Log 173; Day 483; Sept. 16, 2009; Tidewater Marina, Baltimore, MD.

On Monday afternoon we had the boat pulled at Tidewater Yacht Service to pull the props and have them checked

In this shot, you can not only see the props, but right in front of the prop is the line cutters I have mentioned.

When we inspected the rest of the boat, we discovered an issue with the bow thruster fiberglass.

It looks like, when they installed the bow thruster (at the factory) they did not do a good job of incorporating the thruster tube, with the rest of the hull fiberglass. I have been in touch with Cruisers (the manufacturer of the boat) and we are getting an estimate to have this repaired.

After pulling the boat, and taking off the props, they pushed the boat back into a slip, and we will be here until the props are done...hopefully on Wednesday afternoon.

While we were at Tidewater Marina, we rode our bikes to a local hot spot...Nick's Fish House...great lunch

Like so many places we go for lunch, there are not a lot of folks who are there, when we get there...as soon as they open. Many times we have had lunch, and are back at the boat, before the place gets crowded.

This is a picture of a ship that left the harbor a couple of days ago, the SS John W. Brown, it was built in 1942, and is 441 feet long. It is now a floating museum.

And finally...this is a picture of some of Deb's family, with Brad and Patti (center on the bottom picture) from Salvage Crew. They stopped in Ottawa, on their way down the Illinois River, and ended up meeting many of the locals, and having a great time. We knew they would.

Log 173
Day 483
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

8:30 AM EDT
Location: Tidewater Yacht Service, Baltimore, MD.
Weather: 67 degrees, and mostly cloudy...50% chance of rain today and a high of 74

On Monday afternoon, we moved the boat about 2 miles, from Anchorage Marina, to Tidewater Marina to have the boat pulled. The problem we are having, is that since we had the props done in July, the port engine has been using about 5% more fuel, so I wanted to take them off, and send them back to the folks who did them, to check them out. They pulled the props off, and we were back floating, and in a slip at their marina, by 4 pm. The plan is to wait until the props are fixed, and then lift the boat again, and re-install the props...hopefully today (Wednesday). While I am not sure who will end up paying for this (us...or the prop shop), I will say the guy (Bob) at the prop shop has been very cooperative, and at least that part has gone well. Some would argue that it’s no big deal, to have one prop a little off, but I disagree. I want to know all systems are operating correctly. If, when we put the props back on, the port engine uses more fuel, then we have another problem to deal with.

Speaking of problems to deal with, while the boat was in the air, we also looked at around the boat, and noticed that the fiberglass around the bow thruster looked funny. The pictures tell a better story, but the bottom line is, I sent the pictures to Cruisers, and they want to get an estimate to have the fiberglass fixed. As I write this, I’m not exactly sure what we’ll end up doing, but I do think we will get it fixed while we are in the Baltimore area. I am assuming (hoping) that this fix will be covered by Cruisers. To fix this right, will not be a cheap deal.

On Tuesday, while waiting for the props to get fixed, we took a ride to lunch at a local hot spot called Nick’s Fish House. The reviews (on line) were not very flattering, but we liked the place, and had a great lunch. On the way back, we stopped at Walmart for some supplies, and later that afternoon, I took a LONG bike ride to find a post office. Thank God for those bikes. At first, I thought they were a pain to drag along. Now I love them to get around with, and actually enjoy riding them. I wonder if I will ride a bike when we live on land again?

As I finish writing this log, I just got off the phone with the prop shop. The props are done, and will be here by 10 am. And...we also have a time to pull the boat at 12:30. If all goes well, we should be back at Anchorage by mid afternoon.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 172; Day 480; Sept. 13, 2009; Anchorage Marina

As we continued to work on maintenance projects, the next thing on the list was replacing the zincs in the engines, and generator. The zinc on the left, is what they are supposed to look like (when they are new). The ones on the right are examples of how ours looked. The two on the right are completely gone. No doubt...time to change them.

Most of the zincs are not hard to change, but the one on the starboard aft requires me to crawal between the engine and the fuel tank. In order to do that, I first have to get in front of the engine

Then, after working my way around the engine (above), you have to pull yourself toward the aft, and I end up "wedged" between the fuel tank (on left) and that stainless bar you see (which holds up the salon floor)

All of that to get to one zinc, mounted on the bottom of the heat exchanger. The hard part is getting out (because you can't pull your self out)
The day on Saturday started out great. We received a "care package" from our friend Dave Armstrong...a special bottle of tequila. This will be put to good use.

After getting the tequila, we jumped on the bikes and took a nice long ride around the area. Here I am, looking at a local tavern, as a possible place to stop.

This is an historic area, not far from the boat, called Fells Point.

We ended up going all the way to downtown Baltimore, and having lunch at ESPN Zone

Part of downtown Baltimore

Sunset over Anchorage Marina

Log 172
Day 480
Sunday, September 13, 2009

7:30 AM EDT
Location: Anchorage Marina, Baltimore, MD.
Weather: 67 degrees with bright sun, and crystal clear skies...heading for 81 today

The nor’easter has blown through, and the rain and cold weather has gone with it. Friday was a miserable day (outside) with strong winds and pelting rain. Saturday was better, but it only reached a high of 65, and it was misting off, and on. As I sit on the back deck this morning, it is beautiful. The winds are light, the sun is bright, and it’s going to be a great day.

The last couple of days have been about continuing on projects. With the shower sump behind me, I needed to look at putting new zincs in the engine and generator. Zincs (or sacrificial anodes, as they are called on a boat) are there to attract any stray current in the water, and attract that current rather than have it attack other parts of the engine (or boat). They should be replaced (or inspected) at least once a year...depending on what type of waters you are cruising in. I have never replaced the engine zincs myself...but I had them replaced last winter in Fort Myers. My first job was just to inspect them, to see if they needed replacing. Imagine my surprise, when I found they were completely gone (check the picture). In some cases (I have 7 engine zincs in all) there was no zinc at all on the stud. Not good. So, by the time I read all the manuals, and found the location of the zincs, and after removing the zincs, and a few trips to West Marine to make sure I got the right ones, it took me all of Thursday to get this done. Friday morning I dove into the project, and most of it was slow going, but not to tough. The bad zinc (as in very hard to get at) I saved for last, and it was a real bear. Again, the pictures tell the story of just how hard it is to get behind the engine, and get at anything (you may remember I had to get back here to install a new air cleaner). So...after grunting; cussing; scraping by back, and belly; and banging my head, I got it installed. Then came the hard part. Getting back out of there. Let’s just say, it’s one of those jobs you feel so good about...when it’s over.

Also on Friday, (because it rained most of the day) I could check into a couple of leaks we had in the aft. The good news is, the leaks we had on the port side, are almost 100% dry now, but I still needed to get at the starboard side to try to see where they are coming from. After a couple of hours of looking, and trying everything I can think of, I have it narrowed down to the water coming in from the screws in my rub rail along side of the boat. So, the next step is to take all the screws out of the rub rail (there are probably 40 or 50 on the starboard side) and caulk each one, and put it back together. Then wait for it to rain again, and see how much better it is. If that does not work, I will have eliminated that part of the boat, and I’ll caulk something else. We also have a side window in the salon, that needs to be completely re-caulked. So that’s on the list.

On Saturday, most of the rain had stopped, and it was only a very slight drizzle, at times, so Deb and I rode our bikes from the marina to downtown Baltimore. A trip of about 5 miles (round trip). As usual, we made the trip around lunch time, and planned to stop for a burger somewhere. We ended up going to ESPN Zone, which is right in the heart of downtown. While it is certainly not for everyone, we did enjoy it, and were amazed at the size of the place; the noise; and the unbelievable amount of TV’s everywhere. Also...the beer (they had Stella) was ice cold; the fries were the best we have ever had; but the cheeseburger was not good (frozen (maybe more than once) and not much flavor, or juice). On the way back, we rode around several neighborhoods, and were amazed at how many local bars there were. Just where we rode, you could go to a different place every day, for a month, and not come close to trying them all. While we don’t plan to see them all, we did get a start, and stopped by one that looked really cool (old; dark; lots of ornate carvings in the wood; and Stella on tap). It turned out to be just ok, but I’m sure we will try several more...just to have something to compare to.

Today...it’s a weekend, so no work. I’m not sure about what Deb is doing yet, but I have a big day planned. I recorded last nights NASCAR race in Richmond, VA, so I have that to watch. Also...this is the first day of football season, so there will be games to record and watch. Finally...the Chicago Bears play on Sunday evening, so I have to see that. To top it off...Deb has made some chili, so I have that to look forward to for lunch. And, a good friend of ours sent me (what looks to be) some awesome tequila, so a margarita will be in order. Will this be a great day...or what???

Tomorrow...we plan to leave the slip about 1:30 pm and go a mile or two to Tidewater Marina, and have the boat pulled. Every since we had the props “tuned up” in July, the port engine has been using about 5% more fuel than the starboard engine, so I think they messed up the props somehow, and I have been working with the guys who did them, to get them back to them and check them out. So, they will pull the boat, pull off the props, and put us back in the water, and, using their tow boat, take us back to a slip. We will then wait for them to fix the props, and reverse the process. Hopefully, we will be back to Anchorage Marina by Wednesday or Thursday.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob