by miami | Jan 4, 2014
Poor Goose. We are hauled out in the yard in Ft Lauderdale, but still on the boat. Since we can't leave him on the boat all the time, we sling him up and down. He doesn't like it but seems to know it is the only way.
This is almost as bad for the rest of us. We hauled yesterday afternoon with the wind blowing a bit making it interesting to get to the haul out slip.
It took the yard an hour or two to haul us and move the boat to a place where they block it up. Not much for us to do until this is all done.
We started sanding the old bottom paint off around 5 and went until dark. We realized quickly this was going to a nasty job. Off to the showers to try and get some of the black sanding dust off of us. Remember this stuff is put on to kill things so they do not grow on the bottom of the boat.
We finished sanding, and wiping down the hull about noon today. Of course the weather changed , bringing in drizzly rain, so,, since two,of the thre of us have been afflicted with some sort of cold bug down time was called for while the hands either napped or just took it easy. We picked back up at 2 or so and got er done.
We did not take any pics while we were sanding as it was just too nasty, but we tried to get some of rolling on the paint… We are also changing the colors of the boat. The burgundy stripe above the tape line is called a boot stripe and will be painted navy blue tomorrow. Some idiot in the past used some sort of sears weatherbeater or something over gel coat and it just peels right off. This can be seen at the outlets of the bilge pumps to the right.
Someday we will sand and paint it all but not this week.
While the paint crew are fixing the boot stripe tomorrow the mechanic captain will attempting to reinstall the electrical end of the generator. Then we can put her back in the water where she belongs!
So for those of you jealous as you deal with sub freezing temps just remember it is not always hanging out on the beach here in our cruising life!
by miami | Jan 2, 2014
This painting done by Shelly's father, now hangs in Yume. He painted it from a picture taken of our then new puppy Goose and I visiting Hilton Head Island two years ago.
We are back on the boat after driving 1500 miles and sitting in the car for 24 hours. At least it was a nice brand new Charger and we looked like state troopers running down the road!
Our visit to NC was bittersweet as we said goodbye to a wonderful man and father, but got to spend time with family. This is the third painting we have of Wayne's, and it is a very nice way to easily remember him often.
We sneaked this picture in at the service, (selfies are all the rage) after noticing the porcelain baby Jesus in the little manger scene was missing an arm. We thought that was pretty funny and helped amidst all the tears.
This morning we leave this private dock to go back to Riverbend Marina here in Ft Lauderdale. The two major goals are to haul and paint the bottom and boot stripe, and to replace the generator motor mounts, clean up the plumbing and wiring around the motor and bilge and then reinstall the generator.
Both of these are fairly major tasks. We hope to in and out of the yard in less that a week. We reserved a room at the motel 6 withing bicycle distance, and hope the weather stays sunny and warm!
After that we are really ready for some down time and might be heading further south for the keys. After all, isn't that what this is all about?
It was very nice to be back where we sleep with all the hatches and ports open, and the dress of the day is flip flops, shorts and tshirts!
by miami | Dec 29, 2013
It is cold in NC!
Blogging is not easy. If it were not for the readers who reached out to let us know they were readers, we would probably not do this… (Hint, hint)
We had a great time with Ian over the Christmas break, but it came to an end way too soon and events began crowding us again.
Christmas Eve day brought a beautiful calm morning. We took Goose into Peanut Island for a run, and headed back out to the boat with plans to go to the ocean beach on Singer Island. By the time we got there a cold front was beginning to roll in from the NW. A long ago lesson was remembered when we had walked halfway to the beach and begin to notice huge ominous black clouds rolling in. Since it was calm and nice when we left, every hatch and port was left open on Yume. If someone did not shut those and it rained hard, every bed, every settee cushion would be soaking wet.
So back I went, got the dingy and motored out to shut the boat up. Although it ended up not raining I felt much better about leaving this time. The wind had kicked up to 15 knots from the NW and it had become quite choppy in the anchorage.
I found the rest of the family at the beach park. We decided to eat and go on back as it had turned kinda yucky. A nice walk down the beach and back home ended our Palm Beach holiday.
We had been invited to a Christmas Eve party at Kathy and Jeff's house which meant a dingy ride in to be picked up and a dingy ride back in the dark.
In addition, due to previously documented issues with generator and charging problems our batteries were becoming very low, and the refrigeration was not able to keep cold. In the face of a weather forecast of rising winds and dropping temps, we decided to pack it in and find a marina for the night.
Of course finding a marina for dockage 5pm Christmas Eve is not easy! But like other things, the universe watches out for us and we were able to find the lake park municipal marina only a mile into the wind up the bay. By the time we got off the mooring and up to the marina entrance the wind was blowing 25 knots and it was a bit nasty.
The difference between motoring into a cold brisk wind and tied to the dock, plugged into power, with the refrigeration running, hot showers and laundry available made for a very pleasant evening.
We finished getting three loads of laundry into the dryers just in time to find some clothes other than shorts, and to be out on the street for our friend Sue to pick us all up for the party.
The party was loads of fun, with Ian and I having the opportunity to play some music for an appreciative sing along group around a fire! Great food (oh man those shrimp and pot roast sandwiches!), great people and the gift of anchor rode made for a wonderful evening.
It was also really cool to visit with the kids Ian had played with 18 years previously.
Christmas Day we motored before the wind back to Ft Lauderdale to an anchorage for the night. Then up and back on the road again at 9 for the final few miles up the new river again to a private dock on a canal behind a house where a family was kind enough to let us leave Yume safely for a week while we travel to NC for the memorial services.
I jumped on the bike and ran for a bilge pump switch, plus a plug for a shore power connector to make sure we could plug into the house. We got the boat all back together by 4 so we could pick up a rental car (upgraded to a charger!) and go out for a nice final dinner with Ian.
We were off by 830 Friday, dropped Ian at the WPB airport at 10, then drove through to Marion NC to arrive at 9pm.
Lot's of family here and as I write we are getting ready to head to the services then back here to try and make a dent in the food and drink that very kind people have brought.
We will be back on the road early Tuesday, and back on Yume that night.
Next project – haul out and bottom paint and get the repaired generator in the boat.
We would love to get Yume ready for some cruising so a trip to see friends in marathon in the Keys would be a possibility… Stay tuned to hear how that works out.
Everyone have a happy, prosperous and safe New Year!
by miami | Dec 27, 2013
Hello everybody! Ryan here, and today you will be reading my blog post. Recently, we noticed that our anchor only has 100 feet of chain. Which means we can only anchor in 20ft of water. (That's not very deep!) luckily one of my father's friend had 250 ft of anchor line at his disposal. So there we were, sitting around the table with our chain and the line. The gears in our heads were spinning faster and faster. We had to attach the line to the chain. Finally, it struck me like lightning as I stood up and shouted “We shall splice it!” (Everyone claps) Okay, it might not have gone quite like that. It was pretty close to the truth. Now it was up to me to attach this line to the anchor chain via splicing. I began reading the sailor books and watching videos on how to splice. Everysingle piece of information I found made it seem like a baby could do it. Let me tell you… This was a pain in the rear end. I'm not sure if it was the type of rope I had or just my general ignorance with following instruction. After 30 minutes of crying, frustration and sheer devotion I prevailed with the most beautiful splice you could possibly imagine. So the lesson of the day is. Buy a boat that has more than 100 feet of chain.
by miami | Dec 22, 2013
Ian arrived late Friday night. The cabbie was a bit surprised to be told to drop him off at the foot of the bridge!
We picked up the anchor Sat morning and headed the 7 miles north to Peanut Island at the WPB inlet to get some snorkeling in. Bridges made that trip much longer than necessary, but Yume ran well.
There is another small issue. As we have sailed it was clear the foresail, or genoa, which is on a roller furling system (instead of attaching and hauling up the sail) was not operating properly. It was very hard to roll out or in.
This can be dangerous In a strong wind, and leads to broken hardware and torn sails fron too much force used. So we dropped the sail to have a look, and of course found the sail torn at the top or the head of the sail. This repair cannot be put off as it will only get worse and cost more. Of course all the sail repair places are back in Ft Lauderdale!
The sail is now folded and stowed in a bag for sending to the sailmakers. The problem with the furling was insufficient tension on the forestay. When the sail was off it was easy to see poor maintenance and improper setup was easily remedied and could have been ugly…
The boys have all been in the water – snorkeling, jumping off the boat, and cleaning the bottom.
Saturday evening we motored in the dingy to Sailfish Marina to meet up with old friends Kathy and Sue. 19 years ago or so, the three girls shared the joys, trials and tribulations of learning how to be mothers at the same time and became very good friends. The reunion was emotional. The plan is to get together Christmas Eve when all the kids (who have not seen each other since they were three) together… Should be interesting!
As the holidays approach, we want to wish all our friends a very merry Christmas, a very happy New Year and the very best that life can offer. Thanks for your support!
by miami | Dec 19, 2013
We are heading back to West Palm Beach.
After three days in the exact same marina yard where Shelly and I built our first boat Naiad in1989-90, we left just after lunchtime to come back down the New River which runs through downtown Ft Lauderdale and feeds back into the intercostal waterway – our road North to pick up Ian tomorrow night late for Christmas.
Let's back up and get caught up…
Monday we were up early and enjoyed a beautiful morning motor into and through Ft Lauderdale and right on up the New River.
When we were here in the 90's these were considered mega yachts. Now they are everywhere.
There was lots to see going up through town and Goose got all excited every time we got close to someone's yard…
There are four opening bridges, lots of boat traffic, and a railroad bridge so the capt had to be on the radio most of the time praying the engine was not going to quit.
The main reason to come here was to get as close to the generator repair place, and the marina mile where there are tons of businesses to supply the needs of the “yachting capital of the world”.
We were looking for solar panels, parts to fix the engine issues, and drop off the generator.
Calling around we found that Riverbend Marina was the cheaper place to dock (at $68 a night) so we headed that way, racking our brains to remember anyone from long ago that might still be around.
One of the couples we remembered were Vern and Yolanda who had lived a couple of boats down in Riverbend but a google search brought no results.
Pulling in to the very tight spaced boatyard, we were absolutely amazed to find the guy taking our lines was Vern from 24 years ago! He proved to be a godsend, lending a vehicle and his knowledge to help us immensely .
Vern lives in this old sailboat they put us next to while he is working (he commutes to his home in la Paz Mexico!) and he has a black cat that fascinated Goose.
As usual when we dock it's off to the races to get stuff done.
With money pouring down the drain for parts and supplies, we bought a 235 watt solar panel and all the material to mount it, engine parts, and more. (Like $115 for a laser temperature gun to be able to tell exactly what the engine temps are!) The solar panel and mounting will end up at around $750 but the headaches mounting and installing are worth four times that. It is still not finished.
I worked on it all afternoon and into the night to realize I had made some dumb calculation mistake and had to rethink it this morning – and go for more parts on the bicycle. Sometime I get in such a hurry to get done it does me no good at all!
This is me grinding the ss tubes after dark!
We finished up enough by noon to wash down the boat and get off the dock before getting charged for another day.
Time to get back to WPB and be ready for Ian who is flying in at 1045 pm Friday for his first Air Force leave. He will spend Christmas on the boat with us. We will probably go back to ft Lauderdale and look for somewhere to leave the boat while we rent a car and drive to North Carolina for Memorial services for Shelly's Dad who passed on to a better life earlier this week.
That gets us up to date… At anchor just off the intercoastal waterway, with an engine with good alarms, temp gauges that work, and a solar panel mounting but not yet hooked up. And a nice cool 68 degrees with a east breeze off the ocean blowing in the hatch over the bed!
We wish the most happy of holidays to all!
Posted with Blogsy
