Fort Lauderdale Road Trip

2/5/2017 – Super Bowl Sunday

Faith from Third Degree walked by our boat on the way to hers while we were outside working on a boat repair that required glue. Since this was a messy enterprise, we were standing on the dock. As we chatted with Faith, we made arrangements to join them at a local sports bar called Marathon Ale House for the big game. Faith had heard that they had beer at reduced prices and free food at half time.

All four of us routed for the Falcons – not because any of us are Falcons fans in the normal course of events, but because none of us wanted the Patriots to win.  Actually, I suppose, knowing Clark is not an avid sports fan, he was probably ambivalent, so I will just declare him pro Falcons!  Anyone who watched that game, and according to the radio that was millions of people, got a three-for deal. Falcons’ fans got the first half, Patriots fans claimed the second half, and everyone enjoyed Lady Gaga’s excellent performance in the middle.

Clark, Ev, Jim, and Faith at Marathon Ale House

2/6/2017

After enjoying our night off from boat work, we were back at it on Monday chipping away at our long repair list. It seems that for every one thing we fix, three more issues make themselves known. Instead of getting shorter, the list continues to grow. Clark prioritizes tasks each evening for the next day.

The top of our list for today included investigating the intermittent low-voltage reading on the battery display in the lower helm. I find it very interesting to watch Clark dig into problems. I never really tire of “working” with him on these projects. He takes apart and puts together things I would never dream of touching. This morning, after wiggling a variety of wires in search of the random low voltage, he decided to dismantle the On/Off switch for the battery.

Inner Workings of the Switch

As he took the switch apart layer-by-layer, he lined the pieces up along a shelf in the order in which he took them off, taking note as he did, the orientation of each piece in relation to the other components. What did he discover as he dug deeper and deeper? Dust! He used a vacuum cleaner in reverse to blow out the dust and then he cleaned the dull contacts until they shown brightly.

Even with his meticulous care regarding the parts, it still took him several tries to reassemble the switch. The on and off positions were reversed the first time, and he had to pull pieces off until he got it right to have on in the on position and off in the off position. Eventually, he got it together, we reinstalled the switch, and turned the breakers back on. He has now crossed the low-voltage issue off his to-do list. Yay!

Flaky On/Off switch on the electrical panel.
We killed the power to the panel before digging in!

The next project of the day turned into a nightmare. Clark decided to dismantle the plumbing under the leaky guest head sink. What a chore! Over time and the application of a large quantity of plumbing “goop”, the hose would not budge. He pushed, pulled, and pried and got nowhere! Finally, he decided to try heating the hose with a hair dryer and that generated enough flexibility in the hose to allow him to pull it off the pipe.

To get take the pipe apart to get to the area in need of repair invoked another battle. He tried a variety of wrenches to no avail. Finally, he drilled a hole in the brass fitting until it sprung apart, and he could remove it and the pipes it held in place.

Better not run water in this sink - note hole where
drain is supposed to be!

The next step in the repair is to find the replacement parts somewhere. Clark collected the pieces he needed to match ready for shopping for parts.

Needing a break from the back-breaking work under the sink, we got ourselves presentable and went to docktails. We met several new arrivals to the marina – some of them are currently doing the Great Loop. Morning Star, whom we met last year at Faro Blanco, arrived with today’s batch of arrivals. I sat with Ann and caught up on her activities since they completed the loop in September 2016 in Alabama.

We finally said our goodbyes to the docktails’ folks at 7:00 and went back to work. Before dinner, we took a trip to Home Depot to pick up supplies. Clark brought the old plumbing parts for comparison purposes, and we looked for a replacement set of parts. We found a portion of what we needed to complete the repair. The portion we did not find, however, is a critical component as it captures the sink overflow water and directs it to a hose. Somehow I think we need that part too.

2/7/2017

We decided last night before heading to bed that we would drive to Fort Lauderdale to Ward’s Marine Electric today to buy a replacement generator battery and hand-carry it back to the boat. When Clark talked to them on the phone, they offered a reduced price for the battery over that shown on their website. Plus, picking it up would save us $160 in shipping costs. The overall savings made the five-to-six hour drive (round trip) worthwhile.

Before setting off on our cross-state drive, Clark had two jobs to complete. First, he wanted to put another coat of epoxy on the weather vane he sanded last night, and second, he wanted to stop by the nearby plumbing supply store to see if they sold better match for the sink parts we need. I decided to bring my sewing project, i.e. the canvas repair for the starboard side bright-work. I estimated I needed about three hours to complete the sewing, and I anticipated a three-hour drive to Fort Lauderdale.

Clark got the epoxy done and left that to dry. Then the two of us carried the almost one-hundred-pound battery out to the car and placed it in the trunk. Fortunately, the battery comes with handles on each end to facilitate carrying it. Just as we approached the trunk ready to lift it into the car, two of the marina staff stopped by in the golf cart and asked if we needed any help. I laughed and said, “Not right now!” They told us to be sure to call them next time we needed something like that moved.

Old Battery - warped and popped open from overheating

We struck out at the plumbing supply store on available parts, but they said they could order what we need if we send them pictures. Great! Homework for tonight! As planned, I sewed as Clark drove. I completed my canvas repairs just as we pulled into a gas station near Fort Lauderdale to refuel. One more project completed! 

Shortly thereafter, we arrived at Ward’s Electric at just about one o’clock, bought our new battery, and exchanged it for our old battery at the loading dock. When the sales clerk saw the old battery, he just said, "Wow!" 

Brand new 95-pound battery! My aching back!

Since we seem to keep driving on Florida toll roads that use Sun Pass (not EZ Pass as in NJ), we stopped at a Publix near the marine store to buy a Sun Pass before heading back to the Marathon and the boat. As Clark navigated his way back towards the highway from the store, I talked on the phone with an agent to activate the device. No sooner did I get it activated and stuck to the windshield than we arrived at Florida’s Highway which uses Sun Pass. Talk about timing!

The trip back to Marathon took a little less time than the trip to Fort Lauderdale as an accident on Florida’s Highway on our trip east caused us to have to detour and take a slightly longer route. Clark wanted to stop at a hardware store in Marathon before continuing on to the boat. Unfortunately, we arrived at 5:07 and they closed at 5:00. From there we made one quick stop at the farmer’s market down the road to see what they had in stock. The farmer’s market is under new ownership from last year, and I am still deciding what I think of their quality and variety of produce.

From there we drove directly back to the boat. Clark wanted to stop at Home Depot, but I reminded him we had a Face Time appointment with our son, Chris, scheduled for tonight, so Home Depot would have to wait. When we got back to our marina, I had not received a definite time from Chris, so we decided we had time to carry the new battery over to the boat before our call. The marina staff did not magically appear, so I took one end and Clark took the other. We set it in our cockpit until after our call completed.

While waiting for my Face Time session, I reinstalled the canvas I sewed on the trip to Fort Lauderdale. The Velcro closures to grip around the railings had completely rotted with age. I took out the old Velcro and sewed in new. My poor fingers built up some calluses pushing the needle through the canvas and Velcro combined!

Bright-work cover that needed new Velcro closures.

We had a lovely chat with Chris while watching Lily roam around the house. Surprise! She is now walking on her own, and she was not doing that last week when we did our last Face Time session! With Chris's wife, Heather, out of town, Chris had his hand's full being a single parent, so we did not keep him from his duties for long as Lily has an early bedtime.

After our call, we moved our battery the rest of the way through the boat and into the engine room. Once in place, Clark immediately jumped on getting wires connected and the battery on its way to being fully charged. I left him to it to go make dinner! As a result of today's activities, I now have a few tight muscles, but the battery is installed, and Clark is happy!