Back from Spring Break, yea...

We left going south (of course) and planned on several days of good weather and a couple bad, and we ended up having just that.  We left expecting to have a good time, and we had just that.

We left with the idea of motoring down the ICW so as to put some hours on the new motor, we needed to get to 50 hrs so we could have the 50-hour service performed.  We returned with 54.7.  We stayed in St.Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona, New Smyrna Beach, and Titusville.  We did the same on the return trip expect opted for The Conch House in St.Augustine instead of downtown.  Downtown was great, but scary coming and going.  All I can say is that I knew that the current was wicked there prior to going, tried to get there at slack tide, and still have way too much fun docking.  Thank goodness another dock hand come over to catch us.    But, as time when on, we got better at docking, which we did the whole way.  Afterwards, it became obvious that that was the right thing to do because of our 13 year old poodle, I mean child, I mean poodle.  She's a joy have in our lives.

Here's our going to Haul Over Canal going between Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River.

The highlights were meeting old friends in Palm Coast, making new ones there, and visiting a new marina.  The excitement was listening on the VHF when the poor folks who hit the power line going along side the 520 bridge going over Port Canaveral channel, were talking to the Coast Guard.  It wasn't long before they had to jump over.  We watched the video the next day wishing that it hadn't happened.(  http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/raw-boat-fire-on-indian-river/vDLZw3/ )  Makes us wonder what the specifics were; where there warning signs, height clearance signs, maybe an extra tall mast?  We know the tide was pretty high as we were just 20 miles from them.  The other excitement was being amazed at how many NOT-SEA-WORTHY boats there were in Titusville.  There's no tide there, and the economy is struggling there, but dam.  One Ospry had taken over two boats sitting side by side, people there said the owners hadn't been there in years.

Titusville was our turning around point, so North we went.  We had a great time again at Palm Coast and New Smyrna Beach, and headed to St.Augustine.  It was on this trip that I discovered what happens when you run out of diesel.  Yea, right after having gone under the Cresent Beach Basculle Bridge, we ran out.  Thank God we only had a knot of breeze, a 1/2 knot of current, beautiful weather, and a place to glide to and anchor next to the ICW.

( This pic and the above were courtesy of Tuktu.  Thanks again guys!

Two hours later and SeaTow brought us 10 gallons.  A couple of cranks, and off we went.  When we got to St.Augustine, we saw that the upper floors on the buildings downtown, were in fog.  Oh yea.  Once we cleared the Bridge of Lions, we headed to the Conch House, where it got really really thick.  We were almost run over by two vessels, one was a once-a-year-boater and the other was an overly confident fisherman.  But, we made the channel and made the Conch House.  What a party animal house that is.

The next day was the final leg home, were I have never had a smoother landing in all my life.  We unloaded, cleaned, then headed back to the house.  Yep, it was strange driving in a car after that time, it seemed like things had changed, but probably hadn't, we were gone only a week.  We had the 50 hour service performed yesterday and found out that the fuel line is sucking air, so we gotta fix that.  It'll be time to put in that exhaust extension (45 degree elbow) so the exhaust fits a little better, and verify the motor mounts are tight, the motor is still aligned, rewire the prop couple retaining bolts so that the wire will actually keep them tight, a little locktite is in order too.  But everything ran great and we're looking forward to this spring's and summer's sailing season.

Ah, back home.

Pics of new cushions and wax job.

Yea, yea, yea, I know, I still need to repaint the non-skid.  Soon, hell, I was impressed that I was able to wax the whole thing in one day.  I could have done a better job too.  But, done for the most part, hopefully it won't be too much longer before I get motivated to do it again.  I also waxed the cockpit cleaning it at the same time.  As soon as to rain that's expected for the next 4 days subsides, I'll have to jump of the non-skid, that'll dress it up nicely.
Here's a shot from the dock of the new cushions;

 And here are the new cushions with a new wax job.  Debi oiled the teak.

 And just look at that shine.  Glad I got one coat one before our trip and before it gets hot.

That's PPG semi-truck trailer paint that's 12 years old now, and still looks great.

Alrighty then, another project checked off, for this year.

Wax on, wax off, and so that's how it went today.  I'm actually surprised how I was able to get the whole thing done.  It takes three days during the summer, gotta take that mandatory break every now and again.  But, I got on a roll today and whipped it out, so done.  I have one good day before it rains for 4 or 5 days, so I'm going to repaint the non-skid in the cockpit tomorrow.  Then a little cleanup on the gelcoat and that should make it livable.  More pics to come, as soon as I find that dammed camera.

Getting down to the final touches before spring.

Okay, I'm getting psyched now, I know spring just has to be just around the dammed corner.  And what better way to celebrate than breaking in some new cockpit cushions.  I knew that getting to this point would be a milestone, and yea, it is.  Now, it's time to start a new chapter.  But, back to reality, the cushions were made by William Gardner Assoc. and did a good job.  I have had this boat for almost 12+ years and I thought I knew a little bit about it, but I didn't realize how non symmetrical it is.  It's like ever piece was custom made.  I tried to see if I could use the cushions on opposite sides and there was just enough of a difference, that it would look like the cushions just simply didn't fit .  But, with each one being 'an-individual', it works.  I'm ready for 80+ temps now.

And, this is a shot from another angle,

And of course the next warm day will be spent re-doing the non skid

And, you thought I was kidding.  Glad that I extended the cushions beyond the base of the locker lid.

Oh, and while I'm at it, here's a couple of the inside, making a new home for the new dishes, cool.  And, of course it starts with a template;

After only 9 years, it was time to replace the refrigerator

Back in 2006, I installed a CB40 under counter refrigerator from Waeco.  I bought one of these because I could slide it into the space where the old 'ice box' was located and not have to take any cabinets apart.  I originally mounted to compressor down low, then after several years, I fiber glassed in some tabs and mounted the compressor up nice and high.  Well, I think that that might have shortened it's life.  Either that or trying to run it hooked up backwards for a little while when I was redoing the electrical system.  Lesson learned, if you have an old boat, don't use the new safety color coded boat wire, use the old red-black color so everything matches.  So, after trying to revive it, I succumbed to the idea that I was going to have to replace it.  This time, I mounted the compressor down low, and did a much better job of it this time, and it gave me a chance to reroute some wires and hoses.  Here is the before shot, and a couple of during shots, and the after shot looked exactly like the before shot, so there's no after pic.  Of course the first thing I put in the frig, a bottle of rum to get cold.  Last night was a fun night of staggering around the marina looking at the new LED lights I installed sipping on a glass of rum, yum.

Outside cockpit lazarette locker, under all that stuff is the frig.  The original 'ice-box' was set up so that when you came to the dock to get a block of ice, you didn't have to cram it in via the inside hatch because there was a larger hatch accessible via the cockpit locker that allowed one to drop the block of ice right into the frig.  Ice in one side, food in and out from the inside of the cabin.  So, when I originally mounted to frig, I cut out a large corner of the big fiberglass tub that was there, and had to use the claw of a claw hammer to remove the foam.  Then I glassed in a shelf at the right height, and the new frig slid right into place.  Originally, there was no really good place to put the compressor, but this second time around was different, and now it's low, where it will be cooler, has air ventilation around it, and it protected from falling gear and people.

This is the battery box, it had to come out, but wasn't too hard, I had built it only a couple of years ago.  I know, no more than 4 wires per battery terminal.  It's okay, I used to be an electrician so that gives me leeway, right?

The above and below pics are from just prior to putting in the new replacement.  You have to tilt your head sideways, but you can see the shelf that I glassed in.  Okay, that's it, the show's over now.

Hull liner before & after pictures

Sink with foam and shelf liner, too dark.

New hull liner glued down, brighter, better.

Aft berth, before

Aft berth afterwards, still need to paint.

Even took out the fresh water flush tank and associated hoses, built some end stops to keep groceries from rolling too far, glued down some hull liner, now we have a nice storage locker.

And here's a lesson learned

The 'mouse-fur' hull liner is fairly transparent.  You can see in one phone the shadows from the two large holes, so I torn it back out, plugged the holes, painted it, then made a new template and cut n glue.  The old piece didn't fit that well on the right hand side, down in the grove, so the next time, I took a little more care and had it come out right.

And here's the view going around

And it will look all homie here after some sheets and a comforter.  Can't wait to do the aft berth.