronic L Troubleshooting and Repair Instructions</a>) which explains what to do for each code. For code #11 I disconnected the main wiring harness connector "S1/B1" and put a volt meter across pins 1 and 10 where I saw 13.2 volts, just as it should be. For #13 it suggests checking the combination sensor (flame and over temp) but it goes on to mention fuel quantity too and this ties in with the other codes so I moved on to the next one, #48. This says to check the resistance across the two leads on the fuel metering pump. It's supposed to read 9.5 ohms but mine reads 0.2. I also noticed that code #47 suggests that if you have error code #48 then just go ahead and replace the fuel metering pump. OK, I'll do that. In another manual (<a href="http://www.espar.com/fileadmin/data/countrysites/EB_Kanada/pdf/Airtronic_D2D4_Hydronic.pdf" target="_blank">Airtronic D2D4 Basic Repair Analysis</a>) it mentions that the most common cause of metering pump failures is extended periods of non-use causing the piston to freeze. I suspect this then causes the coil to short out and give the indication I see here. We don't run the heater from March to December, pretty much nine or ten months straight. I think that qualifies for "extended periods". #52 is just a safety feature built into the program that only allows the heater to be in the start-up mode for a short period of time. If it doesn't go into run mode within that time it switches over to shut-down mode to keep itself from turning into a lump of molten metal. I went ahead and ordered the $165 metering pump on line. It's worth mentioning that the screen for the pump is available
separately at a fairly reasonable price. If you don't have an in-line
filter upstream from the pump then it might be worthwhile investing in a
few of these.<br />
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Espar provides some very nice information in these two manuals. The "Basic Repair Analysis" is intended for other similar models (D2 and D4) but it relates well. It also has nice color photos and good explanations of what caused specific problems. The other one, "Troubleshooting and Repair Instructions", steps you through the troubleshooting procedure and provides drawings and schematics. Another nice one to hold onto is the installation manual that came with the original kit. This provides a nice electrical diagram with color coding for all the wires. I keep these in PDF form on my iPad along with most manuals for all of our electronic and mechanical gear on board. I've attached all three of these, and more, at the top of this post for anyone who might be interested.<br />
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Besides playing with the heater I also took on a few other items on my long To Do list.<br />
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Our mast is rigged so that all the halyards run down through the inside of the mast and exit about ten feet above the deck where they run down to the winches and cleats. This is a really nifty setup because it prevents the lines from slapping against the mast when the wind blows, a common nuisance in any marina.. The slots where the lines exit the mast have plastic rings called exit plates (see picture) that prevent chafing of the lines. The exit plate for the genoa halyard broke off about two years ago and I keep forgetting to replace it. This weekend I got the bosun's chair out and made a proper repair. The exit plate is held in place with a rivet and of course this piece was still in place so I had to drill that out first. These are pretty large rivets and the installation required a Herculean effort with the rivet tool while I was dangling in the air. I eventually managed though so now we don't have to worry about the genoa crashing to the deck in the middle of the next storm.<br />
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Another project was the Mainsail preventer (<a href="http://ip42035-28.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">click here</a>). I had originally installed the eye nuts on the boom with lock washers but over the last few weeks I kept looking at them and decided it would be better to have the base of the eye nuts flat against the boom because of the sideways direction of force when this thing will be in use. I pictured the stud getting bent because of the gap caused by the lock washer. It only took a few minutes to make that correction. At the same time I added a piece of 3/8" hose over the threaded stud inside the boom to prevent chafing of the out-haul and topping lift lines. With that done I put the end cap back on the boom and called that part of the project complete.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8cVI5PZA5PJL92grIdEI2X4ba8KavbZpIZV8uyIXxY4riep23V0F5qNW6A_AAaCPHORmg3OF5sZKBZ5e6lYeQlIm2xlzd-GK960b3ivkm7GiMzVr_dNQKPmXk8oVRgIhFGAr1dqodKE/s1600/Tracys+Creek2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8cVI5PZA5PJL92grIdEI2X4ba8KavbZpIZV8uyIXxY4riep23V0F5qNW6A_AAaCPHORmg3OF5sZKBZ5e6lYeQlIm2xlzd-GK960b3ivkm7GiMzVr_dNQKPmXk8oVRgIhFGAr1dqodKE/s1600/Tracys+Creek2.jpg" height="141" width="320" /></a></div>
The folks on the boat next to us asked if that's all I do is work. I told them that this stuff was more like "play" and the stuff I do during the week is "work". Never-the-less, I did manage to break away from the "play" and get out and do some fun stuff. On Sunday morning Cheri and I joined about ten other folks in kayaks exploring Tracy's Creek with a very knowledgeable Naturalist for a guide. The weather was perfect, clear skies and temps in the low 70's. The picture above shows the location of the creek with our marina in the bottom of the circled off area. Our guide pointed out all kinds of plants and critters including some dead fish laying on the creek bank that otters had set out to mark their territory. Pretty cool! This section of the creek was way back there and is surrounded by woods and wetlands with no signs of civilization. It's practically in our back yard and I never realized it was so nice back there. We'll hafta get out there more often, fer sure!Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-84405090337059170262014-09-16T17:55:00.000-04:002014-09-16T18:16:20.116-04:00Monitor Rebuild<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZSLBmFVKEvDYi9iIaMEkgTc_3zEVzfl5XbNyi1YRJLY_plWoa7WVoCQSLH7M-9Wygy404lA3rv9sWsYxQ4jolCQGG9UCgIGoewcstALJsCwBkHrdI5FQoZVs6wRK5o3NoR_UlrnJShs/s1600/Restored+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZSLBmFVKEvDYi9iIaMEkgTc_3zEVzfl5XbNyi1YRJLY_plWoa7WVoCQSLH7M-9Wygy404lA3rv9sWsYxQ4jolCQGG9UCgIGoewcstALJsCwBkHrdI5FQoZVs6wRK5o3NoR_UlrnJShs/s1600/Restored+1.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0YxhXJIgo9sR5Eyubv_cyvgc03UE4NJoAITbgUNrDf93jh-oyC2w_EBPoQXXSm1Mw92c_v6dShqJOSJ_w3l_ordjCiyyUsXrNhTwbwk_XiFm2OiNZnuXBA3kwE8XJ1938GEn5nKyYSc/s1600/Pendulum+Strut+Corrosion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0YxhXJIgo9sR5Eyubv_cyvgc03UE4NJoAITbgUNrDf93jh-oyC2w_EBPoQXXSm1Mw92c_v6dShqJOSJ_w3l_ordjCiyyUsXrNhTwbwk_XiFm2OiNZnuXBA3kwE8XJ1938GEn5nKyYSc/s1600/Pendulum+Strut+Corrosion.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a>I've finally gotten through the restoration of the Monitor wind vane. This turned out to be a much larger project than I first imagined. When I started in on this I pictured it as a simple cleanup with a few replacement parts. Silly boy. The wind vane is 28 years old and although it was well taken care of I don't think it was ever fully taken apart and cleaned up. These older units built prior to October 1991 were made of 304 stainless steel which tends to develop surface corrosion in harsh environments. They now make them with 316 stainless which holds up much better. The 304 stuff is still OK but it requires more attention. It needs to be cleaned, polished and waxed to keep it in good condition. There's also a concern about crevice corrosion which can occur in tight areas that don't get fresh air such as in welds or between tight surfaces. I did find one area that had signs of crevice corrosion but because of the location decided it wasn't going to be a problem.<br />
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The rebuild required a complete dismantling of the wind vane. Once I had it torn down I went though and cleaned and polished every square inch to remove any sign of surface corrosion. This took the most time and was the worst part of the project. I used a product called Flitz and it made the job much easier. Once I got everything polished I went back and gave it all a good coat of wax.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrJLqELuWMXzudVZ5lt2ldtHS1QuDJzG4qIDDUTMUJLPi_imXlEFRYhKCD4apMO_QK-Demw43y0J5EzAtHHD7IDV9Dopc5hOgR4MHUECDo8QACYdRDoddUGx17JUBgAllvORa6HMhK7c/s1600/Pulley+Corrosion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrJLqELuWMXzudVZ5lt2ldtHS1QuDJzG4qIDDUTMUJLPi_imXlEFRYhKCD4apMO_QK-Demw43y0J5EzAtHHD7IDV9Dopc5hOgR4MHUECDo8QACYdRDoddUGx17JUBgAllvORa6HMhK7c/s1600/Pulley+Corrosion.jpg" height="153" width="200" /></a>As I went through the restoration I found several parts that needed replacing. The bushing retainers for the pinion gear were cracked and had to be ground out and new ones welded in. There were plastic shims and bushings that simply crumbled in my hand due to age and salt water exposure. The pulley used to adjust the angle of the wind vane on top was made from aluminum and was completely corroded. It's replacement part is made of Delrin and should last a lifetime.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqJ1McXjLp4pxZIHKOmimTNwGtl_WaiDMiUJ6bnBJx8reB5sTSLgyPDxOPnFXToDNU11qINjh5q489gaMzfyXTkGB1J0RJRIzU8rMU190FBHVDNy8dkp27qHBNFj4p19Et7A0x9zqBmw/s1600/BallBearing.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqJ1McXjLp4pxZIHKOmimTNwGtl_WaiDMiUJ6bnBJx8reB5sTSLgyPDxOPnFXToDNU11qINjh5q489gaMzfyXTkGB1J0RJRIzU8rMU190FBHVDNy8dkp27qHBNFj4p19Et7A0x9zqBmw/s1600/BallBearing.gif" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
All the bearings are made of hard plastic and were still in good condition but I replaced them anyway. The bearings on this thing don't come in one piece with built-in races. The outer race is the inside surface of the tubing and you have to install each ball or pin roller separately which is a major pain. I used dish washing soap to hold them in place during assembly but even then I ended up chasing little balls all over the cockpit. Re-assembly of the pinion gear and it's support shaft into the yoke was by far the most frustrating part of this project.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyp0XwTX5apdZGSxxgTheJS2go8BNdPqISppTvuAKZv65rxPY-ws6H5xuvevorLnmI7qGrWcS-dcEqJrVoOm8jo0sebcFhlVlW8h__92DOIZ64IHWtJd2tvHAq5iV_dPQdmizhATaB0s/s1600/Restored+3+labled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyp0XwTX5apdZGSxxgTheJS2go8BNdPqISppTvuAKZv65rxPY-ws6H5xuvevorLnmI7qGrWcS-dcEqJrVoOm8jo0sebcFhlVlW8h__92DOIZ64IHWtJd2tvHAq5iV_dPQdmizhATaB0s/s1600/Restored+3+labled.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOb6RVxkWCBI14wElkA2_VZ2RtmOAKxdxH-cpygdIOG1l_4yRU5ZtFW4KlM63Cym8f8L7nmFuCLU6fdEcRHMCbw7O5vOMHF1EycrxFl734vgTxuPvB2ckWqoGUeVEceTPwx-QFxZqr_dE/s1600/monitorPartsDiagram5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOb6RVxkWCBI14wElkA2_VZ2RtmOAKxdxH-cpygdIOG1l_4yRU5ZtFW4KlM63Cym8f8L7nmFuCLU6fdEcRHMCbw7O5vOMHF1EycrxFl734vgTxuPvB2ckWqoGUeVEceTPwx-QFxZqr_dE/s1600/monitorPartsDiagram5.jpg" height="200" width="172" /></a>I think I mentioned before how amazed I was to find that Scanmar kept records of every Monitor ever made. Most parts were still available too. The basic design hasn't changed much since it was first introduced back in 1975. The biggest difference I found was in the pinion gear (part #36). Where it mounts on the shaft the older pinion gear is shorter and uses a bushing and washers to take up the slack and correctly align it with the ring gear. I had to replace the bushing and had trouble finding something suitable. I ended up using a short length of 3/4" PVC pipe used for above ground wiring. It says it's resistant to sunlight but I'm going to keep an eye on it. Might make a cover for it to prevent the UV rays from breaking down the plastic. A nice chunk of bronze would be a better choice. If I wasn't so cheap I could have replaced the pinion gear ($274) and then wouldn't need the bushing. The pinion shaft (part #33, $38) also had to be replaced due to wear. I also ended up buying a "Cruising Parts Kit" (#801,$60) which provided most of the small parts I needed. One problem I ran into is that there isn't really a manual with instructions on how to rebuild this thing. The parts list has some very nice exploded diagrams but that's all you get. Some parts, especially the yoke assembly, all have to go together in a certain order. If you get it wrong the entire thing has to be taken apart and re-done. I went through that more than a few times. Each time you take it apart all the bearings fall out too. Fun.<br />
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So, the worst part of the wind vane project is over. Now I just have to install it. I need to make up four backing plates for the mounting brackets so for now the wind vane patiently waits in the shed.<br />
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In addition to getting projects done for our cruise Cheri and I are also getting ourselves ready. With less than six months to go we have both made umpteen doctor appointments to make sure we're in good health before heading out. I've had some serious pain in my shoulder for over a year now and my doctor thought it may be a torn rotator cuff. If it was actually torn an operation and rehab could take up to six months so I looked into that first. An MRI showed it to be just inflammation so a cortisone shot and physical therapy will take care of that. I also got a list of shots for traveling overseas. Our family doctor helped us put together a medical kit and we discussed the best way to manage our prescriptions as well as assembling a stash of antibiotics and pain meds. We'll be able to get most of everything we need (Rx-wise) over the next few years by having a family member get our re-fills through a local pharmacy and mailing them to us through our mail forwarding service. We've submitted ourselves to a complete physical and several other exams not really worth mentioning. So far we have clean bills-of-health. I even got an eye exam and bought new glasses as well as a pair of prescription sunglasses with polarized lenses to cut the glare so I can see coral heads better when we're cruising around the islands.<br />
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So much to do, so little time. This is all kinda stressful, ya know? I need a vacation.<br />
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195:07:48:49 Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-46353644269103461572014-09-11T10:57:00.000-04:002014-09-11T15:19:27.315-04:00Memorial Day Weekend 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPoAEr4rODcWjMzaJ5IEGdODZ8j3AsBnuR3-MPmjcaqxitzhIhBSN-UQvHyQ_YuYwlFIJ6RoY72nbuVukg5J1r1MKTbEpfZbbA6k6wnKkZBKUBrENL64vTdLGKvqtqxkKuz2O2T5NE9Y/s1600/Eastern+Bay+1+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPoAEr4rODcWjMzaJ5IEGdODZ8j3AsBnuR3-MPmjcaqxitzhIhBSN-UQvHyQ_YuYwlFIJ6RoY72nbuVukg5J1r1MKTbEpfZbbA6k6wnKkZBKUBrENL64vTdLGKvqtqxkKuz2O2T5NE9Y/s1600/Eastern+Bay+1+copy.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://earthnc.com/chartviewer/index.php?ll=38.81155658728201,-76.32799530081684&z=12" target="_blank">Chart for Chesapeake Bay</a><br />
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Between our jobs and the boat projects we've been slaving away pretty much non-stop for three months. We've had a few weekends on the Bay when family or friends came to visit but we haven't taken any time for just ourselves. Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to take a few days and anchor out, get away from it all for a while.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6W8V_v87IrcoF45NdqnO4gfUVlLc4PxQTxhU9rQ6bg9yLJaVz7Q4FYj614AryEGpL3CJZksYoJSz8wv48BDEwunAZ69xlueiyybcclHOkSHce_xKN7nxWkGgXZO6k0C0yhyCBRq3E3jI/s1600/Eastern+Bay+Approach+8-30-14++copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6W8V_v87IrcoF45NdqnO4gfUVlLc4PxQTxhU9rQ6bg9yLJaVz7Q4FYj614AryEGpL3CJZksYoJSz8wv48BDEwunAZ69xlueiyybcclHOkSHce_xKN7nxWkGgXZO6k0C0yhyCBRq3E3jI/s1600/Eastern+Bay+Approach+8-30-14++copy.jpg" height="158" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifanJIrYO5BPHHx4BRrg_JN9MM-nUkV-yVBwRVbXzMQAao1r86kxQ0oVhCI0dcW7f7YcPsx_sxfwNeaFbDthL4uFexeh-bCl7Ied8U55h0WN4G4bLI1Mo4TDso7nWv9xDlbGDmsg2PDnE/s1600/Eastern+Bay+3+copy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifanJIrYO5BPHHx4BRrg_JN9MM-nUkV-yVBwRVbXzMQAao1r86kxQ0oVhCI0dcW7f7YcPsx_sxfwNeaFbDthL4uFexeh-bCl7Ied8U55h0WN4G4bLI1Mo4TDso7nWv9xDlbGDmsg2PDnE/s1600/Eastern+Bay+3+copy3.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a>Saturday morning we managed to get away from the dock at a reasonable time, 0930, and motored out to red #2 in Herring Bay. The wind was blowing 8 to 12 knots out of the SSE so we rolled out the Main, Genoa and Staysail and headed off for Eastern Bay on a beam reach. Our boat really likes this kind of sailing and we ran across into Eastern Bay making an easy 6.5 to 7.5 knots (SOG). There were quite a few boats working their way up towards St. Michaels. As we passed a Beneteau 38 Cheri grabbed a few pictures of it. We contacted them by radio and asked for an e-mail address. They got the pictures right away and promised we would see some of LVD in a few days. The first two pictures here, above and to the left, are the ones they took of us.<br />
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We cut inside the mark into the Miles River and ran close hauled as far as we could up to the Wye River entrance. We had a choice of tacking or dropping the sails and I chose to motor in the rest of the way. It's a long and winding path to our destination, taking about 45 minutes at 6 knots to meander back to our favorite cove located just beyond Pickering Creek. Seeing how crowded most of the anchorages were I was fully expecting to find our spot already overtaken. As we came around the final point and the cove came fully into view I was pleasantly surprised to find we were the only ones there.<br />
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We anchored in 10' of water, far enough out from the shore to catch the breeze coming over the trees. This is a very secluded spot with no homes in site and all the visible shoreline is lined with trees. As I sat in the cockpit taking in the view a Bald Eagle dove down to the water not more than 40' off our stern. He skimmed the surface with his talons and rose into the air with a fish. I watched him fly off and land in one of the large trees on shore. This is what we came here for. A nice presentation of Mother Nature with a little slice of solitude on the side.<br />
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We spent the rest of the afternoon futzing about. Cheri practiced her music for a while and I goofed off on deck. I got the dinghy out in case we wanted to row around or try our hand at fishing but we never got around to it. Why ruin a good thing by trying to do stuff? I spent a few hours in the cockpit catching up on my reading. Time well spent.<br />
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For dinner Cheri made up a new recipe for crab cakes and I honestly gotta say they were the best crab cakes I've ever had. Perfect. Everywhere we go we sample the crab cakes and we do have some favorites but her new recipe left them all far behind. She also came up with a new recipe for a white wine sangria and this combined with the crab cakes and arugula salad made for a memorable meal. Say that ten times real quick.....memorable meal, memorable meal...<br />
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Sunday morning we had blueberry pancakes in the cockpit. Memorable meal. After we finished up we debated how to spend the day. It was beautiful out, clear skies and a brisk wind, 20 knots out of the SW. We decided the best thing to do would be to get out on the Bay before the wind died away. As it turned out this wasn't really a concern.<br />
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We were on our way by 1030. As we motored out the last leg of the Wye River into the Miles River we were running head on into the wind. I waited until just before we made our turn up towards Eastern Bay before unfurling the sails. We ran on a broad reach up to R4 and cut across the shallows off Tilghman Point. Running close hauled we raced down the bay but never had a real chance of making it past Kent Point without tacking. I knew that as we got closer to the entrance the wind would channel more from the south but we still needed another five or ten degrees. "Ready about..." We tacked down to R2A and then came about to run just clear of the shallows off Kent Point.<br />
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A lot of people say that Island Packets are slow. I disagree. With more than about eight knots of wind they take off pretty well. What they don't do is point up into the wind very well. This is due to the design of the boat where compromises have been made to build a boat that's better in other respects. It's got a full length shallow keel which doesn't point up as well as a fin type, deep keel. Another thing is that the shrouds that hold up the mast from port and starboard are attached to the boat right at the toerail on the outer edge of the boat. The Genoa sheets are led outside of the shrouds at the widest part of the boat preventing the sail from being drawn in any tighter, closer to center line.<br />
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When we were sailing down Eastern Bay we were in a group of about five boats. The wind was blowing a steady 20 knots and I suspect that several of the boats weren't pointed up as well as they could simply to make the ride a little nicer. There were a few boats that could point up into the wind better than us though and I could see that they were going to make it out into the Chesapeake Bay without having to tack. Just a few more degrees would really make a difference at times like that.<br />
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The guy next in the slip next to us back at the dock just added a track inside his shrouds and he has a really sweet rig he got from Garhauer for adjusting the Genoa from the cockpit. I talked to him about it thinking maybe this was something we might try. I came away with two reasons that this wouldn't work for us. The first is that new track. The walking area on either side of our cabin is narrow to start with and when you go forward you have to swing around the inside of the shrouds to get by. The deck is clear though and I've had to go forward a few times in some nasty weather and was glad I didn't have to worry about tripping over anything. The other reason is that he said he has to either run additional sheets or move the sheet around the shrouds to use the inside track. That sounds like work to me, more effort than I want to put in. I think I'll just continue to tack. What's the rush anyway? It's a sailboat for gosh sakes. We're only gonna go about eight or ten mph max. According to Answers.com a human can outpace us easily if he could run on water:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Sprinting up to 100 yards - record is ~23 MPH - average ~14 <br /> Running up to a mile /1600 meters record is ~16MPH - average ~10MPH <br /> Marathon distance record ~26 Mile/42 Km is ~13MPH/21KmPH <br /> reasonable 9MPH 14KmPH (NY marathon qualification time) <br /><br />
For figuring out how fast you can get between two points these are
probably better values as they assume you can actually not spend too
much time recovering. <br /><br /> The Average walking speed is 3-4 MPH 5-6 KmPH or about 100 yards/meters per minute <br /><br /> Running speed sustained is about twice that 8 MPH, 12 KmPH or 200 yards/meters per minute.</span> <br />
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I think I'll just stay in the cockpit and enjoy the ride.<br />
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So, back to the story. Once we cleared Kent Point we had a straight run to Herring Bay on the western shore. We were running under full main and Genoa making about 7.5 knots. As got got clear of the influence of Poplar Island the wind swung a little more to the south and increased to as much as 25 knots. We were OK with this but the waves were really building up now because they had a clear run across the Bay. Something like 6 to 8 miles of clear water, completely unrestricted. With 20 to 25 knots of wind the waves will build up pretty well in that short of distance (imagine what happens out in the ocean with hundreds or even thousands of miles of unrestricted space. Yikes!) Rather than run with the rail in the water we reduced the Genoa to about 70% and the boat ran on nicely heeled over about 15 degrees. We had a pretty wild ride taking the wind and waves at 45 degrees off our bow. Lotsa spray in our faces with our feet propped up on the low side (leeward) cockpit seats. Bella has lived on board almost her entire life, all but three months, but she doesn't like it when things get rough (ruff?). She curls up in Cheri's lap and pretends to sleep. We crossed the Bay at a steady 7 to 7.8 knots and sailed right up to R2 in Herring Bay where we furled the sails and motored home.<br />
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Sweet! This was just what the doctor ordered! Two full days of R+R to remind us why we're doing all this work. Ya gotta take that break now and then or you start to lose sight of the goal. I think it's an "optics" thing.<br />
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This is the official countdown to our departure. The latest date we'll accept with little-to-no humiliation is March 31, 2015. That's exactly 200 days, 13 hours, 26 minutes and 34 seconds from now.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204565882786140862.post-6338075777084280182014-08-18T14:22:00.001-04:002014-08-21T10:34:42.295-04:00Simon Says<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjmrOcLMRRh8PnUtQTr2rHSowGjDQypACNO6wU5HTeeJuPCPB405ZYT4Lo2OuSEIV8tR5NmDWeCAP4I-a-5cRk4yJHEtUM1PZ1tKIpninw5DoVdo5R7pa6WI8OIB5_IrP7rObsKD90Ig/s1600/Sisyphus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjmrOcLMRRh8PnUtQTr2rHSowGjDQypACNO6wU5HTeeJuPCPB405ZYT4Lo2OuSEIV8tR5NmDWeCAP4I-a-5cRk4yJHEtUM1PZ1tKIpninw5DoVdo5R7pa6WI8OIB5_IrP7rObsKD90Ig/s1600/Sisyphus.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since we're both still working during the week we are pretty much limited to weekends for working on our list of projects. For the last few weeks we've been chipping away at it and we're starting to see some progress. Microscopic progress maybe but it's in the right direction.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RptVwxYysm0VPPEkA1edwBKYnnYrkOjnz735BLbBu_OvrqskduCwL0hD25SgSk-xA40AvFvqPE6qR5xMrpf4Vcb1e0clyN4rA2nRvyyTVQzm-tpfXsCZuFmunfUvu-sF-5c2khCyFTk/s1600/Boom+Preventer+Eye+Nuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RptVwxYysm0VPPEkA1edwBKYnnYrkOjnz735BLbBu_OvrqskduCwL0hD25SgSk-xA40AvFvqPE6qR5xMrpf4Vcb1e0clyN4rA2nRvyyTVQzm-tpfXsCZuFmunfUvu-sF-5c2khCyFTk/s1600/Boom+Preventer+Eye+Nuts.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQ5xhhqpjjWlsd4kaQ6qdNnpIGpz-0Ghy755ePPLjf8HxhHuxRyg427MGEJbgJbyGwmS3w5wUpMFEvdSRvml44w2lbZMDdbKFU87D6KyLbTXdNhqFWEh9hllqAk6TcFzf_RebvZklAGs/s1600/Boom+Preventer+Side+View.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQ5xhhqpjjWlsd4kaQ6qdNnpIGpz-0Ghy755ePPLjf8HxhHuxRyg427MGEJbgJbyGwmS3w5wUpMFEvdSRvml44w2lbZMDdbKFU87D6KyLbTXdNhqFWEh9hllqAk6TcFzf_RebvZklAGs/s1600/Boom+Preventer+Side+View.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>The Mainsail preventer is installed and usable but not yet "finished". My friend and twice-removed cousin-in-law (?) Simon wrote and suggested I make a few improvements to the system. The two eye nuts at the end of the boom are attached to a 6" long 3/8-16 length of "all thread". I placed nuts and washers on both surfaces inside the boom where it passes through and figured this, with the eye nuts on the outside, would be plenty strong enough. Simon suggested backing plates would be a wise addition. He's right. I don't know why I didn't see that in the first place. Probably in too much of a hurry to get things installed. So I went back and took another look at what I had. Inside the boom there is longitudinal bracing about halfway up the inner surface of either side. There's also inner bracing at the end for the out-haul and topping lift pulleys. I managed to place the "all-thread" just a washers distance from all of this which worked out well for the washers but leaves no room for internal backing plates. My only option, other than finding a new location, would be to place the backing plates between the eye nuts and the boom's outer surface. Even then there's not much room to play with since there are rivet heads nearby. I ended up making my backing plates from 1/4" aluminum, 2.5" x 2.5", with the eye nut centered on the plate. I think this will do the job of spreading the load with the nuts and washers still in place on the inside. I do plan to keep an eye on it though and at the first sign of fatigue I'll have to go with plan B, whatever that is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fspIRQXdSrLF5Uxb0JVXxnT5_rXR_EYvDQVw7wxKtsuEeuX9KzAV__0UmQE2xz9egvcU-or_T1pQt4jBdoEOxIZIX75E5-GCVGNtriN9o1Oe7FCs6armLBTzIztkMk23tsrVBr_NXUo/s1600/IP+420+Preventer+In+Use+.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fspIRQXdSrLF5Uxb0JVXxnT5_rXR_EYvDQVw7wxKtsuEeuX9KzAV__0UmQE2xz9egvcU-or_T1pQt4jBdoEOxIZIX75E5-GCVGNtriN9o1Oe7FCs6armLBTzIztkMk23tsrVBr_NXUo/s1600/IP+420+Preventer+In+Use+.bmp" height="200" width="152" /></a></div>
The second thing Simon suggested was using rope that had some stretch to it. This would work like a built-in shock absorber. With the reinforced eye nut at the back of the boom this will add some additional insurance. I think I'll replace the 25' length, section A, that's mounted on the boom. The double braid that I selected has less than 2% stretch. When I go to order the new line I'll get a recommendation for something more suitable. Thank you Simon. Both very good suggestions.<br />
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For the second section of the preventer, section B, that runs along the toe rail I needed to come up with a way to keep it off the deck and out from under foot. I found these cool-man stanchion fairleads made by Allen. Five on each side mounted on the life-line stanchions about 4" off the deck will be perfect. No moving parts, just simple guides. The run from the turning block up by the bow to the rope clutch aft by the cockpit follows the curve of the toe rail but is straight enough so there shouldn't be any binding or noticeable resistance. I have ten of these on back-order from APS in Annapolis.<br />
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I ordered and received some nice heavy duty padeyes to mount the forward turning blocks on the toe rail. I need to make up some backing plates for these. We're getting ready to remove and re-bed all the stanchions and sand down and re-finish the toe rail this Fall. I'll probably wait until then to mount the padeyes. I need to order the two line clutches too but with tight funding that'll have to wait until next payday. They wouldn't get mounted until next Fall either so that's not a big deal.<br />
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One reason we're re-bedding the stanchions and re-finishing the toe rail is because our boat leaks like a sieve. Last week we suffered a major storm giving us 6" of rain in less than two hours. Cheri was on board during the storm and called to tell me the lights were flickering and then there was no power. Great. When I got home we found that water had gotten into the inverter and fried it. It's still under warranty but there's little hope that the factory will honor that. I'm waiting now to see what the bill comes to for that one. A new inverter is just under $2000. Cheri came up with the brilliant idea of using a lid from a large Tupperware box and gluing it above the location for the inverter to deflect any water that might try to find it's way in again. We need to leave enough room for airflow because that sucka gets pretty hot but I think this is a good idea. We have always had a leak on the Port side that we couldn't find the source of. Now we have leaks on both sides so I need to get serious with this. The mast also needs to be resealed where it passes through the deck. Never ending.<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Update: I just got a call from MTS, the electronics guys taking care of the inverter. It was completely covered by warranty and replaced with a new unit. Holy smokes! Magnum Energy really stands behind their gear. Highly recommended.<span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><br />
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Cheri is researching the life raft we salvaged last week. It's an Avon off-shore, 6 man raft with double bottom and canopy. Has a nice list of gear included too. The problem is that it was due for re-inspection in March of 2007. I don't think "overdue" is even the right word here. If this was a library book we'd be going to jail! So the raft is at least 9 years old and I think 12 years is the cut-off. We're going to take it to Vane Brothers Marine Safety and Services in Baltimore. They'll take a look at it and let us know if it's worth spending the money on re-cert. Vane Brothers in Norfolk rented us a 6 man life raft for our trip to Bermuda and we were impressed with how helpful they were. I feel comfortable taking their advice on this. If they say dump it and go with a new one then that's what we'll do. At least we wouldn't be out anything.<br />
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On Sunday we did some troubleshooting on the Espar heater. Back in early March it stopped working after running non-stop for something like 2500 hours with only minor service. I thought it might be the fuel injector and diffuser screen being clogged with carbon build-up so I replaced them. They were dirty but that didn't fix our problem. Since the weather was getting mild I let it go to take on more interesting projects. But geez, it's now half-way through August and the time is flying by. We're gonna need this thing by the end of November so I'd better get it running. Reading the manual (a novel idea!) I found a hint about the fuel pump possibly being the problem. I climbed down into the cockpit locker and detached the fuel line from the heater. With the tube aimed into an old orange juice bottle I asked Cheri to fire up the heater. It went through it's start up cycle and the pump made some kinda pumping noise but hardly anything came out, just a few drops. In fact the pump completely quit after about 10 seconds. Uhm, I think it's supposed to do more than that. I removed the pump and took it apart. At the input there's a fine mesh screen and it was filthy, 90% plugged. I cleaned it out as best I could and put it back together. When Cheri fired it up again I got much better flow but it still cut off after about ten seconds. I put a meter across the terminals for the pump and it read 0.0 ohms. It's supposed to read 8.5 ohms. I think I'll replace the pump.<br />
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One more thing....we have an old spinnaker pole that I bought to use with the dinghy derrick. It's too short (12') to use for a whisker pole on our boat so I was thinking about replacing the aluminum tube with a longer one (16'). Forespar sells them for about $450 for a 3" diameter aluminum tube with a clearcoat finish. I could drill out the rivets on the old one and swap out the tube pretty easily. Still, 16' is not quite long enough. The measurement from our mast to the forestay that mounts the Genoa is 18' 11" and that's the dimension ("J" measurement in sail-speak) that's recommended for a whisker pole for our boat. I was cruising the 'net for boat stuff and came across a good site for used gear (<a href="http://www.usedboatequipment.com/" target="_blank">click here</a>). There I found a listing for a Forespar whisker pole. It's 3.5" in diameter, 21.5' long when fully extended and 12.5' when collapsed. Asking price was $350. I wrote the dude and it was still available so we made a deal and I'm planning to pick it up this weekend. Six hour drive in each direction but we really, really, really like road trips. We'll knock this out in one day and have us a proper whisker pole. We'll hafta figure out the mount for this thing though. Vertically on the mast is probably the best location if there's enough room below the radar mount. Otherwise it'll mount horizontally on the stanchions on the Port side at deck level. Another project for the list. For a good explanation of how to use a whisker pole <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGwNsS27R14" target="_blank">click here</a>. Having a whisker pole is a big deal for us. Used to pole out the Genoa while the preventer stabilizes the Mainsail we'll now be well set up for running downwind efficiently and safely.<br />
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So we are making progress on several fronts. We still have a huge list to complete though and it seems to keep getting longer. Just gotta keep hacking away at it.Tom + Cherihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573091500608609705noreply@blogger.com1