With the transmission off, we started the engine yesterday- It was smooth as butter. Well... Maybe more like smooth as cracker jacks but it was still good :) We had gone back to the hardware store with a bolt that fit into the holes- They didn't have the size so we took a cab to ACE. for the $30 cab ride and $5 for the bolts, we got away very inexpensively on this fix. This problem could have ruined the fly wheel. It could have ruined the $800 starter. It could have ruined the crank shaft which cost more than an engine to fix. We are very blessed that there was no damage to anything other than the bolts. They had used such soft bolts and didn't use locktite so they just sheered right off. If that happens again, we will have damage to the engine. We bought hard bolts and brett used locktite to hold them in. It shouldn't happen again.
So we are back on schedule!!! We hope to leave Tuesday after this storm passes and make our way to Pensacola, FL. From there, we'll hop to Apalachicola. Whoo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Engine Troubles Not So Bad
Brett found the five bolts that hold the transmission to the fly wheel were all sheered off. Apparantly they were not tight enough and so it banged and banged till it finally weakened the bolts. We are fortunate that having the fly wheel come loose didn't tear up the teeth on it or the starter. Everything looks ok so far! Very happy about that!!!So we are on a bolt-hunt. They are an odd size. But we are so relieved that it could be an inexpensive fix. Brett spent all morning yesterday taking the transmission and fly wheel off. It will be a few days before we find the bolts but we are hoping to have the engine put back together hopefully by TUesday. There is nasty weather coming in tomorrow and Saturday and really bad on Sunday. But we could be back in business next week! WHEW. God takes care of us. 
Last night, as we were sitting in the cockpit, we saw a large cutter coming in. As it slowly made the turn into Turner Marine, we noticed flashing police-like lights. The large vessel was being hip-tied towed by Sea Tow into our marina! They slowly and expertly parked the large sailboat along "the wall" where they had told us to go. We had shouted to them "What's your draft?" so they wouldn't get grounded like we almost did. They said it was only five feet. I hollered to them that we came in with no engine yesterday. They said that they had lost their rudder. NOT A GOOD THING, especially in the MObile Ship Channel at night!! I have never seen a boat towed in and it was so ironic cuz that could have been us the day before. Thursday, February 26, 2009
In Mobile, AL with Engine Trouble
We awoke in a roll of light chop. As the winds increased, we discussed our options. Pensacola was 55 miles East and mostly offshore which meant rough seas for about 10-12 hours. A Norther was to blow through on Sunday. We decided to pull into Dauphin Island Marina. I called them and they said our draft was too deep and that we'd have to go into Mobile Bay. I called the Dog River Marina but it was as expensive as Biloxi so I called around. I found Turner Marine Supply at half the price so we decided to head North 25 miles from the island to Turner Marine Supply on the Dog River in Mobile, AL. Ironically, this was also the marina where a friend of ours has her boat that she wanted us to possibly deliver so we started feeling like maybe it was meant to be that we ended up in Alabama.
While preparing to head out, we discovered the VHF on the fritz. It kept switching back to 16.We edged our way through the shallow bay where we'd anchored on the West side of Dauphin Island. Swinging around the wrong marker, we found ourselves bumping on the ground. Brett expertly swung us back to deeper water and we found the channel. The next hour continued in intensity as I navigated our route to Mobile Ship Channel through a narrow opening between "spoils" (where a dredge for the channel piles the mud along the sides of the channel that was in the channel) After finally reaching Mobile Ship Channel, we kept an eye out for huge, fast-moving tankers. When we turned North down the channel, the huge rollers we'd been slamming into were now on our starboard side and rolling the boat every few seconds. The large rollers were unexpected and proved challenging to move around inside the boat. At this point, the winds were East and we were headed North and could have put up the sails but with the large rollers and intense navigating in the ship channel, we decided to continue motoring.
After awhile, we spotted a Navy ship with escorts of USCG and Alabama Marine Patrol surrounding it. We swung starboard out of the markers and as they got closer, we identified ourselves on channel 16. With no response, the USCG escort drew up to us and in back of us. I waved but the serious crew kept watch on our name and homeport. After determining that a lady with a pink poodle hat was no threat, they continued on with the Navy ship. It was intense- No communication from them at all. I was too scared to even take a picture! LOL.I layed down as Brett continued to steer down the channel.
After a bit, he noticed the engine changing sounds. It got louder and louder. Black smoke started pouring out of the exhaust. After investigating, he couldn't determine the cause. I recommended we switch to the leeward side of the channel so if we lost our engine, we wouldn't drift into the huge tankers bearing down on us. He slowly made his way across the channel. The tanker behind hailed us on channel 16. "THis is....., we are heading North in the Mobile Ship Channel doing 12 knots and you are in the middle of the channel in front of me. What are your intentions?" I responded to him quickly that we were basically getting out of his way. A ship outbound also hailed and confirmed we'd pass him starboard to starboard. We maintained our course slowly on the West side of the markers where there was 15 feet of water and plenty of room away from these huge ships. Brett changed the gears, trying to figure out what the problem was. He discovered it sounded like the transmission not the engine. After a few minutes, the engine seized up. Brett turned it off.
I steered us along the markers as he prepared the genoa sail (foresail) to be set. then we slowly sailed at 2.5 knots down the side of the channel, thankful there was deep enough water before we hit the "spoils".
Tears welled up in both of our eyes. This was not a good thing. A transmission was an expensive fix. It meant almost certain death to our dreams with our low funds...As I cried, I made us sandwiches and juice for lunch. Even Brett's eyes were welling up. The marina was still thirteen miles from where we were and a challenging narrow, shallow channel had to be navigated to get into the river.
Also, as this was happening, our depth sounder decided to stop working as well. When it rains, it pours. We finally reached the channel and quietly made our way down, struggling to find the next markers. The depth sounder had kicked back on luckily. After a couple of mishaps, we actually made it to the bridge. We had been determined that we'd have to call TowBoat US to tow us to the marina but we hadn't grounded yet. I called the marina and got specific directions for reaching the marina from the bridge.
As we neared the bridge, Brett had me drop the genoa sail and we sailed under bare-poles at 1.5 knots under the bridge. Turner Marine was just past the bridge on the right. A fishing boat came up behind us. "Where y'all from?" he asked enthusiastically. We told him and he replied "Welcome to Alabama!!"We told him about our engine. He offered to hip-tie us to his boat and get us in but we declined. The wind was in the perfect direction for us to coast into the marina and sometimes hip-tying to boats can be dangerous. He happily followed us in case we needed him for help. He told us his friend had engine parts at the marina across the river and probably even had a transmission for us. As we slowly made the turn into the marina, a guy on a boat tied to the wall we were passing also offered to help. We told him we were headed to the "wall" and he said we were too deep for it. He pointed to an empty slip and said to try and make that one.
He offered to jump aboard but we were too far away from him. I got ready to fend off the boat next to the empty slip as Brett expertly wound our way between the pilings. Before I knew it, we were fending off and tying up our boat with only a scrape on a piling. We seem to leave blue paint everywhere we go! Amazed, the fishing boat waved good bye to us. The gentleman from the boat walked over with his son to talk to us. He ended up being a worker at the marina. We made our way to the office to register.
Never thought I could park a 37 foot sailboat under sail at a marina! It was crazy! But all went well thanks to Brett's expertise in handling boats under sail. He said he fakes it well but he does know what he's doing. I am so relieved we were able to do it and not have to call TowBoat US.
Brett's abilities continue to amaze me with his natural talent at manuevering boats. He's kept us from grounding imultide of times and steered us out of harms way more than once. I didn't actually do too bad either this time. We had been struggling this last week while in Biloxi but on the water, we made a great team. It was great to succeed at parking Benevolence. She took care of us.
So far Alabama has been extremely friendly and helpful to us and we feel blessed to end up here.
This morning, I am working on the blogs (obviously) and have a mess to clean up inside the boat.
While preparing to head out, we discovered the VHF on the fritz. It kept switching back to 16.We edged our way through the shallow bay where we'd anchored on the West side of Dauphin Island. Swinging around the wrong marker, we found ourselves bumping on the ground. Brett expertly swung us back to deeper water and we found the channel. The next hour continued in intensity as I navigated our route to Mobile Ship Channel through a narrow opening between "spoils" (where a dredge for the channel piles the mud along the sides of the channel that was in the channel) After finally reaching Mobile Ship Channel, we kept an eye out for huge, fast-moving tankers. When we turned North down the channel, the huge rollers we'd been slamming into were now on our starboard side and rolling the boat every few seconds. The large rollers were unexpected and proved challenging to move around inside the boat. At this point, the winds were East and we were headed North and could have put up the sails but with the large rollers and intense navigating in the ship channel, we decided to continue motoring.
After awhile, we spotted a Navy ship with escorts of USCG and Alabama Marine Patrol surrounding it. We swung starboard out of the markers and as they got closer, we identified ourselves on channel 16. With no response, the USCG escort drew up to us and in back of us. I waved but the serious crew kept watch on our name and homeport. After determining that a lady with a pink poodle hat was no threat, they continued on with the Navy ship. It was intense- No communication from them at all. I was too scared to even take a picture! LOL.I layed down as Brett continued to steer down the channel.
After a bit, he noticed the engine changing sounds. It got louder and louder. Black smoke started pouring out of the exhaust. After investigating, he couldn't determine the cause. I recommended we switch to the leeward side of the channel so if we lost our engine, we wouldn't drift into the huge tankers bearing down on us. He slowly made his way across the channel. The tanker behind hailed us on channel 16. "THis is....., we are heading North in the Mobile Ship Channel doing 12 knots and you are in the middle of the channel in front of me. What are your intentions?" I responded to him quickly that we were basically getting out of his way. A ship outbound also hailed and confirmed we'd pass him starboard to starboard. We maintained our course slowly on the West side of the markers where there was 15 feet of water and plenty of room away from these huge ships. Brett changed the gears, trying to figure out what the problem was. He discovered it sounded like the transmission not the engine. After a few minutes, the engine seized up. Brett turned it off.
I steered us along the markers as he prepared the genoa sail (foresail) to be set. then we slowly sailed at 2.5 knots down the side of the channel, thankful there was deep enough water before we hit the "spoils".
Tears welled up in both of our eyes. This was not a good thing. A transmission was an expensive fix. It meant almost certain death to our dreams with our low funds...As I cried, I made us sandwiches and juice for lunch. Even Brett's eyes were welling up. The marina was still thirteen miles from where we were and a challenging narrow, shallow channel had to be navigated to get into the river.
Also, as this was happening, our depth sounder decided to stop working as well. When it rains, it pours. We finally reached the channel and quietly made our way down, struggling to find the next markers. The depth sounder had kicked back on luckily. After a couple of mishaps, we actually made it to the bridge. We had been determined that we'd have to call TowBoat US to tow us to the marina but we hadn't grounded yet. I called the marina and got specific directions for reaching the marina from the bridge.
As we neared the bridge, Brett had me drop the genoa sail and we sailed under bare-poles at 1.5 knots under the bridge. Turner Marine was just past the bridge on the right. A fishing boat came up behind us. "Where y'all from?" he asked enthusiastically. We told him and he replied "Welcome to Alabama!!"We told him about our engine. He offered to hip-tie us to his boat and get us in but we declined. The wind was in the perfect direction for us to coast into the marina and sometimes hip-tying to boats can be dangerous. He happily followed us in case we needed him for help. He told us his friend had engine parts at the marina across the river and probably even had a transmission for us. As we slowly made the turn into the marina, a guy on a boat tied to the wall we were passing also offered to help. We told him we were headed to the "wall" and he said we were too deep for it. He pointed to an empty slip and said to try and make that one.
He offered to jump aboard but we were too far away from him. I got ready to fend off the boat next to the empty slip as Brett expertly wound our way between the pilings. Before I knew it, we were fending off and tying up our boat with only a scrape on a piling. We seem to leave blue paint everywhere we go! Amazed, the fishing boat waved good bye to us. The gentleman from the boat walked over with his son to talk to us. He ended up being a worker at the marina. We made our way to the office to register.
Never thought I could park a 37 foot sailboat under sail at a marina! It was crazy! But all went well thanks to Brett's expertise in handling boats under sail. He said he fakes it well but he does know what he's doing. I am so relieved we were able to do it and not have to call TowBoat US.Brett's abilities continue to amaze me with his natural talent at manuevering boats. He's kept us from grounding imultide of times and steered us out of harms way more than once. I didn't actually do too bad either this time. We had been struggling this last week while in Biloxi but on the water, we made a great team. It was great to succeed at parking Benevolence. She took care of us.
So far Alabama has been extremely friendly and helpful to us and we feel blessed to end up here.This morning, I am working on the blogs (obviously) and have a mess to clean up inside the boat.
Brett took the transmission off and discovered that it wasn't the transmission. The bolts used to bolt the transmission to the fly wheel that were installed when the engine had been rebuilt were not the right kind of bolts and had sheered off the fly wheel. He has to take the fly wheel off the engine (yikes!) and see if there was damage to it. The starter could also be damaged from this problem. A real mess we are into....This may be the end for us depending on the extent of damage and cost...
Turner Marine has been wonderful and we feel fortunate to have ended up here.
Please keep us in your prayers as we face this new challenge.
Turner Marine has been wonderful and we feel fortunate to have ended up here.
Please keep us in your prayers as we face this new challenge.
FEB 24TH- Made it to Dauphin Island!
Catching up on the blogs...
We got up at 7am and left by 930am. Immediately leaving the protected harbor, we faced SE winds with chop. As the waves increased as we got closer to the open part of the sound, things started looking "green". With some ginger pills and armbands, I was able to barely put off getting sick. Brett was a trooper and kept watch as the autopilot expertly steered us on our course. We both maintained an eye on the chart on the computer and I made kept him filled with hot coffee. We put our foul weather gear on, it was cold! Benny got sick, even with dramamine, but was fine 
afterward and slept most the rest the way. We were both having flashbacks of our trip on a friend's boat in the Matagorda bay with the boat pounding against the water and the water splashing over the boat into the cockpit. Thank god for Brett's dodger!!!
After several hours, we noticed the seas lighten as we made our way pass barrier islands. Only when there was a break in the islands did it kick up again. It was a long slog but we came out shining. We anchored at Dauphin Island just as it was getting dark. Our new Manson anchor set quickly and held fast. I discovered my side of the vee berth soaked and we discovered a leaking stanchion base. Brett went outside to inspect. We had had a fender (bumper) fall off the deck early on and the force of the water on it throughout the day had pulled the stanchion loose from the base, causing water to pour in. So we have our first Gulf injury on the boat. But all in all, Benevolence performed marveously. She didn't pound near as bad as some boats do (only a few times did I think the keel was going to push up through the floor!). She plowed her way through. 
We got up at 7am and left by 930am. Immediately leaving the protected harbor, we faced SE winds with chop. As the waves increased as we got closer to the open part of the sound, things started looking "green". With some ginger pills and armbands, I was able to barely put off getting sick. Brett was a trooper and kept watch as the autopilot expertly steered us on our course. We both maintained an eye on the chart on the computer and I made kept him filled with hot coffee. We put our foul weather gear on, it was cold! Benny got sick, even with dramamine, but was fine 
afterward and slept most the rest the way. We were both having flashbacks of our trip on a friend's boat in the Matagorda bay with the boat pounding against the water and the water splashing over the boat into the cockpit. Thank god for Brett's dodger!!! 
After several hours, we noticed the seas lighten as we made our way pass barrier islands. Only when there was a break in the islands did it kick up again. It was a long slog but we came out shining. We anchored at Dauphin Island just as it was getting dark. Our new Manson anchor set quickly and held fast. I discovered my side of the vee berth soaked and we discovered a leaking stanchion base. Brett went outside to inspect. We had had a fender (bumper) fall off the deck early on and the force of the water on it throughout the day had pulled the stanchion loose from the base, causing water to pour in. So we have our first Gulf injury on the boat. But all in all, Benevolence performed marveously. She didn't pound near as bad as some boats do (only a few times did I think the keel was going to push up through the floor!). She plowed her way through. 
The auto pilot did most the driving and worked maginficently. We ended up motoring the whole way due to East winds right on our nose the whole day. UGH. But the motor is also working brilliantly, especially with the alternate prop we had on hand. Whew. We had a successful trip and are getting closer to warmer weather and clearer water. Hopefully calmer water too!
Our next stop will be Pensacola.
FEB 23RD- Biloxi, MS
Catching Up On The Blogs....
Saturday night, we strolled part of the man-made white sandy beach. We ate at the Grand Casino's buffet. It was absolutely fanstastic. Brett got to dine on unlimited crab legs! I took the bus yesterday to Walmart again while Brett prepped the boat for offshore.
We've spent the last 4 days in Biloxi, MS. The first three days we had no power but last night a different person watching the marina rented us an adapter. Good thing, it was under freezing last night.
Saturday night, we strolled part of the man-made white sandy beach. We ate at the Grand Casino's buffet. It was absolutely fanstastic. Brett got to dine on unlimited crab legs! I took the bus yesterday to Walmart again while Brett prepped the boat for offshore.
Last night, we walked to the Beau Rivage Casino to eat at their buffet but it was $20.99 each so we detoured to the Waffle House instead. I discovered the laundromat around here was also gone so I tried to do laundry in our shower basin. Not very successful, I dashed to Walmart and picked up a couple more pairs of the cheap, light khaki's on clearance. I also got a couple of long sun-dresses and coverup blouses to wear when we go somewhere half-way nice. Today, we're going to finish up our preparations and head out tomorrow (On Mardi Gras!)
We'll head to Dauphin Island in Alabama to stop and provision before making the trek across the Gulf to somewhere in Florida.
FEB 21ST- Drop Back and Kick
Catching up on blogs...
We started out early to cross the Mississippi Sound to Gulfport. The waters got choppy as the day progressed. After awhile, it calmed down again. I didn't even have a hint of getting seasick during the choppy parts. I made us pancakes about 1000. When nearing Gulfport, I called the marina that the waterway guide said would be there. They told me that they hadn't finished rebuilding yet and that there was no marinas in Gulfport to tie to! I had arranged to have important mail sent to the Post Office there and wasn't sure how'd we get it now. After several frustrating calls that day, I was able to reach Small Craft Harbor in Biloxi, thirteen miles from Gulfport, and get a slip. Many things went wrong yesterday, it was miserable and I am trying to recoup from my bad attitude about it. We ended up here, for 2 nights till the norther passes on Saturday night. This harbor charged us $40 a night and we have no power. They only have 50 amp service and no bathrooms and showers, claiming FEMA is to blame for all of this mess from Katrina, THREE years ago. ok. drop back and kick. We're staying here, under our blankets, and exploring the town. I can already tell we're out of Louisiana.
It only took 2 1/2 hours to get to Rabbit Island from Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell, LA. We had a 1 1/2 knot current that helped drive us down the Rigolets.
Brett pointed out the white sandy beaches as we went to our anchorage. We dropped the new anchor and spent the afternoon making sure we didn't drag and listening carefully to the weather report. There was a railroad right next to the anchorage.
Our friend, Sue, had anchored there before and told us about the old oil platform. It was a great landmark for us to reference to.The sunset was once again beautiful as we sat watching the sun go down. The wind was to be pretty strong for the evening.
I made a cherry pie. Then, for dinner, I put together a casserole on my own without a recipe using the food we had- canned chicken, red potatoes, onions, cream of mushroom and seasonings. It turned out pretty yummy, especially after I topped it with Parmesean Cheese. I have started logging what we eat in a journal with pictures. I noticed you don't read too often about what cruisers eat and I wanted to change that. That night, as the temperature plummeted, Brett got up routinely to check on the anchor. In the morning, we found that we had only drug a small amount. When he pulled up the anchor at 730, there was a ton of mud and grass on it.
We started out early to cross the Mississippi Sound to Gulfport. The waters got choppy as the day progressed. After awhile, it calmed down again. I didn't even have a hint of getting seasick during the choppy parts. I made us pancakes about 1000. When nearing Gulfport, I called the marina that the waterway guide said would be there. They told me that they hadn't finished rebuilding yet and that there was no marinas in Gulfport to tie to! I had arranged to have important mail sent to the Post Office there and wasn't sure how'd we get it now. After several frustrating calls that day, I was able to reach Small Craft Harbor in Biloxi, thirteen miles from Gulfport, and get a slip. Many things went wrong yesterday, it was miserable and I am trying to recoup from my bad attitude about it. We ended up here, for 2 nights till the norther passes on Saturday night. This harbor charged us $40 a night and we have no power. They only have 50 amp service and no bathrooms and showers, claiming FEMA is to blame for all of this mess from Katrina, THREE years ago. ok. drop back and kick. We're staying here, under our blankets, and exploring the town. I can already tell we're out of Louisiana. 
On Sunday, we might sail back to Gulfport (thirteen miles) and anchor out and dinghy to shore so we can get our mail depending on what the post office tells me this morning. Last night, when we were pulling into Biloxi, Brett proudly exclaimed that I had experienced my first time offshore and I didn't even know it. He was very excited for me. It was calmer than the waters we'd exerienced twice in Matagorda Bay and in Vermillion Bay.
We visited the Hard Rock Casino next to us last night. There was tons of signed guitars, shirts, etc of famous singers like Madonna's black bust, lots of Elton John and Beatles things. It was cool. I had a Starbucks coffee for the first time in a month. We blew a little money on penny machines and then ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. Neither of us had eaten there. It was fun. THe food wasn't great but I had a yummy fruit drink.Today we plan to walk to Home Depot and then possibly visit West Marine, Walmart and Hobby Lobby, all on the same road about 5 miles from here.We are making preparations to jump from here clear to Apalachicola, Florida which is an overnight trip offshore. It's about 30 hours from here. There are a few things to get done on the boat but can easily be done the next three days. Being offshore doesn't seem near as scary to me as trying to find a place to pull into a strange city every night and forking out a ton of money to them just to tie up our boat.
FEB 19TH- Heading to Rabbit Island
We spent three nights here at Oak Harbor Marina trying to recoup from this illness. The relaxing helped Brett get over it before he got too bad. I am on my 9th day and still have a bad cough. But we are heading out this morning through the "Rigolets" where we'll anchor on the other side at Rabbit Island. Tomorrow we'll head toward Gulfport, MS where we can gather mail and get marine supplies.We have a cold front moving through so it will be a chilly night at anchorage. But with lots of long johns, blankets and the propane stove, we should be fine.See ya in Gulfport.
FEB 17TH- Splashed!
I made my first banana bread on the boat using a silicone pan. It cooked wonderfully, fast and it turned out pretty good!
We splashed yesterday morning. We are at Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell. We had water come into the boat on our way to the marina. We are not exactly sure what caused all the water to come in - it may have been a loose fitting on the engine exhaust or the bilge pump discharge syphoning water back into the boat due to our transom being so low in the water. We had to manually pump out just over 10 gallons of water from our bilge plus whatever the auto bilge pumped out from the engine room. The auto bilge would have kept the water in the engine room bilge but I had stupidly forgotten to turn the bilge pump back to auto after I switched it to manual. I was glad to experience this while so close to land and on a lake rather than offshore.Brett has caught what I have and we are both sick.
We splashed yesterday morning. We are at Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell. We had water come into the boat on our way to the marina. We are not exactly sure what caused all the water to come in - it may have been a loose fitting on the engine exhaust or the bilge pump discharge syphoning water back into the boat due to our transom being so low in the water. We had to manually pump out just over 10 gallons of water from our bilge plus whatever the auto bilge pumped out from the engine room. The auto bilge would have kept the water in the engine room bilge but I had stupidly forgotten to turn the bilge pump back to auto after I switched it to manual. I was glad to experience this while so close to land and on a lake rather than offshore.Brett has caught what I have and we are both sick. 
We'll be staying here till Thursday (at $50 a night!!) and then we'll hopefully be able to anchor out at Rabbit Island before heading toward Biloxi, MS.
FEB 15TH - Painting the Bottom
Catching up on blogs... 
On Friday, between rain storms, we managed to glass the keel, strut and two thru hulls. I helped Brett cut up the fiberglass and pour resin. I have been very sick these last few days, with a bad cough and fever and haven't been able to help out as much as I'd like but Brett did manage to get the bottom paint on in an hour yesterday, again, in between rain storms. We laughed this morning as the news informed us that New Orleans had a record high of rainfall yesterday. The day we painted the bottom. LOL. Brett also got the new zincs put onto the shaft and the fixed prop mounted. Brett noticed that our boat has been continuing to shift slowly to port in the stands. He 
had added one stand on Friday and the boat shifted its weight to it. We had heard a popping noise Friday night and realized it was the chain holding up the stands under the boat. Alarmed, he and the live-on-premises manager propped two more stands under us. The manager called the travel lift operator yesterday and told him to come in on his day off and reblock us. After several hours, he showed up but said we looked fine and wouldn't fall over and didn't reblock. He said he would reblock us on Monday (his normal work day). Brett told him that we were splashing on Monday. Even though we had lots of extra expenses, the work seemed to go smoothly. I still need to re-paint our homeport on the boat but am waiting till hopefully this afternoon to see if I feel better.We ate at a small Chinese restaurant Friday night that, again, looked scary, but was excellent food. Turns out, all the locals ended up there while we ate.
Last night, for Valentines, we had leftover pork fried rice and eggs, cheesecake and Nyquil. yummy! We are anxious to get back in the water tomorrow and to continue our voyage. We are contemplating skipping New Orleans now, as there seems to be a shortage of transient docks- it sounds like the City Municiple Harbor we stayed at in July is closed. So we may go ahead and head toward the "Rigolets" and anchor at Rabbit Island before heading offshore.I added a link under Our Favorite Links to a photo gallery I joined up with under photo.net. I have been getting very low ratings for my photos but it's nice to get feedback so I know what to improve on. I consider these photographers to be the best of the best. I have our printer up and running and we hope to be able to sell photographs at some point to help us earn money.Oh, I forgot to mention. We gave up my bike in Mandeville... It would not fit under the dinghy and was impossible to sail with it on deck. Benny gratefully accepted the bike, promising to give it a good home. I cried because of the memories on that bike but it was better than just abandoning it at the marina. I hope we are able to find folding bikes soon.
On Friday, between rain storms, we managed to glass the keel, strut and two thru hulls. I helped Brett cut up the fiberglass and pour resin. I have been very sick these last few days, with a bad cough and fever and haven't been able to help out as much as I'd like but Brett did manage to get the bottom paint on in an hour yesterday, again, in between rain storms. We laughed this morning as the news informed us that New Orleans had a record high of rainfall yesterday. The day we painted the bottom. LOL. Brett also got the new zincs put onto the shaft and the fixed prop mounted. Brett noticed that our boat has been continuing to shift slowly to port in the stands. He 
had added one stand on Friday and the boat shifted its weight to it. We had heard a popping noise Friday night and realized it was the chain holding up the stands under the boat. Alarmed, he and the live-on-premises manager propped two more stands under us. The manager called the travel lift operator yesterday and told him to come in on his day off and reblock us. After several hours, he showed up but said we looked fine and wouldn't fall over and didn't reblock. He said he would reblock us on Monday (his normal work day). Brett told him that we were splashing on Monday. Even though we had lots of extra expenses, the work seemed to go smoothly. I still need to re-paint our homeport on the boat but am waiting till hopefully this afternoon to see if I feel better.We ate at a small Chinese restaurant Friday night that, again, looked scary, but was excellent food. Turns out, all the locals ended up there while we ate.
Last night, for Valentines, we had leftover pork fried rice and eggs, cheesecake and Nyquil. yummy! We are anxious to get back in the water tomorrow and to continue our voyage. We are contemplating skipping New Orleans now, as there seems to be a shortage of transient docks- it sounds like the City Municiple Harbor we stayed at in July is closed. So we may go ahead and head toward the "Rigolets" and anchor at Rabbit Island before heading offshore.I added a link under Our Favorite Links to a photo gallery I joined up with under photo.net. I have been getting very low ratings for my photos but it's nice to get feedback so I know what to improve on. I consider these photographers to be the best of the best. I have our printer up and running and we hope to be able to sell photographs at some point to help us earn money.Oh, I forgot to mention. We gave up my bike in Mandeville... It would not fit under the dinghy and was impossible to sail with it on deck. Benny gratefully accepted the bike, promising to give it a good home. I cried because of the memories on that bike but it was better than just abandoning it at the marina. I hope we are able to find folding bikes soon.FEB 13TH - ON THE HARD
Here are blogs I've done the past few days in the website..
Thursday morning, we got up and prepped the boat for travel. We left around 830. The weather was sunny, cold and calm. We backed out and hollered good-bye to Benny on his boat as we passed. After passing the breakwater into Lake Pontchartrain, we spent awhile calibrating the auto pilot's compass. To do this, you have to spin the boat in two-three circles. The wind had come up a bit and it was challenging to make our circles at just the right speed, but Brett expertly gunned the motor at the right times and we calibrated it perfectly. Then we set the rudder limit and our auto pilot was ready to go. Brett let me adjust the
After an hour or two, the wind let up. We were slowly sailing at 1 knot. At that rate, we'd make Slidell at 9pm, so we finally succumbed to the motor at around 1130. We used our new binocculars to find the channel into Bayou Bonfouca. The trip was a complete success and we found ourselves requesting the Bayou Bounfouca bridge to be opened at the haulout yard. As the traffic piled up, the swing bridge slowly opened and we made our way to the travel lift.
Within a half hour, our boat was being hauled out. The bottom looked in EXCELLENT shape. There was very little slime on it and only paint blisters. The keel looked in good shape. The prop was full of barnacles and the zinc was half gone. The travel lift operator hastily power washed the bottom for us and moved us to the DIY yard. They blocked us up. We soon discovered that we'd bought the wrong bottom paint! We ordered two more gallons of the soft sluffing paint and offered our expensive hard-sluffing gallon to the yard for a small price. As they blocked the boat we discovered there were no ladders either! Apparantly, they'd been sued so the ladders disappeared or were locked to other people's boats. After searching around, Brett scrambled up the side that was about ten feet in the air. He tied line to our new swim ladder and attached it to the stanchions. After a struggle, I was able to crawl up the ladder onto the deck.
We spent Wednesday prepping the boat for travel through the lake to Slidell, LA where we were to pull out for painting the bottom and fixing up the prop and misc fiberglass work. In the afternoon, I was able to find a vet to get Benny all his shots and wormed before we left. I had read Tuesday night that Mexico wanted this done a month before we got there so I was fortunate to find a vet that had time. Our new friend, 
Benny, was able to drive me and the cat to the vet. Before we headed to the vet, Benny took Brett and I to lunch at a great restaurant called "Sweet Daddy's BBQ". It was AWESOME food.After the vet visit, we snagged Brett and the three of us drove through Benny's hometown of Abita Springs. He showed us the springs and the old brewery where he bought us shirts and, yes, Abita Springs Beer. LOL. I couldn't believe I was going to have beer on our boat. It was extremely sweet though and we couldn't refuse. We found later, that he had bought us fresh strawberries to go with the beer.After Abita Springs, he drove us to Walmart in Covington where we all joined in with the crazy shoppers and stocked up on groceries. This was definitely the busiest Walmart Brett and I had ever seen. Brett and I split up and we got everything on our list at the same time Benny got his groceries. After Walmart, Benny suggested we stop at Cafe DuMonde. It was my favorite place in Louisiana and we dined on FRESH Beignets and Coffee. YUM!!! It was a great afternoon shared by a great friend who knew the town well.
Benny, was able to drive me and the cat to the vet. Before we headed to the vet, Benny took Brett and I to lunch at a great restaurant called "Sweet Daddy's BBQ". It was AWESOME food.After the vet visit, we snagged Brett and the three of us drove through Benny's hometown of Abita Springs. He showed us the springs and the old brewery where he bought us shirts and, yes, Abita Springs Beer. LOL. I couldn't believe I was going to have beer on our boat. It was extremely sweet though and we couldn't refuse. We found later, that he had bought us fresh strawberries to go with the beer.After Abita Springs, he drove us to Walmart in Covington where we all joined in with the crazy shoppers and stocked up on groceries. This was definitely the busiest Walmart Brett and I had ever seen. Brett and I split up and we got everything on our list at the same time Benny got his groceries. After Walmart, Benny suggested we stop at Cafe DuMonde. It was my favorite place in Louisiana and we dined on FRESH Beignets and Coffee. YUM!!! It was a great afternoon shared by a great friend who knew the town well. 
Thursday morning, we got up and prepped the boat for travel. We left around 830. The weather was sunny, cold and calm. We backed out and hollered good-bye to Benny on his boat as we passed. After passing the breakwater into Lake Pontchartrain, we spent awhile calibrating the auto pilot's compass. To do this, you have to spin the boat in two-three circles. The wind had come up a bit and it was challenging to make our circles at just the right speed, but Brett expertly gunned the motor at the right times and we calibrated it perfectly. Then we set the rudder limit and our auto pilot was ready to go. Brett let me adjust the sails and play 
with the auto pilot. The wind was blowing around 8-12 knots and we made about 3-4 knots of speed with the main. It felt GREAT to be sailing again. It was the perfect speed, with no heeling. We let the auto pilot do a bit of the driving while we played with the sails and made coffee. Benny did great and remembered everything. He did get a little sick as he wasn't used to it the last few months but after he got sick he did a lot better and even came out in the cockpit with us most of the trip.
with the auto pilot. The wind was blowing around 8-12 knots and we made about 3-4 knots of speed with the main. It felt GREAT to be sailing again. It was the perfect speed, with no heeling. We let the auto pilot do a bit of the driving while we played with the sails and made coffee. Benny did great and remembered everything. He did get a little sick as he wasn't used to it the last few months but after he got sick he did a lot better and even came out in the cockpit with us most of the trip. 
After an hour or two, the wind let up. We were slowly sailing at 1 knot. At that rate, we'd make Slidell at 9pm, so we finally succumbed to the motor at around 1130. We used our new binocculars to find the channel into Bayou Bonfouca. The trip was a complete success and we found ourselves requesting the Bayou Bounfouca bridge to be opened at the haulout yard. As the traffic piled up, the swing bridge slowly opened and we made our way to the travel lift. 
Within a half hour, our boat was being hauled out. The bottom looked in EXCELLENT shape. There was very little slime on it and only paint blisters. The keel looked in good shape. The prop was full of barnacles and the zinc was half gone. The travel lift operator hastily power washed the bottom for us and moved us to the DIY yard. They blocked us up. We soon discovered that we'd bought the wrong bottom paint! We ordered two more gallons of the soft sluffing paint and offered our expensive hard-sluffing gallon to the yard for a small price. As they blocked the boat we discovered there were no ladders either! Apparantly, they'd been sued so the ladders disappeared or were locked to other people's boats. After searching around, Brett scrambled up the side that was about ten feet in the air. He tied line to our new swim ladder and attached it to the stanchions. After a struggle, I was able to crawl up the ladder onto the deck. That evening, the travel lift operator offered us a ladder to rent from another boat owner for $5 a day. We gladly accepted. I haven't been off the boat yet, though. :)
We discovered we also needed resin and some supplies. I was going to make my way to the West Marine but discovered they were closed down! We are both anxious to get the boat back in the water. We are ecstatic that the bottom is in as good condition as it is. The bottom paint that Jose had put on it three years ago still held up really well. But the feather prop that we had been using on the engine was extremely loose and was probably the cause of the vibrations we'd been experiencing when motoring. Brett replaced the feather prop for our fixed one in hopes that it would be easier on the new, larger engine.Today, it is stormy- Brett is trying to grind on the hull as I sit inside the boat, sick with a virus. I haven't been sick for months and the day we haul out, I get a nasty virus. ack. We hope to have the bottom painted tomorrow. We are hoping to "splash" the boat (put it back in the water) on Monday.
I have lots of new pictures for you including our table that is FINALLY cut down to fit our boat, our new chart holder, Benny's boat and more.
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