Gone Today, Here Tomorrow

by with 3 Comments Boat catBoat workFloridaOn the hardSt. Augustine

Friday February 8, 2012

I think one of the most exciting things of us being here in the yard has just happened. The keel bolt issue has been fixed! Can you believe it? And you were probably sitting there having no idea it was even being worked on. You know why? Because it took less than 48 hours for us to start a conversation with the person who was going to fix it, to having it completed and delivered back to us. Amazing!, right?

Ok, let me back up a little bit. If you’re not familiar with the whole story of the keel issue, this is how it started. We took the keel off back on January 10 only to find out that a few of the bolts had crevice corrosion and would need to be replaced. This bummed us out as it was now one more project to add to our never ending list. What bummed us out even more, is that as soon as we began searching, we could not find a soul anywhere near us to do this kind of repair. And only being a few hundred miles from ‘The Boating Capital of the World’ no less. We thought we were going to have to ship the whole keel up to Canada or Rhode Island to have it repaired as they were the only capable people we came across. Not only would that have taken a lot of time, but it also would have cost a lot of money. So we kept searching, and then came across a guy from California who actually builds keels, and would be able to fly out to Florida to do the job. But after costs kept rising due to little add ons, we canceled that deal as well. With, however, lots of helpful tips from the guy on how to do the job on our own with help from our yard.

So on both Tuesday and Wednesday when we were out running errands, we’d stop by Moitessier to talk to Frank who had lots of good ideas on how to do it ourselves, and we’d also be out scouring the aisles of Home Depot for a top grade drill press. We were all ready to make the purchases and start work when Matt had been talked into contacting the the owner of the yard next door where Frank and Yu have their boat. Ever since we got here we’ve been hearing rave reviews about this guy, how there’s never been anything he hasn’t been able to do, and how his work is always meticulous. Tracking him down, Matt had a nice conversation about what needs to be done, and the guy says, “Sure. I’ll have it brought over tomorrow, and have it finished by the end of the day.”.

Even that night (Wednesday) as we planned for the keel to be taken from us the next afternoon, we sat and thought really hard about the directions we’d give him on how to perform the job. Sister in a few new bolts? Take them out and replace them? We were still figuring this out when there was a tap on our hull. We climbed out to see a neighbor of ours, Terry from m/v Island Girl, coming over with a dinner invitation. Having met Matt a few times while I was away, Terry thought Matt was still living the bachelor life and might need a hot meal. Although I did happen to be back, that hot meal was nowhere in sight from my end, so we took them up on their offer to join them for burgers on their boat.It was so nice to be on a boat that’s on the water, and we were able to enjoy a spectacular sunset from the windows in their salon. The burgers were delicious, the company was great, and it was a much needed distraction from all our boat work.

Yesterday afternoon we were just doing little projects here and there, more fiberglassing for Matt and washing the cushions up on deck for me. The guy to fix the bolts stopped by and said that after some preliminary work that morning, he figured that replacing any bolts would be better than sistering in new ones, so we decided to go with his judgement. A few hours later he’d be back to have the keel brought over. After he left, Georgie started her routine of crying out to us while we were on the ground, so once more I strapped her into her harness and leash and let her roam around the yard. She’s doing much better now on the rocks, walking and even running through them without issue. I think she’s still getting used to the fact of being on a leash though, since she did try to chase down a random piece of paper in the yard, and was yanked back in mid-air as she tried to make her leap. The even bigger issue though, was when we put her back on deck and I caught her two times making her way one step down the ladder. I could see that causing some big problems in the future.

After we had finished our little jobs and were running out of things to do, our yard manager showed up with a fork lift to get it ready to take over to the yard next door. Securing some heavy duty chain to the front and back bolts, the keel was lifted a few feet off the ground and we waved to it as it made it’s way out of the yard. Both of us would have been really interested in following it and watching the progress, but the owner next door doing the work gave strict instructions that no one was to disturb him for the rest of the afternoon while he worked on it, not even his employees. But we were just happy that it was gone. A month of just trying to figure out what to do with it, at least now something was happening. In a construction site, one should buy crane warning lights on the site.

Then this morning Matt ran over to see how the progress was going. We’re used to having things go wrong, having things delayed, or at least two more projects coming from anything we start, so we were thinking it would probably be over there through the weekend and a couple of days into next week. When he got back I asked him how it was going. “It’s done”, he replied. “What do you mean it’s done?”, I asked. “It’s done”, he said said again. “And it was done right?”, I gaped, “Like it’s actually ready to come back and be put on?”. He just smiled. For once, we finally got it right. Four weeks of anguish and a four hour remedy.

It was delivered back this afternoon with a shiny new bolt sticking out of the lead. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything prettier. Well maybe when the boat is all put back together, but we’re not at that point yet. For now this is more than sufficient. It means that very shortly we can start putting the boat back together. Finally light at the end of the tunnel. Finally I can let myself believe we might get back in the water.

Terry and Patty (photo courtesy of Island Girl Cruising)

Frank & Sense

by with 5 Comments FloridaFriendsSt. Augustine

Tuesday February 5, 2013

 

You know all that work that I talked about us doing on the boat yesterday? Can you believe that we still had enough energy to go out that night? We had to. It was Frank’s birthday and we have been planning on getting together ever since Yu’s birthday last month. And being me, I did what I always tend to do, and that’s hijacking other people’s special occasions. This was me while we were standing on the street while planning to get together for Frank’s b-day. “Hey, you don’t like wild nights out like this, right? Since you’re more low-key, we should have dinner at your boat, Yu can cook for us, and then if you’re up for it we can head to the White Lion and take advantage of their $1 tall boys.” Yes, I told him exactly what he’d be doing for his birthday. Let it be known though, that every I do this, as it happens more than I like to admit, everyone always has a great time. So the night went exactly as I planned it, and everyone had a GREAT time.

 While running out to ABC earlier in the day to pick up some Guiness for Frank, we ran into Yu who was also there picking up some supplies for her specialty margaritas, and told us that another set of their friends were in town for a few days and would be joining us that night. So at 7:00 Matt and I walked down the dirt road that connects our marinas and scaled the ladder up to Moitessier. We were greeted by Yu and the delicious smell of food cooking, and also by two fellow sailors, Gary and Courtney of Gremmlin’s Hammer. They’re currently living on their ’79 Endeavour 37 up in Boston at the moment, but needed to swing through Florida on some business. Good thing they did, because we all hit it off right away. It’s always so fun to meet new sailors, especially when they’re in your age bracket and have your sense of humor, because then you can automatically start busting out lines from “Old School”, and they’ll laugh along with you and throw out another line, instead of looking at you like you’re crazy. (Seriously, if you ever meet me, there will be a minimum of five movie or tv show quotes thrown out, more if you join along with me.)

We were all having a really nice dinner of chicken tacos that Yu made, and I was instantly grateful I forced her to cook for us when I planned Frank’s birthday. She had always told us about all these amazing meals she makes, and one of my goals before we left St. Augustine was to come over for at least one home cooked meal from her. And her specailty margaritas definitely lived up to the hype as well. I was trying to be good and pace myself, but that’s when Frank decided he wanted to do a shot of Patron, and there were no other takers to do one with him. Well I couldn’t leave him taking a shot all by himself on his birthday, so I saddled up and threw back a drink with him, instantly feeling the effects. All of us going back for seconds on the tacos now we sat around their large and beautiful salon, talking about zombies (yeah, I don’t know how we got there either), and laughing up a storm. When Frank committed himself to another shot, Courtney and I jumped right on the train to join him. It was definitely time to slow down.

Which is why of course, with all our good sense, we all packed our things together to do down to the White Lion. Walking in the door I was used to it being overcrowded from the past few times we had been, but this time it was completely deserted. Which completely baffled us because you’d think when a bar is offering $1 drinks in a college town, everyone would be there. Maybe there was just a big exam in the morning, but better for us, since we now practically owned the joint. Right away we pushed together a few tables and started filling them with beers and mixed drinks (also only $1!). Also hogging the juke box we all stormed it, searching for our favorite artist that were not listed on there and paying extra to have them downloaded. But when you’re only paying $1 a drink you can splurge a little on the extras.

So, being in a deserted bar with good music and cheap drinks, us girls did what any girl would do. We turned the place into our private discoteca, and even got the bartender to throw on the strobe light. It was an absolute blast, and now that I’m feeling it the next day, it gave my legs an even better work out than Jazzercise. We were even so into our own little party that at the end of the night, the bartender rewarded us with free shots of Rum Chata. Which if you’ve never had, go out and get it now! It honestly taste like a cookie and is the best stuff in the world. It was definitely worth the workout to get it. After completely tiring ourselves out and probably annoying the three patrons at the bar, we eventually we were able to tear ourselves away from the bar to walk to Gary and Courtney’s hotel just down the street so we could all meet their dog, Johnny, who goes along on their sailing adventures.  A few slobbery kisses and it was time to go home.

So at the end of the night, it actually ended up being much more wild than Yu’s birthday, but just as predicted when I hijack an event, everyone had a g-r-e-a-t time. I may have had to look at the camera today to remember all of it was great, but I don’t think it’s a night any of us will forget.  As long as we look at our photos.

Just a couple empty cans.

I Do My Little Turn On The Catwalk

by with One Comment Boat catBoat workFloridaOn the hardSt. Augustine

Monday February 4, 2012

The painting is, dare I say, done.  At least for the areas that have already been fiberglassed.  It was a lot a long process, and a lot of time spent in small spaces, but now it’s one more thing checked off our list.  The process wasn’t hard, although we had to split it up over yesterday and today in order to do two coats.  Yesterday we washed down the whole area.  While waiting for it to completely dry out, we ran some errands on the bike.  Trying to fill the fridge again with at least two or three nights of meals we walked through the aisles of Winn Dixie before jumping across the street to Home Depot. We’re trying to find the right fittings to connect our grill to our propane tanks, and no matter what we buy it never seems to fit.  Hopefully today will be different.

 Errands ran, we got back to the boat and wiped down the now dry areas with Acetone before painting. Then it was the squeezing into small spaces.  The only area I had to do yesterday was the bilge running from the mast to the galley.  I thought it would be easy, it’s painting.  I like painting.  But I guess what I really like, is painting in areas that I can see.  Plus I was given one rule (besides don’t get paint on the floor or settee), and that was Don’t get paint on the wires.  So what happens as soon as I get my brush wet and stick it under the floor boards? I get a big ‘ol splat on one of the wires.  Ooops.  Looks like I didn’t tape them away quite well enough.  Then there was also a little more trouble while painting in between open holes in the floor where I couldn’t even see where my brush was making strokes, but after dousing the area I’m pretty sure it’s covered.

 Matt painted the engine bay, which at first I felt really bad about because he had more square footage, but then I realized his area had much easier access, and then I didn’t feel so bad for him. Then today was a day for the second coat of paint.  Once again we had to wipe down and Acetone the areas, but this time we first had to take sandpaper to what was already painted so we could rough up the surface a little and give something for the paint to grab on to.  Once again Matt tackled the engine bay while I did the bilge.  But in addition to that, I was also given the project of painting the remaining storage areas under the port settee.  I thought it would be a cinch compared to the bilge, because like Matt, it was a much larger and more exposed area to work in.  What I wasn’t counting on, again, where wires and hoses.  It was very hard to work around them and I didn’t finish until more than two hours after Matt.  He was probably sitting around on his computer watching me and thinking “Ah, so this must have been what it was like for you last week while I was working”.

My expert work didn’t finish there though.  We had taken one of our water tanks out weeks ago to make room for the fiberglassing, and while it has been sitting on our deck since then, we were ready for it to go back.  But not after a good cleaning.  I asked to take the hose to it while trying to get the most pressure possible to blast the sides of the tank with.  I tried once and it didn’t work too well.  What I did find out though, is my arm is somehow small enough to fit in whole, so with a few paper towels I was able to give the entire inside a thorough wipe down.  I think I’ll feel much better drinking our water now, after seeing what the inside of the tank had previously looked like.

Also, I hate to admit it, but we have become ‘those’ pet owners.  While browsing through Amazon I came across this cat harness and leash, and thought it would be a good idea to have for Georgie.  It still worries me a bit that she won’t know how to handle herself right away on deck with the rocking motion of the boat when we’re back in the water.  It will probably be more of just a training tool for a little bit, or if she demands on being outside when conditions get just a little bit rough (only in the cockpit of course).  But we also feel so bad for the times right now while we’re on the hard and we’re running around on the ground and she sticks her head over the side, mewing, and basically asking if she can come with us.  So today, we let her.

Having put her in the harness for a few hours for the past few days just to get her used to it we figured she was finally ready for a little walk today.  We clipped on the leash and carried her down the ladder.  We set her on the ground,….and nothing.  She didn’t move.  Thinking she may not like the surface of the rocks in the yard we picked her up again and brought her to the little park across the street.  She wasn’t a fan of walking in grass either.  She literally just went limp on the ground.  Trying to get her moving we would pull up on the leash, but she’d still just stay limp, with her feet dangling a few inches off the ground.  It gave us a good laugh for a minute, until we felt bad.  On pavement though, she likes to move.  We can walk her just like a dog. That is, until she decides to stop and twist herself in circles, which was often.

Getting Down and Dirty

by with No Comment Boat workFloridaOn the hardSt. Augustine

Saturday February 2, 2012

I knew there would still be projects to do after I got back from Arizona, but I foolishly thought that Matt had done the bulk of them while I was away. Maybe I just wasn’t ‘in the know’ of things still on our to-do list, but I honestly thought there were very few projects for us to do ourselves, and we’d wait for the yard and contractors to go about their work, getting us ready to go in the water. Silly, silly girl. I was allowed a little adjusting time on Friday, after having just got back, to get back into the swing of being on a boat, plus I think he wanted to spend all afternoon with my new laptop, finding out if he wanted to steal it for himself (not going to happen!). I had my heart set on going to First Friday Artwalk again, and after a little begrudging on the part of Matt, he said that if we got our projects for the afternoon done then we could go. Since I was still used to a ‘boat project’ being along the lines of making sure all the dishes are done and the galley is clean (yes, I get all the pink roles), I was thinking that whatever he had up his sleeve would only take us an hour, two at max. Still plenty of time to then clean up and then head into town.

The boat project for the day was to help Matt fiberglass the areas under the port side settee.  This sounded like a long and extensive project to me, all fiberglassing ones had been in the past, but he assured me it would take an hour, tops.  And I believed him.  Silly, silly girl.  Luckily, my part of the job wasn’t hard.  I was the mixing wench.  Which meant that while Matt was covered in ooey gooey goodness, I’d mix his next batch of epoxy.  Knowing from unfortunate experience that even though this job is easy, it would still be messy for me too, I searched through my bags to find at least one outfit I wouldn’t mind ruining.  Because that’s what epoxy does, it sets and you never get it out!  What I came up with was a Hanes white tee and some purple leggings that would have been great for Jazzercise, minus the side pony.

So there I stood, mixing one part resin with three parts hardener, and sometimes throwing in kitty hair (shredded fiberglass), and silica (thickener).  I’d hand the cup over to Matt and he’d stuff and spread the mix in the necessary areas, gloves completely torn open and epoxy all over his hands and arms.  This was a medium temp epoxy which meant that it set a bit quicker than the regular kind, but also created higher temperatures to do so.  Since some of the area he was using it on was below our floorboards, he’d occasionally have me take out our heat gun and check the temperature of the floor in areas where it was curing.  A few of the areas were getting close to 130 degrees, and I expected the plastic sheet we had set down to protect from any mess on the floor to burst into flames at any second.  But even in the hurricane state of the boat, I knew where the fire extinguisher was and was ready to grab it at moment if need be.

This one hour project turned into four hours, and before we even cleaned up there was only thirty minutes left in the art walk.  We would not be making it out that night.  But the work Matt did looked very professional, and I’ll take one step closer to leaving over a night out on the town, even if it is one of the best events around.  I really did want to make it to one more art walk during our stay here though.  But if for any reason we’re still here in March for the chance to attend again, heaven help me, I will burn this boat down.

Today was a bit more of the same, but before we could get to the fiberglassing, I was able to run some errands on my own while Matt stayed behind to get the engine bay ready to paint.  And what my errand for the day was, was to run out and get that paint that would be used for the engine bay and the bilge area.  We had spent all morning debating which kind of paint to use in those areas.  On his way back from dropping me off at the airport, Matt had stopped at a West Marine in Jacksonville and picked up a specific bilge paint from them, but wasn’t sure if he wanted to use it.  Plus there was only a quart of it. To get the best epoxy paint, one can go on this Homepage and also find out why it is way better.

The other thing he had his eye on was a high build epoxy paint from Sherwin Williams.  It came with a price tag five times that of the West Marine paint, but was two parts at a gallon a piece, should be stronger and longer lasting, plus it’s likely there will be enough left to cover the anchor locker as well.  We hemmed and hawed for a bit about the pros and negatives as well as the cost, but knowing Matt, and knowing that he truly wanted the better paint but just felt bad about spending the extra money, I made the decision for him and got myself ready to go to Sherwin Williams.  Besides, I had just been completely spoiled by my parents, I think we could afford to swing an extra few bucks on something necessary.

Getting my butt all the way to the Walmart area where Sherwin Williams sits, about three miles from the marina, I may have quickly popped into McDonald’s for an iced coffee, a usually unnecessary expenditure, before going to Walmart to grab a few items as well.  No surprise that I had come back to an empty fridge and we had no real food to eat.  Then jumping across the street I walked into the paint shop and pretended I knew what I was doing, by throwing down an envelope with some scribbles written on it to the guy behind the counter.  Along with it I tossed down the bilge cover since we wanted to do a paint match and hopefully patch that little area that Matt nicked while sanding.  It took awhile for them to be able to match the color, I think our cover was a little too dirty to get a clear reading, but soon the can was shaking away in it’s mixer.

Going to pay the tab, I don’t know if the guy thought we were with an organization and gave a contractor discount, or there was a sale going on that we didn’t know about, but the price came out $30 cheaper than we were originally planning.  That could buy me a lot of iced coffees….  After I paid the bill the guy asked if he could help bring the cans out to my car and I had to sheepishly admit that I had ridden my bike there and the cans would be going home with me in my backpack.  Wrapping them up in extra plastic to make sure they didn’t spill, we eventually got them stuffed in and I was able to put on the backpack without toppling over.  Now back to fiberglassing, and tomorrow, paint!

Georgie supervising while we work.

Lights Out

by with No Comment FamilyFloridaOn the hardSt. Augustine

Thursday January 31, 2013

My last few days in Arizona were very nice and relaxing.  I did attend a Jazzercise class with my mom on Tuesday morning though, and I’m still having trouble sitting down!  I’ve been bending my knees a little bit and letting myself fall the rest of the way.  Those women really know how to make you sweat!  Now don’t think I’m too out of shape, I was doing all the advanced moves, but there were a lot of women in their 50’s and 60’s keeping right up with me.  My legs were jell-o as I walked out the door, but not weak enough that I couldn’t jump behind the wheel and drive us home.  It had been almost six months since I’ve driven any kind of vehicle, and I think I did pretty well at it.  I’m sure it fit right in with the rest of the snow birds, running a few lights, and suddenly slamming on the breaks.  (I’m just kidding, I only did that once)

Getting ourselves cleaned up it was another day of shopping, where I think I can say I’m successfully stocked up for the next few months to come, getting everything I need that I may not be able to outside of the country.  It may have been more clothes and make up, but the way I see it, this will hopefully be my last girly shopping spree I get for the next four years or so.  If the boat gets back in the water and things go according to plan.  So I see it as necessary and won’t even worry about where I’m going to fit all of this new stuff once I get back.  But that day I didn’t go crazy, it was just a few small things that are replacing old things I already own.

The next day was spent around the house relaxing, and doing a faux packing to make sure I could bring back all my new things.  Even with a newer, bigger bag from my mom, it of course did not fit.  But that’s what UPS is for, and the rest of my belongings should be arriving a few days after me.  Then it was off to a wonderful day of electronics where nothing was behaving as it should.  I tried to make a spreadsheet to print boat cards on, and after the three hours, literally, it took me to get up our name, boat name, and website, my mom and I found out we couldn’t print the cards.  My laptop wouldn’t connect with her printer, and her computer couldn’t open the ‘Open Office’ document I had used to make the spreadsheet.  That’s ok, I can live with that kind of hassle.

The real kicker came that night when I was trying to do work on my new laptop and my password wasn’t working to log in.  Truth be told, I had been having that issue for a few days, but just dismissed it since I still had my other laptop which has all my photo editing tools, so I was on that 90% of the time anyway.  But yesterday we really wanted to get to the bottom of it, and dedicated four hours to trying to solve the problem.  This included a call to Best Buy where they stated that if we didn’t buy their plan, they couldn’t do anything to help me, and a call to my uncle who’s in IT, but not familiar yet with Windows 8.  Finally and thankfully my dad was messing around with different options of the password I thought it should be and was able to get in.  Why did I ever add a 2 to the end of my password?, I never do that!  But once it was fixed and the stress was gone, I was able to enjoy the last few hours of my vacation sitting around and unwinding with my parents.  Can it really get any better than watching Mrs. Doubtfire with a bowl of popcorn in you lap and an ice cold Pepsi next to you?

Then it was back to the grind today, two flights and two thousand miles to get back home.  It was much more fun getting through security this time though, with two laptops to take out, and when they ran my bag through the scanner three times I thought I might not be getting on my flight at all.  I still have no clue what they thought I was carrying with me that my things needed to be inspected that closely.  But all was well and after holding the line up for only about five minutes, my bag came through and I was on my way again.  In the sky and ready for electronics to come out I happily grabbed my now fully charged Nook, woo hoo!, only to find….it wouldn’t turn on.  WTF?!  Really, electronics?  Still?!  Luckily for me, the guy in the seat next to me was watching Limitless on his touch pad, and must have known I was peeking over his shoulder because he left the captions on.  Thanks airplane guy!

Landing in Jacksonville, I was greeted by Matt, who looked exhausted from his hard day of labor on the boat.  He told me he had completely lost track of time and thought it was much earlier than it was when Chris came knocking on the hull to bring him to the airport.  His clothes and hair still had a little bit of dust on them, but after a week away, it was the best thing I could have ever seen.  We met Chris at the van, and then in a total surprise to me, we went to dinner to a place just up the road called Sticky Fingers.  It was a BBQ restaurant, and between the three of us we split the ‘Ribs for Two’ meal, coming with more food than we could all put away.  Our platter came with four slabs of ribs, each with a different sauce, and even one dry rub.  It was all delicious, and as usual when we go out with Chris, I was ready to fall into a food coma when we left.

Back on the road and coming into St. Augustine, we drove around town for a little as it was the last night before the ‘Nights of Lights’ are shut off until November.  It was actually really sad as we drove past, my face pressed up against the glass, knowing that the next time we’re out everything is going to look a little less magical.  Part of me wanted to get back to the boat, grab the camera, and run back out to capture all the beauty that we had admired, but taken for granted for the past two months.  As we pulled into the little side streets of the Lincolnville Historic District where our marina is, it hit me that I really felt like I was coming home.  This wasn’t just some random city that we were passing through anymore.  All the streets and buildings were comforting and familiar, and as much as I still want to get out, I am really going to miss it when we leave here.

Punching in the code for the gate and walking into the yard, it felt really good to be back.  Climbing up the ladder and expecting to immediately be bombarded by my furry little friend, Georgie, in true cat fashion, completely ignored me as soon as I walked through the door.  Then I saw what Matt was talking about in the email yesterday.  He was not lying about the mess.  The last step of the companionway was missing, all of our belongings lay out across the floor, and there was only one small spot to sit.  I didn’t even know what to do with my bags I had just brought back, there was no place to put them.  But this has to mean progress, right?  That something was actually done in my absence.  It may be an extra cramped space to get used to, but if I close my eyes hard enough, maybe I can pretend I’m back at my parent’s house, sprawled out in the queen size bed that I have all to myself.

“And kick, ….. and sweat…..”

Three hours to make this?  I don’t even know how that happened.

In St. Augustine News

by with 6 Comments Boat workFloridaOn the hardSt. Augustine

Wednesday January 30, 2013

 

Since I’ve been a little lax on what Matt has been up to in St. Augustine, here is the report I received from him tonight.

The boat is trashed!  I’ll try to straighten it out before you come tomorrow.  I don’t even have a place to sit inside the boat right now.  I’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight…. It is that bad.

I just finished grinding the fiberglass. I used tarps to block the dust, but I still spent over two hours wiping the entire boat down.  There is dust everywhere, and it is really itchy!  I had to empty the vacuum three times just to get all of it.

I only got the tabs ground on the area where the fridge compressor is, the water tank area, bilge by the mast, and the settee by the bulkhead to the v berth ( where the tv is). I still have to do under the stove and sink, but may save that for another day.  Today was miserable!   It was so hot under the tarp I thought I was going to pass out.  I couldn’t see half the time because of the dust, and the grinder couldn’t reach in some spots do I had to use the dremel… Which isn’t large enough to do much.  I also cut through the fiberglass by the bilge pump into the cabin floor.  Its a small spot, but still noticeable, and I’m not sure how I’m going to fix it.

The microwave is 90% in.  I still need to do trim work (which i will have to make by hand)  mount a new 110v plug in that area, and mount bumpers to prevent the microwave from sliding back into the cabinet when the door is shut.  Because of the slope The worst it looks crooked in the cabinet.  It 100% level and perfect 90 degree corners, but with the slope of the cabin top, it looks really twisted.  Ugh!

The engine bay is about 3/4 of the way painted.  I can’t get into the aft cabin to paint the back area yet, but at least the front is done.  The steps will still be out when you get back… It’s a small jump to get down.*

I talked to the keel bolt guy from California and let him know that we wouldn’t be needing him anymore.  The costs were just jumping up too much, and he (building keels and knowing all about them) didn’t really think that him coming all the way out here was necessary anyway.  He gave me some really great tips though on how we should be able to work with the yard to do the job ourselves.

What do you think about keeping the hot water heater?  We haven’t used it yet and it takes up a 3x3x3 space that could be used for other items.  I’m not sure if we will ever use it, but I also don’t want to wish we still had it either.   We could always get one of those solar showers that everyone uses the time we want hot water, and that works without running the engine.

Also, what about the sink in the v berth?  If we got rid of that I think we could get much better use out of that space.

So it looks like Matt has been pretty busy while I’ve been away.  Things are finally progressing, and with any luck, we might actually be out of here in a few weeks!

*I found out from Matt that it was absolutely necessary for the engine to come out with the transmission.  The yard knew what they were talking about, and we were lucky we listened to them.

(Also, when I talked before about the fiberglasser, he was not part of the yard, just a vendor.  Everyone here at the yard has been very helpful and quick with their work)

Mama I’m Coming Home….Again.

by with 2 Comments Boat workFamilyFloridaOn the hard

Thursday January 24, 2012

I knew this was going to be an early morning, and a somewhat rushed one too, they always are when you’re traveling, but I was not expecting the knock that came on hull sharply at 8 am.  The alarm had been set for fifteen minutes after 8 where I had planned on taking a quick shower, shoveling down some breakfast, and making sure all my bags were packed before departing for the airport at 9:30.  My parents ha offered to fly us out for a visit, and I was only more than happy to take them up on it.  So this even earlier wake up call that we were not expecting left us with questions of “Who is it, and what do they want?”.  Opening the door after a few seconds of pounding on the companionway and voices coming from outside saying, “Let me in, it’s cold out here!” we opened the door to find the guy that was going to be taking out the transmission and engine.  Who as far as we knew, wasn’t supposed to show up until 1:00 that afternoon, after Matt had gotten back from bringing me to Jacksonville (he has to stay behind for all the projects to commence this week).  Unbenounced to us, and even though he knew we were leaving that morning, the guy thought he would pop in for an hour or two to get the process started before the big work of actually removing the engine was to come that afternoon.

So before we were even fully awake or had the chance to get out of our pj’s, we were busy moving all the items from the aft cabin up into the v-berth and salon to make room for him to work.  And all of these new items were now being piled on top of everything we’d already moved out of the port side settee.  A project that had been done on Sunday night to make room for another guy that was supposed to come on Monday to repair all our broken tabbing.  To which he never showed up on Monday.  Or Tuesday, or Wednesday.  The boat was now literally a disaster area.  Still having to stick to my morning schedule, after helping Matt remove the bottom two steps for better access to the engine, I grabbed my shower supplies and went to get ready.  The real trick came though after I had gotten back, and needed to get dressed.  I hadn’t been smart enough to bring my change of clothes with me and was now forced to change in the head.  Which was now also full of crap that we were trying to get out of the way.  There were some real acrobatics involved changing in a space that small with no floor room.  Back in the salon   I was maneuvering around the small space, unpacking and then repacking things into my bag until I was finally ready.  We sent the engine/transmission guy packing, I gave Georgie a long hard snuggle for as long as she’d let me hold her, and took one last look at my home that I hadn’t been away from for almost six months.

Waiting outside the boat yard gates for us was Chris, and we started the hour long journey up to the Jacksonville airport.  Matt was along for the ride as Jacksonville has a very large and well stocked West Marine, and there are definitely a few more things we could use.  Getting dropped off I said a quick and hard goodbye to Matt and went to check myself in.  Initially at the wrong counter, too.  Good thing I noticed I was on US Airways and not United before I got up to the counter and made a total fool of myself.  But soon I did have my tickets in hand and a lot of time to kill when I realized I had never eaten that morning because the galley was ‘blocked’.  Having been offered Starbucks on the ride up but originally declining, the one shining in my face at the airport looked too good to pass up, plus it had a seat right next to an electrical outlet, so I rushed up and ordered a venti caramel macchiato and a scone.  It didn’t dawn on me until I was surfing the internet with a large drink in front of me that I remembered I’d probably still want to give myself an hour to get through security and to my gate.  Which left me 30 minutes to chug a piping hot 20 oz coffee.  Tried as I might, there was still a good 1/3rd left when my timer was up.

Quickly getting through security and the new x-ray machines that there is so much conspiracy about (it was my first time using one), I was sitting in front of my gate in a matter of 10 minutes.  After having passed a Starbucks inside security.  Damn.  We just didn’t have perks like that back in Grand Rapids.  Making sure I was one of the last people on the plane, because, who wants to sit on one any longer than they have to?, I was once again lucky enough not to be seated next to an over-talkative cat lady.  (Wait, that’s not going to be me now, is it?)  During the first leg of the journey (there was a layover in Charlotte) I became engrossed in the in-flight magazine and came across a very interesting book review for something I might need to find and check out of the library.  It’s mostly based on sayings parents will tell their children on safety that have rolled down the generations, and if they’re actually true or not.  Kind of a Myth Busters of ‘Don’t run with scissors’.  Before I knew it we were landing and I had to almost run through the terminal to get to my next flight, which was boarding as I got there.

During the next four hours of that flight I read up on Aruba in the same in-flight magazine (can’t wait to get there), edited some photos, and listened to music.  I can’t wait until I can get a new charger for my Nook and having that work on the way back.  I’m not sure if it’s because of the watches in the cockpit or the past six weeks of stuffing myself behind the desk at the nav station with my computer, but the seats on the plane didn’t even feel very small to me.  Bringing on two big bags since I’m not checking luggage, and then having them sit at my feet since the overhead compartment was full cramped my foot space a little, but it really wasn’t a bad ride.  After landing I walked through the Phoenix airport and it’s many levels to find my mom waiting for me at the baggage claim.  A few big hugs and we were on the way to the car where my dad was waiting for us and a cold Pepsi was waiting for me.  My favorite!  Then when I walked into my home away from home and went into the bedroom to drop off my bags there was a jar full of Skittles waiting for me on the nightstand.  Another favorite.  And the cherry on top, after getting to see my parents of course, was my engagement/wedding ring that had been stuffed away in a bank, ready for me to wear during my stay.  Do my parents know how to take care of me, or what?  I may have just walked in the door, but I can already tell this is an amazing week spending some much needed time with family, and possibly, getting spoiled rotten.

In St. Augustine news:  The pulling of the engine/transmission did not go as smooth as we had hoped.  Smooth as in, our companion way is no longer that.  Because of a few cords that should have been disconnected and were not, while the engine was being pulled out of the companionway by the crane, it snapped back and sent the engine flying into the wall.  From what Matt described to me, even with the height of the door handle for the head, there are now 7-8 pencil eraser size dents, and they’re deep.  I haven’t heard if they can be filled, but it sounded like the only way to fully repair this would be completely replace that wall.  Poor Matt.  At least he has chocolate chip cookies to soothe his pain.

Cute couple dancing to Frank Sinatra at the airport.

Comforting to read while you’re flying on a plane.

 
 

Un-health Food Heaven

by with No Comment FloridaFriendsOn the hardSt. Augustine

Tuesday January 22, 2013

I don’t know how many of you know this, but for as much time and money as Matt has put into getting fishing poles, lines, lures, basically anything for us to catch fish while we’re out on the boat…he does not like fresh fish.  A few summers ago when I’d make these delicious fish tacos made with tilapia and a to-die-for mango salsa, he would turn up his nose at it.  While I was trying to get into a healthier diet around the same time and would serve fish and vegetables for dinner, he’d make a peanut butter and jelly and for a healthier adding use the cbd oil canada for your recipes.  There is only one way to get this boy to eat fish, and that to deep-fry it.  Turn it around like that, and he loves fish.  Any restaurant we go to, he’ll search the menu for fish and chips.  Drown it in tartar sauce and he’s in heaven.  If you ever ask him the question “If you were stranded on a deserted island with only three different foods, what would they be?”, his first answer would be tartar sauce and second one was the cbd oil for edibles.  (And then Ranch dressing.  Apparently he thinks he can live off condiments)  So to help Matt out with his fried fish fetish, in steps our friend Chris.  While bringing us out to see the manatees a few weeks ago he was giving us a rundown on all the great places in St. Augustine to visit (a few among dozens), he told us about a seafood restaurant called Schooners which is a favorite to locals and is rated for having some of the best fried fish in town.  Wanting to make sure we experienced it, we set up tentative plans in the future and Matt and I were more than happy to take him up on the offer to try it out. When it comes to the best sandwiches only Jimmy John Owner can provide them from their chain of restaurant.

So this week, when we all had free time in our schedules, Chris picked Matt and I up from the boat yard to take us the few mile drive to the restaurant.  As soon as we stepped in the van we were greeted with a smile and a plate of his famous chocolate chip cookies.  If he hadn’t raved about this restaurant so much the last time we were together I would have been ready to call off dinner and dig into the cookies instead.  But knowing that I might still get a chance to eat one back at the boat that night before Matt scarfed them all down (They are seriously his favorite thing in the world, I think they could now be added to his list of three foods to be deserted on an island with), we continued on to the restaurant.  Walking in at 6:30 on a Tuesday night, the place was packed.  Always a sign there must be good food if it’s hard to get a table so early in the week.  After being seated with a menu in front of me I browsed through and could see why the place was so popular.  Scrolling down my eyes landed on items like fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried oysters, and fried crab cakes.  They also offered all of those items, non-fried, but that’s not the reason we were there, was it?  Everything looked amazing, and I wanted all of it. I was ready to eat, and I don’t do any diet, just take supplements for my health, check these products !

Chris wasn’t going to let us off easy either, he also wanted us to try all of it.  I couldn’t decide which one of the entrees I wanted, so when the server came I ended up doing a combo platter with stuffed fried shrimp and fried scallops.  Even that was a tough choice because the gator tail looked very interesting, and where else would we get a chance to try something like that? Chris was already one step ahead and put in an order of gator tail for an appetizers, but not before he said that I had to try the Minorcan Clam Chowder, so an order of that went in as well.  Soon the food began coming out and while we discussed all the repairs on our boat (or the current lack thereof), I started sipping on the soup that did live up to it’s recommendation.  It’s a slightly spicy soup and very specific to the region because of the Minorcans that originally inahabited the area back in the mid to late 18th century and used it on almost all of their food.  It’s made up of fresh Seville orange and Datil pepper season and gives a nice little kick, but wasn’t too overwhelmingly spicy.  So far, score one for Schooners.  Next to come out were the fried gator tails.  Neither Matt and I had any idea what to expect of these as we had never come across them before.  Breaded and seasoned, they were served with a slice of lemon and sauce for dipping.  Taking a bite the texture was a mix in between chicken and lobster.  I’m pretty sure this place has their recipe for this dish down to a T, because these little bite size pieces of meat were perfection.  I’m serious, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better piece of fried food.

I must have forgotten somewhere along the way of eating soup, gator tails, and salad that there was actually a main dish on it’s way and never slowed down to save room for my  entree.  When it was set down in front of me my eyes grew as big as dinner plates, it looked extremely appetizing, but there was so much food!  Did I mention that it came with two sides and two hush puppies?!  I don’t think my eyes had quite caught up with my stomach yet though and I was still ready to tear into this plate of un-health food heaven.  Picking up the first piece of fried food goodness, I took a bite of my stuffed shrimp, which was fried shrimp stuffed with crabmeat.  Omg, it was so tasty.  The breading was very light and flaky, and would start to crumble in my hands as I ate.  Picking up the fallen pieces I’d just dip them back in the sauce and jam it into my mouth.

This is about the point where my stomach started to beat out my will to keep eating.  Not ready to throw in the towel just yet though, I forced myself on like a food challenge champion and also went after the fried scallops and hush puppies.  I don’t even know if I can describe how good this meal was.  I’m pretty sure I’ve already used every word out there.  It was savory, delectable, heavenly.  I didn’t get very far though, before having to stop and request a doggy bag.  Looking over at Matt, his plate was clean.  Looks like he enjoyed it just as much as I did.  When the option for dessert came, even though we had been planning on sharing a slice peanut butter pie, Matt and I were at the point where we could not put one more bite of food in our mouths and didn’t want to ruin what would otherwise be a good experience by making ourselves literally sick.  Although among Chris’ many recommendations among St. Augustine there is another place, The Gypsy Cab Co, that is also supposed to serve a sublime peanut butter pie as well, and it just might give us all an excuse to have to go out again.  I think I can manage to pencil that in.

*And in case you think I give glowing reviews to everything, it’s only because most everything we’ve had deserves it.   But I will say that if you’re in St. Augustine, don’t bother going to O.C. White’s.  We’ve been there twice, and in our opinion, the food is overpriced and bland, especially when there are so many better options just up the road.  (Ok, their crab sandwich wasn’t that bad)

Fried gator tails.   I could eat these all night.

Bliss in the form of sugar.

Shot-a-holic

by with No Comment FloridaFluff pieceSt. Augustine

Monday January 21, 2013

Bet you thought I was referring to Purple Hooters or Lemon Drops, didn’t you?  Although those are among my favorite shots to drink, I am referring to being a shot-a-holic with my camera.  I can’t seem to go out without taking 100 photos of this, that, or whatever.   And even though 100% of them aren’t fantastic, there’s still a good number that I wish could make it on the blog but don’t.  Because even though photos are a ton of fun, I have a feeling I might lose a few viewers if every post had 30 photos of things from beautiful building facades down to the spokes on my bike.  I try to edit the photos on the blog down as much as I can.  You’re welcome.  With that being said though, I think some of those photos do still have a place, and a want to be seen by some people.  So over the past few days I’ve started going back through the thousands of photos I’ve taken over this trip (2,918 so far, to be exact) and selecting some through those to go into albums on our Facebook account.  I haven’t gotten that far yet, just through photos of the Great Lakes, but with the constant internet connection I’ll be having for the next few weeks there’s a small chance I may get caught all the way up to St. Augustine.  So check us out on Facebook to see all the photos and get a full sense of all the places we’ve visited.  Go ahead and like us while you’re there, and get real time updates of everything we’re up to.

In the meantime, here are a few gems that never made their way up on the site the first time around.

Happy Birthday to Yu

by with One Comment FloridaFriendsSt. Augustine

Saturday January 18, 2013

We never seem to find a shortage of reasons to go out here.  This weekend we were given one more excuse to go out as it was Yu’s birthday.  Not wanting to give up one of her best money making nights of the week, she still worked her cocktail shift and the three of us came to pick her up when she was finished.  Walking into the posh hotel that she works at I felt severely underdressed until I found out there was a wedding going on, and that’s why where were men in suits and women in gowns.  After having been there only one other time on NYE when there was a black tie masquerade ball going on across the street, I was beginning to think this was the norm.  Frank assured me that he’s gone into this swanky hotel to get her after a long day of work on the boat, covered in grease and wearing flip flops, so I had no need to feel out of place.   After just a few moments though, Yu was grabbing her purse and we all walked out the door, in search for something a little more our style.

Picking our regular spot we began the walk to Scarlett’s, and if I thought it was busy the last time we went on $0.50 wing night, I was sorely underestimating the bars in this college town on a Saturday night.  Standing in line and paying cover for the opportunity to listen to the band playing inside, we walked through the crowded porch and into the even more clustered restaurant.  Grabbing the first table we saw, as it was also the only available one, we sent the guys to the bar to pick up beers and struggled to have a conversation over the deafening music we had just paid to hear.  Watching the other tables we sprang up and got one on the other side of the stairs, where the staircase was blocking the sound, as soon as it vacated.  While drinking our beers in now relative peace and quiet, Frank made Yu promise that even though it was her birthday, she wouldn’t go overboard that night.  Even though I’m sure we all have intoxicated alter egos, Yu’s is so destinctive that they’ve even given it a name, Me.  I like to see alter egos, so my new goal was  to keep her glass full all night.   But since none of Yu’s other friend’s had shown up to Scarlett’s yet and drinks were still a little overpriced relative to other bars in the area, we paid the tab and hit the street again, in search of a cheaper watering hole.

I feel we might be becoming too predictable in our old age now, as the next place we hit up was the White Lion, the place we went the first time we met Frank and Yu.  Again, having initially gone there on a weeknight during Christmas break, the scene when we walked up this time was completely different than the last time we left it.  There was music blaring, strobe lights flashing, and not enough room to even walk without squeezing between piles of people.  Once more we managed to find the one empty table in the restaurant and grabbed it, although we had to move about 15 beer bottles and plastic cups out of the way first.  Matt and I sat while Frank and Yu disappeared.  When we didn’t see either of them again for ten minutes I was beginning to think they had been abducted by crazy kids with glow sticks, but soon after he returned with a pitcher of beer, and Yu came back bringing a few guests to add to the table.

While Yu was talking to her friends, Frank and I were chatting about college kids now versus when we were in college ten years ago.  This bar seemed to have a pretty wide diversity of girls dressed up like they were about to head to five star restaurants, and others that looked like they rolled out of bed and grabbed clothes off the floor.  In that mix were two girls wearing black dresses that had great detailing on the back, and I instantly fell in love with.  Even though I would have no use for them I desperately wanted one or something like it, so after a little encouragement from Frank I actually got up from the table and walked over to them.  Tapping one of the girls on the shoulder I fumbled out “Hi, I just want to tell you I love your dresses.  My friend over there is a fashion designer (not false), and I’d love for her to make me something like this.  Would you mind turning around so I could get a photo?”.  I don’t know if this happens to them often, but the girl was not phased.  Nudging her friend she goes, “Turn around, this girl wants a picture of our dresses”, to which they both stood with their backs to me until I got the photo.  Now I just need to make sure I actually do get one of these dresses made and sneak it on the boat without Matt knowing.

Through one more pitcher of beer we sat around the White Lion and joked about how it would be fun to get dressed up one night and go around town.  I don’t even know how the conversation ended up here, but the dress up we were talking about turned out to be more Halloween like.  Each of us would pick some kind of character completely different from each other, and completely mismatched we’d wander around town to see how many strange looks we could get.  Already beginning to form our characters it was decided that Frank would grow a nice mustache, plop on a sombrero, and go out as Pedro.  Matt would be going back to his French-Canadian roots by also growing a nice mustache, a curlycue one, wearing a beret and calling himself Jacques.   I was rooting for Francois, but he didn’t seem to want to budge on that one.  Yu and I thought very hard about who we could be, and almost peed our pants with the results of some of our ideas.  Should this ever come to fruition, I think it will be one of the best nights ever.

Getting away from the crowds after our second pitcher we walked next door to No Name Bar.  They had a nice outdoor patio where we gathered with our beers, me trying out a new Killer Whale Cream Ale, and getting to see a little glimpse of Me.  I knew shoving all that beer in her face would eventually pay off.  I don’t know if my alter ego or just my business side was popping out for a minute, but I grabbed a magic marker from the bar and desecrated the table next to us with our logo.  To be fair, I was far from the first person to do it.  Through only one beer and lots of laughter, we closed the place down and took to the cobblestone streets on the way back to the car, still planning our dress-up party.  As other patrons were also making their way home the only sounds they could hear ringing from the street were shouts of “Jacques..”,  “Francois..”,  “Jacques..”, “Francois…”.

Alright Yu, get to work

Uh oh, here comes Me!

Does Frank have an alter ego emerging?

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