SHIP'S LOG:
I am still in Daytona Beach, actually behind the beach and in the ICW. I discovered, when the wind shifted to the west, that I am also very near a sewage treatment plant!I have also discovered that the chart of this area is wrong and that the 13foot minimum depth is a myth. Possibly before the 2004 hurricane season it was accurate, but not any more. I haven't kissed bottom, but if I should do, it is all gooey mud!
I forgot to mentioned my encounter with Red Nun "18" north of New Smyrna Beach. As you recall from last December, it was the last place that I went aground where I needed the guys from TowBoat/US to come calling. It was also a spot where the shoal/sand bar/whatever was right in the middle of the channel. I had plotted my course very carefully but it looked different in real life looking out of the cockpit. Of course, it was all reversed from last December as I was going south then but north now. As I approached the buoy, I slowed way, way down, not wanting to go aground again. This tactic evidently enraged the large powerboat behind me who went roaring past and went around the buoy no problem. I just followed in his wake and again, no problem.
Not having seen a manatee except for the close encounter of the underwater kind in Miami, I am besieged by them in Daytona. They are HUGE! The come slowly trolling to the surface, snort for air, and then slowly dive back down to feed and to do whatever manatees do underwater. All day today, they came up from the south, surfaced on one side of ABISHAG and then dove under her. Well I won't be able to say I've never seen a manatee again.
The next few days promise rain. When ever "Perfect Peter" gives an actual percentage for the possibility of rain, it always rains. Doesn't matter if it's 30% or 40% or 10%, when he gives a percentage number, it always rains. Based on that it will rain Monday & Tuesday & Wednesday. I suppose I can't complain though. It has been rather dry down here this winter. And it could be worse, it could be snow!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Daytona Beach For Awhile
SHIP'S LOG:
Current Location:29'11.945/081'00.336
I am anchored just off of the ICW in a mooring field that is used by the Halifax Sailing Club. I got in yesterday(Friday) after a long slog up from Titusville, a jaunt of some 41 miles. It was a long slog in that both tide and wind were against me until I hit the Ponce Inlet and then at least the tide as with me.
One thing I discovered leaving Titusville is that I am back into the mud/clay bottom. The stuff holds fast and hard which is good in a lot of wind and a bear when you try to haul up the hook. The anchor and the weights come up covered with this sticky grey mud/clay that gets everywhere. Left unwashed away, it hardens into cement. If you get any on your clothes, it is there till the next washing. If it gets on you, you really have to wash it off right away or you will leave tracks and trails everywhere on the boat. The one good thing that can be said about the stuff, aside from its holding power, is that it doesn't smell like the stuff further north. When I get into Georgia and the Carolinas, the mud/clay also come with a real stink, something I am not looking forward to at all.
I have also re-entered the world of crabpots. It is not that there weren't any further south, it is just that there numbers are increasing rapidly the further north I go. The upper end of Mosquito Lagoon, where there are numerous fishing camps, is loaded with pots as is the waterway from there north. I have to drill myself to remember the golden rule of ICW travel, "Crabpots Rule." They are the most accurate indicators of thin water and are to be respected even when they contravene the actual marks and buoys. I learned that the hard way. I also have to start remembering that little saying, "Hey, Diddle-diddle, Stay In The Middle!". From here north, actually from Titusville north, the deepest part ocf the ICW is most often found in the middle of the channel, especially going through the canals that will show up more frequently now.
Speaking of the Mosquito Lagoon - I can remember on the way down i was rather anxious about the place. It was basically dead arrow straight and there was little room for errors. I white-knuckled it all the way down. This time, however, it was really a piece of cake and a bit of a bore. I suppose I am getting to be an old hand at this.
"Perfect Peter," the computerized voice of NOAA Weather radio has been experiencing problems recently. I am not sure how they create the voice, whether they type worlds into the computer and it gets synthesized into a voice or what. If that is the case, they have to use spellcheck more. Announcing that there might be an interruption in service, "Peter" apologized and said that he "appeciated your pratience."
The Halifax Sailing Club had a day for people who had never sailed before as a way of introducing people to the sport of sailing. They had a morning of instruction and then turned them loose on Sailfish. I had been anchored in front of the club and this morning(Saturday), one of the instructors came out and suggested I move . . . . "got your own safety." I thought he was kidding but I did move. Good thing too, as the sailing portion of the day was more like a demolition derby than anything else. There might have been 10 knots of wind, maybe, but most "sailors" dumped there crafts at least once. There were also several T-boning incidents that kept the instructors hopping. I doubt that a Sailfish could do much in the way of damage to ABISHAG, still it wasn't a pleasant thought to picture someone mashed up against her side.
Took another stab at trying to stem the leak in the front tube of the dinghy. This time I used water-proof adhesive tape covered with two coats of liquid electrician's tape. I did this on deck after haul the dinghy aboard. I took my time and let it sit in the sun after I was done. I also took the time to repaint the registration numbers which have slowly disappeared over the trip. I do not wish any further encounters with the water police.
Boat names of the day: Waste Knot, Want Knot; The Great Escape; Knot My Problem. As I mentioned, the traffic is a little thin these days.
Current Location:29'11.945/081'00.336
I am anchored just off of the ICW in a mooring field that is used by the Halifax Sailing Club. I got in yesterday(Friday) after a long slog up from Titusville, a jaunt of some 41 miles. It was a long slog in that both tide and wind were against me until I hit the Ponce Inlet and then at least the tide as with me.
One thing I discovered leaving Titusville is that I am back into the mud/clay bottom. The stuff holds fast and hard which is good in a lot of wind and a bear when you try to haul up the hook. The anchor and the weights come up covered with this sticky grey mud/clay that gets everywhere. Left unwashed away, it hardens into cement. If you get any on your clothes, it is there till the next washing. If it gets on you, you really have to wash it off right away or you will leave tracks and trails everywhere on the boat. The one good thing that can be said about the stuff, aside from its holding power, is that it doesn't smell like the stuff further north. When I get into Georgia and the Carolinas, the mud/clay also come with a real stink, something I am not looking forward to at all.
I have also re-entered the world of crabpots. It is not that there weren't any further south, it is just that there numbers are increasing rapidly the further north I go. The upper end of Mosquito Lagoon, where there are numerous fishing camps, is loaded with pots as is the waterway from there north. I have to drill myself to remember the golden rule of ICW travel, "Crabpots Rule." They are the most accurate indicators of thin water and are to be respected even when they contravene the actual marks and buoys. I learned that the hard way. I also have to start remembering that little saying, "Hey, Diddle-diddle, Stay In The Middle!". From here north, actually from Titusville north, the deepest part ocf the ICW is most often found in the middle of the channel, especially going through the canals that will show up more frequently now.
Speaking of the Mosquito Lagoon - I can remember on the way down i was rather anxious about the place. It was basically dead arrow straight and there was little room for errors. I white-knuckled it all the way down. This time, however, it was really a piece of cake and a bit of a bore. I suppose I am getting to be an old hand at this.
"Perfect Peter," the computerized voice of NOAA Weather radio has been experiencing problems recently. I am not sure how they create the voice, whether they type worlds into the computer and it gets synthesized into a voice or what. If that is the case, they have to use spellcheck more. Announcing that there might be an interruption in service, "Peter" apologized and said that he "appeciated your pratience."
The Halifax Sailing Club had a day for people who had never sailed before as a way of introducing people to the sport of sailing. They had a morning of instruction and then turned them loose on Sailfish. I had been anchored in front of the club and this morning(Saturday), one of the instructors came out and suggested I move . . . . "got your own safety." I thought he was kidding but I did move. Good thing too, as the sailing portion of the day was more like a demolition derby than anything else. There might have been 10 knots of wind, maybe, but most "sailors" dumped there crafts at least once. There were also several T-boning incidents that kept the instructors hopping. I doubt that a Sailfish could do much in the way of damage to ABISHAG, still it wasn't a pleasant thought to picture someone mashed up against her side.
Took another stab at trying to stem the leak in the front tube of the dinghy. This time I used water-proof adhesive tape covered with two coats of liquid electrician's tape. I did this on deck after haul the dinghy aboard. I took my time and let it sit in the sun after I was done. I also took the time to repaint the registration numbers which have slowly disappeared over the trip. I do not wish any further encounters with the water police.
Boat names of the day: Waste Knot, Want Knot; The Great Escape; Knot My Problem. As I mentioned, the traffic is a little thin these days.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Twas A Windy Day In Titusville ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
I haven't move a foot since yesterday so the Lat/Lon hasn't changed but I must have cruised a few miles back and forth at the end on my anchor rode. The wind basically howled all day. It was a steady 20+ with gusts up to 35 and those were just the ones I was able to record! And ABISHAG has a lot of windage(above water structures) and tends to "sail" at anchor. She swings from one side to the other until the rode brings her up short and then does it again. I spent the whole day going back and forth in, thankfully, an empty anchorage. Who knows, perhaps I did a couple of miles 90 feet at a time!
I did lay in my course for the next hop. It will be up to Daytona. It will be a jaunt of about 41 miles and shortly after passing New Smyrna Beach, I will re-visit a spot of my last grounding. I have no desire to visit the actual spot as I have no desire to see the guys in the Red Towboat again, but I will slowly and carefully cruise by it. Hopefully, and this is a terrible thing to say, another boat will be just ahead of me and proceed through the spot so that I can be sure I have the right line. This particular spot of my grounding is the one where the shoal is actually in the channel between two buoys. Thus it is not even a matter of staying in the channel, it is also a matter of staying in the right spot in the channel.
I saw less than a dozen boats pass by while I was anchored today. Most of the traffic was sailboats moving north. I would surmise that the great northward migration has begun. This is also supported by the fact that most of the north bound boats were Canadian.
I could stay here a couple of more days but the anchorage in Daytona is a little small and with the weekend coming, I want to try to get a good spot. I will be there for several days as the next stop will be Palm Coast just a hop, skip & a jump up the Magenta Highway and I can't get there before the 5th of April. And it's a good thing too. It is preventing me from rushing back too fast and "forcing" me to enjoy each day and everything it has to offer. There are a lot of worse ways to spend my time!
I haven't move a foot since yesterday so the Lat/Lon hasn't changed but I must have cruised a few miles back and forth at the end on my anchor rode. The wind basically howled all day. It was a steady 20+ with gusts up to 35 and those were just the ones I was able to record! And ABISHAG has a lot of windage(above water structures) and tends to "sail" at anchor. She swings from one side to the other until the rode brings her up short and then does it again. I spent the whole day going back and forth in, thankfully, an empty anchorage. Who knows, perhaps I did a couple of miles 90 feet at a time!
I did lay in my course for the next hop. It will be up to Daytona. It will be a jaunt of about 41 miles and shortly after passing New Smyrna Beach, I will re-visit a spot of my last grounding. I have no desire to visit the actual spot as I have no desire to see the guys in the Red Towboat again, but I will slowly and carefully cruise by it. Hopefully, and this is a terrible thing to say, another boat will be just ahead of me and proceed through the spot so that I can be sure I have the right line. This particular spot of my grounding is the one where the shoal is actually in the channel between two buoys. Thus it is not even a matter of staying in the channel, it is also a matter of staying in the right spot in the channel.
I saw less than a dozen boats pass by while I was anchored today. Most of the traffic was sailboats moving north. I would surmise that the great northward migration has begun. This is also supported by the fact that most of the north bound boats were Canadian.
I could stay here a couple of more days but the anchorage in Daytona is a little small and with the weekend coming, I want to try to get a good spot. I will be there for several days as the next stop will be Palm Coast just a hop, skip & a jump up the Magenta Highway and I can't get there before the 5th of April. And it's a good thing too. It is preventing me from rushing back too fast and "forcing" me to enjoy each day and everything it has to offer. There are a lot of worse ways to spend my time!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Another Glorious Day!!!!!!!!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Current location: Titusville 28'36.787N/ 080'47.752W
For the first time on the trip, I thought that I would have to use radar. When I got up this morning, it was clear but by 8:30 the fog had rolled in and it was thick enough such that I couldn't see the end of the dock. Not great weather for moving on the ICW what with the togs and barges and recreational boats and not a lot of space to maneuver. So I decided to wait it out, but I couldn't wait too long as I hadn't the ducats to pay for another night in the marina. If it did burn off before noon, I was going to have to feel my way out from the Banana River into the Indian River an anchor there. Not having a lot of experience with the radar and with the Banana River so narrow and crowded with boats, the prospect wasn't something to warm my soul. During this foggy time, I got to watch the kiyack races done my the members of the Gold Coast Canoe & Paddle Club. They raced along the Banana River disappearing from sight, strangely trailed by a pod(?) of dolphins. I gathered they raced a couple hundred yards and then came back to the start and did it all over again, tailed all the way by the pod of dolphins. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence but it was interesting to watch. Before the last race, the dolphins appear at the starting line before the boats got back and waited for the boats and then followed them again.
However, by 10 am the fog was fading fast and it was clear enough for me to head out and up the ICW to Titusville. I was hoping for a repeat of Mondays weather, speciofically the winf and its direction. NOAA stated unequivocally that it the wind would be out of the south east at 10-15 which would mean another day of pure sailing. It is not that NOAA is really ever wrong but they were just a little off today. The wind was 10 knots out of the Northwest, basically on the nose, or close enough so that sailing was out. I did try a couple of times when the wind swung around to the west, but when it did , it was very light and every time it picked up in intensity, it swung back to the north west/ north. SO it was a day of motoring.
It was a pretty sparse day for boats but a great day for names: SURREEL; FLOATING PROFIT; SOAKIN; BILL COLLECTOR; BOWL OF CHERRYS; SEAQUEL; LAST MOVE; WE'LL SEA U; MY PRIORITY. My particular favorite was a 25 runabout with four "little old ladies" aboard, each of which sported a beer. The name of the boat? SEA BAGS.
I passed by the Cocoa Village Marina where I had spend a cold Christmas week and called in to Bob the Dockmaster. We had a great chat and I thanked him again for all he and his wife, Chris, had done for me will I was there. He reminded me that he still owed me a bag of ice and I told him that I would stop in and pick it up the next time through.
When I got up to the Addison Point Bridge(NASA Causeway Bridge) and looked at the cars crossing the bridge and cause way as I approached. Since this bridge opens on request, I called and the tender told me to just keep coming and he would open when I got close enough. AS s i approached, I noticed that the cars seemed to speed up. They went faster and faster evidently trying to beat the opening of the bridge they knew was coming. I suppose that this was always the case on these bridges, but I just never noticed it before. I don't think the bridge was open for more than 2 minutes as the tender had great timing and I doubt those who "beat the bridge" really got all that much out of it.
The next people I have to visit are up in Palm Coast, about 70 miles away, but they won't be back before April 5th. SO I will spend an extra day here and do a couple of really short trips to c\get there on time. There is no rush on my part to get back up north to get snowed upon!
Current location: Titusville 28'36.787N/ 080'47.752W
For the first time on the trip, I thought that I would have to use radar. When I got up this morning, it was clear but by 8:30 the fog had rolled in and it was thick enough such that I couldn't see the end of the dock. Not great weather for moving on the ICW what with the togs and barges and recreational boats and not a lot of space to maneuver. So I decided to wait it out, but I couldn't wait too long as I hadn't the ducats to pay for another night in the marina. If it did burn off before noon, I was going to have to feel my way out from the Banana River into the Indian River an anchor there. Not having a lot of experience with the radar and with the Banana River so narrow and crowded with boats, the prospect wasn't something to warm my soul. During this foggy time, I got to watch the kiyack races done my the members of the Gold Coast Canoe & Paddle Club. They raced along the Banana River disappearing from sight, strangely trailed by a pod(?) of dolphins. I gathered they raced a couple hundred yards and then came back to the start and did it all over again, tailed all the way by the pod of dolphins. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence but it was interesting to watch. Before the last race, the dolphins appear at the starting line before the boats got back and waited for the boats and then followed them again.
However, by 10 am the fog was fading fast and it was clear enough for me to head out and up the ICW to Titusville. I was hoping for a repeat of Mondays weather, speciofically the winf and its direction. NOAA stated unequivocally that it the wind would be out of the south east at 10-15 which would mean another day of pure sailing. It is not that NOAA is really ever wrong but they were just a little off today. The wind was 10 knots out of the Northwest, basically on the nose, or close enough so that sailing was out. I did try a couple of times when the wind swung around to the west, but when it did , it was very light and every time it picked up in intensity, it swung back to the north west/ north. SO it was a day of motoring.
It was a pretty sparse day for boats but a great day for names: SURREEL; FLOATING PROFIT; SOAKIN; BILL COLLECTOR; BOWL OF CHERRYS; SEAQUEL; LAST MOVE; WE'LL SEA U; MY PRIORITY. My particular favorite was a 25 runabout with four "little old ladies" aboard, each of which sported a beer. The name of the boat? SEA BAGS.
I passed by the Cocoa Village Marina where I had spend a cold Christmas week and called in to Bob the Dockmaster. We had a great chat and I thanked him again for all he and his wife, Chris, had done for me will I was there. He reminded me that he still owed me a bag of ice and I told him that I would stop in and pick it up the next time through.
When I got up to the Addison Point Bridge(NASA Causeway Bridge) and looked at the cars crossing the bridge and cause way as I approached. Since this bridge opens on request, I called and the tender told me to just keep coming and he would open when I got close enough. AS s i approached, I noticed that the cars seemed to speed up. They went faster and faster evidently trying to beat the opening of the bridge they knew was coming. I suppose that this was always the case on these bridges, but I just never noticed it before. I don't think the bridge was open for more than 2 minutes as the tender had great timing and I doubt those who "beat the bridge" really got all that much out of it.
The next people I have to visit are up in Palm Coast, about 70 miles away, but they won't be back before April 5th. SO I will spend an extra day here and do a couple of really short trips to c\get there on time. There is no rush on my part to get back up north to get snowed upon!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
SHort Trip, Great Day!
SHIP'S LOG:
Current Location: Docked in the Banana River:28'08.924/ 080'36.287
It was not a far trip today, a little over 2 miles. I docked at the Telemar Bay Marina and spent the day with friends that I haven't seen in 35 years. We caught up on a lot of lost time and it was certainly a wonderful way to spend a wonderful day.
I will be headed off tomorrow up toward Titusville as I wend my way north. I am hoping that the wind will continue as it it has for it will mean another day of pure sailing!
It's late and I am once again beat. I'll write more tomorrow.
Current Location: Docked in the Banana River:28'08.924/ 080'36.287
It was not a far trip today, a little over 2 miles. I docked at the Telemar Bay Marina and spent the day with friends that I haven't seen in 35 years. We caught up on a lot of lost time and it was certainly a wonderful way to spend a wonderful day.
I will be headed off tomorrow up toward Titusville as I wend my way north. I am hoping that the wind will continue as it it has for it will mean another day of pure sailing!
It's late and I am once again beat. I'll write more tomorrow.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sailing, Sailing, Sailing ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Current Location: 28'06.488N/ 080'37.128 W
Today was a day that I hoped would be typical of all the days on this trip. So far, that hasn't been the case but today was a start. I left Fort Pierce about 8:30am and sailed, thgat's right SAILED, to Vero Beach Municipal Marina. I had to do a pump & dump & a fuel pimp and it was "on the way." I was in and out in 15 minutes which is a record, at least in my expereince, and then sailed, that's right SAILED, to Eau Gallie and Dragon Point in Melbourne. It was a perfect day. The wind was a perfect 15 knots out of the East/South East and I didn't have to touch a sail once they were set. The weather was sunny and the temp was in the high 70's, maybe even low 80's. There was little or no "traffic" on the ICW except for an occasional fisherman. There was no opening bridges, except for the one at Ft. Pierce and the fixed bridges, well I just sailed right through the openings. It was a spectacular day!
The most interesting thing I saw today was a young couple in a pinky schooner. It was painted red & white and it was really something to see. I had never seen one before , in the flesh so to speak, only in pictures, but this one, made of steel and probably home built was really beautiful.
This was the most empty I have see the ICW. I had long stretches when no one passed and I passed no one. I would think that the time for the great northward migration has come and i expect to see more boats in the days ahead.
I got a call from Brad. He went over his plans for the day - he was currently in a boatyard looking over some abandoned boats to see if he could acquire some teak for his deak. He was surprised that I was already up and gone when he called. He asked all saorts of questions about all sorts of projects he has to deal with on the boat. I guess I am going to become his "Gerry."
I really beat so I am going to hit the rack.
Current Location: 28'06.488N/ 080'37.128 W
Today was a day that I hoped would be typical of all the days on this trip. So far, that hasn't been the case but today was a start. I left Fort Pierce about 8:30am and sailed, thgat's right SAILED, to Vero Beach Municipal Marina. I had to do a pump & dump & a fuel pimp and it was "on the way." I was in and out in 15 minutes which is a record, at least in my expereince, and then sailed, that's right SAILED, to Eau Gallie and Dragon Point in Melbourne. It was a perfect day. The wind was a perfect 15 knots out of the East/South East and I didn't have to touch a sail once they were set. The weather was sunny and the temp was in the high 70's, maybe even low 80's. There was little or no "traffic" on the ICW except for an occasional fisherman. There was no opening bridges, except for the one at Ft. Pierce and the fixed bridges, well I just sailed right through the openings. It was a spectacular day!
The most interesting thing I saw today was a young couple in a pinky schooner. It was painted red & white and it was really something to see. I had never seen one before , in the flesh so to speak, only in pictures, but this one, made of steel and probably home built was really beautiful.
This was the most empty I have see the ICW. I had long stretches when no one passed and I passed no one. I would think that the time for the great northward migration has come and i expect to see more boats in the days ahead.
I got a call from Brad. He went over his plans for the day - he was currently in a boatyard looking over some abandoned boats to see if he could acquire some teak for his deak. He was surprised that I was already up and gone when he called. He asked all saorts of questions about all sorts of projects he has to deal with on the boat. I guess I am going to become his "Gerry."
I really beat so I am going to hit the rack.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
More Fun Than I can Stand! ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
Current Location:27'27.404N/ 080'18.251W - Fort Pierce
Yesterday(Saturday) I laid out the course for my Monday departure, weather permitting, for Melbourne and a visit with some more firends. I also ended up helping Brad finish installing his radar dome. I had to haul him and it up the mast. He fed the first wire( power cable) through the framing and into the dome no problem. The second one wouldn't go into the hole in the framing because the connector on the end was too large. This is the data cable and it has somewhere between 10 and 16 individual wires in it that come together in a type of plug. I found out from Brad that to get it down the mast(inside) he had cut off the other end and was intending to use some special stripper he had acquired to reattach a new connector/plug. Now, 30 feet in the air, he decided to do the same thing with the other end and did it. Snip!I really hope he knows what he's doing as screwing around with those cable is likely to make the radar not function properly. Then he bolted the bracket holding the dome to the mast. He complained that it wasn't square but I reminded him that everything about a boat is a compromise.
I went ashore and had dinner at a place on the beach called "Archie's." It is hard to describe. Think of the worst, most run -down beach side bar you can imaginer. Compared to ARCHIE's, it is a palace! Ithas been knocked down by hurricane a couple of times and been rebuilt . . .well, more like put back together but it still looks terrible. But it is a great place. It has a wonderful atmosphere, it's clientel runs from bikers to bankers and everyone in between. The food is good, the beer is cold and the bands are excellent. It sort of feels like a big family get together. Patty McGee, who owns and runs the place, is spectacular. If she was on Letterman once, she would be a national institution. Not the most attractive of women, she can just hold your attention. She truly is one of a kind.
Today(Sunday) I decided to change the engine oil. I figured an hour at the outside. I started at 10am and finished at 4pm. It was more fun that I could ever have imagined.
First mistake, I didn't run the engine and heat up the oil to thin it. I couldn't draw out the oil, which had the consistency of peanut butter, either with the hand pump on the front of the engine nor the portable pump running a hose through the did stick. I called Gerry and he gave me a bunch of good advice the best of which was "run the engine for 20 minutes." This I did and while waiting I taped over the connections on the hand pump less seeping air kill the pumps vacuum. After the 20 minute run, I tried the hand pump and got no joy. I push the hose from the portable pump down the dip stick hole, got to star drawing but it stopped rather quickly. Damn!
I called Gerry again and he was out So I call Chuck Wargo and he was in. He suggested I run the engine again for a little longer, pour a little oil inside the front pump on the engine - if it hadn't been used in a long time, it might need priming - and if it still didn't work, connect the portable pump the hose currently connected to the hand pump. I ran the engine for 30 minutes. I tried the hand pump, still no vacuum. I removed the hand pump but instead of attaching the portable pump, I led the hose from the hand pump, which went directly to the sump of the engine, and let gravity do the work. And it did a fine job. It emptied the engine in no time. I reconnected the hand pump to the hose.
Current Location:27'27.404N/ 080'18.251W - Fort Pierce
Yesterday(Saturday) I laid out the course for my Monday departure, weather permitting, for Melbourne and a visit with some more firends. I also ended up helping Brad finish installing his radar dome. I had to haul him and it up the mast. He fed the first wire( power cable) through the framing and into the dome no problem. The second one wouldn't go into the hole in the framing because the connector on the end was too large. This is the data cable and it has somewhere between 10 and 16 individual wires in it that come together in a type of plug. I found out from Brad that to get it down the mast(inside) he had cut off the other end and was intending to use some special stripper he had acquired to reattach a new connector/plug. Now, 30 feet in the air, he decided to do the same thing with the other end and did it. Snip!I really hope he knows what he's doing as screwing around with those cable is likely to make the radar not function properly. Then he bolted the bracket holding the dome to the mast. He complained that it wasn't square but I reminded him that everything about a boat is a compromise.
I went ashore and had dinner at a place on the beach called "Archie's." It is hard to describe. Think of the worst, most run -down beach side bar you can imaginer. Compared to ARCHIE's, it is a palace! Ithas been knocked down by hurricane a couple of times and been rebuilt . . .well, more like put back together but it still looks terrible. But it is a great place. It has a wonderful atmosphere, it's clientel runs from bikers to bankers and everyone in between. The food is good, the beer is cold and the bands are excellent. It sort of feels like a big family get together. Patty McGee, who owns and runs the place, is spectacular. If she was on Letterman once, she would be a national institution. Not the most attractive of women, she can just hold your attention. She truly is one of a kind.
Today(Sunday) I decided to change the engine oil. I figured an hour at the outside. I started at 10am and finished at 4pm. It was more fun that I could ever have imagined.
First mistake, I didn't run the engine and heat up the oil to thin it. I couldn't draw out the oil, which had the consistency of peanut butter, either with the hand pump on the front of the engine nor the portable pump running a hose through the did stick. I called Gerry and he gave me a bunch of good advice the best of which was "run the engine for 20 minutes." This I did and while waiting I taped over the connections on the hand pump less seeping air kill the pumps vacuum. After the 20 minute run, I tried the hand pump and got no joy. I push the hose from the portable pump down the dip stick hole, got to star drawing but it stopped rather quickly. Damn!
I called Gerry again and he was out So I call Chuck Wargo and he was in. He suggested I run the engine again for a little longer, pour a little oil inside the front pump on the engine - if it hadn't been used in a long time, it might need priming - and if it still didn't work, connect the portable pump the hose currently connected to the hand pump. I ran the engine for 30 minutes. I tried the hand pump, still no vacuum. I removed the hand pump but instead of attaching the portable pump, I led the hose from the hand pump, which went directly to the sump of the engine, and let gravity do the work. And it did a fine job. It emptied the engine in no time. I reconnected the hand pump to the hose.
Now all that probably sounded pretty simple and straight forward, but it also involved a lot of bolting and unbolting, moving thiongs around to get at other things, removing the ladder and putting it back again, and dropping things into the bilge which need to be fished out. It took a rather long time just to get that part of the job done. On top of that, it was also oily. No matter how careful you are, oil will escape and get in the darnedest places. It of course needs to be cleaned up.
Mistake two was in changing the oil filter. There are three filters on the engine, two for fuel one for oil. The one I though was for the oil wasn't. well, I just took it as a sign that it was time to change the fuel filters too and so I did. I also changed the oil filter which actually turned out to be a snap. I refilled the engine with oil and started it up and it didn't explode which I took as a good sign.
Doing all this work on the engine, I discovered that the stuffing box nut( the nut around the drive shaft to the prop) and was admitting too much water. The bilge pump had been working lately but I thought that it was just ice melt from the fridge. Well, corrected that problem and all seems ready for the trip to Melbourne.
Tomorrow I will do a pump and dump and fuel up and I hope to be in Melbourne tomorrow night. As much as I enjoy being here, I am wary of getting "trapped" again. Good harbors rotting ships and men and all that.I have about 980 miles to got before I hit Hospital Point(ICW Mile Marker ZERO) in Virginia. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be all that far away.
Mistake two was in changing the oil filter. There are three filters on the engine, two for fuel one for oil. The one I though was for the oil wasn't. well, I just took it as a sign that it was time to change the fuel filters too and so I did. I also changed the oil filter which actually turned out to be a snap. I refilled the engine with oil and started it up and it didn't explode which I took as a good sign.
Doing all this work on the engine, I discovered that the stuffing box nut( the nut around the drive shaft to the prop) and was admitting too much water. The bilge pump had been working lately but I thought that it was just ice melt from the fridge. Well, corrected that problem and all seems ready for the trip to Melbourne.
Tomorrow I will do a pump and dump and fuel up and I hope to be in Melbourne tomorrow night. As much as I enjoy being here, I am wary of getting "trapped" again. Good harbors rotting ships and men and all that.I have about 980 miles to got before I hit Hospital Point(ICW Mile Marker ZERO) in Virginia. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be all that far away.
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