Florida: Marathon - Lazy Days

Day 259 
March 26, 2016

After almost two full months of hanging out at Faro Blanco Marina in Marathon in the Florida Keys, we leave here tomorrow. We have tons of memories to take with us as we leave here - most great, others not so wonderful. The great part has been the people we spent time with here especially the looper (and non-loopers) who gathered here during the month of February. The place just did not feel the same after the bulk of the folks departed at the end of the month.  On the negative side, we certainly could have used slightly warmer temperatures and less severe winds during our visit. All-in-all, I am not complaining. No matter how cold it got, it was always warmer here than in New Jersey, and we never had to shovel snow once!

I had a last-minute to-do list for today and managed to knock off all but one item. My first agenda item of the day meant collecting up the laundry and dragging it up to the washers. I decided to strip my bed and wash the sheets to give myself a complete fresh start. Fortunately when I got there, no one else had the same idea, and I had the wash room to myself. The washers and dryers here take tokens and when the final load came out of the last dryer, I still had two tokens left. Before heading back to the boat, I went and turned them in to get a refund of $2 each. Hey, I thought as I walked out, $4.00 will just buy me an ice cream down the street!

The main item on my gotta-get-done-today list was shopping for produce. We did all the meat and non-perishable shopping two days ago but did not buy any fresh produce. I had nothing left - no potatoes, no onions, no green veggies or any veggies of any other color for that matter. Definitely time to go to the store again. We grabbed our two backpacks and headed out.

To stay out of the blistering mid-day sun, I told Clark we needed to leave as early as possible to get our veggies. Between my laundry, which I completed by 10:20, and his making reservations for our next stop, we did not leave the boat until 11:30 -- just what I was trying to avoid. We stopped at the marina building to use the "head" before going on our way, and Clark said he needed to tell the folks in the office that we planned to leave tomorrow. At 12:15 we were finally biking out of the marina. Grrrrrr!

We did our usual drive-by of the produce stand before going on to Publix. Inventory changes daily at the farmer's market, so we never know what they will have until we get there. If we scope it out first, we know what to buy at Publix. At Publix I loaded myself down with broccoli and spinach. At the farmer's market I put everything we bought into Clark's backpack. It doesn't take too many potatoes, onions, and squash before the backpack is quite heavy. Add to that several grapefruit and a whole pineapple and the scale starts to tip pretty seriously. I would guess that his pack weighed at least 20 pounds or so. He still pedaled his bike back to the marina twice as fast as I did.

When I got dressed for today's activities, I slathered SPF 50 sunscreen all over any exposed skin. Thank goodness I did. That midday sun baked us both going and coming back from our food-shopping outing.

Earlier, as we passed a bank near the food store, I asked Clark if he wanted to pick up any additional money for the next leg of our trip. "No, I'll do that at the bank near the marina", he said.  Long story short ...  after we got back to the boat and he did some online research on ATMs, we ended up making a second two-mile each way trip back to Publix to get cash from the ATM located right there at the store.

Truthfully, we actually biked another four additional miles on top of that because the internet lied to us and told us that a TD Bank ATM was located here in Marathon across from the airport. When we got there, we found that the building it had sent us to is under construction. Perhaps the internet was foreseeing the future. We certainly found no existing TD Bank ATM in the area. When I checked the website for ATMs while in that vicinity, the closest location for a TD Bank ATM (not the bank itself) came up as 68 miles away. What gives with that?

Clark said the good news is that I got my exercise for the day. I would say so, twelve miles biking in the baking sun at mid-day served as an excellent workout. I must have lost a few pounds just from perspiration. I have to admit that after all that biking we did stop for an ice cream. I figured I more than deserved it. That plus some refreshing ice water rejuvenated me for the final two miles of the trip.

On the way back, Clark came across this guy ...

Lizard in the brush by the road

It's not entirely clear to me from the picture, but it looks like Clark caught the lizard in the middle of eating lunch. It looks to me like two legs hanging out of his mouth, but I may be wrong.

Even with the SPF 50 sunscreen I could see my skin turning redder. All I could think of on that last two miles was getting back to the marina and going in the pool to cool off. We did eventually manage to get in the pool, but it did not do its job very well. The water was far too warm to be refreshing. After only a very few minutes in the pool, I climbed out and went to take a shower where I could get cooler water. Now that felt good!

Since we are leaving tomorrow, we definitely wanted to see our good friends Ben and Jane from Jammin Jane one more time. Their friend from home, Chuck, is visiting them here. The five of us went out to dinner at Lazy Days restaurant which was recommended to us as the "best place in town" by a local. I hoped he knew what he was talking about as I was the one who suggested we go there for dinner. We were not disappointed. The menu was diverse and everyone seemed well pleased with their dining experience and the price.

Ev, Chuck, Jane and Ben

Clark, Ev, Jane and Ben at dinner at Lazy Days
in Marathon, FL

Clark's yellow-tailed snapper dish was served looking at him. Frankly, I prefer my fish served without the head or tail. Ben told Clark, however, that the sweetest meat is found in the cheeks and showed him where to find it. I would have given the head to Ben so he could find it (and eat it).

Chuck had a rental car and picked us up for the ride to the restaurant, a relatively short distance away. After all the exercise I got today I certainly appreciated the door-to-door service using a vehicle I didn't have to pedal to make it move.

Somehow Clark finds things to photograph that I never even notice. That happened again tonight. The rest of us walked out to the car, and when we got there, no Clark. We waited and waited. "Where did he get to?" Jane asked. I thought he might have stopped in the restroom, but Ben informed us that Clark was busy taking pictures in the restaurant. I could not imagine what he found worthy of the amount of time it was taking. Here is a sample of what he found ...

Restaurant Shell Collection
(bottle with coral attached to it / shark's tooth)

Coral and Scallop Shells

Conch Shell

Florida: Marathon - fueled and ready to make our escape

Day 258 March 25, 2016

We had another departure from Faro Blanco this morning - Daisy pulled out of the marina to continue on her way to her next stop. Sadly we missed saying goodbye since we had no idea they planned to leave today. Always on the ready, like Quick Draw McGraw,

Quick Draw McGraw

Clark whipped out his camera to capture the moment.

Bye bye Daisy!

Daisy as she departs Faro Blanco Marina in Marathon, FL

Before starting any projects for the day, Clark made one last attempt via phone call to find the Barnacle Buster product he wants to use to clean the engine. No go - the place he called said they could order it but had none on hand. C'est la vie! That Barnacle Buster job will have to wait till some time in the future. We are out of time here in Marathon.

Having poked at the engine in multiple places to ferret out the cause of the overheating at high speeds, Clark decided that today would be the "lube oil cooler" day. He "rodded out" this part of the engine this morning while I sat nearby and worked on updating my blog. He actually finished his engine work before I finished my writing exercise. Once started, I wanted to get the blog update done, so we finally ate lunch at around 2:00.

With the boat engine back together (mixer elbow in place) and the lube oil cooler rodded out, Clark decided we needed to go for one more test run to check out the work. He always likes to "kill two birds with one stone" so he decided that while we were out playing around, he would top off the fuel tank in preparation for leaving here within the next couple of days.

I walked up to use the head in preparation for our little excursion. On my way back I saw Ivory Lady coming into her slip. When I got to the boat and Clark was nowhere to be found, I knew to go look for him over there and that is where I found him. I am sure he ran to grab their lines as they pulled in and then got busy talking. Since we were both over there and chatting, Jan and Bill invited us on board to sit for a while. Jan and I had a nice discussion comparing our experiences on the loop while Clark picked Bill's brain for navigation info related to our upcoming travels.

Jan and Bill had plans for the rest of the day, as did we, so after a while we said our farewells. As soon as Clark and I got back to our boat, we started pulling in lines in preparation for our little voyage. Since Clark had decided to get fuel, we headed out and around to go under the 7-mile bridge to get to a place with a cheaper fuel price than our own Faro Blanco marina. With all our antennas down and the radar mast lowered, we barely manage to squeeze under that bridge, but from experience we knew we could do it without concern.

From the intent look I noticed on one fisherman's face as he watched us approach the bridge, I had a feeling he wasn't convinced we would make it under. I stood on the bench seat on the fly bridge and scouted out the situation by looking over the top of the Bimini top. The clearance looked good to me, and we sailed under both the car and the old train bridges with room to spare.

I love shocking people who don't expect us to fit under bridges. Over the years, we have had some pretty close calls with, in many cases, very few inches to spare. Since I have confidence that Clark won't get us into a bad situation, I relax and enjoy watching people's reactions as a cheap thrill for me. What can I say!? It doesn't take much to entertain me.

We pulled up to the fuel dock and one of the attendants there became super chatty as soon as he saw our home port. He quickly explained that he lived on First Street in Rumson during his youth and was excited to meet us. He left Rumson in 1966 when his family moved to Flemington, NJ to raise horses. He said they even had horses in Rumson when he lived there. Knowing First Street, it is hard for me to imagine horses on that street, but over the years everywhere in NJ has become more and more built up. Anything is possible. I'm sure it looks nothing now like it did in 1966.

Before we left the fuel dock, the attendant collected a boat card from me to prove to a friend of his living New Jersey that we were there. He wants his friend to come visit, but the friend says he can't come because it is too far. I told him to tell his friend that we came via Canada and the Great Lakes to see if that convinced him he could come too.

While we were out, we did test Clark's maintenance work on the engine. The engine showed no particular improvements as a result of either action on Clark's part. I asked if he intended to check the last item on the list - the inner cooler. His answer - no, not at this time. "It's like a wild goose chase", he said, "trying to figure this out and it's not worth the time." We never travel at top, top speed which is the only time we saw overheating, and on this loop trip, rarely do we travel at anything over 8 knots. He feels he has done everything he could to this point.

When we were back in our slip with the lines secured, we took a break from it all and just sat around on the boat 'chilling' until it was time to make dinner. I worked on some crossword puzzles and Clark read today's Wall Street Journal. Clark said he was in no hurry for dinner, and I took him at his word.

When the time came to make dinner, I decided to keep the heat out of the cabin by running an extension cord out the port-side window to allow me to cook outdoors. I took my electric wok outside and made Chinese Beef and Broccoli over Rice. Yummy! Even without cooking in there, the cabin felt hot and stuffy, so I told Clark to open up the table on the fly bridge. He did and we had a lovely dinner there while we watched the sun set behind the lighthouse.

Sunset View during dinner on Sea Moss

The meal and the view were lovely -- the no-see-ums not so much.  Sooner than we would have liked, they forced us to pack up our dirty dishes and go back into the boat. We needed a nice breeze to blow the bugs away which we did not have today.

Florida: Marathon - Ship's Stores

Day 257 - Thursday March 24, 2016

Even though yesterday it looked like a finished project, more work was required to complete the anchor-roller installation. The end result from yesterday was only the "nearly-finished" installation.

Fooled ya - not done yet!

Because of the positioning of the new roller, Clark needed some washers to place on top for a snug fit as well as lock washers for the bolts. Heaven forbid the setup should wobble itself free and we drop an anchor unexpectedly! That could prove disastrous. So, guess what, it was back to West Marine yet again. I think they must be on a first-name basis with Clark by now. He certainly spends a significant portion of his time in that store!

The last time Clark went to West Marine, he was back almost before I knew he was gone. Today when he went, I thought he would never come back. Given my past horrific experience with Route 1 where a friend got hit by a truck as I watched, I immediately began to think the worst when he did not appear. I kept thinking I would get a phone call from the hospital. I just started to text him to see where he might be when he arrived back at the boat. It seems that while I sat here worrying over his early demise, he was having a gab session with first Ben from Jammin Jane and then Brent from Haley's Comet. Why ever do I worry about him?

He was happy to hear that while he was away, his package with the engine gasket had been hand delivered to the boat. With washers in hand, however, Clark set to working on the anchor roller yet again to get that job out of the way once and for all. Besides the washers he bought, he decided to make rubber washers to use as shock absorbers / cushioning in his final assembly. He pulled out a sheet of thin rubber from his on-board box of tricks, and I helped him cut washer shapes from the material.

As 12:30 approached I decided it was time to make (and eat) lunch. I made our sandwiches and put his in the refrigerator for whenever he decided he could eat. I finished eating shortly after one, and he was still going strong. At some point I heard large amounts of anchor chain rattling and knew that Clark was in the process of trying to deploy the anchor. That was definitely not a one-man job, so I ran out to help.

We fed the chain around until it was through the roller and resting on the deck after which Clark attached the rode to the anchor via the anchor shackle. Next, we pulled the excess chain back through the roller until only a small portion remained whereby Clark hefted the 35-pound anchor up and over the boat rail to deploy it ready for use. It is no easy job to drop an anchor that heavy over the side of the boat slowly. He couldn't just let go though and hope for the best. Who only knows what damage could result if it accidentally hit the bow of the boat on the way down.

Once deployed we played with the winch to test our ability to select one anchor over the other and still use the winch to drop and raise the anchor. Eureka! It worked! Finally, we can call the anchor project done.

Both anchors now reside on the bow ready to deploy as needed.

Just as we completed our trial run of the anchor and had it secured up on deck my cell phone rang. Darlene, whom I had tried to call the day before, called me back. What perfect timing she had ... one minute earlier and I would have had my hands full of anchor chain. I left Clark to wrap up the project (literally - see the picture) and went to have a long chat with my friend I have known since college.

When Clark finally came in the boat salon, I reminded him that he needed to eat lunch. (Who needs to be reminded to eat besides Clark? Not me - that is for sure!) After lunch, he anxiously dove into the engine project and reinstalled the mixer elbow with the new gasket. Fortunately it did not take long. Two items in one day crossed off the "to do" list. Great! It feels nice to have two fully-assembled engines on the boat.

I had one dreaded project for the day - food shopping! I felt like Mother Hubbard with her bare cupboards. I had reached a state of near desperation - no milk, no fresh veggies, no ... Not only did I need food for immediate use, but I needed to replenish "Ship's Stores" for our next leg of the trip. I knew we had a large quantity of items to buy and tried to convince Clark to take a taxi to the food store two miles away instead of bicycles.

Since he wanted to stop at West Marine (big surprise) as well as the post office, he saw a taxi as a bad plan. Instead we compromised on the bicycle concern and walked. We left the marina at 3:30, wasted 20 minutes in West Marine finding out they did not have the "Barnacle Buster" product we wanted, stopped at The Home Depot with the same waste-of-time result, mailed a letter at the post office, and ate an ice cream along the way. (I needed that.) We finally got to the food store just before 5:00.

We took two shopping carts as I figured one large package of paper towels would fill one in the blink of an eye. As we shopped I put the heavy, canned-type items in my cart and the light, crush-able items in Clark's. That worked well for the checkout, so I could send all the heavy items down first then the lighter items afterwards for packing purposes. With all that we needed to buy we shopped for well over an hour. As we pulled our carts away from the checkout, Clark happily noted that we had bagged all the heavy items first then the lighter ones, and I said, "And you think that wasn't planned??"

After we checked out, Clark left me with my shopping carts at the exit of the store and ran to Kmart to buy two more plastic milk crates. He called me about 10 minutes later to say they were sold out of all of the crates except one purple one that was not stacking compatible with the ones we already had. What gives, when we bought the other three just a couple of days ago, at least three black or white ones plus the purple one remained. Ah well, I was very glad we bought the others one when we did and told him to buy the purple one anyway.

Not too long after he appeared back at Publix crate in hand and called for a taxi to take us back to the boat. The taxi driver said, "I'll be there in no time." He must have been very nearby as he appeared in record time to collect us and our groceries. When he saw how many grocery bags we had, he commented, "That's quite a haul." The van he was driving accommodated the "haul" very well. He dropped us off at the marina in the parking lot directly behind the boat. Perfect!

As per usual with boat provisioning, the boat salon became impassable due to bags everywhere. Since it was already 7:30 (four hours since we left to go shopping), Clark and I focused on getting the perishables stowed figuring the rest could wait until later. With the milk in the fridge and the newly purchased meat in the freezer, we headed up to the marina restaurant for dinner. Even at 8:30 on a Thursday night the hostess asked if we had reservations and tut-tutted when we said no.

She said the restaurant was packed and looked around as if trying to find us a seat. I saw several empty tables and wondered where the issue lay. She thought for a moment and asked, "Did you want to sit outside or inside?" When we said inside, she suddenly had plenty of openings for us to choose from. Apparently everyone else wanted to eat outside. I just wanted food I didn't have to cook.

We both ordered fish dinners from the day's specials list. I ordered Coconut-encrusted yellow-tailed snapper that was absolutely delicious. Clark chose the Mahi-Mahi dish which he also enjoyed. Stuffed to the gills, we walked out to the end of the docks to get my FitBit count up to the 10,000 steps for the day. Surprisingly, I only had 9,200 steps up to that point even with the walk to Publix.

I told Clark that I planned to work on my blog and wait until tomorrow to put away the rest of the Ship's Stores. However, I realized as soon as I got on the boat that I had no place to sit and no place to put my laptop. Every surface area had a food bag on it. Oh well, that decided it - time to put it all away. As I slaved away in the hot and humid cabin stowing all our food stuff, Clark sat and read the Wall Street Journal.

Other than opening up storage areas like the hold or under the bed, for example, and placing the filled and heavy crates back in the hold, Clark let me "do my thing" and get it all put away to my satisfaction. I always feel so accomplished when I transform a filled-to-the-max salon into a where-did-it-all-go miracle of stowing. The boat holds a lot of stuff, I just have to find places to hide it. I like to be organized and that skill helps tremendously.

As I stored things, I labeled the tops of cans so I could see from above what I had, and I repackaged boxed items to dispose of unnecessary cardboard and allow for more items per square inch of storage space. When I finally declared myself done, the clock showed that it was just past midnight. Clark asked if I wanted to walk up to the "head", and I said, "Yes. My Fitbit says I have taken zero steps today! Let's go!"

Florida: Marathon - the iguana

Day 256 - Wednesday 3/23/2016

Wednesday the sun came out and the wind died down! Clark retied the boat lines closer to the dock, so I can now get on and off by myself. Yay! Without the winds, however, I can pull the boat over by myself. It is just so much nicer to be able to step on and off without a "leap of faith".

The gasket for the engine did not come in today's mail, so the engine repair is on hold for one more day. Given that, it was back to the anchor project yet again. Of course the first item on the anchor agenda was a trip to West Marine for more epoxy to complete the sealing job. This time Clark bought the 8 packets for $40 instead of 2 packets for $20 since the smaller size only did half the job. (What a rip off! These holes are just not that large.) Anyway, we figured it was cheaper per packet this way, and we will have some on hand for next time we need it.

Normally the epoxy starts to harden before Clark has a chance to finish the job he's working on. Then, shortly after applying it, he is ready for the next step. The epoxy from the first application took all night to harden. Maybe a heat and humidity factor in there somewhere?? We wondered how long it would take for the second batch to cure.

Since we had a reasonable stopping place, we decided to eat lunch and check back on the anchor prep work afterwards. Before making lunch I took a stroll up to the marina's main building to use the head and got quite a surprise on my return trip to the boat. In the short time I was gone an iguana had decided to come out and soak up some sun from the hot pavement.

Long-tailed Iguana in my way

Looking at me

I don't know much about reptiles. I know I did not like this iguana looking at me. He made no inclination to move out of my way, and between him and his tail, he covered the majority of the walkway. I needed to step around or over him to get by and neither option was too appealing. I decided to walk around him and kept my eyes on him the whole time. He did the same - we had a stare off! Once past, I briskly walked back to the boat and sent Clark out with his camera to capture this guy's mugshot for my blog!

Related to reptile stories, (I hope Denise doesn't mind) I found Denise's post on Facebook about an iguana sunning itself on her boat quite funny. (Glad it was not on my boat!)

Denise  posted on Facebook: "We chased him off the boat. He jumped into the water, swam across to the other side by the jet ski rental place, climbed up the dock, the stairs, and eventually a chain link fence to the roof of a shed....startling 3 women who were preparing to rent jet skis. It was hilarious to watch. One woman ran half way down the parking lot hands flailing in the air!"

At least I didn't run through the marina screaming!

After lunch, Clark checked the epoxy and found it needed more time to cure. I decided to take my Kindle and sit by the pool to get some sun. I was more than sick of being on the boat. Somehow I just could not convince myself to get on my swim attire. The breeze was just cool enough to be demotivating. Besides that I saw no real fun in playing in the pool by myself.

When I got up to the pool, I saw no one I knew even though the pool area was packed with people. Given that in February I couldn't go anywhere at the marina without stumbling over someone I knew, I found it somewhat depressing to sit there on my own. How depressing can it be though to be by the pool in March soaking up the sun? I got over my loneliness in no time.

I never opened my Kindle. I am addicted to a couple of games I play on my phone. I played my games by the pool until Clark called to ask me to come back to the boat to print tax forms. Yuuuckkkk! What a bad way to end a leisurely pool-side afternoon! Besides the call for help, I saw that my phone battery was desperately low. Time to head back to the boat for a recharge anyway.

We have a small Canon printer on board the boat that we bought special for the Great Loop trip. It has proven itself worth more than its cost multiple times over. It copies, scans, prints and send faxes - all in a rather petite package. Only my laptop "talks" to the printer, so I printed the tax forms. We signed them and then Clark scanned them (with my help) back into my laptop so they could be sent. Yay - taxes done!

Clark checked, and had me check, multiple times for the engine part we had ordered, but even by late afternoon no package had arrived, so it was back to see how the anchor project was doing. Fortunately the epoxy batch from the second application had hardened allowing Clark to re-drill his holes. When he was out and about on errands the day before, he stopped by The Home Depot and purchased extra long drill bits to get through the thickest portion of the bow pulpit. Today he got his chance to use his new tools.

Mostly I offered moral support. I did climb up on the bow pulpit a couple of times to check the angle of the drill bit to verify it lined up appropriately, so I added some small amount of value to the project. Eventually, though, I left him to his assembly and went to make dinner. I had planned on making Cornish Pasties out of meat, potatoes, veggies, and Bisquick.  Everything was ready except for the pastry part of the meal when I realized I had not even a drop of milk on board. Sigh! No milk equals no biscuits, so now what? I had the insides of a Cornish Pasty without the outsides.

While I worked on dinner, Clark continued the anchor-roller installation. There seemed to be no convenient stopping point for his work. I checked multiple times.  For a while I left my food "on warm" while I  went to check on him, but after almost burning dinnrt, I eventually just turned off all the burners for my food "concoction" to wait until he was ready to eat. One bad thing about Daylight Savings Time - Clark has daylight until 7:30 at night. He hates to waste daylight by eating.

He finally decided he was done for the day and must have had his camera out there on the bow because he took a picture of the completed roller installation.

Installed Anchor Roller (on right)

While he was out there, he also snapped a picture of the sunset.

Sunset P.O.D.

We ate well after sunset since, after finishing his work, he needed time to clean up. With no other brilliant ideas, I poured the meat / veggie gravy mix over the potatoes I had mashed and called it a day. I actually found it not only edible but quite delicious. Clark likes anything that has potatoes and gravy in the recipe, so he enjoyed it as well. 

Later that night, I got a call from my friend Janet and we talked for almost an hour. Feeling a need to connect with my friends back home, I had reached out earlier in the day to several folks. None of them were available when I called, but Janet said she would call me later and did. We had a great talk and a few good laughs.

Time to call it a night!

Florida: Marathon - anchors and engines

Day 255

As priorities go, Clark decided that working on the port engine to continue his investigation into the overheat problem had to remain at the top of his list. Seems like every day I learn just a little bit more about diesel engines - more than I ever wanted to learn for sure. Today's lesson was on the "mixer elbow" where water is used to cool the exhaust. Clark said that before coming into the mixer elbow the exhaust reaches temperatures of 1200 degrees Fahrenheit.  Holy moly! When it comes out the other end, it is cooled enough not to melt the rubber in the exhaust pipes.

Clark removed the mixer elbow from the engine so he could look inside for buildup and clean it out. He said it looked pretty good and was probably not any source of concern or overheating.

Engine Mixer Elbow

Inspecting the mixer elbow for buildup

Since he had the mixer elbow removed from the engine, he got his camera down in the engine compartment to get a shot of the turbos as well!

Engine Turbo

Clark ran into a bit of a snag when he went to reinstall the mixer elbow. While cleaning it, he realized that he would need a replacement gasket since reusing gaskets is not a good idea. He ran across the street to the Marathon Marine Supply store only to find out they had none in stock. As soon as he got back, he called our dealer in New Jersey, Lockwoods Boatworks, and ordered the part. Overnight shipping proved prohibitive, so now we sit and wait for the part to show up before he can reassemble the engine.

Leaving the engine project, Clark moved on to the also in-progress anchor project. Today was hole-drilling day. During the positioning process Clark discovered that one of the bolts he bought was not long enough. He had hoped to avoid drilling through a thick portion of the pulpit. Of course one of the three bolt holes fell over that section, so it was back to West Marine to make an exchange to replace one 2" bolt with a 5" bolt. Unfortunately, after drilling out the three holes, Clark discovered that the 2" bolts were also not going to be sufficient in length requiring one more trip back to West Marine to exchange the 2" bolts for 3" bolts.

While he was out exchanging bolts, Clark decided to hit Home Depot for some other supplies. He went off on his bike while I stayed back to work on a project of my own. Ultimately it turned out to be good that I stayed back since he called me twice asking me to measure somethings on the boat for his to assist with his purchase decisions. On Clark's side of the bed a large gap has formed over the years between the ceiling and the wall. This allows air and, Clark believes, bugs to come into the master stateroom. He bought insulation strips, normally used to install air conditioners, to stuff into the space. He called me regarding the length of material needed to fill the space.

I worked on a rather bizarre project while Clark was gone. I store some of my dry goods food in an igloo cooler. It gives me storage space and keeps the food fresher longer. I decided to partition my cooler with some plastic dividers to assist with being more organized. I dug out my supply of plastic canvas and spent the afternoon sewing pieces of it together to make my organizer. It was a crazy mess to sew together, but I am well pleased with the end result.

Clark came back from his shopping spree and immediately jumped back on the anchor project. He said that the biking was hard against the wind. After hearing that, I was even happier that I stayed on the boat with my sewing.

Since drilling out the holes revealed wood under the fiberglass, Clark bought epoxy to fill the holes. He drilled the original holes larger than needed and, once the epoxy dries, will drill them again at the right size to leave the sides protected. How clever he is! He mixed up the epoxy and managed to fill almost 2 of the 3 holes. He was very disappointed with the amount of mix he got for the $20 he spent. Too late for another trip to West Marine to buy more, the project would have to wait for yet another day to make further progress.

He was busy busy busy outside and I was busy busy busy inside. He got to see the sunset. I never noticed that it was even getting dark. I think I missed a pretty spectacular sunset with my head down on my needlework. Thank goodness he keeps the camera handy!

Florida: Marathon - Windy yet again!

Day 254

We thought the dreaded cold north winds had left for good, but they came back with a vengeance on Monday! Sustained winds measured in at 20 mph and the gusts came at 25 and over. In the past when we had these winds I could find brief breaks in the force to allow me to pull the boat closer to the dock for ingress and egress. On Monday, however, the winds were relentless. It took two of us to get me either on or off the boat!

We took the boat out Sunday evening to trial Clark's latest engine repair work. When we came back, we must not have tied the lines in quite the same configuration. The distance I needed to span to step off the boat (and on) grew by several inches with the new setup. Unfortunately my legs, although long, were not long enough to get me across the gap! Getting off was extremely difficult and intimidating -- getting back on nearly impossible as I had nothing I could grasp with my hands to give me support while making the leap of faith.

Only with Clark's assistance could I get on or off the boat. I stood on the gunwale on the ready. He hung off the back of the boat with one foot on the gunwale and one foot on a line we use to pull the boat in. He definitely needs to gain weight. Even with stepping on the line to move it, he could only fight the wind sufficiently to bring the boat in about 6 inches. However, that 6 inches made a world of difference! Although I could not get on / off where I normally do, I could at least find a place where I could get close enough to jump on / off!

When we weren't fighting the wind, we worked on boat preparation for the next leg of our trip which is coming up shortly. A while back, as we were walking through the marina here, Clark saw another boater installing an anchor roller for a second anchor on their bow. He decided that if we did that we could solve two problems together - 1) have a second anchor ready to deploy at a moment's notice and 2) clear out a huge storage area on the boat that has previously only been used as an anchor / rope locker. With that in mind we set to today to measure and design a solution for the placement of the second anchor on the bow.

Of course anything related to the boat has a very high probability of time spent in West Marine. Clark took his measurements and a rough diagram with him to the store. After numerous minutes of contemplating the pros and cons of the two anchor-roller choices open to him, he finally made a purchase, and we went back to the boat to start the project.

A day with cold, 25 mph gusts of wind is probably not the best day to hang out over the bow pulpit measuring for anchor placement, but that is where we were. I huddled down in the front of the boat with my heavy-weight hooded sweatshirt and my heavy windbreaker jacket pulled up over my head and zipped up tight. Mostly I stuck around for moral support, to be there in case Clark got blown into the water, and as a "go for" in case he needed some tool or another that was not at hand.

The first thing Clark did in preparation for mounting the new anchor arrangement was replace our standard CQR (plow-shaped) anchor with the Danforth (like a two-pronged fork). Clark believes that the Danforth will have better holding power in the areas we plan to explore next. (Choice of anchor depends on the water bottom - sand, mud, rocky, ... Different anchors hold better depending on the bottom).  Changing the anchors from one rode to the other proved to be a brute-force, time-consuming activity in and of itself. The anchor is attached to the rode via a shackle. For obvious reasons the bolt holding the shackle is secured tightly. Finally, with the right tools, some lubricant, and a lot of huffing and puffing, Clark got the anchors switched and could move on to the more interesting part of the project.

After playing with the new anchor roller positioning for several minutes, Clark decided that it looked like he could find a workable solution. Before drilling holes in the boat, however, he decided we should test out the roller to see how the anchor would actually perform on the roller. First we had to find a place to perform our experiment; second, we had to get the anchor, chain, and rode there to play with it. After looking at various alternatives, I suggested the picnic table at the end of our dock. Clark thought that might be ideal, so we decided to head there.

The spare anchor line consists of 20 to 25 feet of thick, heavy chain followed by 200 feet of 5/8" line separated into two bundles of 100-feet each. The anchor itself weighs a "ton". To move the anchor and its rode around the boat takes two of us to carry the whole ensemble. When we went to move it all, I looked at the anchor and rode then at the new roller and said, "We have a logistics problem here. We can't get the roller past the attached anchor. The only other way to get that roller in place is to feed over 200 feet of line through the opening!" Clark agreed that I was indeed correct (amazing) and set to disconnecting the anchor from the rode so that we could check out the new operation. Fortunately, since he had loosened it the first time, it took little effort to disconnect the second time.

Clark carried the anchor over to the picnic table and then came back for the rode. Since I could not get off the boat without his help (remember the wind), I stood on the boat and handed the rode up to him - first the chain and then the two bundles of line. No matter how many times I pick up the chain on that anchor to move it around, I cannot help but think of poor 'Marley's Ghost' from A Christmas Carol. He was draped in heavy chain, and that is about how I feel whenever I try to drag it from one place to another.

I got to see the experiment in operation as Clark came back for me to help me get off the boat. After declaring success for the CQR, Clark decided he really needed to go get the Danforth to check out its feasibility since, after this portion of the trip, the Danforth will go back to being second fiddle once again. Fortunately, both configurations looked good. We dragged it all back to the boat ready for the drilling to begin.

Since it was now late afternoon, instead of starting the drilling portion of the project, we decided to call it quits for the day and go shopping for provisions. We have a long list of things to buy before we leave here. We expect to spend a lot of time at anchorages on the next leg of our trip. As such, we need to have plenty of "boat stores" on board as trips to food stores will be separated by several days at a time. The first item on our to-buy list was milk crates to be placed in our new-found storage compartment. We can't have our canned good rolling around the bilge!

We took our bicycles (our only means of transportation other than by foot) and headed off on the two-mile trip to the stores. Both of us wear backpacks whenever we go shopping, and we normally come back with them both stuffed to the very top and as heavy as lead. Since we were shopping for milk crates, I wondered how we would carry them home if we found some. They certainly would not fit in any backpack. Clark seemed to have a plan to carry them in hand while we biked back. That idea did not appeal to me very much at all.

We stopped at Home Depot - they had no milk crates. Then we stopped at Office Depot - they had no milk crates. We only had one more option available to us -- Kmart. Before going there , however, we decided to stop and do our Walgreen's shopping since it was on the way. Next, we biked past Kmart to Winn Dixie to buy Quaker oatmeal for Clark. We found they sell a flavor there that he likes but cannot find in any other store. I bought six boxes of 10 packets each!

I knew that the six boxes would not fit in my backpack or Clark's, together or separately, so I also bought a box of gallon-size storage bags. When I got out to the bicycles where Clark was waiting, I told him to start opening boxes. We transferred the packets into the storage bags and threw the boxes away in the parking lot garbage bins. That way it all fit in his backpack with room to spare. I also threw away the box for the storage bags.  Who needs all that cardboard anyway!?

Our next stop was Kmart. We locked our bikes outside and went in to see what we could find. Success! We found the milk crates and even had a choice of color. Wondering which one would show less dirt, we eventually opted for black instead of white. Since they will be down in the bilge, I am not sure it really matters very much. We bought three crates. As we left the store Clark said, "I'm hoping you can carry one of these."

When we got out to the bikes, he handed me my crate. To say I was not enthused to be biking while carrying a milk crate is a gross understatement. I decided there must be some way to attach the darn thing to my bike to free up my hands. Recently I added a bag to the front of my bike using straps I rescued from a discarded life jacket. I decided that I could pass the straps around the milk crate and position it on the front of the bike. It worked and even looked like a bike basket when done. Cool!

Clark was impressed with my ingenuity and asked if we could attach a second one to my bike using the two carabiner clips I have hanging off my seat. Well, why not! So now I had a basket on front and a basket in back. Clark still held one more in his hands, and I wondered if we could figure out some way to attach one to his bike as well. I ruffled through my bike bag that is always attached to my bike and came up with two reflective Velcro straps used to hold pant legs away from the gears. I wrapped those around the handlebars and basket so now he was hands-free also.

With the items we had bought thus far, I thought we were pretty much done, but Clark thought we should buy food at Publix for dinner since the cupboard was pretty bare back on the boat. I finally capitulated and agreed to buy just enough food for dinner and lunch the next day, but that was all. Clark stood guard by our bikes while I went in to buy what we needed. With the items from Walgreens, the packages of oatmeal from Winn Dixie, and the food I bought at Publix, we were loaded and weighed down to the max. The trip back to the boat seemed longer than usual with that blessed wind fighting us all the way back making the trip seem endless. At least I wasn't carrying a basket while doing it!!!

The nightly gun signalling sunset went off just as we got back to the boat from our excursion -- 7:30 already. After unloading our bikes, folding them up, and storing them and our purchases, it was 8:30 until dinner was ready. My son Jeff had emailed me while I was making dinner to set up a time to talk, and we called him at 9:10 and talked until 10:00. Then we watched a little television before calling it a night. What a day!

Florida: Marathon - laundry and heat exchanger work

Day 253

Clark made sure the bed was made and the dishes done for my return from Connecticut. Everything looked very nice except for the large pile of laundry begging to be washed. Since the weather for the day was questionable (rain expected), it seemed like a good day to get the laundry out of the way. Sadly, everyone else in Marathon must have had the same thought.

Hoping to accomplish two tasks at once, I went up to the marina building with my shower bag and another bag stuffed full of laundry. As I entered the laundry room, I could see that the situation was grim - both washers were going and a person there had her sheets waiting to go in as soon as one washer stopped. I decided to leave my bag of laundry and go take my shower with the hope that by the time I came back at least one washer would be available.

Besides the two loads of clothes that I brought up with me to be washed, I had a set of sheets and a blanket to be washed from stripping the bed. I hoped to get it all done but resigned myself to only getting some of it finished today. As I stood waiting for a washer to become free, the person there ahead of me (Julie as I later learned her name) mentioned that she had hoped to find a laundromat and was stuck at the marina instead. I told her that a new laundromat had just opened almost directly across the street. She offered to take me and my laundry there so we could get our work done faster. I took her up on the offer and ran back to my boat to get the rest of my laundry.

She had a car which made dragging all that laundry across Route 1 seem not so bad. When we entered the laundromat, however, it seemed that everyone from miles around had come for the day. Not one washer was open! Fortunately within a few short minutes of arriving, the washers started to empty out. It took 4 machines and $16 for me to get all my wash going.

Drying was another story. I cannot really say that I know how many quarters I pumped into the dryers at 4 minutes per quarter. I was lucky in that I got an over-sized dryer with 9 minutes left on it from the prior user. Wow - a whole 50 cents worth of time! It seemed to take forever in the sauna cum steam room cum laundromat, but finally, having started my wash two hours earlier, I got a ride back with Julie who had patiently waited another 20 minutes after her wash was done.

A fellow boater friend of mine calls them "boat angels". They are those people who appear out of nowhere to help you when you need it. Today Julie was my boat angel. I have never seen her before, and since she is from Rhode Island and left here today, I will probably never see her again, but she was there for me when I needed some help.

While I was sweating it out in the laundromat, Clark was back at the boat contemplating the engine problem yet again. After lunch he climbed back down into the engine compartment and wrapped himself around the backside of the port engine and "rodded out" the heat exchanger. It was a long, back-breaking process as he had to poke a wire into the heat exchanger repeatedly as he attempted to break down the "scale" buildup.

He worked on it all afternoon. Fortunately the rain that was predicted never appeared because just after 6:00 (when the rain was supposed to be heavy), he announced that we needed to take the boat out for a test run to see if his work had solved the overheat problem. High winds are predicted for tomorrow and he needed to get in that analysis of his work! Since I was wearing a dress, I ran to change my clothes and get boat shoes. He set to prepping the boat to take it out.

We went out a short distance from the marina and ran the boat back and forth, first at slow speed and eventually at high speed. The temperature gauge showed promising numbers at slower speeds and even at some higher speeds, but after a short run at top speed, that darn overheat alarm went off yet again. It appears that every little bit helps but nothing so far has solved the problem. Shortly after we got back in our slip at the marina, the nightly gun sounded signaling sun set at 7:30. That is one good thing about Daylight Savings Time.

With all the mucking about we ended up with a very late dinner. After dinner Clark headed up to take a much-needed shower, I did the dishes and then sat down to work on the blog entries. Clark has three more possible areas to look into for the overheat problem. With the cold front that came through today (even though the rain did not come with it), tomorrow should have less heat and humidity and make working on the boat more palatable.

Once we get the port engine under control, Clark said he should "rod out" the starboard engine heat exchanger since it seemed to make a very nice improvement in the port engine - just not enough. At least he doesn't have to be a contortionist to reach the starboard side heat exchanger!