Much has been accomplished in the 7+ weeks we've been at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. We're getting set to push off for points north tomorrow - Friday, July 8 - but here's what's been done so far, if you separate out the usual frantic buying of boat parts & cruising guides:
Topsides: rig's been tuned, mainsail's been repaired here & there, the inner forestay's been made permanent & our staysail has been re-cut to accomodate the new inner forestay's new roller furler. Thanks, Mack Sails!
GB replaced the bow's 2 running lights, which shorted out in spectacular fashion en route from Mexico to Florida due to faulty wiring. GB will do more re-wiring at our next stop in Brunswick, Georgia.
Spare alternator & electric motor for anchor windlass have been refurbished. Thanks, Vic!
We drove across the Florida peninsula to Tarpon Springs in order to personally deliver our KISS wind generator to Hotwire for some needed repairs & refurbishment. Thank you for your work and your hospitality, Libbie & John!
Belowdecks: new mattresses in both the V-berth & stern cabin, courtesy of EJ Schrader Mattress Company. Sweet.
GB replaced the raw water strainer to the engine intake, to hopefully correct some siphon-breaking problems we've recently been having upon engine startup after we've been heeled over while sailing. More on this in a future post.
New upholstery in saloon & nav station plus some new foam here & there; new covers for cockpit cushions; clean carpet, all due to the hard work & professionalism of Canvas Works - thank you, Brant and Miranda!
Meanwhile, I sewed new curtains & throw-pillow covers during the times when GB didn't have the rest of the boat torn up installing central air conditioning. GB's worked steadily on the A/C project for most of our time here in Stuart and thanks to him we've stayed comfortably cool; but there are still a few bugs in the system and the bilges have periodically flooded. GB will continue to fine tune the project but it looks like most of the problematic parts of the job are behind us. Once GB gets some rest, he might post the details of this giant job.
Pics will also follow. Honest. Right after we sail to Georgia & regroup. We're planning on taking the Intracoastal Waterway from Stuart 21 miles north to Fort Pierce, and then if the weather continues to be favorable(ish) we'll go offshore for 2 or 3 days the rest of the way to Georgia. Complication: the last Space Shuttle launch is scheduled for Friday, 7/8, which may require us to sail a much wider berth around Cape Canaveral on our way north. Never had to consider NASA security zones in my float plan before. Wowzers.
More later. Must look at weather forecasts now.
Luckily or unluckily, you won't have to worry about the space shuttle ever again after that launch.
Posted by: David | July 11, 2011 at 07:10 PM
No kidding, definitely won't have to worry about that ever again.
Posted by: Clint Rowley | September 17, 2011 at 10:59 PM