11/04/2012

Here is the culprit...what was this crap doing in my boat slip?

And then there were the additional crab traps near the back of the slip. One hanging off the dock and the other one was on the bottom, near the back of the boat.

Then the diver found this PVC pipe bracket that had solar panels and a cable on it.

My boat is docked in a junkyard!!!

Anyway, sailed for about 3 hrs on Saturday and 4 hrs on Sunday.
Dragging a jig and swimming bait behind the boat the whole time Sun without a bite.

11/3/2012

Well, I finally got the junk off the prop.

Had to have a diver come and work on doing it. The marina just couldn't see fit to help me out with pulling the boat around the dock, and lifting it on their forklift. Took a month for them to figure out they didn't want to help me. At least they covered the cost of the diver to cut it all loose. A crab trap on the bottom in the middle of my boat slip was the culprit. Then the diver found 2 more crab traps, and a pipe bracket for some solar panels. Wonder what else is laying around on the bottom in the Marina?

Pics to come as soon as I get back home. Don't have my SD card reader or my phone USB cable. My smart phone is DUMB!!! Or maybe I am...Duh!

So, I got to go for a sail today for about 3 hours. Might go out again Sunday for a while if the wind picks up a bit.

Should be back in business if anybody wants to visit and go for a trip. In between all the holiday travel coming up. Thanksgiving in Delphos, then XMAS party at Lake Erie.

10/1/2012

What a bust!!!!!!!

The sailing adventure with Chris and Michael started out great this morning. They arrived about 9:30 am and I had the boat ready to go. The rigging was all set for the sails, the jib was ready, fuel good, oil OK, GPS track with three points down to Carrabelle loaded into the Lowrance, a wet slip reserved at the Moorings in Carrabelle, cooler and food ready, and everyone aboard ready to get on with it.

Drop the mooring ropes and the engine fired up. Start to pull out of the slip and 10 feet of movement and.........CLUNKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The engine quits.  Duh??? Restart it,  put in gear, and CLUNK and quit again. What the H _ _ _!!!!
Tried reverse and the same thing. Drive shaft/prop locked up. Don't know what's going on.

So I end up fishing around with the gaff and can't find anything like ropes or cords in the area. Then I go in the water feeling around the prop area with my foot first. I feed a bunch of stuff not supposed to be there. I dive down and feel around by hand a feel lots of small wire and some sheet metal. Can't see anything in the green colored water. Must be a crab trap or something similar. Tried cutting the wires and pulling but no go. It's locked in real good. Asked Marina guy to pull boat around and raise back end w/forklift. Too windy today and tomorrow to do it. Ended up.....I'll come back in a few weeks and take care of it.

SO................10 feet is the length of the cruise for us.
Packed it in and went to their rented house for the night.

Sorry Chris and Michael, I was looking forward to the trip too. But we did have a nice visit.

9/30/2012

Got to the marina Sat afternoon and had a beer...1st things first. Got car unloaded and loaded up on the boat. Went to work on the pump issue and found a tripped thermal breaker I didn't know about. Got that reset and checked things out. Pump working OK now. A few other issues rsolved as well.

Now on to the keel crank today. Hope it's just a loose bolt, clamp, or something easy like that. Need some GOOD luck this weekend.Chris and Michael to be here Mon morning to go for a sail. Hope the weather holds out. Looks kninda rainy.

8/22/2012 and 8/23/2012

I finally talked Jeannie into an overnight on the sailboat, and a short trip out sailing, and back to the dock. We had a great morning, with a beautiful sunrise with our morning coffee at 7 am.

We got the boat ready and went out for a sail later in the morning, planning about an hour out and same back. Got the sails up before even getting out of the channel, and sailed an hour east from the last markers. Had good winds and made about 6 knots just under sail. U-turned at 10:30 am and headed back in. Winds changed some, and we only could make about 4 knots. Jeannie saw a dolphin right next to the boat while she was at the helm. YEA!!! She was acting captain!!!

Not sure what she was looking at, but it sure wasn't the GPS or the Compass. There were a lot of butterflies that we saw out about 2-3 miles offshore. Not sure where they came from.

Had some snafu on the trip back in the channel.
The centerboard crank up winch broke, or the cable came off, so I tried to raise it by pulling the cable directly....no go. Then we hit a sandbar, accidentally cause I wasn't paying attention, and that pushed it up, so I tied the cable off in the up position.
Jeannie pulled or braced on one of the front rail poles and finished breaking the base off.
One of the bilge pumps in the head isn't working for the floor drain.
Needless to say, I have some work to do for next weekend.
I should be able to get it all fixed up for Chris and Michael to go for a sail next week.

All in all, I think I might talk Jeannie into going again. YES!!!

9/8/2012

Was a rough move 2 weeks ago, to avoid huricane Isaac, over to St. Marks River. Got stuck on a sand bar Sun afternoon takin a shortcut and had to wait till Monday to get the boat at high tide.

All went well and docked out of the way of the "non-existent Isaac". Moved back to Panacea on Labor Day weekend.

This weekend, just some minor items to fix, curtains and wiring. Won't be here next weekend, plan to go Bass Fishing for only 2nd time this year. Still can't get Jeannie to even come down for an overnight stay on the boat.

Not much sailing in the next couple months with some travel, Guy's Weekend, Machine Show in Chicago, Thanksgiving, Machine Show in Vegas, Wurst XMAS, maybe more bass fishing too. Chris and Michael might come for a short sailing trip. Will be a welcome change to me going it alone.

Still.............livin the adventure when I get on board!!!!!!!!!

8/25/2012

Having to decide where to put the boat for hurricane Isaac. Most probable is up the St. Marks River. Plan to make a decision tonite, and move the boat Sunday if needed. Hope the hurricane takes a last minute left turn and heads for TX....(sorry Sarah)  :(  ...so I don't have to move the boat.