So here we are, currently at anchor:
..and here is a brief update on what we've been up to:
Mary Petrie and crew (Renee and Christine) at work last month:
Here's Bob, the previous owner, and us:
Here's Christine cleaning:
<== underneath aft cabin (Christine's "bleach
coffin")
boat lettering:
and loading up (Christine cleaned out the dollar store of all of their Icees - literally over 50 boxes)
Me, I took the fuel tanks out and cleaned them, serviced the motor, took off the outdrive and serviced and painted it, put in a new battery bank tripling the house reserves, scraped sanded and painted the bottom, took out the water tanks and cleaned them, fixed several interior and exterior items large and small, etc. etc. etc.
Here's the upper outdrive unit before:
and after priming:
So, on April 5th we launched!!!! But sat dockside for a few days loading her up with more stuff and
working on her. Did we mention the
bugs? This is the view from our "hobo spot", as
Christine calls it.
Or the alligators?
One morning, we arrived at 6AM in the pitch dark after a massive shower storm. The dock should have been clean but there were big sandy alligator paw prints going onto the dock. And the storm ended around 4AM Hmmm. Seems there is a 15 footer (oh, that is huge) that lurks around there. It must have walked down the dock within the last couple hours. We were more careful walking around there after that, needless to say.
Then, on the 8th, we left our secure dock and motored out down the canal to begin our liveaboard.
We found a nice cove in the waterway system and anchored for a couple nights. Then, we motored the rest of the way towards the lock that separates the freshwater canals to the ocean. It was like a riverboat jungle tour through the mangroves - very nice. We only saw one alligator, though. I used my remote-control so I could steer the boat from the forward deck.
Here's another scary sight I saw:
Yikes! What a farmer's tan.
We got to the lock, which is
manually operated - a do-it-yourself system. As we were leaving the
lock into the ocean the alarm went off on the instrument panel. Crap!
I shut it down immediately and we drifted with a tailwind into a nice little
shallow cove and dropped anchor in a perfect spot. The problem turned
out to be a worn out impellor (a little neoprene rubber piece that spins
inside the waterpump). Luckily, I got a few hundred bucks of spare
parts just before we left. I changed the impellor
and went
through the whole system into the night and the next day but still no water
was getting pumped through. Seems that the water pump shaft was not
getting engaged by the gear. This took awhile to figure out as I am not a mechanic but am on
a steep learning curve. I need to do it all myself as when the time
comes, I know how to fix things.
So, Monday we went back through
the lock to the freshwater side. I set out in the dinghy (with no
motor as I am waiting for a carburetor rebuild kit) and took the scooter and
parts, and rowed off to get to a road that would lead to town.
It was beautiful, but a little
unnerving rowing through the mangroves with alligators. I figured I
could hit them with an oar if I had to. After awhile,
a headwind started up and I had to row close to the shoreline where it was a
bit more unnerving. You row backwards, of course, so I had to keep
looking over my shoulder for any signs of danger. After awhile, I just hitched a ride.
They dropped me off at some canal home area and I tied up the dinghy to a tree at the shore and unloaded the scooter. I rode the scooter a few miles to find my car, then took the car to the diesel guy and ordered the part I needed. After taking care of business, I wound up back at the boat and prepared for the cold front moving in from the north. Here is Larry, a local fisherman, his catch from his last throw, and Gypsy Cat in the background.
He is intently focused on another
fisherman working the area.
"He throws a good net," he says
of this guy
We're in a great spot. Later today I'll get my parts and we'll be back in business.