Log 30
Day 112
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
5:10 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
Weather: 63* and no wind; heading for 84* and sunny today
Up very early this morning so I have time for a log. Not sure why I wake up so early...I’m thinking it has to do with a clear conscience, and a great night’s sleep. Not that it matters...I love getting up early on a boat. I can’t explain exactly why...so I won’t try...but sitting on the back deck when it’s dark outside and waiting for the first sign of light is something I enjoy. I’ve got the heater on this morning in the back deck, just to take the slight chill off. You can tell summer is winding down.
There are also a lot of things I love about living on a boat, and one of them is meeting other folks who are cruising on their boats. Each one has a different story. Why they are doing it. Issues they are having, and what they plan to do about it. In the last few days there have been a lot of Loopers come in the marina. Some only stay one night, but most stay a few days or a week because this is such a great stop and the first nice stop since Alton, IL. A couple of examples. Jim on TWINS is a 42 Grand Banks classic (beautiful boat). He is from Grand Haven Michigan (where we kept our boat...I used to see his boat there on a regular basis). He left just 2 weeks ago and has been hitting it hard. He arrived at the Mississippi at just the wrong time. The big rains they have had the last week or so across the Midwest made the Mississippi rise 13 feet higher than it was when we came through that area. With all that water, the trash floating increased immensely...and he got a 4” log caught in his prop (sitting at the dock at Hoppies) and now has a vibration. The marina here at GTB wanted $400 to pull the boat and take off the prop. He decided to head out today and anchor out in a cove, and get a diver to pull the prop (because the marina would not let him hire a diver, and dive at the dock in the marina, because they said it was competition for them). I understand wanting to save the money...but can you imagine the hassle of going to a cove; getting the prop pulled; getting it to a prop shop; getting it back and on the boat? I hope he has a big dinghy. Another Looper is a very nice guy named Lorenzo on LIL’ DAVID (African American couple, which is rare for Loopers). He told me yesterday that they were going to leave the boat for a month and drive home to NC because the father of the wife, on the boat next to them (middle aged white couple), was dying and they were not sure how long he would hold on. After a few questions from me...it turns out that the two boats are slip mates at the marina in NC. Lorenzo has been planning the loop for 6 years. About 6 months before they planned to leave they were having dinner with the couple, and the wife of that couple says to her husband “why don’t you retire and we’ll go with them”...the husband could not come up with enough reasons why not...so they did. Lorenzo said “we left together (from NC in March) and we have been together ever since. So when her father is having trouble we need to be there for them. He said he was not sure when they would be back, but when they did they would resume the loop together...and finish together. Like I said...each Looper has a different story.
The last few days have been spent working on our “to do” lists. Deb has done laundry; went grocery shopping again; caught up on mail and banking, and paying the bills. I have finished waxing; cleaned the fenders; set up our anchoring system; did routine maintenance items; and (in general) made sure we (and the boat) are ready for several days and several hundred more miles of cruising. We have friends (Steve and Claudia Larry) joining us tomorrow for 4 days and then we’ll be leaving GTB heading down the Tennessee towards Chattanooga, so it’s good to take advantage of this down time to make sure we’re prepared.
I went fishing again yesterday. I timed it just right...leaving the boat at 6:15 when it was light enough to see exactly where I was going. I went back to the spot where I caught all those fish on Sunday...and caught several (6) again. In fact...I caught a fish on the very first cast. I think I need to reduce the size of my tackle box though, because I have tried several lures...but I only catch bass on one thing...a big rubber worm. It was a lot of fun...back at the boat by 8:30.
The first signs of light are just appearing now. I can see the sky is crystal clear and it will be a beautiful sun rise. This is the tough part of my day. Should I go fishing? Should I get a cup of coffee and take a dock walk? Should I go down and make breakfast? Man...the pressures I have to deal with are staggering. But somehow I manage to get through them. I think it was my CEO training.
I hope everyone is doing well...I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
Log 29; Day 110; September 8, 2008; GTB, Grand Rivers, KY
Log 29
Day 110
Monday, September 08, 2008
7:00 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
Weather: 66* with 45% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 and mostly sunny today
People always ask me...”what do you do all week”...so I kept some notes of what we did last week.
Tuesday (September 2nd)...turned out to be hot and sticky. I had plans to wax the boat, and Deb planned to do some laundry. But it was just too hot, so we reserved the courtesy van (they have 4 of them here) and after lunch we went into Paducah to do some shopping. We ended up going to a Super Wal-Mart for almost everything, except we had to also go to a liquor store for some supplies (hard to believe after what we spent at Herman’s in Ottawa). We were back at the boat by 3 and spent the next hour putting stuff where it belonged (always very important when you live on a boat, because space is a premium). Although we still don’t have a real routine, somewhere between 3 and 4 you can see us closing in the back deck (to take advantage of the air conditioning) and starting to settle down and read or just relax with the TV. That’s also the time that Andy Griffith comes on (although I always keep at least 10 episodes backed up on the DVR...who knows when I might need to watch Andy to calm my nerves) and also NASCAR comes on at 4 central time, so I can get my daily updates on the NASCAR world. For dinner we had steaks on the grill and watched The Closer which had been taped earlier.
Wednesday...Not as hot today, but still very sticky. You could not do much without sweating a lot...so we didn’t do much. Deb did the laundry and I did a couple of inside the boat projects (planning all our stops between here and Mobile). Deb also started to organize her pictures on the camera which could take some time. The afternoon started to really cloud up...but the rain stayed off to our west. Burgers on the grill for dinner.
Thursday...woke up to a pretty hard rain, that diminished as the day went on. I continued on inside projects on the computer and in the engine room. I also made a couple trips to the ships store (at the marina) for some parts and ordered a couple of things we needed that they did not have. Deb spent about 5 hours on the computer working on her pictures and she still has some time to go yet (she admits she waited too long). I also ordered a weather radio (the kind that comes on and wakes you up if severe weather is in your area) on the internet and it will be delivered to the marina. At about 5 we made a cocktail and took a dock walk. We ended up stopping by John and Candy’s boat (Isle of Skye) and also had a conversation with their dock neighbor (Don and Jane). We actually met Don and Jane is a cove not far from the marina, but they had to come back to the dock because their generator impellor went out and they needed to be at the dock for power. After some conversation Don said he had a big problem because the “vanes” on his impellor (like the spokes on a wheel) were missing and he was concerned they had gone in the heat exchanger of the generator (this would mean they would get clogged in the system and stop the water from going through, and shut down the generator). As we talked I came up with an idea...I could come over in the morning with my shop vac and try to suck out the broken pieces. He was very open to this idea and we agreed to do this tomorrow.
Before leaving the dock we talked to John and Candy about joining them for dinner at the Yacht Club...which we did. Food was not all that great...but the conversation was very interesting. They have sailed so many places in the world (while they home schooled their kids on board); crossed oceans; traversed the Panama Canal in their own boat; and had so many stories (I should also point out here that neither of them had ever owned a boat before one day they just decided to buy one) Many of the stories were something I would not want to experience myself...but they were certainly interesting.
Friday...slept in till 7. It was very cloudy and not as warm as it had been. Some of the time the clouds were so heavy it was like a mist in the air. At 9 (while Deb continued to organize pictures) I took the shop vac down the dock to see if we could get the impellor vanes out of Don’s heat exchanger. It turned out to work great and we felt sure we got all the broken rubber impellor out...which is a big deal because it will save him a LOT of work tearing the generator apart to get them. Back at the boat the clouds and mist had cleared some, so I washed the boat and finished waxing the starboard side in the front. The only thing I had left to complete waxing the boat. It felt good to get that off my list. Next (way too long of a story...but here is the short version) I decided to go in the engine room and use the shop vac to try to suck out the broken impellor in my generator. When I replaced the impellor this spring it had 5 vanes broken off. I found one of them...but the others were gone. I was worried about that...but the generator water output was fine and the generator ran fine, so I decided not to tear everything apart and hope for the best. But...because it worked so good on Don’s boat I decided to give it a try on ours. And...it worked perfectly...I got the remaining 4 vanes out of the heat exchanger...and it only took 30 minutes for the entire job.
After lunch Deb finished up on the pictures and paying bills and banking, and I cleaned my mess (from waxing). At 2 we took a dinghy ride around the marina and out in the channel. It was a little cool...and every now and then we felt a little mist...but not bad. Back at the boat by and we got a surprise visit from Sherry Adams and a friend of hers..Sherry is my cousin, who I have not seen in many years. She has a place on Kentucky Lake...heard we were here...and stopped by the marina for a visit. Cool. Italian beef for dinner...in bed by 9.
Saturday...up at 5. No real reason...just woke up...guess I had enough sleep. A little cool this morning 65*...also mostly cloudy. About mid morning the sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Because it was so nice we decided to get the bikes out (before we moved aboard we bought folding bikes which I store in the engine compartment). This was the first time we have used them since we bought them...and the first time I have ridden a bike in many years. We decided to ride into town...about a mile away...and have lunch at Pattie’s, which is a local landmark and some would say a “must stop” for anyone coming through here. The day before, when my cousin Sherry visited, she mentioned that she and Mary Beth were going to come back to Grand Rivers on Saturday to go to a “Branson type” variety show. While we were in Grand Rivers we checked this out and bought tickets as well. That night Sherry stopped by the boat and picked us up and we went with them to the show...very good...glad we went.
Sunday...up at 4...to go fishing. As I was preparing for Steve Larry’s visit I was searching the web for fishing information and found one that said the best time to catch fish was between 5:50 and 6:30...so I decided to give it a try. Our dinghy works great for fishing, so I set it up the night before. It was a beautiful morning...about 68* and no wind. The only problem was, when I got out on the lake, it was so dark out that I could not fish...because I could not see. I figured that if I caught anything I would not be able to take the hook out. So I got to the spot I had checked out a couple of days before and threw an anchor and had a cup of coffee while I waited for it to get light enough..which was about 30 minutes. The fishing was awesome...I caught about 8 bass (I lost count) and was back to the boat by 8:30. Back at the boat Deb made pancakes and bacon and we decided to just relax for the morning. After lunch we took a long dinghy ride. The lake was so flat and beautiful. We went in and out of a lot of coves and just went exploring. We also went in one of the coves and got in the water and swam (actually floated) for a while. Back at the boat about 4...I watched the race I had taped and Deb read her book. For dinner Deb made some great tuna patties...and we watched the Bears game until bedtime. Great day.
Today (Monday)...no plans as of yet. My boat list is getting smaller, but I need to wax the rails...which I have been putting off. I also have a couple of fun things on the list...but who knows...maybe I’ll just go fishing!
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
This is a picture of Lake Barkley yesterday...it was flat and beautiful. Great for a dinghy ride.
One of the many coves just off the Lake Barkley channel. These folks found a great spot...deep all the way to the shore so they could just step off their boats.
Day 110
Monday, September 08, 2008
7:00 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
Weather: 66* with 45% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 and mostly sunny today
People always ask me...”what do you do all week”...so I kept some notes of what we did last week.
Tuesday (September 2nd)...turned out to be hot and sticky. I had plans to wax the boat, and Deb planned to do some laundry. But it was just too hot, so we reserved the courtesy van (they have 4 of them here) and after lunch we went into Paducah to do some shopping. We ended up going to a Super Wal-Mart for almost everything, except we had to also go to a liquor store for some supplies (hard to believe after what we spent at Herman’s in Ottawa). We were back at the boat by 3 and spent the next hour putting stuff where it belonged (always very important when you live on a boat, because space is a premium). Although we still don’t have a real routine, somewhere between 3 and 4 you can see us closing in the back deck (to take advantage of the air conditioning) and starting to settle down and read or just relax with the TV. That’s also the time that Andy Griffith comes on (although I always keep at least 10 episodes backed up on the DVR...who knows when I might need to watch Andy to calm my nerves) and also NASCAR comes on at 4 central time, so I can get my daily updates on the NASCAR world. For dinner we had steaks on the grill and watched The Closer which had been taped earlier.
Wednesday...Not as hot today, but still very sticky. You could not do much without sweating a lot...so we didn’t do much. Deb did the laundry and I did a couple of inside the boat projects (planning all our stops between here and Mobile). Deb also started to organize her pictures on the camera which could take some time. The afternoon started to really cloud up...but the rain stayed off to our west. Burgers on the grill for dinner.
Thursday...woke up to a pretty hard rain, that diminished as the day went on. I continued on inside projects on the computer and in the engine room. I also made a couple trips to the ships store (at the marina) for some parts and ordered a couple of things we needed that they did not have. Deb spent about 5 hours on the computer working on her pictures and she still has some time to go yet (she admits she waited too long). I also ordered a weather radio (the kind that comes on and wakes you up if severe weather is in your area) on the internet and it will be delivered to the marina. At about 5 we made a cocktail and took a dock walk. We ended up stopping by John and Candy’s boat (Isle of Skye) and also had a conversation with their dock neighbor (Don and Jane). We actually met Don and Jane is a cove not far from the marina, but they had to come back to the dock because their generator impellor went out and they needed to be at the dock for power. After some conversation Don said he had a big problem because the “vanes” on his impellor (like the spokes on a wheel) were missing and he was concerned they had gone in the heat exchanger of the generator (this would mean they would get clogged in the system and stop the water from going through, and shut down the generator). As we talked I came up with an idea...I could come over in the morning with my shop vac and try to suck out the broken pieces. He was very open to this idea and we agreed to do this tomorrow.
Before leaving the dock we talked to John and Candy about joining them for dinner at the Yacht Club...which we did. Food was not all that great...but the conversation was very interesting. They have sailed so many places in the world (while they home schooled their kids on board); crossed oceans; traversed the Panama Canal in their own boat; and had so many stories (I should also point out here that neither of them had ever owned a boat before one day they just decided to buy one) Many of the stories were something I would not want to experience myself...but they were certainly interesting.
Friday...slept in till 7. It was very cloudy and not as warm as it had been. Some of the time the clouds were so heavy it was like a mist in the air. At 9 (while Deb continued to organize pictures) I took the shop vac down the dock to see if we could get the impellor vanes out of Don’s heat exchanger. It turned out to work great and we felt sure we got all the broken rubber impellor out...which is a big deal because it will save him a LOT of work tearing the generator apart to get them. Back at the boat the clouds and mist had cleared some, so I washed the boat and finished waxing the starboard side in the front. The only thing I had left to complete waxing the boat. It felt good to get that off my list. Next (way too long of a story...but here is the short version) I decided to go in the engine room and use the shop vac to try to suck out the broken impellor in my generator. When I replaced the impellor this spring it had 5 vanes broken off. I found one of them...but the others were gone. I was worried about that...but the generator water output was fine and the generator ran fine, so I decided not to tear everything apart and hope for the best. But...because it worked so good on Don’s boat I decided to give it a try on ours. And...it worked perfectly...I got the remaining 4 vanes out of the heat exchanger...and it only took 30 minutes for the entire job.
After lunch Deb finished up on the pictures and paying bills and banking, and I cleaned my mess (from waxing). At 2 we took a dinghy ride around the marina and out in the channel. It was a little cool...and every now and then we felt a little mist...but not bad. Back at the boat by and we got a surprise visit from Sherry Adams and a friend of hers..Sherry is my cousin, who I have not seen in many years. She has a place on Kentucky Lake...heard we were here...and stopped by the marina for a visit. Cool. Italian beef for dinner...in bed by 9.
Saturday...up at 5. No real reason...just woke up...guess I had enough sleep. A little cool this morning 65*...also mostly cloudy. About mid morning the sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Because it was so nice we decided to get the bikes out (before we moved aboard we bought folding bikes which I store in the engine compartment). This was the first time we have used them since we bought them...and the first time I have ridden a bike in many years. We decided to ride into town...about a mile away...and have lunch at Pattie’s, which is a local landmark and some would say a “must stop” for anyone coming through here. The day before, when my cousin Sherry visited, she mentioned that she and Mary Beth were going to come back to Grand Rivers on Saturday to go to a “Branson type” variety show. While we were in Grand Rivers we checked this out and bought tickets as well. That night Sherry stopped by the boat and picked us up and we went with them to the show...very good...glad we went.
Sunday...up at 4...to go fishing. As I was preparing for Steve Larry’s visit I was searching the web for fishing information and found one that said the best time to catch fish was between 5:50 and 6:30...so I decided to give it a try. Our dinghy works great for fishing, so I set it up the night before. It was a beautiful morning...about 68* and no wind. The only problem was, when I got out on the lake, it was so dark out that I could not fish...because I could not see. I figured that if I caught anything I would not be able to take the hook out. So I got to the spot I had checked out a couple of days before and threw an anchor and had a cup of coffee while I waited for it to get light enough..which was about 30 minutes. The fishing was awesome...I caught about 8 bass (I lost count) and was back to the boat by 8:30. Back at the boat Deb made pancakes and bacon and we decided to just relax for the morning. After lunch we took a long dinghy ride. The lake was so flat and beautiful. We went in and out of a lot of coves and just went exploring. We also went in one of the coves and got in the water and swam (actually floated) for a while. Back at the boat about 4...I watched the race I had taped and Deb read her book. For dinner Deb made some great tuna patties...and we watched the Bears game until bedtime. Great day.
Today (Monday)...no plans as of yet. My boat list is getting smaller, but I need to wax the rails...which I have been putting off. I also have a couple of fun things on the list...but who knows...maybe I’ll just go fishing!
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
Here are our folding bikes...one folded...one ready to go. It takes less than a minute to fold or unfold them.
This is a picture of Lake Barkley yesterday...it was flat and beautiful. Great for a dinghy ride.
One of the many coves just off the Lake Barkley channel. These folks found a great spot...deep all the way to the shore so they could just step off their boats.
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