Still At It!

12/7/2014 - We left Merritt Island Anchorage this morning just after sunrise. The fog, although not thick, hung around until the sun began to heat things up a bit. The temp this morning was 64 deg and dew point was 63, with a humidity of 98%. Yup, there was fog.

We were turning about 1900 rpm and doing about 8.2 kts most of the way. Somewhere around noon or 1pm, I checked the bilge. It smelled like diesel, so I called for Warren, and he found ONE MORE LEAK-wrong, TWO MORE LEAKS!  Damn!  There was diesel in the bilge, and Warrwn discovered a leak in the fuel pump on the Starbord engine , of course on the STARBOARD SIDE!  Remember, both Warren and I are still a bit chunky, so getting to that leak will probably take an act of God, or a bigger wallet than we have at this moment.  He is not worried about it, but we have made the decision to add external fuel pumps to each engine.  Hopefully, they will arrive in St. Petersburg before we arrive.

We arrived at Jensen Beach North, and we are anchored just south of the bridge. Renne' and I anchored here in April on our journey north to Annapolis.  We will be out early tomorrow morning.

Oh, the second leak was the genset, which has been running all day today. Warren tightened the hose clamps (6 of them), and it appears that leak has stopped. We relocated the flapper switch for the bilge, and expect that will prevent pumping any residual fuel into the ICW-a good thing.

I know Warren seems to be doing all of the maintenance, but we are so blessed to have someone on board wholives and breathes Diesel engines!  We are crunched for time, so finding all of these issues have been of extreme importance.  Thank You Warren!  By the time we get to Houson, most of our issues will be resolved or identified!

Heading for bed.  Didn't see any of you for Sundowners, so we celebrated Renne's birthday with fabulous Ribeye steaks, sautéed baby white potatoes, mushroom/onion/bourbon sauce, and broccoli. Outstanding.  Happy Birthday Sweetie! I love you!

FINALLY-We've left the Docks!

Dec 6th-at 1420, we finally left the docks of Port Canaveral Yacht Club.  Warren Gloss and Caroline McDonald joined us on this past Monday for the trip back to Houston.

Of course we weren't expecting to leave a week later.  As we left the marina, we headed west through the Cape Canaveral Barge Locks, and the picture above is Warren and Caroline manning the lines as we are hand-tied to the sides of the locks.

As we exited the Locks, this is looking west for the next 1-1/2nm of the barge canal.  This is where the barges came through when delivering parts for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Assembly.

 In these pictures, we are just happy to be underway!!!  Whew!

I hadn't opened the engine compartment for the two days prior to Warren arriving. When we did, there was so much RED transmission fluid on the deck of the engine room, it appeared I had conducted some ritualistic sacrifice of a human or animal.  Actually I was fortunate Renne' had stuck around- I might have been accused of doing her in!  As it turned out,Warren discovered a serious leak in the starboard (right side) transmission prop-shaft flange locking nut. How this had not been previously discovered we can not imagine!

We spent all day, me being the go-fer and Warren doing the hard labor, he resolved the issue.  That resulted in $120 worth of new tools, but hiring someone else would have been 5 times that!  Following that adventure, Warren was inspecting the far side of the Starboard engine, and found a fuel line in a very INACCESSIBLE zone that had been left without a hose clamp on it!  Someone who had made the previous repair had decided it would be sufficient! WRONG!  Another serious miss on the side of our surveyor!

For the two of us chunky guys, the repair was to difficult, so we hired a mechanic who was much more svelte than either of us to finish the job-15 minutes and $30 later, we had a clamp and no fuel leaking from there!  Wahoo!

So Friday, Warren is looking at the port engine and discovers a leak coming from the fuel injection pump pulsation dampener disc.  That was a large mouthful, and required a call to American Diesel for more information! I think this was our 15th-no Warren's first call and my 15th call to American Diesel!  We had to order one new one, plus a spare.  Damn, another $170. Saturday, Fed Ex delivery.  You know, it wasn't such a big deal when Zimmer, or Dyonics, or Linvatec was paying that bill, but coming out of our pocket added another $65 to that bill! Ouch!

Oh yes, Warren in his typical OCD fashion, when it comes to Diesel Engines, is wiping the engine down with a cloth, and turns asking me to fetch a #3 Phillips screwdriver. I am actually of the belief that Warren is surprised, not only do I know what he is asking for, but have it in my tool bag.  He then begins tightening down the screws holding down the valve covers on BOTH engines. Amazing how loose they are! Gees!

We didn't plan to go far today.  We felt it was better to spend the first night close to Port Canaveral in the event something goes wrong and we have to return to the marina.  So we are anchored just off the Merritt Island Bridge tonight.

Jensen Beach tomorrow-71 nm. It means we have to be out at daybreak.  So with that, Renne loves the boat. We are getting rid of the diesel smell, one issue at a time, so get in a dinghy and meet us for Sundowners tomorrow evening. We may not be as exhausted as today!

Best,

Jon and Renne'
Abrd Sea N' Stars
We leave for

The Saga!!

The last entry was the excitement of purchasing Sea N' Stars in Port Canaveral, Florida.  We closed on the trawler during the last week of September, and immediately had her moved to Scorpion Marine Services just across the slipway.  She was hauled out of the water on October 1st, blocked, and basically was put in storage until we returned to her 20 days later.  I had requested a new bottom job, new Graphite Impregnated Packing material for the stuffing box (which keeps water from leaking into the boat around the prop-shaft), and the tachometers to be fixed so the three (of four) that were inoperable would work when we left right after the 1st of November.

I had several projects I was expecting to complete in the few days left in October, and when I arrived ready to get to work, I found that nothing had been completed.  As we were scheduled to be out on the 31st of October, the yard had delayed completing everything and had planned to work on her just before we splashed at the end of the month.  As I was there, I asked them to begin the repairs while I was aboard, and sure enough, the jobs were completed in time to splash as scheduled.

This is what the hull looked like when we originally pulled Sea N' Stars for the initial inspection:

The pictures below show the great job Scorpion did on the bottom job, and a boat always looks better with the new paint for protection against barnacles and sea growth.

Moving a boat to be splashed always is a wonder to me.  The crane they used, and this one will lift 100 tons, is moved completely by remote control, which I find amazing.  There is a guy with a control panel, like the control box for a radio controlled airplane, who walks along turning the wheels remotely, backing the crane onto a narrow pier until the boat is ready to be lowered into the water.  Our boat weighs in at about 40,000 tons, so it is only about 1/5th of the total weight this lift will hold.

As we had just replaced the packing material in the stuffing boxes for the prop-shafts (arrow points to one of the stuffing boxes),

the plan was to lower the boat into the water just far enough to cover the props, and I would jump aboard and check to ensure the bolts were tight and there was not any water leaking into the boat.

This photo is as the keel of the boat is 6" from entering the water.

You will notice, just to the left of the holding strap, there is a slight defect in the keel bottom.  I had noticed that when the boat was being lifted, the support blocks had been removed, this 4" area had no paint on it.  That is not unusual, as the area under the blocks is inaccessible when the rest of the hull is painted, but I thought it was unusual that this area had been missed.  I asked the lift operator and he immediately got it painted.

"Now you'll hear the rest of the story", as Paul Harvey used to say.

The operator lowered the boat into the water and I jumped aboard.  I got down in the engine room.

I found the packing glands were tight, but there was a 10" geyser from a 1/8" hole in the hull (see where the purple arrow is)

Jumping out of the engine room, I suggested we needed to figure out where this hole came from.  Rehauled the her and discovered one of the screws for the external strainer for the port engine raw-water intake was missing.  The yard denied ever using a drill for the hull, which I accepted, as I never saw a drill in the area.  The only logical explanation was it probably was there prior to the haul out and been done previously.  But the yard did seal the hole and reinstalled the screw, and the boat was relaunched.

I was nervous, as I had only had Sea N' Stars out with the sales rep who sold us the boat, and now I was at the helm by myself.  I have never operated twin screws before, and it took me three attempts to get into the slip correctly.  As it had taken me 15 minutes to accomplish the feat, I jumped back into the engine room to recheck the packing glands.  They were fine.  What I did find was water pouring in under the generator you see - actually it has been replaced with a new 10kw Phasor genset, but there was water still pouring in.  I checked under the genset, but the source was behind it from under the flooring in the aft stateroom.  I immediately checked under the aft bed, where the rudders are located.  No water.  I pulled up a 10" square access panel to the prop-shaft strut on the port side, and found what I thought was the source.  I assumed the bolts holding the strut in place were loose.  I got a wrench and tightened the nuts, but the water continued.  Further inspection, I found leak in the exhaust flange for the exhaust hose on the port side inside of the stateroom.

However, at that point, I also decided the amount of water was NOT equal to what was now coming into the bilge.  The bilge pump was now running about every 45 seconds.  Looking more closely, I discovered water coming from three weep holes in the bilge floor.  Ensuring the bilge pump was working properly and reliably, I jumped off the boat to find the yard manager.  He came down and found it odd there was water entering the bilge there.  He immediately called for the lift, and I returned to the haul out slip.  As we were pulled out of the water, it was evident there was water draining out of the keel from the defect in the keel I had noticed earlier.

We reblocked the boat.  Upon inspection of the defect, it appeared the block had crushed the keel at this point.  It appeared a very poor repair had been accomplished at some point in time previously, as the boat was NOT leaking like this when the inspection was accomplished, but the weight of the boat on the block had broken through the repair.  Our only conclusion was that she had been run up on a coral reef or coral head previously, a fast repair completed, and the boat put up for sale.  That sale was made two years ago to the guy who owned the boat before us.

So the repair began!  When it was all ground down, the defect was about 8-1/2" long.  The hull was left for 4 days and a heat gun used to ensure the hull was dry.

Fiberglass putty was stuffed in the defect.

Bi-axial roving was glassed in (3-4 layers)

Then regular glass was installed over that.

However, there was a drop of water that continued to drain just aft of the repair at the rate of one drop every 2-3 minutes.  We also were concerned there was moisture on top of the blocks (which you can see as the dark area on the block.

In consultation with the yard manager, it was agreed to leave the boat (now November 8) and they would remove about 2" from the repair aft to the heal of the keel, as he was concerned the poor repair continued to the end of the keel.  Then the repair would be completed properly.

So, today, November 16, the repair has been completed.  Our friend, Mike Rooney, who had flown out to Port Canaveral, to assist me in bringing the boat back to Houston, and I flew back to Houston.  Renne' and I are ready to head back after her checkup on Wednesday, and we will bring the boat back to Houston around the first week of December with our friends, Warren Gloss and Caroline McDonald.
So we will see what has happened when we arrive on Thursday afternoon.

From there, the saga will continue.

In the meantime, stop over at Port Canaveral Yacht Club and join us for sundowners.  We would love to have you stop by!

Jon and Renne'

We Have Added To The Family!!

07 October 2014

Well, last week we took on MORE responsibility!!  Renne' and I have added another BOAT to our inventory!!  Doggone, when will we learn.

Let me digress - Back in August, we were racing back to Key West following a wonderful trip up the East Coast to Annapolis and Baltimore.  We stopped in Port Canaveral overnight, and while we were walking down the pier at Ocean Club of Port Canaveral, Renne' spotted a trawler for sale and stated she would like to look at it.  I kinda rolled my eyes, and found the local broker there are the marina.  he put us aboard, and we toured the boat.  When we got off of her, we began discussing the pros and cons of purchasing her.  We arranged to look at her again.  We realized she appeared to be in excellent condition - at least as far as we could determine - so we put a deposit down, signed a contract, and headed south again for the Keys.

Here is what we found:

She is powered by twin Ford Lehman 2725E, 135hp engines with 2500 hrs (+ or - 100 hrs), newly rebuilt transmissions, a new 10KW Phasor Genset (630 hrs), a relatively new water maker (50 gal/hr), and what Renne' really liked, double beds fore and aft with walk around accessibility in both the forward and aft staterooms

 Foreward Stateroom

Aft (Master) Stateroom

I have a bit of work to do on her before we move her to Houston:

New Garmin 4210 Charplotter

New F-1 Gulf Coast Filter pre filters for the fuel

New packing material in the packing glands

Tachometer work to be completed on 3 of the 4 tachs aboard.

We will add to this list as I look at the boat.  For now, we are very excited!

See ya at the docks in Port Canaveral for Sundowners next week,

J & R

We Are No Longer in Harbornation!

May 3, 2014

Jensen Beach, Fl
1600

Windy today, skies still ominous from the thunderstorms traveling across the State of Florida.  We have been in the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) all day today.  We had just crossed under the bridge going south to north when we began looking at the skies seriously.  Dark, ugly.  We turned to the weather channel on the VHF only to hear expectations of severe thunderstorms, 25-35knot winds, rain showers which would be down to 1/4 mile visibility and sky-to-ground lightening.  With that we chose to turn around an anchor for the day.  A call to our friends Ed and Claudia to let them know we were not going to make Vero today got us a recommendation to anchor on the south side of the bridge with better water than when we anchored on the north side of the bridge three years ago (we were aground at low tide there).  So off we ran to the south side as winds picked up ferociously.  Rain began to come down, so in foul weather gear, I headed to the bow to put the anchor down.  We were looking at 25kt winds directly down the length of the boat.  Although we are in only 8-9' of water, I wanted to make sure we were secure, so I dropped 75' of 5/16" chain in the water.  We are holding fast.  Renne' handles the helm expertly in these situations. 

So much for today,  when did we leave, where have we been, what's been happening since we left?  Let me reach back and share that with you!

April 25
Friday
We departed NAS Boca Chica around 0700.  Now there are those who are superstitious who say one must never leave to go cruising on a Friday.  Ha!  Such fools!  We headed out the channel and set a course for Maryland Shoals, East of the channel and right at the edge of the reef, 12 miles from the mouth of Boca Chica Channel.  Our friends Doug and Susan jumped in their Sea Hunt and ran out to meet us

and we were excited to see them.  We had left so early from Boca, there was no one to see us off, so we were pleased they made the effort to come out.  As they arrived, we were out taking pictures when the engine died.  Damn!  What now!?!? I knew what to do.  I immediately jumped below to check the toilet paper fuel filter - Say What???  Yes, they do exist.  It is a product from Gulf Coast Filters in Mississippi.  It utilizes a fresh roll of toilet paper to filter all of the bacteria that grows in diesel fuel before it gets to the standard "primary" Racor Fuel Filter. 

I released the clamp, pulled out the dirty roll, threw in a new roll, and while I was pumping the manual squeeze bulb to pump diesel back in to the filter, I discovered the squeeze bulb was plugged with a flax like material that had clogged the line.  I was certain this plug had been in the line for many months, as I had changed out the old fuel line a few weeks ago, and could not find the reason the engine kept shutting down the engine the last time we were in the Bahamas.  Renne' got to talk boat-to-boat with Doug and Susan while I got the engine running again, so I didn't get to see much of them.  We wished the well, and thanked them from coming out.

This picture was taken by them with us dead in the water.

This second one is proof positive I think I know what I am doing as we are off again after changing the filter and unplugging the squeeze bulb.

 

After running three hours against the Gulf Current, we decided to head inshore to Marathon, where we anchored outside Boot Key Harbor, and went in for a walk with the dogs to Home Depot for a couple of things.  After walking a mile, the dogs were completely exhausted!  The guy in the nursery at HD was kind enough to loan us the water hose where we soaked the dogs to cool them off and to give them water.  We then put them in a grocery cart an walked them around the store.  On the way back, we dinghied over to the Dockside Café, owned by the world famous Eric Stone and his lovely wife Kim, and had drinks and an appetizers.

 

 

August 26

Saturday

 

We were underway by 0730.  I had wanted to run the genset to use the watermaker first thing in the morning, however, when I hit the start switch, nothing happened.  I dinghied the dogs over to water them and to pick up ice while Renne' was preparing breakfast.  When I got back and ate, I hit the ignition for the engine and nothing happened.  A bit frustrated, I opened the hatch to the engine department and immediately noticed the squeeze bulb was collapsed.  Too much suction pressure.  Hmmmm!  I removed the bulb from the fuel line, and with a little dental pic I keep with my tools, I was able to pull a bunch of trash that was trapped in the one-way check valve.

I cleaned that out, rebuilt the squeeze bulb, reinstalled it in the fuel line, the genset fired right up, and so did the engine.  With that, we departed for Rodriguez Key.

 

April 27

Sunday

 

We anchored of Rodriguez Key and had an enjoyable ride around the island trying to find a place for the dogs to be watered.  No luck.  We figured they would go in the cockpit or on deck.  Nope!  Dinner and bed. 

 

April 28

Monday

 

Up at the crack of dawn again and headed up Hawk Channel for No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne south of Miami.  Ed and Claudia convinced us the trip would be simple with no issues.  In the past, I have been extremely concerned about the depths of the channel.  As it turned out, we had nothing to worry about.  We were very happy with the trip.  We arrived in No Name Harbor and anchored.  Honestly, we felt in the Minority.  It was very Latin there!!  Probably three dozen boats in the harbor.  Dinner was at the Boaters Grill at No Name Harbor.  We split and enjoyed a wonderful seafood Paella and a pitcher of Sangria. 

 

To be continued - we are not on a dock tonite, but if you can get a dinghy somewhere, come on out and join us for sundowners.  Looks like it will be quiet, calm, but cloudy.  More when we reach Vero!  Good night to those of you not here in the area!

 

JonNe'

 

 

 

List of Projects on JonNe'

As we are heading toward departure, the projects have been slowly being put away.  Some have had loose strings attached that couldn't be finished  for several weeks.  For a long time, we have not been able to broadcast on the VHF for any real distance.  On Sunday, Ed Davis sent me up the mast using the Lighthouse 1501 Windlass to haul my butt 65 feet in the air.  It took three trips up the mast, but I was able to change the VHF antenna - a major problem, and changed out the blocks and shackles that are used for the Spinnaker Halyard, and the spare Main Halyard, which acts as my safety line when I am up the mast.  The picture below is my view from the top of the mast!  Here I am a Navy Pilot, and I have discovered I just don't like being up here much!!



This next picture is the view to the Southeast , looking directly to Havana, Cuba.  An interesting note, from where I am looking, Havana is 94 miles out at this direction.  It is closer to Havana than it is to the nearest Walmart!

 

This picture is looking West.  Where the color changes is reef.  Actually, at low tide, that is about 18".  One of the things you have to remember is:  you don't go where the birds walk!!



The below view is looking East.   If you remember the movie "TopGun" with Tom Cruise, that was based on the TopGun school in Las Vegas.  He was based at NAS Miramar, in San Diego, but the school was at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas.  NAS Boca Chica here in the Keys is the TopGun school on the East Coast.  It actually is more useful and less expensive to train here than Nellis.  The reason is that winter in Las Vegas and the surrounding training area is subject to below freezing and snow.  Here the weather is more stable during the winter and the total sun days (or the amount of sun visible daily) is as high as the west coast.  So squadrons from California come here to train during the winter.  The scene you are looking at below are the facilities used for training.

 

 

We have visitors this year with us - actually they are family members - two dachshunds!  They are Shannon's, but we will have them for the next 8 or so months.  So we are getting them used to being on the boat and dinghy. Fortunately, I have lost a bit of weight since this pic was taken.  Don't judge, we all like beer and Jack and Diet Coke!!  Besides, I am retired!

 



I thought I would give you some pics of our friends: 

Doug and Susan

Ed clowning around, but Claudia looks great

 

 



Then there was US!!

I do love to take this lady out - she is so much better looking than I - it really lifts up my image!!

Renne' asked me a while back to make a list of the major items we have added to JonNe' since we purchased her, so I spent this afternoon going through the boat from stem to stern, then compared my list to Renne's.  Quite honestly, I was very impressed with what Renne' came up independently!  Actually we both had items the other hadn't added.  At our age, it really does take two minds to make a whole mind!  So here it is:

Lighthouse Electric Anchor Windlass with Remote - 1501

Raritan PHEII Electric Head and floor buildup

Jabsco Compact Head and floor buildup

V-Berth Fan

Raymarine ST-60 Speed, Depth, and Wind System

Raymarine E-80 Chartplotter and 18" 2KW Radar Scanner

Navpod for Raymarine E80 + four ST60  instruments - GP1171

Interior Settee Cushions - 8 cushions

V-Berth Cushions - 3 Cushions

New Overhead Panels - Main Cabin

Dome Lights x 8 with complete rewiring to breaker panel

Aquamarine Electric Drive R.O. WaterMaker Kit

Icom IC-m504A VHF Radio

Standard Horizon GX-2150 VHF Radio with AIS

Air Breeze Wind Generator

Air Breeze Wind Generator Carbon Fiber Blades

AquaAlarm Bilge Switch

AquaAlarm Bilge Monitor

Rule Bilge Pump, 2000gph, pump switch tree, 2 switches

ICOM IC-M802 Single Sideband Radio

ICOM AT-140 Automatic Tuner

Waeco Alder-Barber Refrigeration Unit

Dometic Marine Air Turbo Vector 16,000BTU 115V

Installation of AC with all hoses, vents, controllers

Groco Stainer, Thru-hull, Haul-out, water pump

Engle Freezer MT17F and permanent mounting

Yanmar 4JH5E 53hp Engine with Trans w Installation

JABSCO Aqua King II Fresh Water pump, 5GPM

Sureflow ProBlaster bilge pump 5gpm

Next Generation 5.5 generator

Support platform and stainless legs

Prop Shaft, 1-1/2 x 12', Stainless Steel and Cutlass Bearing

Prop 21 x 17 with haulout

Mastervolt 100 amp battery charger

new battery wiring, terminals

mastervolt 360ah batteries x 4

Solar Panel, Kkyocera, 250w and frame

Davit Tower plus installation

AIS Transponder

LED Lighting Main Cabin, V-Berth, Main Stateroom

Full Enclosure Full eisenglass and mosquito netting

Raymarine  X-10 Sport Autopilot with Linear Actuator

Rudder plate for Linear Actuator

Seaward Hotwater Heater, 11 gal, stainless steel

Seaward Princess 3-burner Propane Stove, Stainless Steel

Gulf Coast Fuel Filter, fuel polishing valves and hoses

Life Raft

Main Sail Stack Pack

Saftey Netting for Saftey Lines

Saftey Lines

Custom Mattress for Master Stateroom

Laminate Countertops and 2 heads various repairs

Rebuild of entire engine room and shower Master Stateroom

AMAC Water Filtration System

Almost Ready To Leave

Thanks to our friends, Ed and Claudia Davis, for the inspiration, I am sitting here this morning drinking coffee and McCormicks Irish Cream while I am writing this.  They didn't give me the bottle - no, I had to go buy it, but everytime I have gone over to their boat for breakfast, Claudia is always asking me if I want a "treat" with my coffee.  How can I turn down an offer like that!!!  Hehheh!! 

Today, I will complete all of the urgent list of things we had to get done prior to leaving again.  The list is long. 

Yesterday, I installed 25' of antenna wire for the new AIS transponder from Em-Trak, and I am heading to West Marine to pick up the AIS-VHF Antenna to complete the project.  Now you neophites, who have never run wire on a boat, will be thinking that is not a big deal!  Nay Nay I say, in the words of the great and late Jon Pinette.  I had to drill a new hole in the deck (ARRRRGGGGHHHH) to run the cable, take apart the aft stateroom bed to get under it, run the cable up from the bed, behind the aft bulkhead, through the deck, and up to the davit tower.  Then using the second most helpfulThen I had to seal the hole, and all the other holes I had disrupted, with silicon, and solder a new connector on to that end for the actual antenna. I then ran the rest of the cable around the base of the bed, down under the flooring into the engine room, up through the tool closet.  For both of those episodes, I had to run a fishing tool through and around all of the obstructions and bulkheads into the ceiling of the main cabin.  Then I had to remove the overhead ceiling panel in the main stateroom, and it remains down until I can complete the job today.  I now have to program the Em-Track AIS Transponder with the computer prior to putting the ceiling panel up.  That takes two people!!

Inhale and take a deep breath!!

Additionally, I had purchased an oil evacuation pump from WM, however, their only selection was one with a 3 gallon bucket.  It is not like the V-Berth isn't already packed and stacked already.  I don't need something THAT MESSY up forward.  So my other project Wednesday, was to install the pump in the engine compartment so I can electrically evacuate the oil from the engine and genset and into smaller 1 gallon containers I keep in the bilge.  Ed, we will get yours installed before you need to change the oil again!! 

Today, besides picking up the antenna, I have a switch for the VHF radios I am going to install.  Now I have a splitter on it so I can run two VHF radios off of one antenna, but my next door dock buddy, Johnnie Poole measured the interference and HIGHLY recommended changing that out to a switch.  Doggone!  It has been a very long time since I have done any soldering at all, but Johnnie took a while out of his busy schedule getting their boat ready to go, to show me how to solder these plugs properly.  Thanks Johnnie, I sure did a poor job prior to your instruction!!

I am also going to fill my new fiberglass 17lb propane tank to store on the deck.  Saturday, our friends, Doug and Susan are assisting me in moving the boat over to another marina to fill the fuel tanks, and then do a bit of sailing.

Sunday morning, I leave, by car, for Miami, to pick up my lovely wife at the airport, and then celebrate 12 glorious years with the absolute love of my life!!  Honey, welcome back, Darlin' and Happy Anniversary, a few days early!!

In the meantime, if you are in Columbia, SC, call Renne' and stop over for a drink - or if you are in Key West, call me, and stop by at sunset for a sundowner!  I will keep a few beers, a bottle of wine, and some hard stuff cold for you!  In the meantime, we will see you on the water!!

Jon and Renne'
abrd S/V Jonne'

Attitude And It's Relationship to Adventure

We haven't left Key West yet.  Life is getting in the way for a brief moment.  But then again, that is what retirement is. . . Life getting in the way of a good time!

Five weeks ago (February 13-17), Renne' and I attended Strictly Sail Miami, the sailing side of the Miami International Boat Show, at the Bayside Marina in downtown Miami.  Renne' was accepted as a vendor and spent the week selling her Nighty Night Sailboat series at the Author's Nook in the big tent.  Renne' was one of only 5-6 authors accepted this year for this honor, and we have made new and pretty cool friends because of this. 

Renne', although she was not competing with any of the others, appears to have sold more books than all of the others combined!  I had to laugh, as most of you know, Renne' will speak with anyone about her books!  She was all but pulling them off the carpet to show them her books.  I was really proud of her efforts!  In the end, she has been asked to return to next year's boat show, and the director of this part of the show assured her she could return as often as she liked. What a PRO!

While we were there, we met Bob Bitchin' and his lovely wife, Jody "Bitchin' Lipkin, the publishers and creators of "Cruising Outpost", formerly, publishers and creators of "Lattitudes and Attitudes", in their booth around the corner from us.  Jody gave me a bumper sticker that seems to exemplify both Renne's and my attitude, the entire of our adult life:

   “Attitude:  the Difference Between an Ordeal and an Adventure”

When I saw this statement, I realized how universal this statement is in application to all of our lives. 

Sayings like: 
     "It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to."  Annie Gottlieb
    
     "If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it."  Mary Engelbreit

     "The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude."  Dennis S. Brown

. . . . say the same thing, but Bitchin's bumper sticker says it all, eloquently.

The last 3-1/2 weeks have been tough on Renne', as she has been in Columbia, SC taking care of family issues.  Last Monday, I drove north to be with her for a while, and I am driving south, this Sunday, to finish up income tax and my projects to get the boat ready for our annual Key West Departure, as soon a Renne' can shake herself loose of these issues.

Just before leaving, I was able to start and finish two projects that have been plaguing us for some time.  The first involved resolving a battery issue.  For seven years of ownership, I have been very reluctant to spend much time without running the engine for fear of running down the batteries so far that I couldn't get the engine or genset running.  Although we have always carried atleast 290 amp hours of power, with separate HOUSE and START battery banks; and this past year, an additional 145ah's added for a total of 435ah's in the START battery bank, we have always seemed to be running short on battery longevity when sailing or sitting on the hook.

When Doug and Barb Schindler arrived for a week in Key West, I asked Doug to help me by looking at the batteries.  In 15 minutes, we had found the problem, and in no time, we had the situation resolved!  It had to do with the manner in which I had wired in the Battery Combiner.  I had two wires wired in backwards, and it took an independent inspector to find the fault!  Wow!  I have been running the boat on battery power during the day, relying on the solar panel and wind generator for recharging the batteries, and wait until the batteries are headed below 12.4v before turning on the 110 through the battery charger to boost the batteries back.  I am much more than satisfied!!  That also resolved the radar problem of not working and resolved the chartplotter's issue of shutting down at very challenging times in the middle of the night.  WaHoo!!

The second project had to do with the fuel lines (main feed and return lines) for the center fuel tank.  We actually have three tanks:  two 42 gallon diesel tanks under the port and starboard settees (couches for the folks in Rio Lindo), and a 48 gallon center tank under the floor boards below the table in the main cabin.  So for the last year or so, 1/3 of our fuel supply has actually been unavailable for use while we are motoring.  The lines would clog up when we were operating at cruising rpm, although I could transfer fuel from the tank, using the electric fuel pump and our fuel polishing system.

I finally got up the nerve to spend an afternoon cutting, crimping, and isolating copper fuel lines and replacing them with flexible neoprene fuel lines.  With much effort, I replaced both of the center tank fuel lines, and voila', the engine runs beautifully!  WaHoo, AGAIN!!

My three remaining projects that have to be accomplished are:

1)  Build a new mounting frame for the new 245W solar panel
2)  Mount a Hailing Horn on the mast spreaders
3)  Replace the shackles at the top of the mast that hold the blocks for the spare halyards in place.

Notice two of those projects involve going up the mast!  Fun times to be had by all, I assure you!

Last night, we watched Robert Redford's, All Is Lost.  I began taking notes about the technical faults in the movie.  By the time it was done, we had counted some 20 serious errors in his procedures.  On the other hand, I began adding thoughts about items we seriously need to add to our bailout bag, in the event we have to abandon the boat.  In that case, I am adding 15 items to our list and/or plan.  We really don't want to end up in the same situation as Redford did.  We were glad we watched the movie!

Tonight, here in Columbia, SC, it is drizzling and very cool (somewhere in the mid to low 50's).  Renne' and I are thinking of having cocktails in for a change.  So, although the drinking burgee is raised to the spreaders, it will probably require some effort and foul weather gear to get here.  So we will raise our glasses to toast you if you miss us!  Cheers!

Jon and Renne'
abrd S/V JonNe'

Another Day, Another Day Toward Leavin' AGAIN

About 1700, Sunday, 02 Mar 2014

Pretty cool.  The months of January and February are gone and Spring is just around the corner.  With that, I have been working on and off at getting JonNe' ready for another run to the Bahamas.  We have different crew this year.  We will be taking two dachshunds that actually belong to our daughter, Shannon.  She has found herself in a bit of a pickle, and we have volunteered to keep them for a couple of months

The one here in front is Lina, she is the daughter of Pretzel, in the background.  So, in order to give them some running around room, I have installed safety line netting to try to keep them aboard.

Well, it is like most of my projects, it has been sitting for the past few days, and I am 90% complete.  I have to find the gumption to finish the frickin' project!!  I have 5 feet of netting left to install on the starboard (right) rear safety lines and aft pulpit, and I wasn't feeling well enough to finish it today.  Actually, although true, I was heading up into the cockpit and decided it was time to write something about what I was doing, and started taking pictures and writing this!  That and a large Sailor Jerry and Diet Coke, and I don't think I will finish anything today!!  I am here in Key West, and Manana!!  Sorry folks, but my Spanish dictionary was not installed!  There should be a TILDA above the first n.  So pronounce that n with your tongue high on the roof of your mouth, kinda like an n and y simultaneously.  It actually means TOMORROW!

I am making water this afternoon.  The panel lies right behind the settee cushion on the port (left side)

Then, Voila', and the cushion is removed, and the watermaker panel appears and I am making water!

Now, the pretty cool thing about this watermaker (Aquamarine Watermakers) is the fact that if you look closely to the gauge on the left side, it is reading just a hair over 21 gallons an hour!  These tanks are 75 gallons a piece, so in a couple of hours, I have atleast one full tank.

That is unless you discover what I just discovered!!  Here I was, after an hour of writing this, as it is now almost 1800 hours, I got up to figure out what I was going to make myself for my evening meal.  I am rummaging around in the refrigerator, and I notice water on the counter!  Not a usual occurrance!   I look at the sink, and doggone, it is FULL of water!  Two things became abundantly clear, and one of them was NOT that I had already embibed in my first rum and coke.  It was first, I had NOT opened the drain for the galley sink when I began making water, and second, and more frustrating, I had not switched over from the test drain which goes to the sink (in this case FILLING IT) to the tanks.  So for the last hour, I have been filling the sink and spilling the water all over the floor rather than adding 21 plus gallons of incredibly fresh water into my nearly depleted water tank!  Can I hear a DAMN! 

So, in getting that resolved, I opened a bar of Kaukauna Port Wine Cheese Spread and some Tostido's Scoops, got a knife, and I am aswaging my frustration with cheese and crackers, and ANOTHER Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum and Diet Coke!

With that, I am ending this, and heading for the cockpit to enjoy the rest of the sunlight and, Oh, By The Way, REALLY NICE WEATHER!!

Come on down to the docks, I will pour another drink for you, I promise!

JonNe'

Jan 10, 2014

Enroute NAS Boca Chica, Key West, Fl to Sarasota, Fl

1220
Renne' and I have taken the opportunity to assist Marlen Robb, owner of a Morris 46, s/v Menemsha,

in finishing this delivery to his homeport.  Below you will see the route from NAS Boca Chica to Sarasota, Fl.

The total miles for this trip is about 175nm.  Menemsha is on her re-fit maiden voyage, and has traveled 1775nm from the Morris Yacht Yard in Trenton Maine to Key West.  Marlen Robb

 

and his wife, Marlene, left Trenton on November 2nd, 2013, in 22 degrees.  They have had some pretty wild rides, and Marlen's comment was, "I don't mind being scared once a day, but NOT all day long!"  We agree with that completely!  Actually, this will be a bit like sailing the Harvest Moon Regatta. 

1615, 10 Jan 2014

We are doing 77kts over the ground at present.  Winds have been pretty much out of the southeast.   We just took a wind shift to the northeast, and it has changed our sailing to motor sailing.  Winds are now up to 11kts and we are doing 7.9kts over the ground right now.  Temps are dropping, but they should stabilize in the mid 60's and no rain.  Skies are mostly fair and the seas are only about 1 foot.

I spent an hour or more reconfiguring Marlen's Raymarine C-125 Chartplotter to a split screen with the chartplotter/radar on one side and CDI (Course Deviation Indicator) and navigational data on the other side.  I set it up in the same configuration our is set up.  He appears to be very pleased.

On the other hand, now that I have shown him how to do it, his configuration might change the next time he is aboard!!  Hehheh!  Attaboys can be fleeting, as we often found out in the fleet!!  LOL!  Actually, I am amazed the Captain they hired to get them south from Maine to North Carolina didn't take the time to set them up on something.

 

 

2024 10 Jan 2014

25 18'.704N

082 04'.198W

Great sailing - not sure how it could be better!!

Still motoring, but engine is clicking along at 1600 rpm and we are doing 6.8 kts.  It couldn't be nicer.  I have the watch from 2000-2300.  Marlen will have the 2300-0200.  I will, then, come back on for the 0200-0500.  Renne' gets to sleep most of the night.

The chartplotter is digitally tied to Marlen's IPAD.  Holy smokes, what an incredible tool!  This means I can sit on the settee in the cockpit, not on the lazarette.  it allows me to sit out of the wind and keep track of everything that is going on.  What a wonderful setup!  It is also slaved to the laptop below.  The advantage with the IPAD over the slave laptop, is I can change anything from the chartplotter on the IPAS without moving.  I could even take it below with me.  Very Cool!

2300, 10 Jan 2014
Off Watch

11 Jan 2014
0156
25 56'.431N
082 14.038W

On watch again, letting Renne' sleep.  Beautiful moon out, clear skies, cool, probably 64 degrees.   Have my foul weather jacket on.  Seas basically calm.  Nothing on radar.  We are the only ones out here.  Marlen is making coffee for me.  The moon is 3/4 waxing.  Interesting how the top of the moon is gone.  I don't remember seeing it this was in some time.

11 Jan 2014
0442
26 14.821N
082 18'.858W

A few minutes ago, while watching for satellites, a meteor came across.  One of the most blazing I have seen.  As it hit the atmosphere, it looked as though a flint had struck steel, as though you were attempting to start a primitive fire.  It seemed to throw off sparks on either side of its pathway across the sky.  Although I have seen longer streaks, I have never seen this type of display.

It appears to be 90% clear tonight, but there must be a very thin gauzy layer in the cirrus range.  The brighter stars are very obvious, but the more distant or less bright stares are a bit muted.  I believe that is the reason I have not seen any satellites tonight.  When Renne' and I were assisting our friend, Barb Schindler, bring her boat to Houston from Pensacola, Fl, I think it was 2010,, but it might have been 2009, I was able to spot 12 satellites in 25 minutes with the naked eye.  The moon has been down about an hour, so there is no influence from its' ambient light.  Disappointing.

I just heard what sounded like a cry off the port stern, a bit away from the boat.  When I tried to listen again, I did not hear anything, so I suspect it was a dolphin nearby.  That was a spooky feeling.  I am here in the cockpit by myself, and not normally subject to being nervous, but that was a bit unusual.

The wind has clocked around almost to our stern, so we are now running with the wind.  The main and jib are on the port side, or what we term as a starboard tack.  The apparent wind speed has now dropped to 5 or 6 kts.  I expect I will be gybing the main over to the starboard side in the not to distant future.

Sanabel Island is about 045 degrees at 20nm.  We seem to have picked up a bit of counter current and we are being set a bit to the east.  I am now crabbing three degrees to port and have lost almost a knot of speed.  We are down to 6.3 kts.  Still doing well, and anticipate being at the south entrance to Long Boat Key, west of Sarasota, at about 3pm.

1445

Arrived at the entrance of Big Bay Pass at Sarasota Point.

 

Marlen and I have been discussing the entrance.  It looks as though the waters are way shallow for the 5-1/2' draft on this yacht.  The channel markers are not well identified, and the water is cloudy and looks shallow.  I have called Boat US and Marlen has spoken with Marina Jack, and frankly, the reviews are very mixed.  The general responses have indicated that with the tide coming in, we might well have enough depth to enter.

WRONG!!

Our best thought was to find the shortest way across the shallows.  However, Menemsha grounded on hard sand, even though the charts indicated we were over the shallows and in an area of about 7 feet.  We guessed it had probably shoaled over.

Marlen immediately put Menemsha in reverse and began the seemingly torturous crawl back to deep water. 

Our immediate good fortune came from the surface waves impacting the boat.  The entire trip, there was never more than a foot of waves.  However, each wave that passed, raised Menemsha off the ground on the crest of the wave, and she struck the ground in the bottom of each trough.  Had there been more wave height, we could have been in a serious predicament.  As it turned out, we had no issues.

Our biggest disappointment was with SeaTow!!  Not to be confused with Towboat US!!  As we were attempting our entry, there was a SeaTow skiff about 300 yards off our bow, inbound toward us.  Over the next 5-6 minutes, as he neared us, he NEVER attempted to wave us off the shallow water.  NEVER got on the radio.  NEVER got out his air horn.  NEVER sped up to tell us it would be impossible to go through!! He sat off our starboard side, about 20 feet, and when we were trying to free the boat, he yelled across, asking if he could be of assistance!!  As though he were a vulture waiting for us to get into trouble.  I can't print the thoughts going through our heads about this jerk!  He almost overcame our being pissed at him by returning our dinghy, which we discovered had the towline severed when we put the boat in reverse, but not enough to overcome our ill-thoughts to the risk he let us accept.  NO TIP for the recovery!

Disappointed, we headed north along the coast of Long Boat Key to the entrance of Long Boat Pass.  A distance of 10nm.

At this point., it was about 1520.  The temperature was beginning to drop remarkably.

We all slipped on our jackets, immediately noticing a new fog bank developing.  Although Renne' and I have encountered a deeper fog bank along this coast, we were 1/2nm off Long Boat Key, and couldn't see the shoreline at this point. 

When we arrived at the mouth of Long Boat Pass, at 1640, visibility was down to 100 yards, and finding the channel markers required a steady hand holding the binoculars to see the markers through the fog.  We were able to spot land, then the Bascule Bridge that needed to open to let us through to Sarasota Bay and the InterCoastal Waterway (ICW).  From there, with a coulple of turns and some tight maneuvering, we were headed south toward Sarasota, another 10nm and 90 minutes.  We arrived at Marina Jack in Sarasota by 1815 (6pm), and pulled alongside the fuel dock.  45 minutes later, we were tied up, fueled with diesel, bags loaded in the car, and headed for dinner at the Dry Dock Grill on Long Boat Key.

12 Jan 2014
1000

Headed for Marina Jack to move Menemsha to her new mooring ball.

1130

Arrived, moved, and locked up the boat for a few days of rest.

Overall, a great trip, no damage, no real episodes to write home about, and two happy owners to be re-united and a boat in the marina.  This arrival for Marlen is the first time he has been to their new home in 7 months.  Welcome Home Marlen, Marlene, and Menemsha.

Renne' and I are headed back to Key WEst, compliments of Avis, via Miami, for a couple of doctors appointments for the two of us.  I really need to get on the ball putting JonNe' ready for our next adventure in March.

See ya back in Key West on Wednesday evening!