| 12/21/2011 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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I've gone down to the boat with Chris the last two days and we've made good progress. Thank goodness for the electric winch and Chris' 4 to 1 pulley system! I've hoisted Chris up the mast 4 times now, and another trip partway up the mast is scheduled for this afternoon. Chris dropped messenger lines down through the mast and I fished them out through the appropriate holes. What a pain!
Moving around the boat with my recovering foot has been really tough. My balance is still poor and I can't make the large steps down from the sides to the cockpit sole and other places without holding on to take some of my weight. I know it will get easier....
Meanwhile, I'm still doing my physical therapy exercises and walking every morning. I still have a long way to go, but I'll stick with it. [Heather]
Every time I log on to add an update I find the Heather has already added one. So I'm just going to add my own thoughts anyway! We've been pretty productive getting the boat ready, but mostly on leftover projects from last spring. After we refinished the floorboards I decided it was finally time to get them fitted properly over the extra large fuel tank. There were some spots of interference that caused the floor to be about 1/4 inch too high over the tank. Not really noticeable unless you knew what you were looking for. So I got the floor panels all trimmed and fitted and then of course the filler panel in the middle which has to accommodate the tank plumbing had to be adjusted. that's all done at last with only a few trim repairs needed now.
I also got the new hull side slats in the aft cabin installed. Last spring I used Russ' shop to manufacture new ones to make replacements for the 9 slats that were afflicted with a bit of dry rot. I even drilled them so I could use the same crew holes as the original ones, so installation was quick and pretty painless.
A couple of days ago I installed a new injector and new injector pump on our genset. When I went to tighten the bolt on the pump down one of them broke two threads and a fingernail shaped piece of steel out of the block. I hadn't even started to put any pressure bu was just threading it into the block. Naturally when the little chunk broke out it damaged the remaining threads enough so that I couldn't get the bolt in even though there were still 3/4 of an inch of thread remaining. I had to buy a 6mm metric tap and thread it into the hole to repair the threads before I could continue with the installation. Miracle of miracles, it started right up and seems to be running better than ever...and is no longer leaking a pint of diesel per hour!
We also got the hot water boiler primed and started and it even worked enough to make heat. Pretty cool. So far all the projects are coming along.
Now if only we didn't have to fish all the lines through the cabintop we'd be well along. That too will pass. We ended up skipping today's scheduled trip to the boat so we could help Russ pack and make a nice dinner before Russ and Lu drive to Raleigh for Christmas tomorrow. [Chris] |
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| 12/27/2011 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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I've had a day off from the boat today so I could take care of chores around Russ and Lu's house while Chris works on the watermaker. I've gotten a lot done -- haircut and grocery shopping, laundry, and finally getting all our belongings organized and neatly stowed here!
We've made excellent progress on the boat and finally solved the mystery of the missing messenger lines. When we tried to fish the lines through the "birdbath", we kept running up against an obstruction. Finally, Chris cut new access holes into the cabin top and we discovered a nest that some sort of critter had made of all our messenger lines! They were chewed off and tangled into a knot with lots of vegetation mixed in. After a couple more days of work, we finally have all the lines properly run. Now we just have to wait for a day with light wind to get the sails on.
I also worked on replacing all the cable ties that secure our lifeline netting to the deck toerail. Over time, sun weakens the cable ties, so we replace them frequently. Next, we'll work on neatening and organizing the belowdecks area so we can move back aboard after Russ and Lu return from Raleigh. We had a very nice Christmas here at the house, and we thoroughly enjoyed having Christmas decorations and a kitchen for our celebration!
Chris got an updated Kindle (the Kindle Touch) for Christmas and I got the three-volume set of Alton Brown "Good Eats" books. I'm not used to physical books any more, but it was really fun to spend a good part of Christmas Day with my nose stuck in a new book! That's been my favorite occupation nearly every Christmas since I learned how to read. [Heather] |
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| 1/2/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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After a lot of work by Chris and a little bit by me, most of the critical boat projects are done! We both worked on Thursday, then Chris went down by himself on Friday to finish up a few things. Russ and Lu got home from Raleigh about 7 p.m. on Friday and we shared a light dinner of shrimp, yellow rice, and salad.
Russ and Lu returned with Kristin and Chris' two dogs, Shadow and Hazel. Things were a bit crazy with the four dogs (2 curly grrlz and 2 smooth grrlz), but everyone got along well.
Saturday morning, Russ and Lu headed off for a nice day of golf in beautiful weather. Chris and I puttered around the house and worked on a few projects. In the early evening, we had a nice dinner of steaks, potato, sauteed squash and sauteed mushrooms to celebrate New Year's Eve and Russ and Lu's 40th anniversary. Afterwards we went out with Sandy and Pat to see Sherlock Holmes. After the movie, we all came back to Russ and Lu's house where Chris made us some delicious zabalione served over fresh berries. Yum! We were all awake at midnight, but already in bed.
Sunday we helped Lu take down their Christmas decorations, then enjoyed a "lucky" New Year's Dinner of Hoppin' John (black-eyed peas and rice), sauerkraut balls, and Southern biscuits.
Today we left all the grrlz with Russ and Lu while we made a quick trip down to Fort Myers to visit Monta. She looked well and we had a good visit. We planned to try out a new seafood restaurant for lunch, but they are only open for dinner. Instead, we headed to Two Meatballs, a long-time favorite, and had a good lunch. Monta and I both had the fresh pompano special, which was delicious!
Tomorrow we'll be heading down to the boat for a few days. It's now neat enough to be habitable, so it will be nice to avoid the daily commute.... [Heather] |
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| 1/7/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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We didn't get down to the boat until Wednesday this week. There was a hard freeze Tuesday night. Although we would have been fine on the boat, Chris was working on a programming project that was just as easy to do at the house. So, we let inertia take over and opted to stay in the warm house....
We stayed down on the boat Wednesday and Thursday nights, working on projects and making daily trips to West Marine. We got the stove and oven working after a few glitches, and got the dinghy assembled and running, also after a few glitches. Thursday night, we had our friends Jeff and Susan from Ohana over for drinks. It was good to get a chance to visit with them.
We got some bad news that Russ' friend, Bill, will not be able to make the passage to Panama with Chris due to health issues. We're hoping that Jeff may be able to fill in for that leg.
On Friday, we came back up to Palm Harbor for date night. We came in the early afternoon and took advantage of a self-serve dog wash nearby to give the grrlz a bath. In the evening, we went out to a Mexican restaurant then went to see Mission Impossible. No plot, but lots of fun, and even Lu managed to stay awake!
Today we clipped the clean grrlz. Our fuzzy teddy bears are now slim, sleek, velvety dogs who actually have eyes! We finished with them just about the time Russ and Lu finished golf, so we got cleaned up and met them at Molly Goodheads for a late lunch/early dinner. [Heather] |
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| 1/10/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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I'm still using the Palm Harbor designation, even though we are actually down on the boat at the moment! We've been spending weekends in Palm Harbor and weekdays down on the boat. We're still kind of camping out down here. We realized that usually we have all our stuff on the boat and pack an overnight bag to go up to Palm Harbor. This year, most of our stuff is in Palm Harbor and we pack an overnight bag to come down to the boat. Speaks to the weirdness and uncertainty of this year....
On Sunday we had a nice frittata for breakfast for Russ and Lu. Chris pretty much spent all day in the kitchen. After breakfast, he made poultry stock with the accumulated carcasses in the freezer. Then he made delicious minestrone soup and walnut bread. Lu made a great chocolate mousse for dessert.
A little before 1 p.m., Kristin and Chris arrived from Jacksonville to stay for a couple of days and pick up Shadow and Hazel. We all enjoyed the delicious food that Chris had made, along with Lu's yummy chocolate mousse. In the late afternoon, we headed down to the boat so Kristin and Chris could stay in Russ and Lu's guest room.
On Monday, we had an appointment for Minnow with the local ophthalmologist, even though her eyes are looking much better. On Friday, we had called Dr. Williams who suggested increasing her anti-inflammatory drops. Dr. Stengard, the local vet, suggested a number of treatments to deal with the current inflammation, as well as hopefully address the long-standing chronic eye infections Minnow has had. She'll go back for a recheck on Thursday.
Other than trips to the vet, it's been a quiet week on the boat. Chris is working on the IALEP website while waiting for various boat parts to arrive. We'll head back up to Palm Harbor on Thursday after Minnow's appointment, and Chris will fly out to Long Beach on Friday for a required U.S. Sailing recertification. [Heather]
My plans for the delivery of the boat to Panama and on to Mexico are on hold again. Unfortunately, Bill, who was planning on making the passage got word that his tongue cancer treatment is going to be more involved and more debilitating than he though. He's had to drop out of the trip. I have been trying to talk another cruiser friend of ours here in St. Pete to make the trip, but he has work commitments until mid-March which is later than I'd like to start. Humbug! I continue to search for an experienced sailor to join the trip, at least as far as Panama. I have a few referrals around here that I need to follow up on.
I got the parts for the watermaker that I ordered last week. Unfortunately they were not as described when I talked to the factory and I am now waiting for the parts I actually needed. They should be in tonight so I have to decide it I want to drive to Palm Harbor and back to pick them up so I can finish that job. [Chris] |
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| 1/12/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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One of this year's major projects has been working on the watermaker. After 9 years of service it was time to change the reverse osmosis membranes. The actual replacement of the membranes is quite easy, the devil is in the disassembly required to get to them! In our installation one has to completely remove all the parts mounted on the frame and disassemble the frame in order to get to the inlet end of on of the membrane pressure tubes. Managed that and the reassembly with relative ease. Fired her up and got more and better water than we've made in a couple of years. So far so good...I to clean the diversion valve and managed to crack the base when I was trying to align a fitting that had bottomed out in its connection.
I have wanted to update the system with the current flow sensor and manifold for a while. I called Spectra and discussed what I wanted to do and they shipped out the parts needed. Except that the technician I talked to didn't realize that they were not sending me everything I needed...no manifold. So another call and another shipment and another 5 days to get the manifold.
Spent yesterday fitting the new manifold and making the required plumbing and electrical changes and making the required trip to the store for plumbing parts. Got everything running and was making good water, but that troublesome diversion valve that started the whole odyssey wouldn't work! This morning I disassembled the manifold and valve for the umpteenth time and carefully cleaned it again. Now except for a small leak in that same pesky diversion valve the system is ticking along making about 17 gallons per hour of great water. Now about that leak... [Chris] |
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| 1/15/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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Dateline - Long Beach, California
I've left the location in Palm Harbor since that is where Heather still is, but I'm in Long Beach. I flew out on Friday to catch the last day of the US Sailing NSPS (National Sailing Programs Symposium) and a day of Instructor Trainer recertification.
Despite only having gotten to attend one day of the symposium I picked up lots of valuable information and several important ideas to take back to Ipswich. Today's IT "restart" covered the new materials for instructor training and provided a great opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced and knowledgable ITs. Lots of fun and very worthwhile. So a good weekend all in all. Tomorrow I'll make the long flights back to St. Pete leaving Long Beach a little after noon and arriving in Tampa at about 10pm. Another long day but it will be good to be home! [Chris} |
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| 1/16/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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I've had a busy few days while Chris was in Long Beach. After I dropped him at the airport on Friday morning, I ran errands, picking up a few important items for the boat. Then Friday night, I went out with Russ and Lu, Sandy and Pat for the usual dinner and a movie. The movie was "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Chris and I saw the Swedish version, which I liked better. The American version was not quite as brutal, but equally disturbing.
On Saturday, Russ played golf but Lu stayed home due to the cold (chilly and blustery all day....). We went shopping and Lu got a new Crock-Pot using a Christmas gift card. We also went to Barnes and Noble where I was able to find a few things I needed.
In the afternoon, we met the golfers up at Rusty Bellies for a late lunch/early dinner. I had a really good grouper souvlaki. On the way home, Russ got a call from one of his customers offering him four club-level tickets to Sunday's NHL game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins!
Sunday morning, we put a huge pork butt in the slow cooker for pulled pork, then headed out for a late breakfast/early lunch. Then we headed over to Tampa for the hockey game. It was great fun, even though the Lightning lost. They actually had a great first five minutes of the 3rd period when they scored 3 goals to tie the game. Unfortunately, the Penguins went on to score 3 goals of their own to win.
Our seats were great! The club level seats are on the 200 level and very comfortable. Our seats were right on the blue line, so we had a wonderful view. I used to follow hockey a lot, so it was fun to go to a pro game.
When we returned home, the grrlz were indignant and our slow cooker pork smelled wonderful! We enjoyed our supper of BBQ pork sandwiches, coleslaw and baked beans while watching the Packers/Giants game.
Today I've been working on a couple of small projects. Last time we visited Monta, she gave me three Japanese prints that Dad had wanted me to have. They were framed shortly after my parents returned from Japan in 1950, and the backings were in terrible shape. The brown kraft paper backing was brittle, fragile, and ripped. I removed the backing, using a scraper to get off as much of the glued edges as I could. Then I cut new backing of acid-free paper and carefully attached it using strips of double-sided mounting tape. They look great and should be well-protected now.
Tonight I'll pick Chris up at Tampa Airport about 10. I'll take the grrlz with me for company and wait for him in the cell phone lot. [Heather] |
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| 1/23/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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Time to catch up again! I picked up Chris at the airport Monday night with no delays. On Tuesday, we weren't in a rush to get down to the boat because we needed to do laundry and Chris was continuing to work on setting up our new laptop. Ultimately, we decided to stay over until Wednesday morning so we could drop Russ at the airport on our way down to the boat.
Russ made a quick trip up to Detroit to help Nathan get resettled back in the U.S. and to look at some options for remodeling his kitchen. Nathan had an incredibly long list of things he needed to deal with after 3 1/2 years in England, including changing addresses, getting cell phone service, buying a new car, and having rental furniture delivered to use until his belongings arrive in a couple of months.
We spent a couple of days down on the boat, picking away at small chores, but the boat is pretty much ready to go. I haven't started provisioning or pre-cooking until Chris' crew details get firmed up.
I'm still walking every morning, with increasing distances. In Palm Harbor, I walk around Russ and Lu's neighborhood, with its quiet streets, good sidewalks, and level ground. When we're on the boat, I walk on the USF St Pete campus which abuts the marina. It's great to have nice areas for my walks.
We came back up to Palm Harbor on Friday and had our own "date night". Chris and I had a lovely dinner at Bonefish Grille, then went to see Gordon Lightfoot in concert. The concert was great fun, even though the years have not been kind to his voice. Between medical problems and years of abusing his head voice, his voice has gotten thin and strained. He still makes good music though.
Saturday was a quiet day. Chris cooked and I grumbled through a bad headache. On Sunday, I was feeling much better and we had fun watching football championships. Lu picked up Russ at the airport in the mid-afternoon.
Today we made a quick trip down to Fort Myers to visit Monta and take care of a couple of chores. She made us a wonderful homemade pizza and salad for lunch, and we had a nice relaxed visit.
In the morning, we'll head back down to the boat. The good news is that the crew situation is looking up today. It looks like Chris has two firm crew lined up, so now it's time to start provisioning and making final preparations for the passage. He hopes to take off in early to mid-February. Keep your fingers crossed! [Heather] |
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| 1/26/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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Looks like Chris does indeed have two firm crew, Marshall and Patrick. Marshall will arrive in Florida from Juneau on Feb. 13, so the earliest possible departure date is a couple of days after that (or whenever the weather gods allow....). Patrick is Sandy and Pat's son and is dividing his time between his place in Gainesville and Sandy and Pat's house in Palm Harbor.
Chris and I did a couple of initial provisioning runs to Publix (just call me the Queen of BOGO!) and I've got most of the staples stowed away. On Friday, we will do a Costco run on the way up to Palm Harbor. I'm planning to spend the weekend cooking up meals to freeze for the boat.
I forgot to mention in previous entries that we've re-instated our habit of weekly afternoon movies at the downtown multiplex. So far, we've seen "The Descendants", "The Adventures of TinTin", and "The Artist", which were all excellent. The last two were especially enjoyable because we were using midweek movie passes that we got using our ticket stubs from the hockey game! And last Thursday was National Popcorn Day, so in addition to our free movie, we bought a large popcorn for $1. Good cheap fun. Of course, we always get the senior discount. One of the advantages of letting my hair go gray.... Teenage movie workers assume that everyone with gray hair is older than dirt. [Heather] |
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| 2/1/2012 |
Palm Harbor, FL |
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We had a productive weekend up at Palm Harbor. Friday afternoon, we loaded up at Costco then got cleaned up for "Date Night". This week, Patrick joined us along with Sandy and Pat, and Russ and Lu. We had pizza at Gino's followed by "One for the Money". We all enjoyed this playful adaptation of the first Stephanie Plum novel.
On Saturday and Sunday, I made 9 days worth of meals: 2 rigatoni, 2 chili, 2 chicken tetrazzini, and 3 shepard's pie. It was great to be able to do the cooking in Russ and Lu's kitchen, especially using their big fridge to chill then freeze the entrees. Next weekend Chris and I will finish up the pre-cooked entrees. We're planning to make Pork Stew with Lime and Coconut, Beef Stew, and Chile Verde for burritos.
Sunday after I finished cooking, Chris took over the kitchen to make delicious braised short ribs with a sour cherry sauce, along with his yummy mashed potatoes. It's going to be hard going back to my own cooking after Legacy departs!
After next weekend, I think I'll have all the nonperishable and frozen items aboard, leaving only the last minute perishable items to go. We've also run a bunch of errands picking up lots of small items to make the trip easier.
Yesterday we actually went out sailing! What a concept! Patrick joined us for a very pleasant day of sail training out on Tampa Bay. He picked things up very quickly. We also had a good opportunity to put the new main sail through its paces and it did very well. That included testing it close on the wind, which meant that we did a lot of heeling.
My foot is doing pretty well getting me around on the boat, but it's still not ready for life on a heeling boat! I mainly stayed put back by the wheel and let Chris instruct Patrick on the finer points of sailing. [Heather] |
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