Log 175; Day 494; Sept. 27, 2009; Enjoying the Baltimore area

No real reason (story wise) to put this pictue in the log, but this was a mural on a wall in one of our lunch stops, and I really thought it was cool

This picture "is" part of this log. This is a shot of the park in Canton, a short walk from our boat, and they were having a wine and jazz festival on Saturday.
Although it was cool and overcast (it rained not long after this shot) they had a very good crowd.

All around this town square are bars and restaurants...great place

This is Mama's on the half shell. A bar owned by a guy we met (Skunny) here in Canton.

You have to read the log to get this, but here is the group, back from their "kyak trip for charity". Skunny (top left) owns Nacho Mama's and Mama's on the half shell. Sean (far right) is the manager and bartender at Nacho Mama's who we met in July. These guys looked pretty rough...after 6 days in a kayak

Skunny was excited to take this shot with Deb, because he announced to the crowd "hey everybody, we have our first kyak groupie"

Deb and Sean...I took these pictures as a "anniversary present" to Deb. She loves to be in the middle of these events and get her picture taken. Me...not so much.

Again...part of her anniversary.

We walked about 20 minutes in the rain to greet the kayaks, as they made it to Fells Point

These guys were having a blast

Only a small group on hand to welcome them...glad we were there

5 guys..and one girl. She was the tough one.

This is Max's place...the other "challanger" in the kayak race

It's a big place, with lots of people. We like Canton better.

Log 175
Day 494
Sunday, September 27, 2009

6:30 AM EDT
Location: Anchorage Marina, Baltimore, MD.
Weather: 64 and light rain...heading to mid 70’s today

It started raining yesterday afternoon, and rained all night. Not very hard, but raining all the time. The radar this morning shows the rain has almost passed us, and the sun should come out later today. The next few days will be highs in the 60’s and lows in the 50’s.

Well, it’s been almost a week since I wrote a log. As I have said before, it’s hard (for me) to write captain’s logs, when we’re not cruising, because I think, who cares what we’re doing. But, then I start to get questioning comments, about why haven’t you sent a log out, so I write one.

We continue to enjoy our time here at Anchorage Marina in Baltimore, and the projects continue to get completed. Deb has wiped down everything inside the boat, and organized things. I have taken down; cleaned; and waxed, all the isinglass...a job I don’t care to do, but sure looks great when it’s done. I also continue to TRY to keep the outside of the boat clean, but it is a daily battle here at this slip. After talking to our neighbors, I have finally figured out what the issue is. In this area there are steel factories, that emit some black dust, and it gets on (and in) everything. If you wash the boat, and it rains the next day, you can see puddles of black water laying on the boat, from the dust the rain has washed off. Not much you can do about it, except keep washing it off. I can only imagine what a boat would look like if you just left it here...and not cleaned it very often. I’ve also fixed the aft stateroom light; fixed the interior speakers; fixed the lights in the helm area; and installed a new radio. This next week we need to change the oil in all the engines; wax the chrome; clean the strainers; (maybe) wax the hull; and in general, finish any projects before we pull the boat next Monday (Oct. 5th).

Besides working...we have also found time to have fun each day. Deb and I will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary tomorrow (Sept. 28), so each day this last week has been, “The 7 days of Anniversary” (like the 12 days of Christmas). We never do anything big (for each other) on any birthdays (ours is on the same day), holidays, or anniversary’s, so this time we thought we do nothing big...for 7 days. On “The 5th day of anniversary” (Saturday) we rented a car, to get supplies we could not get at the local stores. We stopped at the liquor store, and went to Wal-Mart, to buy oil for the engines. (It’s amazing. At West Marine, the oil I need, is almost $18 @ gallon. At Wal-Mart...it’s $11. When you need 13 gallons, it’s worth the trip). Today we’ll use the car to go to the auto parts store (fuses for the boat), and Home Depot (other boat supplies). Anytime you have a car, you plan well, and have a “car list” (things you can’t get by walking).

Anyway...we also had a great time on Saturday, when we walked over to Canton, to follow up on our new friends who were completing their kayaking trip. The short version of the story is, when we came through Baltimore, in late July, we found this great place called Nacho Mama’s, and met a great guy (bartender) name Sean. Over lunch, he told us about a 166 mile kayak trip, they were going to do for charity. 3 people from that bar...against 3 people from another bar (Max’s) were going to compete, and try to raise about $50,000 for a local charity. We told him we thought the charity was a good one, and would like to help support the cause, and ended up doing so. When we got back here (in September) and went back to the bar, Sean instantly recognized us, and we again had a great time. We also met the owner of the bar (Skunny...who was also kayaking for charity) and had lunch at another bar he owns (Mama’s on the half shell). Through these lunch’s we got to know some of these people, and were looking forward to seeing them when they returned from their trip at 5 pm, on Saturday. In advance of their arrival, we walked to Canton, at about 2 pm, because they were having a wine and jazz festival, and ended up stopping by Nacho Mama’s for beer. As soon as we walk in the door, we are greeted by Sean, and all of his kayak mates, who had just returned from their trip (actually...their trip was supposed to end at 5 pm, at another location in the inner harbor (Fells Point) but they got back early, so they had all gathered at Nacho Mama’s...to have a beer, and wait until 4 or so, and then paddle to the official end of their trip). Anyway...they treated us like one of their crowd (hugs from Sean, and kisses from Skunny), buying us drinks, and of course Deb had to have here picture taken with all of them. At 4, they left the bar, and headed to get their kayaks, and Deb and I walked (in the rain) from Canton to Fells Point (a 20 minute walk. Along the way, we stopped at a cool bar with a great band playing, and made it to Fells Point, and the kayak arrival just before 5. There was not a very big crowd gathered for their arrival (raining and cold) but it was fun to see them come in, and fun to be part of their crowd. As I have said before, this is a great neighborhood, and we have really enjoyed it here.

Today...is “The 6th day of Anniversary” and we have no big plans. After car runs to Home Depot, and different places, there is a NASCAR race to watch, and the Bears play at 4 EDT. We’ll see what happens beside that.

Tomorrow...”The 7th (and official) day of Anniversary, Deb wants to go to the Baltimore Aquarium for her “special” gift, and I will want to enjoy a nice cheeseburger somewhere (something different for me). I’m sure we can accomplish both of these without a problem. I’m also sure glad we are simple people.

From there...the plan is to pull the boat on the 5th (one week from tomorrow) and for Deb and me to go to a hotel for a couple of nights, while they repair the fiberglass on the hull, around the bow thruster. Hopefully they will have the boat done, and back in the water, by that Thursday, because on Friday, a college friend, and his wife (Randy & Nancy, from California) will be coming to Baltimore for the weekend. We’re looking forward to spending some time with them, and then, from there we plan on heading south on Monday, October 12th.

Until then...I’ll sign off with what our next door neighbor said to me yesterday, when I ask him “how’s everything going today”?. He said...”Every day is a holiday...every meal, a feast”. I agree.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 174; Day 488; Sept. 21, 2009; Enjoying Baltimore

This area of Inner Harbor is a great spot.

First we'll take a tour by dinghy...

This is the center of Inner Harbor...about a 15 minute dinghy ride from our marina

This is one of the many old warehouses that they are converting to shops and condos

And now...a walking tour of the same area

Log 174
Day 488
Monday, September 21, 2009

7:30 AM EDT
Location: Anchorage Marina, Baltimore, MD.
Weather: 62 degrees, and partly cloudy...slight chance of rain today, and heading to 78 degrees

The weather has been nice the last few days in Baltimore. The skies are mostly clear, and although it gets to the mid 70’s each day, you can feel a little touch of fall in the air. It has also been getting to the low 60’s, or upper 50’s, during the night, so we have had the windows open, and it has been great sleeping.

We are back in our slip at Anchorage Marina. Last Wednesday morning, they delivered the props back to Tidewater Marina about 10 am, and we had the props put on, and were floating by 1:30. I took a couple of measured fuel runs after we left Tidewater, and things are back to “normal”...as far as fuel burn is concerned. So, this means that there was something wrong with the port prop...and, whatever it was, they fixed it. The good news is, they stood behind their prop repair, and did not charge us anything to fix it (last time they charged us $750), the bad news is, we had to pay for all the costs of pulling the boat (twice) and removal and installing the props, which was a fair amount of money. Oh well...everything is working great now.

Speaking of working great...we have been chipping away at my maintenance list, and only have a few things left. But, as always, there are new things to add. Like...the light under the cabinet in the aft cabin, has been acting very erratic, so I ordered a new one yesterday (over the internet). Also...for some time now, our AM/FM radio in the helm area has had a noise in it (which sounds like a hum from the CD player). I knew at some point the noise would get louder...and it did...yesterday. I tore it apart...but, no luck. We need a new one. I also ordered one of those yesterday (also on the internet). Add to that, the speakers inside the boat, stopped working all of a sudden (I know what the issue is, but have not tried to fix it yet). And...I have decided to change the oil (myself) while we have time here in Baltimore. I used to do this myself all the time, but decided (for room sake) not to bring the necessary containers to do this. After watching several mechanics (I use that term loosely) crawl around in my engine room, and mess up more than they fix, I have decided to buy some containers and do it myself (not to mention saving a few hundred $). The way I will have to do it, will take a fair amount of time...but I have the time, so why not? For Deb’s list...she continues to work on keeping the inside of the boat in great shape, uses the stores in the area to keep up on our “stocking” needs.

Along with working on several projects, Deb and I have really enjoyed our time here in Baltimore. I will say, this marina is kind of weird, in that, there is no activity. Lots of boats...but no one goes anywhere. Two friends, who have been here for extended time, had told us the same thing, but we never really noticed it, until we paid attention. Weird. But, that said...this location is a 10. Grocery store; liquor store; West Marine; and more restaurants than you can imagine. All within a short walk, or a short bike ride away. But the thing we like the best, is the “feel” of the area. Canton...just a block or two away...has a great neighborhood feel to it. Each place we go to we like better, and the people are very friendly. Fells Point...a few blocks the other direction...is like walking back into an old historic district. Cobble stone streets, with old taverns lining the waterfront. Downtown Baltimore is about a 30 minute ride (a great ride) away, and has everything you could want. And by dinghy, we have found many other spots, that we did not know were around here. We plan on checking these out this week. All this...and a very cheap slip rate...says this is a great place to hang out for a while.

Well...it’s almost 9, and time to get going. The first thing on my list today, is to do a very complete job of washing the boat. I’m going to climb on the hardtop, and scrub everything, and work my way down. I predict it’s going to be a great day.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

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