Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Motivation to clean out a lazarette...

January 27, 2016

A few days ago our propane stove which had been installed last spring suddenly decided not to work. The propane tank itself with its various controls resides inside the lazarette at the stern of the boat in its own special "cubby".  To access it, Jim had to clear out the entire lazarette which is huge and very deep - almost as deep as he is tall!  So out came two inflatable kayaks, 4 large bumpers, a drogue (sea anchor,) a plastic container with a variety of electric adapters, a 30 amp shore cable, a waterlogged bosun's chair, and 4-5 gallons of water which was not supposed to be there.


Emptying the lazarette
Bailing the water out of the lazarette
   



















After bailing out the water, Jim climbed inside the lazarette and was able to determine that a dead regulator was the culprit. Diagnosis was easy. Trying to find a replacement part was not. First there was a trip to West Marine.  Not exactly what we needed and very expensive.  Then there were a variety of very long phone calls (mostly on hold), with no definitive answer about local availability.  (How can staff not know if they have something in stock?) Then after an almost successful order on the internet I inadvertently disconnected Jim by turning off my hot spot at a crucial moment.  After signing on again he got the response that they no longer had one in stock!  Ultimately we drove to Home Depot in St. Petersburg where they had 10 in stock. (another hour) The actual installation was pretty straight forward and we were soon back in business in time for dinner.  Another day gone having spent it on a project that should have taken a few hours at the most. But the stove works!  And the lazarette is clean, dry and tidy! 




Jim down in the lazarette, regulator
in hand,  headlamp on to see better,
 headphones on to communicate
with me in the galley
Done!  Ready to fix dinner!




Saturday, January 23, 2016

Back at the Boat!

January 23, 2016

After what turned out to be a very busy, non nautical, summer, we arrived back at the boat later than planned.  We had about 10 days before we headed back to MN for Christmas and during that time we were able to check out most of the boat systems and most were still operating like they were supposed to!  A few quirky things turned up - like a refrigerator that was having identity problems and seemed to think it was a freezer.  After some intensive "therapy" it finally settled down as a fridge and we are now super pleased to have both a freezer and a refrigerator!  The outboard was also stubbornly recalcitrant, but relented when faced with the professional mechanics.

Our sons with family came to Florida over New Years and we had a great time on the boat for a couple of days.  We spent one night on anchor at Emerson Point aka Hulk Harbor.  En route Cy got to steer the boat, call in for a radio check and generally adapted well to a moving "house".  Many hours were spent making wondrous creations with legos and playing many games of "Go Fish".  We then spent 2 days in Orlando, one day in Disney World and one day at Hollywood Studios.  Cy now considers himself a true Jedi, having officially fought Darth Vader and used The Force to close a gate! 


Cy, the smallest Jedi, fights Darth Vader
Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean


Now what??  "To Do" lists, "To Buy" lists, "To Research" lists.  And funny thing about those lists, they just keep getting longer and longer no matter how hard we chip away at them.  At some point we will have to accept the fact that everything will not get done.  We are leaving our nice, safe, comfortable marina before the end of February - lists or no lists!