| Falcon's Log 36 |
| May 27, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys I'm finally getting into a more workmanlike attitude here. I got a lot done yesterday and, while I didn't particularly enjoy the long row to the dinghy watering location, I was glad for the exercise and activity. Not that working around the boat isn't active, but it lacks that aerobics element that's so refreshing. I've spent an hour and a half this morning going through my email in boxes to file and delete hundreds of emails. Mostly from vendors that I like to keep up with. I also find that long periods of work-only conserve battery power. Speaking of which, the sun is working hard this morning to do good things, but there is still some cloudiness. It's a beautiful day outside and I'm going to be there soon. I love it here. Below are some pictures I've received from Sandi Bartels and Barbara Capron that I haven't seen or posted before. I thought you might like them. |
| These first two were taken by Sandi as Falcon left the dock at the Seafood Shack Marina. I'm glad she took them as they are the only pictures I have of the event. Below are pictures Sandy took of us when we met at the Marco Island anchorage. |
| There is a contrast in deck clutter between Falcon and CJoy. I really enjoy bare or stocking feet and greatly disapprove of stubbed or broken toes. George and Kim, however, have a smaller boat and have to wear shoes. Below are some pics Barb just sent. |
| Above, sunset on the day Donny found the anchor, which, by the way, I am receiving no response about after placing a notice on the website for those vehicles. In the other photo, Don is pushing Dulcinea off a shallow spot, something he does from time to time to keep in shape. The pictures below were taken on the last day they were here, when they came in to the water dock to get the welding done and fill their water tank. I had the empty water bottles but everyone kept thinking they were full and I was as strong as Atom Ant, so Barb had me pose for this shot. |
| The welder approves of my 'lash to clamp' process and Don, George and I pose for a shot together. Why do men never think of these things? |
| Back to work. I've repaired the end of the 100 foot extension cord, coiled and stowed it along with the spare prop, the 100 foot shore power cord and the windlass remote unit. I have also begun the seizing, or wrapping, of the boom gallows. Another job that's been waiting for a year. What completing each of these little jobs means is that there is at least one more item that is no longer underfoot. |
| And that's the name of THAT tune. I'd saved a ball of the cord that I'd wrapped the ship's wheel with, found the center, and started in the middle, then wrapped each way until I'd used all the cord. It works for me. Now, the boom can rest on it without rattling or chaffing the paint off the bottom. And it matches the wheel. Right now I'm getting set to solder some power leads into the back of Randy's old GPS to rig it in the cockpit. |
| I will probably not concern myself with the Garmin GPSMap 545 that has failed so miserably - and the company won't help me with (just so anyone doing searches for the item gets to hear the bad with the good) - and instead install an old unit that still works, rather than paying for a repair on a brand new GPS. I have also been working on items for the electrical panel. That is also getting closer. Now that I'm here on the mooring, the pressure is off on so many things and the ones I need I have working or are working on them. I just hope we don't get clapped in the teeth by a big, nasty hurricane. I made some preps to get ready for the new computer build as well, but today my traffic log hit a full 2.0 mb, an all-time record, so I'm not too keen on taking a chance of being off-line for a day or two - if there's trouble. This is a 64 bit, all Sata build with an entirely new OS that I'm not even sure is good yet. One thing I'm doing is to set aside all the things I'll need to be able to back out of the build if it goes sideways and spins me into the weeds. Still, I have to try. It could solve a few problems for me and help speed up some huge projects that are waiting in the wings. I soldered and liquid tape sealed the joints to provide power to the old GPSMap 182c and connected the same GPS antenna I'd been using for the Garmin GPSMap 545. The 182c is rock solid and works perfectly. I have taken a hard line with both Raymarine and Garmin because they have decided to do so with me. I no longer feel the need to be friendly, gentlemanly or treat them with dignity or respect. They suck. Maybe no one will read this or really care what I say. Maybe not. But at least I don't have to slip quietly away and accept their poor behavior without an option. So, that's it. That's probably more than it deserves and I won't mention it again. |
| May 28, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys I am sleeping better here than I have in years. Maybe it's quieter or maybe it.s the lack of wakes. I find the first time I wake up after falling asleep, it's morning. Sometimes 5 AM, sometimes as late as 6:45 AM. |
| My poor camera has been acting just a bit oddly since it hit the deck on the 19th or so while I was anchored out beside Boot Key. That doesn't explain the poor quality of the Moon shot, however. That's because there is no way to take a long shutter shot from a boat - wind and waves simply won't allow it. Still, I will try from time to time. George came over just as the sun was rising to borrow the water jugs. He says he had a very rough night and the pain pills he took were of no help at all. I got one picture of him against the sunrise and another zoomed in a little and low to see if the reflection on the water would show. The warm nights down here are fabulous and I love them. Later on, I'll probably be up at night doing the writing and sleeping during the day. I need to make an LED device to illuminate the keyboard for night work. |
| I went in to get water and my mail, sent from St Brendan's Isle, and took some pictures around the facility. I also met Rich, the Harbormaster, a great guy. We had a long talk. |
| Above are the inner dinghy dock, the one closest to the street, and the shower, bathroom, laundry building. All fine facilities. Below are the parking lot with the bicycle racks and the 'Tree of Knowledge' where the daily think tanks occur, and the paved parking lot on the other side of the buildings. Both sides of the 'shower' building have showers. |
| Above are the Cruisers Lounge with a significant library, two of these 'theatres' for watching TV, and below is the Laptop WiFi area and the counter, with Rich, in the orange shirt, and one of the other guys. Sorry. Didn't get his name. |
| I modified the cockpit centerpost wiring and mounted the 182 GPS, then tested it for half and hour. It remained rock solid. Since I still have the Garmin GPSMap 545 wiring there, I ran it as well. Just like a bad-from-the-factory piece of crap should do, it wandered all over the place and had Falcon sailing 1/2 mile across Vaca Key and into Florida Bay to the North. Okay, sorry. Said I wouldn't mention it again. But it pisses me off. Just had to pound in one more coffin nail. I called RJ and talked to him for a while. Trish says 'Hi'. I tied up the center section of the sunshade that covers the companionway hatch to see how it's apt to fit, what with the new hardtop and all. I still have some work to do there, but don't want to start sewing just yet. That takes a lot of room and I don't quite have the logistics worked out. There are no storage lockers available in the facility building, though I have my name on the list for a small one, so I can't bring the sewing machine, the canvas, the sails, and all the accessories into the work area just yet. I'd have to take them all home every night. I also changed the oil in the windlass. My awesome water trap worked perfectly. There was just a tiny bit of water in it at the very bottom. Anyway, this time I filled the gearbox with the water trap on, so it's filled to the top, properly. It was quite a bit shy during the trip down, though it had enough to stay lubed. I never did top it up again after adding the water trap. It's a stupid thing to forget, but in my defense, I never thought the water trap stole as much oil from the gearbox as it obviously does. I will be doing the computer build tomorrow after signing on in the morning and we'll see how long it takes for me to get back on line. I'm a little excited. Not a lot, you know. It's not like getting to drive an Indy car or meeting Rocky and Bullwinkle or something. It's just building the unit that I'll be using constantly for the next year to get a few novels polished up and printed. I could probably do just as well with a laptop, but there's something tiny and stilted about them that makes me think only small books get written there. Kiddie stuff and pulp romance. I will write an epic saga and be on Letterman. Yeah, that's the ticket. |
| May 29, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys The sleeping here is great. I can't remember when I've slept so soundly or awakened so rested. I am also a 'dreamer', who has vivid, long, nonsensical dreams and remembers most of them upon waking, so that mill is grinding out foolishness at the speed of light as well. Dreams are odd things and I think have more to do with what you 'wish' or 'fear' than what is real. At any rate, there is never a shred of anything that be even remotely suitable as inspiration for my writing. That aspect must be left to those who grind out teenage vampire books. In a few minutes I'm going to shut down the computer and begin the build. When I'm done and it's all set, you won't notice a thing. It's not like the neighbor getting a new Ferrari and taking you for a ride in it, it's more him getting a hole-in-one at miniature golf - you didn't see it and couldn't care less, but he just keeps talking about it. See you later - I hope. Okay, THAT didn't work. A little background: in March, I ordered an ASUS P5QL-VM DO all Sata motherboard with 4 Ram slots and 64 bit architecture. It refused to boot. I did everything, including calling the factory. They agreed that the MoBo was doggy doo and I should return it. I did, and after some time, received another of the same model in return. I was busy as all get out at the time and put the package aside until I got settled here, and today tried to build the new unit. No dice. Same exact scenario - no boot. The unit does not boot up. Called the factory - gone for the holiday. Called Tiger Direct - order is more than 30 days old, so no RA, can't return it. The guy on the phone put in the request make an exception on the time of the order, but having had recent experience in that realm, I ain't holdin' my breath, if you know what I mean. I will have to see if the factory has some better insight about this problem and if there is some ridiculous idiosyncrasy that I am missing and that is the root of the whole problem. I will also search the internet for some clue. Meanwhile, I'll delay the 64 bit upgrade for now and concentrate on other stuff. Espin just called and suggested that I stick with the 182c GPS that Randy gave me as a better unit than the other one. He said I would need a chart chip for it and they could be found online, probably on Ebay. |
| May 30, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys I was out early taking shots of the brightening sky before sunrise, when I finally met and spoke with one of the guys who has been passing in a dinghy since I've been here. His name is Gary and his wife is Tess and they live on a sailboat about four spots away from me. |
| Gary is Native American and he told me the tribe, but we spoke about so many things that I already forgot. I'll have to ask him again. His wife, Tess, is Philippine and he mentioned that she had many friends there looking to find good husbands that don't run around. I had dinner with George and Kim last night and they told me how Charles, the guy who was going to go north to help George get the boat back to Palmetto, told them (through his wife, Hillary) that he wasn't going to do it. Nice. Last possible second so there's no chance of George getting anyone else. Unfortunately, my situation is such that it's not impossible for me to help. I have no money to get myself back here and borrowing would put me in a deeper hole than I am now. Add to it the personal hardship on myself and it's just not going to happen. We talked about how they might do it and I feel confident that they can get back to the Marco Island anchorage in under 24 hours. They will have Easterlies at 10 knots and an autopilot that works and they can take turns sleeping and holding watch. Once in Marco, any one of a dozen friends from Palmetto can get dropped off at The Snook Inn, where George can pick them up in the dinghy and bring them to CJoy. A second scenario is that George and Kim can motor North to Gasparilla Marina by Thursday morning, where they could get a slip for a day and someone could pick them up and get George to his doctors appointment. They will find a place to spend the night, get the prescriptions filled on Friday and get back to the boat on Friday afternoon. From Gasparilla, it is a one day motor up the Intracoastal to Palmetto. I suppose it might even be possible that someone might be dropped off take CJoy from Gasparilla Marina when George and Kim are picked up. They could be in Regatta Point Marina that night and George and Kim would be able to stay on their own boat on Thursday night. Heeeyyy, that would work excellent. I am going with Kim to the dollar store up the street this morning. I think I just need bleach. Tomorrow is the last day of this month and from there, I will have just one more month of extreme frugality in which to pay off all debts and bills and be caught up again. I have printed out the 94 page manual for the Outback Charge Controller and am reading my way through it. It's not quite as dry as a 1000 page History of Knitting, but I have to do it to avoid poaching the Gel Cells. I have no present way to replace them if they get overcooked. The AGM's I'd like to replace them with will cost over $3000. Kim and I walked to Daffy's and I got a small bottle of bleach and a loaf of bread. I also got a bottle of raspberry ice tea for $1 and it was good. Kim got cigarettes and a dozen small food containers for Monica. Monica is making her own baby food. George worked for hours on a course to feed to the GPS so he could make the run back to Palmetto off shore and non-stop. They are leaving tomorrow morning and hope to be in the vicinity of Marco Island Tuesday morning, then get back to Palmetto on Wednesday. It's certainly possible, but we'll see how it plays out. Once they leave here, I don't expect telephone communication until they are near Marco. I saw Gary and Met Tess in the Cruiser's Lounge. He is Osage. She is very nice and easy to talk to and got right to the point about my having a wife. I soon expect to be put in touch with some of her friends in the Philippines. Who knows. Stranger things have happened, but I'm not sure it could ever happen for me. I might be too far around the bend. I've been alone now for about 30 years. Maybe a little more. |
| Sailing dinghy's are starting to form gangs around the mooring field. Their sails look much bigger than mine, but they are much newer versions. I will soon be trying mine out, and if need be, will get a bigger sail. I REALLY want to get comfortable with it first, though. I truly see it as a way to avoid rowing as opposed to a method of going 'surprise' swimming from time to time. I had supper with George and Kim again as they will be leaving first thing in the morning. George has a course all plotted out for a non-stop run to the Southwest Channel into Tampa Bay and is confident the 10 knot Southeast wind will carry them right there. He and Kim feel comfortable and confident, and with a good boat and a little luck, that's all it takes. We had a tough time getting down here, but the weather looks much better for them going back. Just in case, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. That really helps. |
| I stayed outside for the sunset for quite a while and took a lot of pictures, never knowing if it would suddenly become one of those spectacular events the area is noted for. Mostly, it was a cloud thing, with a final effect that made the water looked like hammered copper. Pretty good, all in all. |
| May 31, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys I had two pieces of luck yesterday. First, Tiger Direct authorized the return of the bad motherboard. Hoo rah! Can't beat that. I will wait for the credit to appear and then order a different board. I've already tried 2 of these with the same result. The second good news is that the small storage locker I was hoping for has become available and I have taken it. I will have to wait until Tuesday, after the holiday, but that's fine. I'll take a walk to Home Depot and get a padlock, then start moving the sewing stuff and the sails to the locker. I will also have to redo the computer desk and start using the pedestal chair, though I suppose taking the lawn chair back and forth every day wouldn't be too much of a problem. |
| George called and asked me to be at the water dock to help him dock CJoy and fill the water tanks so I went in early and sat with Gary and talked until George got his turn at the water and came in. He finally got off the dock and headed out at about 8:30 AM and I could only get a couple of shots of them leaving because I left the camera on Falcon and had to row back out to get it. Still, here they are, heading over to Burdine's for fuel, then back to Palmetto. I tried my hand at washing clothes in a 5 gallon pail. It actually works pretty good. The ones I did are the ones I was wearing in the Rivertown boatyard that are filthy and needed bleach. They are in rinse water now and I'll let them soak until tomorrow, when I'll bring everything in to the machines and wash them all, including the ones I washed here today. That way they may have a chance of still being usable. For years I wore old, paint stained and epoxy stiffened work clothes because that's all I had and all I could afford to ruin while working on the boat. Now, I have some work clothes and some good clothes, and if the work clothes don't come clean, I'll toss them out and get more good clothes a little at a time. I walked to Home Depot and got a little lock for the storage locker. It seems like a short walk now that I'm not stopping to wait for others. The wind is picking up pretty good and is from the perfect direction to hurry George and Kim northward. It feels like about 10 knots with gusts to 12 or so. Just enough so CJoy will clip right along with all her sails out. She'll do 5 1/2 to 6 knots in the right conditions. That would put her along side Marco Island some time between 2 AM to 6 AM tomorrow morning and just about halfway home. Odd, isn't it? Going against the wind and current, and hold for rest days, it took us 11 days to get here, but it might only take them 2 or 3 days to get back. That's the difference between 'uphill' and 'downhill' sailing. We did come down here - all the way - in the worst possible wind and tide circumstances, and it beat us up so bad we had to stop and anchor every night. |
| Todays sunset and one more sailing dinghy. I have to take a look at the old pictures I have of Geoff sailing mine to see if my sail is really way too small. |
| June 1, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys It's 8:10 and sprinkling pretty good, but the wind is down and the portholes right over my head are open, as is the main cabin hatch and the companionway, and no rain is coming in, so it remains comfortable aboard. I still haven't heard from CJoy and tried to call but got the immediate switch to voice mail, meaning either the phone is turned off, or they are still out of range between here and Marco Island. I don't get it. George was mentally on a mission to make it a fast passage. If they didn't get enough wind, he was going to crank up the Iron Jib. I just did the calculations again using the exact track George plotted. From Burdine's to Marco Island is 100 miles, and at 5 knots they should be alongside in 17.3 hours. Saying they left Burdine's at 9 AM yesterday - they were only stopping for 10 gallons of diesel and some chopped ice - they should have reached there at 2:20 AM this morning. Four knots would stretch the time to 21.7 hours and the arrival time to 6:45 AM. It is now 8:30 AM and still no call. Of course, they COULD have made it all the way to the Matanzass Pass Anchorage by now and be sleeping soundly with the phone turned off. I will try one more phone call. OKAY! I got through! They are apparently just on the edge of cell phone coverage. They are past Marco Island and heading for the Matanzass Pass anchorage to rest. I didn't want to take too much time or cell battery for them, so I guess we'll hear more later. At least they are all right and well on their way. |
| This is the shot I've used before of Geoff in the dinghy. It DOES look like the sail is smaller than those of the newer boats, but not so much that it will look silly. It'll be fine and I should rig it and start using it as I can. I hope this rain blows over soon. If all goes well, I have kind of a big day today. I'd like to mail out the motherboard and a debt payment, do laundry and secure the storage locker, then begin moving stuff into it. It will take several trips with the dinghy to get everything moved ashore. |
| It is now raining pretty darn good and I'm content to wait it out. I have some things to do aboard - on line - and I'm having a good time doing them. I've got the locker and it's padlocked - apparently some folks try to 'grab' an open locker by putting their padlock on it and the management has to bolt-cutter them off. I got mine before it happened. I also did two loads of laundry and the items I prewashed in the bucket came out fine. While they were drying, I walked to the Post Office and got the mailing box and |
| the money order. It has occurred to me that this rowing in and out and walking for everything is tightening my body up and I like it. It makes me feel healthy. It's already after 3 PM so I won't be getting the package and the envelope back to the Post Office today, but that will make for a good first 'mission' tomorrow. |
| June 2, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys We had a windy front move through sometime in the night and it dropped a few raindrops on the sun shade. I don't know what time it was or how long I was awake, but nothing else happened and I went back to sleep until the sky started graying with dawn this morning. I have all the Post Office stuff ready to go and have been putting the sewing stuff on the deck so I can load it into the dinghy. That's a little scary. The Sailrite is kind of pricey to be paddling around the Harbor with, and it no longer has the covering case. I may have to come up with some sort of protective cover, but not something like the big wooden box that was around it. It turns out that box held moisture inside - condensation - and was part of the problem. It will take a few days for me to get everything all set up for sewing work in the locker area, but once I am set up, I think I should be able to get straight through it this month. I searched the entire boat for the Panama City address for Espin and Barbara and finally had to call and ask Espin for it. I also told him that I am seriously considering getting a good laptop and gunning all this stuff shoreside. I like the big, fast computers with the dual monitors, but the headaches and the power requirements are wearing my patience thin. We'll see what I can do. |
| Last nights sunset. It started out pretty blah but eventually turned blahly pretty. I got the Sailrite and sewing kits to the locker and Gary gave me a ride to the post office. He offered and I accepted because I feel it would have been rude not to. While on the way back, as a matter of conversation, I explained to him that I enjoyed the rowing and the walking as a bit of daily exercise that I held accountable for my good health and energy level. I did appreciate the ride because of how hot it is today. Anyway, the mail is sent out and I've dug all the sails and cloth and various hoo-haa out of the bow and will start shipping them into the locker as well. All the lines I dug out of the bow are now soaked and strewn about the deck, so I'll hang them up outside to dry, then hang them in good order in the bow area. As I complete the sails, they will be mounted on the booms and I'll also sew up the sail covers and install them. I will keep the jibs in sailbags on the bow. I also have some sun shade work to do and will probably attend to that first. It will be the easiest and will make life aboard better, faster than sail work. As soon as these projects are completed, I will give up the locker and save myself another $27 a month. Every little bit helps. I will allow just another day or two before posting an add for the old Danforth anchor on the bulletin board in the Common Area. The G503 amphibian website says it's definitely not the right item and that is the end of interest there, though one guy likes this website and was very complimentary. I heard from Kim by phone at 10 minutes before 1 PM and they were just entering the Manatee River, just an hour away from their dock. The trip was not as good as they'd hoped and they just pressed on at their wits' end until they got home. I'm sure they will spend plenty of time sleeping and resting now. Not more than 5 minutes after I hung up, Donny called from his car where he was waiting in the parking lot for Barbara, who was attending a long ago scheduled Doctor's appointment. We had a good talk, but their plans are all up in the air right now. The hurricane predictions for the East Coast, and specifically for Florida's vulnerable East Coast, are dire and they will not be testing their luck. On the other hand, their alternative plan - to cruise North on the Tenn-Tom river out of Mobile Bay - is presently blocked by a horrendous oil spill the likes of which the world has never before seen. You know the one. They may end up in the same area with Espin and Barbara while they wait out hurricane season, then slowly work their way South, then around Florida via the Keys, and then North to the Chesapeake Bay for next summer. I may get a Motorhome and skedaddle north to see my kids and grandkids, then visit the Grand Canyon next summer. Who knows? I loaded the dinghy with sails and canvas and the two water jugs and got the sail stuff in the locker and the water jugs filled. It's getting much easier to lift the water jugs out of the dinghy and put them on deck with one hand now. This rowing is helpful. Maybe I should get a job scraping boat bottoms. No, no, not again. I also loaded the dinghy with most of the rest of the stuff, including the 'found' Danforth, and I'll take that in tomorrow morning. I'm also going to have to see if I need a seat or extension cord or light or any other stuff. Once I start sewing, I'm going to 'marathon' my way through each project non-stop, if I can. I'm serious about getting it on here and moving rapidly forward. George JUST called! It's 5:28 PM and they are all settled back in their slip (have been since 2 PM) and have been talking about the trip with everyone (no doubt) and they are NOW about to crash for a day or so. They ran into one serious storm in the night (first night) and ran completely out of wind in the Manatee River, but they are home and loved the whole trip. Awesome. |
| June 3, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys I woke up at 2:30 AM was so wide awake that I watched a movie and surfed the net until after 4 AM. I finally went back to sleep and just woke up again. It's 8:20. Go figure. I just started taking the vitamins and minerals again after about 2 months - maybe that has something to do with it. I'm going to go put the stuff in the dinghy into the locker and have breakfast across the street at The Stuffed Pig. I know, it DOES sound appetizing. |
| This is about the best shot of last nights sunset. My poor camera is suffering. I had to put the SD card into the printer to read it. I'll have to check it out later to see if it's just the cable. Last night I got a kind of surprise to find I only had (I think) one battery charged. When I get back from breakfast, I'm going to start the engine and see what I can do about that. I might be switching them off the solar panels too quickly. After working on the battery/solar system for a while, and running the engine for an hour or so to pep up the whole rack, I'm finding that what I might really have is as simple as an 'old battery switch' issue. Not all of the 6 battery switches are new, though they are all identical, and I think about 3 of them might be going south. I'm going to remove the biggest suspect and take a look inside and see if anything can be done to save them. New ones cost about $35 each. |
| I got in a big project today that started out frustrating but ended just fine. I jumped power to the fresh water pump and tried unsuccessfully for a while to get the system to charge and fill. No luck. I primed it and everything, but still no luck. Finally, I decided to remove the filter before the pump - I was thinking of trying to spare the pump and random grit from the tanks - because I just thought it might have too much resistance or be sucking air. That little job took some doing, but at about 6 PM I had it done and gave it a shot. Bam! As Emeril says, I have a right, tight water system that is treating me real good just now. Tomorrow I will make a real close inspection for leaks and fix anything that looks suspicious, but for now, I'm real happy. I also got a good surprise and a bad surprise - financially speaking - but nothing critical. The good news was that when I went on line to pay my registration renewal - !!!! OKAY! The water pump gets powered off for the night! It just cycled one time and I about swallowed my cud. - Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, the $125 renewal fee was only $86 if done on line. Sweet. A $39 savings. The bad surprise was that St Brendan's Isle tapped me for another $100 today. They take $100 about every 3 months. The service is a little pricey, but it gives me a stable, viable address that's recognized by all State and Federal agencies, wherever I am, and as long as I'm moving, you can't beat that. |
| June 4, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys Yesterday, after moving the last of the sails into the storage locker, I wandered out to the 'Tree of Knowledge', where one man sat with a violin. He introduced himself as 'Felix', in his 40's at the most, and started talking. It turns out that his wife is a school teacher and he is a substitute and they live aboard, on a dock in the Marina at the Naval Air Station for $247 a month, plus electric. After some discussion, it was revealed that I am eligible for a dock there as well. To tell the truth, though, I'm not really considering it. What I am considering MORE is the possibility of moving out of here in January or February and working my way Northward. The more I think about ratty old Motorhomes and road insurance and leaks and breakdowns and rent to stay places, the more I think, "Out of the frying pan and into the fire." We had quite a light show last night from a passing thunder cell. It only rained a little and most of the lightning was too far off to hear, but it came close enough to make it's presence felt. I had to close the boat up and use the fan overhead. It's still pretty well covered with overcast this morning. Yesterday I also pulled out the heavy 10/3 cable I'd laced through the boat for the watermaker and I'm thinking about removing and capping off the feed line intended to allow the watermaker to fill any of the 4 water tanks. I also noticed last night that the valve I'm using to allow water into the head leaks through. It might just need use, but that was why the water pump cycled yesterday - because the accumulator filled the head. There were also several drips hanging on joints in the head manifold. Once I pressurize the system again today and mark all suspect areas, I'll shut it down, drain it and fix everything. The next test will be to see how much power it absorbs to make hot water. That should be interesting. I need to take down the intermediate sun shade and bring it into the work area and get it all re-sewn and ready for proper deployment. It may require several stages, back and forth, to get it finished right. I've taken down the sun shade and noticed that the dinghy has a couple of inches of water in it, so I guess it did rain some last night. I'm cooking on the stove for the first time. The first 1 pound bottle of propane I tried had a bad valve and just started spewing propane, so I had to run outside with it and let it empty overboard. The second one is working fine. I'm making split pea and lentil soup. So far it's working pretty good. I get it to a rolling boil, then let it simmer for five minutes, then turn it off and let it sit for half an hour. It's on the second simmer right now. I think I can get used to it pretty easily. Wow! That stuff is done! I'll season it a tad and let it sit for 20 minutes, then have lunch. I am emptying and sorting the last few buckets I have aboard, stowing and sorting tools and parts and hanging the drying lines in the forward area. My finances have allowed me only $37 of free money to spend this month, so I will cut down on caviar and champagne, the Limo rides are obviously out, and flitting off to Paris for a wild weekend will not happen this month. Other than that, everything else is the same. I finally found that the one REALLY bad battery switch simply had no #1 battery position. It went straight to 'Both', then #2 battery. Just to see if there was any way to fix it, I removed it and destroyed it. Yeah - no fixing it. Anyway, that particular battery will now spend some time bolted straight to the #1 buss and I'll make adjustments to the charging schedule and use bus around that. I will be getting much better battery switches in the future, but don't need them now. I've found some Blue Sea units that I think I like much better than the cheap Perko things. I haven't left the boat at all today and it's been a pretty good day. I've enjoyed myself and gotten a lot done. And I've eaten well. This may be the start of something very good. But I still have a lot of sewing to do. |
| June 5, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys It's cloudy and overcast this morning and I am running the engine to charge the single battery I've been using for the past day. It is the one bolted to the #1 buss. I will also be running the engine once I disassemble and tighten up all the plumbing connections and turn on the hot water heater to see how long it takes to heat up the 4 gallons of water. That way I'll get some Idea of the energy usage. To tell the truth, though, you don't need hot water to shower down here. I brought more stuff to the locker and stopped and talked to a woman working with a Sailrite Sewing Machine, same exact model as mine only about 5 or 6 years newer. She and her husband built their boat as well, and it, too, is a gaff schooner. We chatted a bit about trials and tribulations and the ecstasy of FINALLY turning on and using systems that have been waiting forever to be kicked off. I went to have a shower and the first door I opened presented me with an occupied stall and an 'Excuse me!" from a naked young woman with a perfect 'Coppertone' tan. I only saw her from the rear and from the waist down, but it was enough for me to be forever shell shocked about opening those doors. You're supposed to lock them from the inside when in use. Of course, along with the 'shell shock' is the vision of that perfect picture. Thank God I don't know who it was, or I might occasionally giggle when I see her around the Marina. If I still CAN giggle. Yesterdays split pea and lentil soup was excellent, so today I added extra water and a half cup of black eyed peas, a cube of chicken bullion and some black pepper. I cooked it at a low boil for 12 minutes and it is just sitting right now. After about 1/2 hour, I'll see if it needs more cooking. I also shaved me head before the shower today. Too much hair - too hot for down here. |
| You know, while it certainly isn't necessary for me to post a picture of my shiny head for those who know me to get the picture, I have to do it because I have 'Internet Photo Fear'. Yes. That is the fear that someone who reads this log and comes to meet me will have that awful look on their face that says they'd hoped I'd be younger, or taller, or heavier, or prettier. I just think it's only fair that you get see who doing the talking here, so there are no 'Internet Photo Shock' incidents, like when Jabba the Hut was using Brad Pitt's photo on his My Space page. To the right is the boat that must belong to the couple the woman in the work shop belongs to. She was working on sail covers and that is what they are dealing with over there. It is a trimaran, and I think she said 46 feet long. It's a good looking boat and I have no doubt it's fast. Both mains are identical. If they will be here for a while, I'm sure I'll learn more about it. |
| I tested the soup and it was still a bit 'crunchy' for my taste. I've been know to wolf the crunchy soup right down when I'm really hungry, but not today. I boiled it for 5 more minutes - very low boil - and now it is awesome. |