The learning process.

June 7^th 2012

Position N 27° 22.225’,

               W 82° 37.075’.

Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL 

Tarpon Fishing

Recently we took a three day trip from our

Marina in Sarasota Bay to Charlotte Harbour and in particular Useppa Island and Cabbage Key. We have been there before several times and know the journey well. I am not an ICW boater and the confinement doesn’t suit me so the transit was made on the ‘outside’ in the Gulf of Mexico. Heading South the weather was beautiful and seas were calm we were able to relax into cruising mode and enjoy the journey. We sat for quite some time on the seat in front of the pilothouse spotting dolphins and hoping they would come to our bow and do their thing jumping and weaving occasionally rolling under the water and cruising just in front of the bow upside down. Sitting there is mesmerizing, watching the gentle rise and fall of the bow is transcending to thinking happy thoughts and making us visualize our future more graphically; we can’t wait to enjoy more cruising days in more unfamiliar waters on our way to new exciting destinations. Arriving in late afternoon we proceeded along the channel leading to the Boca Grande inlet we passed all the tarpon fishing boats going around in circles; just on the north side of the channel is a ‘hole’ and all the boats continually go around and around trolling their lines. The tarpon congregate in the ‘hole’ at certain times of the year and now is one of those times. In fact in just over a week the famous Boca Grande tarpon tournament takes place and the venue will be jammed! A sharp turn to starboard took us along the ICW to Useppa Island where we dropped anchor for the weekend. We were among six other boats, three from the ‘dark side’ and three sailing boats, we were the only trawler. We spent Saturday evening relaxing and being happy that we had a great trip and being away from the dock anchored in an idyllic spot that one can only reach by boat...we felt very lucky. We enjoyed a great dinner together all washed down with some inexpensive but good enough wine, of course after the first glass the wine just got better and better!

On Sunday morning I cooked a full English breakfast with fried eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and toast. Lavinia had coffee and orange juice; I had strong English tea and grapefruit juice. With all this on board we figured that we had enough fuel to last until an early dinner...

Cabbage Key Docks

Cheeseburger in Paradise!

Straight across the ICW channel is Cabbage Key, a charming island famous for its claim that it inspired Jimmy Buffet to write ‘Cheesburger in Paradise’. At about 16:00 we lowered our dinghy and made the trip across. It is a fun experience, the place wus hoppin’ with a wait at the bar and a wait for a table. We didn’t care, we were happy just being there, the atmosphere was great and everybody was friendly and of course they were all boaters as that is the only means of transport enabling one to be there! It was again good to see the walls lined with multiple layers of dollar bills most with a personal message written on them by their original owners. We enjoyed a very pleasant meal with great service all washed down with several coronas. The island has a walking path which we decided to explore, it winds its way through completely natural non manicured landscape passing old Indian burial sites and many unusual indigenous plants which had signs erected on pedestals telling all about them for the uninitiated such as the likes of us. After our trek it was time to board the dinghy for the trip back to the boat. Before heading back we detoured for about half an hour to explore the mangroves that line shoreline, all in all what a wonderful day.

Money everywhere!

Sunday started early, we hauled the anchor at 06:00 and began our trip back to Sarasota. What a change from Saturday and our cruise down, the winds were blowing and the sea was building. The strong west winds were being caused by the presence of tropical storm Beryl which was in the Jacksonville, FL area swirling anticlockwise causing the west winds we were experiencing some 300 miles south. As we travelled west exiting Boca Grande we endured the short seas associated with a west wind accelerating the rising tide which was rushing into Charlotte Harbour; our speed at 1350 rpm normally 6 knots was reduced to 3! The induced pitching was bearable but as soon as we turned north towards Longboat Key pass we received the waves and sloppy seas right onto our beam. I turned on the stabilizers which help enormously but the seas were confused so it was still uncomfortable. With at least 9 hours ahead of us, until we would find calm waters on the inside of Longboat Key pass, we settled in. Lavinia was experiencing these conditions for the first time aboard ‘Partners’ and she realized that she had not prepared her well enough to ensure that no items ‘moved’. Well, we lost two wine glasses and a few other items ‘moved’ but fortunately didn’t break or cause any damage. The learning process continues!

The journey home was a long one although the seas were never rough enough for ‘Partners’ to take water over her bow. A couple of faster boats pounded their way through the seas to overtake us. If the seas had been any larger than the 3 – 6 ft waves we were getting, the faster boats would probably be slower than us. We can maintain 6 – 7 knots through almost anything without hull slap or excessive spray. Spray is caused by the spray rails on the bows of most planning or semi displacement boats, and with our wineglass stern we get very little lift from the waves compared to the hard chine on planing and semi-displacement hulls, thus eliminating hull slap. The downside, if it bothers anyone, is the inability to go any faster; our theoretical top speed is approximately 8.4 (Waterline length, 39’ 6” *sqrt*1.34). The big upside is the fuel consumption which at 6 knots is 1 - 1.4 gals per hour depending on sea conditions.

The list of items that we would like to add or do to ‘Partner’ before we start cruising has grown; some new canvas, a new dinghy, a redundant autopilot, AIS and a paint job! The promise that we made to ourselves that any expenditure made on ‘Partners’ would be from income, as opposed to tapping into our retirement funds, is holding and therefore we have decided to delay our departure to places unknown for at least six months. I spoke to our friend Larry whose slip we are renting and received the okay to the extension. Lavinia is going to use the time to take a navigation course which will help her understand the pilot house a little better. Right now she constantly refers to it as ‘your’ pilot house and I keep reminding her that it is all ours! The galley is still hers though, except on Sundays when I cook a full English breakfast.

What are you planning for the weekend?

Marking Time in the Marina and a trip to UK

May 20^th 2012

Position N 27° 22.225’,

               W 82° 37.075’.

Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL 
                                                       

To reiterate the mission here...it is to report on the travels of ‘Partners’, our 42’ Kadey Krogen, the places we visit, our life on board, both good and bad; what it takes to run a boat and, hopefully, to encourage those of you who are already interested in a cruising lifestyle to actually get moving forward with a plan. It is not to ‘sell’ the idea of a cruising life style to those who don't have a basic interest. We want to deliver real information, good and bad, about our lives and travels aboard ‘Partners’. For those who stumble across this blog and are not interested in a dream of cruising and exploring far off places then be encouraged to follow your own dream whatever it may be, do something.

One of the things that many of our friends have asked is “how do you manage the maintenance and repairs on the boat?” Well, I am not a diesel technician, plumber or electrician, I am, however, willing to learn and realize that there will, not might be, an occasion or occasions that require me to wear those hats. The main thing here is not to be affraid to try. Believe it or not the most difficult thing I found is actually getting started with each job. Once you are going the mystery tends to evaporate and one ends up saying to one’s self “that wasn’t so hard”. Another retrospective thought is we are glad that we have given ourselves a year at the dock to prepare and practice. I have added tools and materials to the tool kit and spares collection that if we had just sailed off I wouldn’t initially have had but would have needed. I am not saying that one couldn’t get by with a basic tool kit and the minimum of spares but believe you me, a comprehensive tool selection and a few speciality ones does make life a lot easier. The bag of plumbing pieces, a selection of hose clamps all make sense to have. The obvious spares such as a fresh water pump and a starter solenoid are easy to remember the windshield wiper blades and spare navigation computer (we use Nobiltec software on a laptop which drives the autopilot and supplies the navigation data to the other instruments) are other items we have accumulated in the last six months. We plan to travel south to Key West, across to the Bahamas and then the Caribbean where getting spare parts and the qualified labour will be more difficult. We want the independence to be self sufficient and not be spending all our time as ‘marina queens’ waiting for a part shipment and having to ‘trust’ an unknown labour force. Doing it one’s self is the way to go, most serious cruisers, both sail and power, share this opinion and are prepared to help each other out. In all ports of call there is radio communication among cruisers and the ‘net’, as it is known, is a daily broadcast usually in the morning when one can listen for the activities of the day that are planned and anyone will have the opportunity to ask for or offer help if it is needed. In other words one can find the labour/help within the cruising community.

All the above said, I can’t tell you the satisfaction that one gets from successfully accomplishing a task or project...it makes you wear that ‘Cheshire Cat’ grin. The Admiral also becomes more confident with the Captain, very important! Not exactly miles under ones belt but may allow the Captain to go and get the miles under his belt, if you know what I mean! You smile but this is the real world...Lavinia had no reason to believe I could perform and execute a home maintenance programme, jump to in an emergency and avert a disaster, she had never seen me do anything other than cut the grass, clean the car and other minor ‘labours of love’. During my full time working life anything and everything required someone else to repair everything, I simple did not have the time or the inclination. The budget afforded it whereas now the budget needs a lot more ‘management’ and besides, the more we have from the budget for the fun things of life the better; this is what our lives are all about nowadays.

Our choice of boat, a Kadey Krogen 42’ walk around, was made based on the sea keeping qualities first and the liveability second. Obviously the ability to carry us to the places we want to go is imperative and to be able to cope with the occasional adverse sea condition important. Equally though to be able to accommodate us and provide the space and layout which fits our lifestyle is a big consideration. Other details that come into play is the range, i.e. fuel capacity, storage capacity for provisions and spares etc., there are other capable and comparable boats to choose from, enjoy the ride, we had so much fun looking at different boats and making our choice, it is very exciting! Nordhavn, Diesel Duck and Selene were all considered. An opportunity will present itself when you are ready and in our case this is what happened. I had a list of desired equipment which included stabilizers and a water maker which not all used boats have and as a retrofit are expensive to add. The Admiral had an affinity to Kadey Krogen, especially the liveability, the president of the company John Gear had gone out of his way to help us and avail his time and services to show us different boats and advise us. All these things convinced us that a Kadey Krogen 42’ was the boat for us. Only buy enough boat for the job, the bigger you go may not be what you need and will cost more to maintain and run. We had made the decision to sell our house and get the ball rolling. A buyer came along for the house and we had made arrangements to rent a small villa until we found the ‘right’ boat. Just before we closed on our house sale what appeared to be the ‘right’ boat came up on Yachtworld. I said to Lavinia this could be the one...her reply was just buy it! (I should explain that we had been looking for well over a year and had seen a couple of boats that met our criteria. We did not get them alas; we were ‘pipped at the post’). I immediately called John Gear and made an offer sight unseen but with the contingency ‘subject to taking a look’ and, of course, a survey. We did minor negotiation and the price was set that day. The next day I jumped into my car and drove 700 miles to New Bern, North Carolina. The rest of the story is history we closed on the boat purchase eight days after the house sale closed. We had disposed of much of our belongings and continued to move into the rented villa as the boat needed some work so would stay in NC until the end of hurricane season which I have written about in previous renditions. We have truly not looked back; both of us love our boat and have completely adjusted to less space and a whole different routine and life style. We are now six months into fulltime live aboard status. I brought the boat from NC to FL during November 2011 and we moved aboard Dec. 1^st. One thing all of you ‘wannabees’ out there will experience when your time comes is a revitalization, a new fresh approach to life. This living on a boat and cruising lifestyle is physically demanding and mentally absorbing, yes, you will lose weight! Both of you! I still work as a realtor and our friends ask “how is work” my reply is “which job” both are full time jobs really. Boating is not for you if your idea of retirement is doing nothing and not having to worry about a thing, in other words vegetate. Cruising and boat ownership is stimulating, it is fun and above all it keeps you interested in life. The thirst for life is actually never quenched as long as you are actually living it! We are in our mid 60’s and are constantly looking forward to future adventures and life ahead not reminiscing our lives and the memories of the past. Don’t get me wrong past experiences and memories are great and make stimulating ‘current’ conversation. It’s where you are having the conversation, with whom and what one actually did that day which presented the opportunity for the conversation...that is life.

May  15^th 2012  

We have just returned from a visit to England where we visited my Mother, Brother and many friends; I emigrated from UK some 31 years ago. The trip was really to say ‘good bye’ to everyone as once we head south at the end of the year and begin cruising full time it will be more difficult to leave the boat for long periods and fly off to destinations afar. My Mother will be 90 this year and each visit is precious as time does run out! We were reminded that Britain is great, the food, often maligned, was wonderful. Many of the pubs are now gastronomic havens and offer much variety. The public transport everywhere is second to none. The downside is the cost and the weather, cold rainy and everything, except the food in the grocery stores, where the selection is phenomenal compared to the US, was expensive. Lavinia’s sister and brother-in-law flew over from Switzerland, where they live, to their club ‘The Sloane Club’ in Lower Sloane Street for our last weekend and entertained us as their guest. The Club is beautiful and very centrally located. We saw ‘Top Hat’ at the Aldwych Theatre, and the show was fabulous. We had dinner afterwards at the Wolseley Café & Brassiere in St. James’ Piccadilly, very elegant. We did indulge ourselves one more day and on Sunday had a full English breakfast, a cream tea in the afternoon and a scrumptious Indian meal in the evening. During the day we did manage to visit the Tate Modern and The National Portrait Gallery museums, busy busy. Our visit was too short of course although successful and special but we are glad to be back onboard ‘Partners’ in the warmth of the Florida sunshine. Oh and watch out Starbucks! There is a chain of coffee shops with the same business model as Starbucks called Costa Coffee which in our opinion serves better coffee.

The two Sisters!

Today I had a visit from Tex who was on a trip to his future home which he and his wife bought recently here on Longboat Key, yes Tex from Key Biscayne, owner of Manatee ‘Bucky’. His wife Eva was not with him on this visit as she was the last time. We spent some time on board ‘Partners’ chatting and talking boats...

In the marina this morning I saw some enormous tarpon breaking the surface of the water, in fact making it boil, presumably chasing the plentiful mullet satisfying their breakfast appetite. I had no idea that such big ones were visitors to the marina.

A Weekend in the Life...

April 5^th 2012

Position N 27° 22.225’,

               W 82° 37.075’.

Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL 

Last weekend Lavinia and I carried out another excursion away from the dock, this time we wanted to make sure that I could, single handed, leave the dock and return. Lavinia will eventually do the same so that if either of us is incapacitated in any way the other will be able to step into the breach and sail ‘Partner’ single handed. The weather was a little overcast on Saturday morning when we left the marina at 07:20 but it was not windy and the chance of rain was minimal according to the forecast. Seas were forecast to be 2–4ft which ‘Partners’ handles just fine. My plan was to cruise to Tampa Bay and to St. Petersburg and then spend Saturday night anchored off the East side of Egmont Key returning to Sarasota on Sunday afternoon.  

I was able to leave the slip without any problem and we sailed north through Sarasota Bay towards Longboat Key Pass Bridge which would lead us out to the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the whole trip I was teaching the Admiral the ‘ropes’; explaining every course change and or decision being made in the pilothouse, how to use all the instruments and equipment, not in fine detail at this stage but more a general overview, the fine tuning will come as we put miles under the keel. The goal here is to have two fully capable boat handlers and navigators on board. Once in the Gulf we headed north towards the channel, south of Egmont Key, leading into Tampa bay. After heading SW clearing the sand bar which sweeps in an arc SW from the north side of the pass, I steered ‘Partner’ NW to approximately 30’ of water. We would stay in these depths all the way to Tampa Bay. 'Partners' performed flawlessly as we approached and passed under the Skyway Bridge at around midday. The skies began to look ominous and it seemed that we were in position to be amongst the 30% that the weather forecaster warned would receive some rain. Actually the right place at the right time, it is always nice to get the boat wet and give her a fresh water wash down, for the next hour it rained and ‘Partners’ bathed in a nice steady refreshing rain. We continued to follow the marked channel north to the St. Pete pier using the radar and electronic chart to monitor our progress in the greatly reduced visibility. We were just cruising and St. Pete would not be a destination; when we were off the pier and could see the well filled marina at the Vinoy Hotel we turned and started our way back across the Bay. The Vinoy is a famous St. Petersburg Hotel and I have taken some information from Wikipedia for those who may be interested: -  

The Vinoy was built in 1925 by Aymer Vinoy Laughner. Construction began on February 5 and took 10 months to complete. The hotel was a seasonal hotel open from around December to March. Rates were $20.00 a night, the highest in the area at that time. The hotel was a popular destination for celebrities ranging from Babe Ruth, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and James Stewart. During World War II the hotel was taken over by the U.S. Army and used for a training school. The hotel was sold to Charles Alberding after the war for $700,000. The hotel continued to prosper for the next couple decades. In 1974 the Vinoy closed its doors and sold most of its contents. The hotel became a haven for vagrants until the early 1990s when it was bought by a partnership between Renaissance Hotels and Resorts and the Vinoy Development Corporation. A $93-million renovation was undertaken, and in two years the Vinoy reopened as an almost perfect replica of its former self. In 2005, the Vinoy earned AAA Four-Diamond status. Over the years, there have been numerous reports of allegedly supernatural events occurring at the hotel, especially from visiting major league baseball players and staff, who often stay at the Vinoy when in town to play the Tampa Bay Rays.
  

On previous visits to St. Petersburg in our last boat we frequently anchored in the protected and walled anchorage to the south of the Vinoy Hotel Marina. It is well protected although the holding is not good, the bottom here is soft mud and in a blow it is likely that one may drag the anchor. We did, in a squall once and just managed to start the engine and save ourselves from making contact with the harbour wall! This has not and will not deter us from another visit. The anchorage is popular and the number of boats restricts the amount of scope one can use so in future if the harbour is crowded we would probably opt to anchor off the north side of the pier which is in protected water anyway and would only add 10 extra minutes to the dinghy ride. The advantage of the Vinoy anchorages is that it is very close to the town and one can walk to a variety of shops and restaurants. 

The rain passed and the sun reappeared as we passed west under the Skyway on our way to Egmont and our anchorage for the night. By 18:00 engine off and we were anchored in 12’ of beautiful clear water. To anyone who is reading this and perhaps planning a trip to this area, one word of warning, Egmont is a bird sanctuary/roost, at least at the moment; I say this as the last time we made this trip the birds were somewhere else? The noise of birds squabbling over the best roosting perch is rather loud at times. As with most noise one does become accustomed to it however, we were no exception on this occasion. Dinner was served outside on our back deck and we became oblivious to the birds and their dusk chorus.

Where did you have your Sunday breakfast?

We ate breakfast shortly after sunrise at 07:30, what a sight; we watched the sun draped in colours of gold, orange and red slowly rising behind the silhouette of the Skyway Bridge, a pretty impressive way to start our Sunday. To boaters sunrises and sunsets never lose their fascination. The event is almost captivating and one is compelled to set aside the time to be fascinated over and over again. We find ourselves hurrying to complete whatever we happen to be doing to be ready for the sunset; it is the significant ‘period’ to the end of the day and the beginning of relaxing evening life aboard...sunrises are equally welcomed, after a long black night cruising, to have light is welcome and eagerly awaited so one can, again, be able to see. At night in a moderate to rough seaway waves are sensed not seen it is difficult to know the size etc., in daylight they can be seen and anticipated, get the picture?

After breakfast on Sunday I decided to make water with our water maker, only to find that the feed pump, which primes the system, did not work. It’s a boat right! That task shelved and another job added to the list, my mind redirected to other things.   

We hauled the anchor at 12:00 and headed out towards the Gulf retracing our steps back to Sarasota and the reality of our working lives; ah! ha! though, soon to end however! Full time cruising looms...

Settling in

March 25^th 2012

Position N 27° 22.225’,

               W 82° 37.075’.

Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL 

Courtesy of my friend Bill

We’re settling in and have found a routine that seems to work onboard. Lavinia has become used to the galley and preparing a meal is less of a concern now. She has become used to her morning climb and acrobatic session to make the bed. I am getting to know ‘Partners’ well as I continue to be ‘suspicious’ of every system and check and listen constantly for malfunctions; boats make noises! Most of the noises I have become familiar with, the water pump going on from time to time pressurizing the expansion tank which keeps the water flow at a constant stream, every now and then it will go on for apparently no reason, bothersome; the refrigerator and freezer cycling, in a home one pays little or no attention to these sounds but on a boat it is just different. Management of the electrical and water systems are paramount and ensuring they work properly is a key factor in keeping the crew, especially the Admiral, happy. Happy Admiral happy me! Electricity, we have both DC and AC unlike a house, and water, these two resources are of great importance. In a home ashore one takes both for granted and they are unlimited, on a boat, in our case anyway, we can get water and electricity from shore via a hose and cable but that, of course, is only when we are in a marina. While away from shore we can make our water at the rate of 25 gals per hour with a reverse osmosis water maker which requires electricity to power it and electricity is made from an 8kw generator we have aboard. The electricity we generate is either used directly or is stored in large D8 gel filled batteries. We also have an inverter on board which will convert 12v DC battery power to 110v AC. We can run a microwave, toaster oven, computer and all 110v lights with its power. The air conditioning requires the generator to be running though. All resource on board including the third important one, diesel fuel, unlike the home ashore, do run out! Our 260 gallon water tanks lasts approximately a week but that is not being particularly frugal with its use, we are in a marina where the water is steps away at the turn of a tap. We are also washing many more clothes than we would be doing once we are retired and not having to care for work clothes. The washing machine is the single biggest user of water. Our usable amps of 12v DC battery power are 300, half the house bank capacity. We have three other separate banks for the power to the bow thrusters, engine start and generator start. In basic language this means we need to generate power every day while at anchor. In the interest of economics we will be making water every day while we make electricity and anticipate 3 - 4 hours of generator time per day which will use approx 1½ - 2 gals of diesel fuel. So, as you can see, everything requires thought, management and planning every day 24/7. We own our own utility company!    

We have entertained aboard successfully and have taken Lavinia for her maiden voyage on ‘Partners’. We left the dock last Friday evening without a hitch, YT at the helm and Lavinia handling the lines, and spent the night anchored in the NE corner of Sarasota Bay. So peaceful...we drank a toast to the first time ‘Partners’ had been piloted by the two of us and with the city lights in view, had a wonderful and happy evening. On Saturday we took a short cruise the length of Sarasota Bay, under the Ringling Causeway Bridge, to Marina Jack Marina where we saw another Kadey Krogen 42 like ours called ‘Mon Amie’, the Captain saw us and waived as we passed by, there is a lot of camaraderie among owners of the same brand of boat, not to mention cruisers and sailors in general. The boats owners tend to be similar in so much as they all share the spirit of adventure common to the cruising/sailing lifestyle, are independent, a necessity when miles from anywhere in a remote part of the globe, very comfortable with their own company (spend lots of time with only your Admiral) and by and large are pretty interesting people. We also all help each other. Boating and cruising is all about the places one visits and the people one meets, the adventure is in the unknown, the challenges in foreign lands and the best that it tends to bring out of oneself. The self sufficiency and satisfaction gained from ‘making it’ on one’s own is enormous to a cruiser; we can’t wait to get started full time.

This independent lifestyle takes much management and planning, obviously the trip planning and navigation is a given but not only that, it requires a good provision person in the food department, no mean task, an enormous stock of spares, not only for the mechanical equipment i.e. the engine and the generator but for all of the ships systems; you are on your own out there so you had better be prepared. I have just learnt how to use a multimeter (never needed one before, always called the electrician) to help diagnose the electrical issues that could occur along the way; things like this which, on land one might call the electrician for, are your own responsibility at sea and if one can’t fix the problem oneself then it stays unfixed. I am sure you get the picture. I, by no means, am capable in all departments (yet) but do have willingness and the confidence to become proficient. Only the other day I had to become a ‘plumber’ and repair a slow leak under the galley sink. In fact after completion of so many of these small but frequent jobs one realizes that the confidence to attempt the fix is most of it as the jobs themselves aren’t that difficult.

We had dinner al fresco on our back deck with candles flickering in the light breeze, a little wine and some great cheese; it doesn’t get much better than this...simply wonderful. Where did you have dinner last night?

We love our boat and talk constantly about the freedom we will have to go where we want. Just the other day the Admiral was talking about and remembering that while on vacation it is not uncommon to say “oh I wish I had brought this or that”, well not any more, we have all our worldly possessions with us at all times! By the way neither of us have any remorse about getting rid of so many of our belongings and we still remark about feeling so ‘free’ not having all those trappings to worry about, clean and generally take care of. Neither of us misses anything really,  remarkable. 

I hope that as we begin the ‘Travels of Partners’ and write more about the people and places we encounter more of you who read this drivel will become enamoured with the idea of the cruising lifestyle and start your own plans toward a life of independents and boat ownership.

Just before I launch this blog entry to the internet here is another sight I experienced just a few minutes ago. A Manatee, I was just able to catch the tail as he or she dived below to do some more grazing no doubt. There is always something going on.

Cheers for now...

Beautiful

Some of the sights we see...a simple thing like this school of dolphin playing in our bow wake is an almost daily occurrence and is our entertainment. These beautiful creatures never get boring.

Filmed 50 nautical miles off South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean, mid November 2011. The ocean was flat calm without a ripple and was one of those days when we were reminded of why we like to be at sea, just terrific.

Ongoing preparation...

February 27^th 2012

Position N 27° 22.225’,

               W 82° 37.075’.

Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL  

Sub Zero Freezer 

Our original idea about buying ‘Partners’ at least a year before we would be starting to cruise was, in retrospect, rather wise. The intention was to prepare the boat and ourselves by allowing at least a year; we thought that would be enough. ‘Partners’ is a boat and that means, although she is in good shape, that ‘things’ need fixing and money needs spending. As you have read in previous blogs there have been fixes and repairs. I now have a list of 14...no 15, things to be addressed. Last night #15 manifested itself as the freezer spawned a leak. The leak occurred when I turned on the ice maker; we are having four friends for dinner on Saturday and it would have been nice to have some ice for the libations. I have assumed that there is a loose connection in the water supply line somewhere and of course, as is typical, the whole Sub Zero unit needs to come out to facilitate just a look at the source of the water never mind the repair. I can’t do this job by myself! Moving the freezer is a job as it is installed waist high and will need lifting and sliding laterally and then down to the sole (floor) in a very confined space. I am hoping FOJ will be able to help me; he is presently in Puerto Rico on vacation, so...no ice and #15 is now added to the list. It seems that the list is growing rather than shrinking and it is apparent that there will always be a list. The admiral and I are resolved to the fact that we will be sailing with a list. 

Have you ever tried to insert a reducer into sanitation hose, probably not?!

Under the sink!

I have not encountered the need either. Boat are notorious about keeping one on ones toes; I decided to ‘look’ at the faucet in the main bathroom which had been weeping, of course I am on my hands and knees with my head and shoulders buried in a locker under the sink, as I looked at the faucet my peripheral vision caught sight of a tell tale water drip glistening in the light from my flashlight uh, oh! The head inflow and discharge pipes are all in this space. I am sure everyone, certainly every boater, is far from enthusiastic about working on the sewage system. I have been lucky over the years with three previous trawler yachts and have not had to work on the sanitation system. One lives in hope that all leaks can be fixed by tightening the requisite hose clamps (everything is double clamped for safety). Some can be and I have succeeded on several occasions in  topping a ‘drip’ or two. When this does happen daily subsequent checks ensue as there is always some disbelief attached to a ‘get lucky’ repair, it takes several days of checks to have confidence in the fix. Off I went, climbing the steps to the pilot house (I keep my tools in a locker there), in search of the right size screw driver to try the ‘tighten it’ fix. Very quickly it was apparent that I would have to replace the reducer that connected two different sized hoses. After undoing the four hose clamps I attempted to remove the reducer, not easy...the hose itself is tough and the hose clamp had indented the inside hose circumference to the shape of the grooves on the reducer. Fortunately I have a heat gun and this came in useful to just ‘warm’ the hose enough to be able to ‘work’ the reducer free. I had to apply the same procedure to both hoses; even so I had to exert all my strength to get the reducer free. For those of you who, in the future, may have to do this repair don’t bother with Home depot. I couldn’t believe it but they did not have anything remotely like the reducer I needed, so off we set again to West Marine. Low and behold a whole rack of them! Upon trying to insert the new reducer I had the same problem getting it into the hoses as removal of the old one, again the heat gun help the situation and made life a little easier on the hands which were bruised from applying pressure to the end of the reducer pushing it in. In no time the job was finished and...The toilet didn’t work! While doing the job I discovered that I had loosened one of the spade connectors connecting the macerator toilet pump to the ‘juice’. All is well! Oh yes! where was I, the faucet, that will have to wait for another day...

Yard work, mowing the grass, edging, weeding - versus - boat washing! I don’t know but I think it is about the same! I thought that the boat would be easier and quicker? Most of last Sunday was boat cleaning day and Lavinia and I gave ‘Partners’ a birthday! Now it is evident that she needs a coat of wax and the stainless steel railing needs a polish, so that’s the next job, phew! Of course all these chores are labours of love as was the yard work, when we had a house; we now admire the fruits of our labour from the dock instead of walking the around the garden.

On going preparation...

February 4^th 2012

Position N 27° 22.225’.

               W 82° 37.075’.

Longboat Key Club Moorings, FL 

Over the past few weeks we have been concentrating on thinning out our clothes inventory, unwanted kitchen hardware and the mountains of photographs that we have begun to scan into our computers. We invested in one of those mini coffee and tea motel/hotel machines as the lack of counter space makes it difficult to use full size appliances and the storage of same is just as difficult. The little machine, basically a water boiler, has a footprint the size of two mugs, weighs virtually nothing and therefore creates no kinetic energy to cause it to become a missile in a seaway. In other words, although a simple example, we are visualizing our cruising life style and really trying to prepare the boat accordingly. All items either have to be stowable or screwed down, the last thing one wants in a situation where the boat lurches in a wave or wake is to have loose items start crashing and breaking around the boat. In a small craft which is moving violently in bad sea conditions it is imperative to negate the necessity of having to move around the boat clearing up fallen or broken items as these are occasions when injury can happen. We have special extendable bars that secure all refrigerator and freezer contents to avoid movement and spillage within. Attention to detail in all areas of the boat is important. 

On the outside I checked that all antenna mountings and their braces were secure and tight, again having an antenna crash down and perhaps causing the lack of ability to transmit on either the SSB or VHF radios could be disastrous. The foredeck, which in rough weather has the potential to take on water, means that the anchors and any other gear that may be there have to be secure.  I use an anchor line tensioner (Pictured below). This little gismo is mounted on deck or anchor pulpit in line with the shank of the anchor. On most anchors there is a place where one can secure a small but strong line, run the line back to the tensioner and rig it to where the line is tight with the tensioner open. When closed the line will be taught and the anchor tightly pulled into its stowed position, an easy to use and useful gadget.  

 

http://greatlakesskipper.com/product/5_261-boat-deck-and-docking-hardware-anchor-chains-and-tensioners/10678--custom-stainless-steel-boat-anchor-line-hook-tensioner.html

I make no apology for the ensuing Dremel ad...In the forward part of the companionway leading forward to the forward master cabin there is an inspection hatch in the parquet floor A Ring Pull Handle is provided to lift the hatch up. The ring was broken and was dangerous for bare feet! I bought a replacement at West Marine. It looked the same but needless to say it didn’t quite fit. This is a very good reason to own a Dremel tool. The Dremel allowed me to carefully rout out the recessed area so that the look-a-like would fit. Sounds like an easy job but with screw holes and the beautiful finish of the parquet to protect patience was needed to accomplish the task. The Dremel was invaluable. 

Generally speaking I think Lavinia and I have done well with settling into ‘Partners’, she is our home, the only one we have. We are getting to know her and are adjusting to the many different things and routines she requires. Her water capacity is 260 US gals; we do have a tank tender gauge to check the amount of water left in the tanks at any time. We have got into the routine now of checking the tank tender before doing laundry which is an automatic machine and therefore draws water as it needs it during the wash cycle. Problem, it doesn’t know when there isn’t any water in the tank! Yes, this happened and the water pump continued to try and find water for quite some time! I was not on the boat at the time and the Admiral didn’t notice the ‘whirring’ of the water pump in the background. Needless to say the pump didn’t like being dry and now, although it still works, it has different sounds and characteristics. I went into the engine room to write all the information down from the pump label, model # etc., so I can get a rebuild kit. The pump we use is a ShurFlo and a new pump head assembly which includes the diaphragm and pressure switch cost $85. Not a difficult job but one which could easily be avoided by checking. No blame here just education about our new home and the precautions we both need to be aware of on a daily basis. While we are at the dock we use water at will and the 260 US gals lasts us about a week. When we are cruising and not having to wash our work clothes and maintain a dirt dwellers lifestyle the transition to the cruising lifestyle of bathing suites and T-shirts should enable us to stretch this to 14 days. All the more reason to have a daily check list, it is so easy to forget.
  

Sitting here at the dock we are not using any diesel fuel so it is important to polish the diesel in our tanks to ensure that there is no sludge and algae in it. Our polishing pump can process 50 gals of fuel and hour, so with our 600 gal capacity it takes six hours to run the total through the Racor filter. I generally don’t do this all in one session but do it on a daily basis for a couple of hours. Any cruiser knows that the biggest problem with a diesel engine is the fuel. Contaminated or dirty fuel is the sole biggest reason for engine failure, just another little routine job. ‘Partners’ received new aluminium fuel tanks in 2010 install by Sailcraft Service, Oriental, NC and with that installation came a brand new, easy to understand and use fuel manifold setup. It is very accessible in the engine room and takes only a few minutes to set up for the fuel polishing routine. Convenience on a boat is paramount and most reputable experienced boat builders have their layouts down pat. We are number 72 of our model, the 42’ Kadey Krogen so my way of looking at is there have been 72 opportunities to refine the systems and make improvements. Each one built is an improvement on the previous one. Each owner gives feedback to the manufacture, gladly received by the way, and all of the suggestions are considered and some implemented on future builds. The mark gets better and more refined and becomes a better boat, in the process, a more user friendly beast.  Kadey Krogen built 206 42’s before halting production, shortly after the 44’ was introduced, so theoretically the owner of #206 should have the latest and greatest!

January, traditionally our worst winter month is coming to a close. The month has been one of the mildest on record the weather has been beautiful... January does for once 'go out like a lamb'. 

February 3^rd 2012 

The beautiful weather continues...it is the perfect weather for outside ‘jobs’, not too hot and sweaty just warm enough to be able to clad oneself in shorts and T-shit to make working easy. For one reason or another the Davis wind speed and direction indicator have not been showing the correct wind direction. The sending unit is mounted on the Single Sideband antenna and to correct the problem should be a simple matter of rotation. The positioning of the sending unit seemed to defy logic however. The labelling on the display is, of course, relative to the heading of the boat so that had to be taken into consideration. After a considerable work out, up and down, up and down, from the boat deck to the aft deck, up to the pilot house and back again several times, the job is done. As any readers who do not own a boat or do not do their own maintenance may not realize even a small job on a boat is physically demanding. Take teak deck cleaning using a two part chemical cleaner; the first time I did this I was not prepared, one needs knee pads, rubber gloves and something on ones feet. If you spurn this advice you, like me, will end up with raw knees, burnt hands and toes with no skin on the ends! Get the picture...today, without injury because I was prepared, I can stand back and admire the beautiful blond golden colour of the decks. I find that if I clean the decks about every two months, before they completely turn grey, it is a far easier job, much quicker and less expensive (less chemical needed). 

February 7^th 2012 

In the engine room of most small boats, even with great

layouts, to be a contortionist helps! Preparation also minimizes the need to continually get in and out of the ‘holy place’ to retrieve tools, paper towels and materials needed for the job, get it all prepared beforehand. Once in the ‘position’ to do the job one doesn’t want to be having to move much.
The reason for this preamble is our fresh water pump bit the dust. Unfortunately the Admiral, unfamiliar with all the things to check and listen for proceeded to do several loads of washing in the machine and did not check that there was enough water. Most boaters soon become very familiar with the ‘sounds’ of their boat and when a bilge pump or, in this case, the fresh water pump comes on subconsciously they are waiting for it to turn off; well, not the Admiral, she just continued with whatever else there was to putz around with. I was not on board at the time, when I did arrived I immediately heard the pump and noticed the ‘solid’ red light which is the visual tell tale that the pump is engaged. Oh dear...there was no water in the tanks, the washing had used the last drop. The pump should have stopped but there must have been something wrong with the pressure switch. The long and short of the episode was that upon filling the tanks the pump still worked! One thing though, it had a different sound so it was my assumption that the diaphragm had been damaged through running dry for so long. I did have a spare pump in inventory but put off changing it at that point. The saga continues; at eleven o’clock the other evening, teeth cleaning time, no water and no sound, the pump had given up the ghost. The next day Lavinia had to go to work without a shower, not a good start, and my task was to replace the pump without a helper...the beginning of this paragraph pertains! I did prepare, got all the tools, tape, tie wraps and connectors I thought I would need. I lifted three of the ‘two ton’ floor panels in the salon ‘phew’ and moved them to the back deck revealing the ’holy place’ and all her glory. Of course the pump is in an inaccessible spot wouldn’t you know, way over to one side and nowhere to kneel, at least not without making contact with a few sharp hose clamp ends which left their signatures on and below both my knees, should have put the kneepads on! After about an hour and twenty trips out of the engine room because I didn’t prepare well enough, the job was done...sweet music the pump was humming and we could flush the two toilets, yes, you guessed it they are fresh water flush models! This pump sounds different and is quieter so as soon as Lavinia came home I demonstrated the characteristics to ensure she was tuned in! 

This weekend we are planning our first trip on ‘Partners’ together, we thought that we would go to Boca Grande for a long weekend and visit Cabbage Key. We have been a marina queen at the dock here since the end of November and have had no need to stow everything for an open water voyage. So, it is the first test for the Admiral to hone her stowing skills. I too have been going around the boat making sure that nothing will become a ‘missile.’ I have triple checked the engine room as much has been stowed there and it is important that nothing will move and ‘foul’ and engine belt or knock into a wire and disconnect it, you can imagine.
  

February 9^th 2012 

It is now Thursday and the weather forecast it not up to snuff for our fist trip together so it is postponed, sadly. The exercise of making ready to go to sea, however, is still a good one to go through, eventually the boat will always be ‘ready’.  

Reality at the dock...a little techno and some real life accounts.