Kerm here,
We were in this anchorage before on our last loop. But back then all the other boats were already anchored and all we had to do was tie to them. This year, we had to anchor and have Misstickle reverse anchor into us and tie along just in case the wind changed. A couple of tries and we got a good dig in although on the first try we picked up a rope. Oh dear, well at least not a tree. We had a nice game of cards with Misstickle, dinner and off to bed as we had to wake up early to beat a storm coming in.
Currently we are in Demopolis for what I hope is a couple days of R and R but we'll see what the morning brings. Right now, I'm just happy to be tied to something that is firmly attached to the sea bed.
When you pull up an anchor after digging in for the night you bring up this black gooey mess that sticks to everything so when we got to Demopolis we broke out the hose to clean up the mess. When Chris pulled up the anchor and trip line this morning she looked like the tar baby from Song of the South.
Did an extensive check of all the engine room stuff and am glad to say that everything was in order.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
October 29th
Kerm here, 8:30
We left Columbus mid morning an had an uneventful day but had a bit of a rough time anchoring Pickensville, Al. It seems that most loopers eventually have a theme to their cruise. Some like to find the best restaurants along the way. Others looks for history locations and yet others may look for the best craft beers or do some birding We, on the other hand see how many species of trees we can pick up with our anchor. Yes, we did it again but this time we had a hat trick. Long story but eventually Misstickle felt sorry for us and let us tie up to them but they are a bit concerned that they may have hooked onto a rock and it's going to be a bugger getting it out. Me, I think it's a tree but we'll see when we pull out this morning.
Next destination is Sumpter Landing anchorage and then on to Demopolis on Thursday. A storm is predicted for Thursday night so I want to have the safety of a marina but we'll see what the tribal council has to day about it.
Update 9:30
Misstickle can't get their anchor up and after considerable maneuvering and trying every method under the sun, nothing. So, the Southern Belle came to their rescue. We took their trip line and attached it to our boat and pulled it out from the opposite direction. Not a rock but a tree. The Belle's karma must have rubbed off on them but at least they saved an anchor.
We left Columbus mid morning an had an uneventful day but had a bit of a rough time anchoring Pickensville, Al. It seems that most loopers eventually have a theme to their cruise. Some like to find the best restaurants along the way. Others looks for history locations and yet others may look for the best craft beers or do some birding We, on the other hand see how many species of trees we can pick up with our anchor. Yes, we did it again but this time we had a hat trick. Long story but eventually Misstickle felt sorry for us and let us tie up to them but they are a bit concerned that they may have hooked onto a rock and it's going to be a bugger getting it out. Me, I think it's a tree but we'll see when we pull out this morning.
Next destination is Sumpter Landing anchorage and then on to Demopolis on Thursday. A storm is predicted for Thursday night so I want to have the safety of a marina but we'll see what the tribal council has to day about it.
Update 9:30
Misstickle can't get their anchor up and after considerable maneuvering and trying every method under the sun, nothing. So, the Southern Belle came to their rescue. We took their trip line and attached it to our boat and pulled it out from the opposite direction. Not a rock but a tree. The Belle's karma must have rubbed off on them but at least they saved an anchor.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Columbus, MS
Kerm here,
After a wonderful three nights at the waterfall it was time to move on. Misstickle and the Belle moved on to an anchorage above the Whitten Lock at a place called Five Fingers. Again a beautiful anchorage. Anchoring has never been one of my favorites and the fickle finger of fate bit us again. We put the anchor down in about 20 feet of water and it dragged. Something did not feel right so we tried to bring the anchor back up but the windless struggled. Finally, we got it to break water and there was a tree attached along with a block of concrete tied to the tree. I had to break out our trusty bow saw and cut the dang thing off. Apparently it is common down here to sink a tree to create a fish habitat thus making your own special hot spot. Let me see, 3 trees last loop and 1 so far this trip. And people wonder why I am not a fan of anchoring.
Bright and early we pushed off to an anchorage above the Wilkins lock near Smithsville. No trees attacked our anchor. It was a very quiet night, no wind and no current. We push off at daybreak the next morning along with another looper, Osprey, who we have seen before. The locks tend to bunch people up so there are a lot of "we've seen you before" moments. Our plan was to anchor short of The Columbus Marina and go in early the next day so we could take advantage of their loaner car.
The day progressed so well starting out with nailing all three locks with their doors open. Some quick calculations and we figured we could be at Columbus Marina by 1:00 and get a day out of it so we pushed on. As we passed our original chosen anchorage above Columbus we knew we made the right decision. My first thought was, " I ain't go'n in there no matter what".
Marine radios. I don't know what it is but I have a marine radio phobia. I don't like using them and can't understand what people are saying on them. I always wanted to become a pilot but each time I took a lesson I had no idea what people were saying on the radio. Oh well, at least son Dan is flying and I fly vicariously thru him. I'm getting a bit better now that I added a post radio amp and speaker on the fly bridge helm. I can hear better and instead of a panic attack when someone calls it's just a blood pressure spike and a desire for a Bud Lite. Don't worry there is no drinking on the Belle when the engine is running. So, as with any new gizmo on a boat, there is a learning curve. At times people could hear me but I could not hear them much to the the frustration of our buddy boat and lock masters. Seems with the the amp the volume on the radio itself has to be set just right to make everything come thru. Learning curve.
The Belle is running well and systems seem to be cooperating. Of course there is a list of should do's and when we get to Fort Myers we will spend a couple of weeks working it. I want everything just right before heading to the Bahamas. At some point, I would also like to ride on a similar boat and see if the thumps and vibrations are similar to the Belle. Everything in the drive line is to spec but I don't know if what I hear is the nature of the beast or if something is not quite right.
After a wonderful three nights at the waterfall it was time to move on. Misstickle and the Belle moved on to an anchorage above the Whitten Lock at a place called Five Fingers. Again a beautiful anchorage. Anchoring has never been one of my favorites and the fickle finger of fate bit us again. We put the anchor down in about 20 feet of water and it dragged. Something did not feel right so we tried to bring the anchor back up but the windless struggled. Finally, we got it to break water and there was a tree attached along with a block of concrete tied to the tree. I had to break out our trusty bow saw and cut the dang thing off. Apparently it is common down here to sink a tree to create a fish habitat thus making your own special hot spot. Let me see, 3 trees last loop and 1 so far this trip. And people wonder why I am not a fan of anchoring.
Bright and early we pushed off to an anchorage above the Wilkins lock near Smithsville. No trees attacked our anchor. It was a very quiet night, no wind and no current. We push off at daybreak the next morning along with another looper, Osprey, who we have seen before. The locks tend to bunch people up so there are a lot of "we've seen you before" moments. Our plan was to anchor short of The Columbus Marina and go in early the next day so we could take advantage of their loaner car.
The day progressed so well starting out with nailing all three locks with their doors open. Some quick calculations and we figured we could be at Columbus Marina by 1:00 and get a day out of it so we pushed on. As we passed our original chosen anchorage above Columbus we knew we made the right decision. My first thought was, " I ain't go'n in there no matter what".
Marine radios. I don't know what it is but I have a marine radio phobia. I don't like using them and can't understand what people are saying on them. I always wanted to become a pilot but each time I took a lesson I had no idea what people were saying on the radio. Oh well, at least son Dan is flying and I fly vicariously thru him. I'm getting a bit better now that I added a post radio amp and speaker on the fly bridge helm. I can hear better and instead of a panic attack when someone calls it's just a blood pressure spike and a desire for a Bud Lite. Don't worry there is no drinking on the Belle when the engine is running. So, as with any new gizmo on a boat, there is a learning curve. At times people could hear me but I could not hear them much to the the frustration of our buddy boat and lock masters. Seems with the the amp the volume on the radio itself has to be set just right to make everything come thru. Learning curve.
The Belle is running well and systems seem to be cooperating. Of course there is a list of should do's and when we get to Fort Myers we will spend a couple of weeks working it. I want everything just right before heading to the Bahamas. At some point, I would also like to ride on a similar boat and see if the thumps and vibrations are similar to the Belle. Everything in the drive line is to spec but I don't know if what I hear is the nature of the beast or if something is not quite right.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Paradise Mississippi Style
Kerm here,
We're still at the waterfall anchorage as we believe that it would be hard to beat the beauty and advantages that this place has. Wind protection, being able to pull right up to shore plus the phones and WiFi work. So it looks like one more day and night before we push on to the Tenn-Tom Waterway on our way to Demopolis and then Mobile.
Good news. Bill Collins, our old friend, will be leaving the Kentucky Dam Marina in the next couple of days and will meet up with us sometime in the next week or so. We are in an old 'crawler trawler' and his boat is in a class of fast trawlers so catching up should be a breeze.
I found the problem with the lower station depth meter after considerable troubleshooting. The sender is in a well attached to the inside of the hull. It's supposed to be filled with antifreeze for the sender to work. The epoxy holding it to the hull partially broke away and the antifreeze spilled out. All I had to do was re-epoxy the well to the hull, fill 'er up with antifreeze and presto the depth meter works.
An affliction that hits all loopers is that a brown stain forms on the front of the hull where the bow wave comes up. The stain is caused by all the tannin in the river water. You can almost tell where a looper has been by the severity of the 'mustache'. As the Belle is pulled to shore I took the opportunity to polish out the brown and give it a coat of wax. It looks decent but now it's the whitest part of the boat.
Today, Chris and I will be coating some of the teak with Semco but for the most part we will be taking it easy and perhaps knock back a couple hundred pages of a book. I'm teaching Ruby, from our buddy boat, how to play cribbage so that may be in order for a happy hour activity.
Weather report...37degrees outside this morning.
We're still at the waterfall anchorage as we believe that it would be hard to beat the beauty and advantages that this place has. Wind protection, being able to pull right up to shore plus the phones and WiFi work. So it looks like one more day and night before we push on to the Tenn-Tom Waterway on our way to Demopolis and then Mobile.
Good news. Bill Collins, our old friend, will be leaving the Kentucky Dam Marina in the next couple of days and will meet up with us sometime in the next week or so. We are in an old 'crawler trawler' and his boat is in a class of fast trawlers so catching up should be a breeze.
I found the problem with the lower station depth meter after considerable troubleshooting. The sender is in a well attached to the inside of the hull. It's supposed to be filled with antifreeze for the sender to work. The epoxy holding it to the hull partially broke away and the antifreeze spilled out. All I had to do was re-epoxy the well to the hull, fill 'er up with antifreeze and presto the depth meter works.
An affliction that hits all loopers is that a brown stain forms on the front of the hull where the bow wave comes up. The stain is caused by all the tannin in the river water. You can almost tell where a looper has been by the severity of the 'mustache'. As the Belle is pulled to shore I took the opportunity to polish out the brown and give it a coat of wax. It looks decent but now it's the whitest part of the boat.
Today, Chris and I will be coating some of the teak with Semco but for the most part we will be taking it easy and perhaps knock back a couple hundred pages of a book. I'm teaching Ruby, from our buddy boat, how to play cribbage so that may be in order for a happy hour activity.
Weather report...37degrees outside this morning.
Waterfall Anchorage - Pickwick Lake
October 23, 24 and 25
This little bay is a most wonderful spot. Our buddy boat, Misstickle, and Southern Bell have it all to ourselves. We are enjoying campfires on the beach, walks in the woods and the constant sound of the waterfall in the background. I have taken lots of pictures and I'll let them do the talking...
Action down at the beach...
That's it for now...
This little bay is a most wonderful spot. Our buddy boat, Misstickle, and Southern Bell have it all to ourselves. We are enjoying campfires on the beach, walks in the woods and the constant sound of the waterfall in the background. I have taken lots of pictures and I'll let them do the talking...
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| Nosed up to the beach in the very protected little cove |
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| Pickwick Lake through the trees |
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| The trail up the hill to the top of the waterfall |
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| Rope swing... too hazardous for my blood |
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| Little 'soup bowls' scoured out of the solid rock |
Action down at the beach...
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| Gathering firewood |
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| Brandishing a bow saw for hacking up fire logs |
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Grand Harbor Marina
On Sunday we headed off to Grand Harbor Marina one of our favorite marinas on the loop. Chris will update you on the cruise.
We received one of two packages we were expecting here. The one we received had our new LED light bulbs for the red and green navigation lights. The lenses of our current lights were faded and only showed white. The new LED bulbs are color specific. One red and one green. With slight modifications I was able to maintain our current bronze bezels. Wow, are they ever bright and the amp draw is less than 1/10 of the old bulbs. We also installed LED's in the V berth for reading. As these are normally used with the engine off the amp reduction is welcome.
The package we hope to get today contains our new foot switches for the windlass. One died last week and I had to mickey mouse a toggle switch to get us by. This is the second one we went thru since we bought the boat. I'm changing brands from an Italian brand to an English one. And no, they are not Lucas brand. (Inside joke for our vintage English car friends).
The new battery for the generator was dead when we tried to start it on the cold morning at Wolf Island. I've been troubleshooting and found that the generator is only charging to 12.4 V and normal charging systems give a 14.2 V charge. The 12.4 is not enough to keep the AGM battery topped off and falls to 11.8 V or so when the generator is not running. At this point I'm going to buy a battery charger to keep it topped off. I'm going to have to think about this for awhile.
The algae in the fuel is at an all time low. The new polishing system is working but it eats filters. At some point I'm sure that I sure this will slow.
The engine continues to use less oil than ever. Normally after running a dozen hours it would use up to a quart. Now it uses less than half that. Perhaps running the engine harder than we have in the past is better for the rings. I'm not sure but I think the fuel burn even at the higher RPM's might not be all that bad either. I'm tracking right now but waiting to pile on a few more miles to get an accurate read.
And the depth finder. With the new adjustments the one on the fly bridge seems to be working 95% of the time. Some fine tuning might be required to close the gap to 100%. At some point I will start attacking the other one but it's a different brand and adjustment in gain may not be possible. If so, I will explore converting the transducer to Garmin and hook it into an old chart plotter down by the lower station.
Kerm
We received one of two packages we were expecting here. The one we received had our new LED light bulbs for the red and green navigation lights. The lenses of our current lights were faded and only showed white. The new LED bulbs are color specific. One red and one green. With slight modifications I was able to maintain our current bronze bezels. Wow, are they ever bright and the amp draw is less than 1/10 of the old bulbs. We also installed LED's in the V berth for reading. As these are normally used with the engine off the amp reduction is welcome.
The package we hope to get today contains our new foot switches for the windlass. One died last week and I had to mickey mouse a toggle switch to get us by. This is the second one we went thru since we bought the boat. I'm changing brands from an Italian brand to an English one. And no, they are not Lucas brand. (Inside joke for our vintage English car friends).
The new battery for the generator was dead when we tried to start it on the cold morning at Wolf Island. I've been troubleshooting and found that the generator is only charging to 12.4 V and normal charging systems give a 14.2 V charge. The 12.4 is not enough to keep the AGM battery topped off and falls to 11.8 V or so when the generator is not running. At this point I'm going to buy a battery charger to keep it topped off. I'm going to have to think about this for awhile.
The algae in the fuel is at an all time low. The new polishing system is working but it eats filters. At some point I'm sure that I sure this will slow.
The engine continues to use less oil than ever. Normally after running a dozen hours it would use up to a quart. Now it uses less than half that. Perhaps running the engine harder than we have in the past is better for the rings. I'm not sure but I think the fuel burn even at the higher RPM's might not be all that bad either. I'm tracking right now but waiting to pile on a few more miles to get an accurate read.
And the depth finder. With the new adjustments the one on the fly bridge seems to be working 95% of the time. Some fine tuning might be required to close the gap to 100%. At some point I will start attacking the other one but it's a different brand and adjustment in gain may not be possible. If so, I will explore converting the transducer to Garmin and hook it into an old chart plotter down by the lower station.
Kerm
Pickwick Lock and Dam - October 20
We left the Wolf Island anchorage a little after nine a.m. and aimed for the Pickwick Lock and Dam. Current was very strong as you can see by this sunken buoy...
We arrived at the lock after a two hour cruise and unfortunately had a very long wait (four hours) as some commercial traffic cleared through.
Finally arrived at Grand Harbor Marina at 5:00 after a hard slogging day...28 miles that seemed to take a very long time. Happy to see other loopers at the docks and we were also contacted by Misstickle who ended up behind us (they went to Memphis to see Graceland) and were aiming for Grand Harbor the next day.
Decided to layover for a couple of days to re-provision and complete some projects.
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| Interesting choice for your cabin...a container?? |
We arrived at the lock after a two hour cruise and unfortunately had a very long wait (four hours) as some commercial traffic cleared through.
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| This tow had trouble getting out of the lock and had to perform some wiggling maneuvers to correct course |
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| Happy to finally be in the lock after a lengthy delay |
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| Pickwick is a deep lock, over 50 feet |
Finally arrived at Grand Harbor Marina at 5:00 after a hard slogging day...28 miles that seemed to take a very long time. Happy to see other loopers at the docks and we were also contacted by Misstickle who ended up behind us (they went to Memphis to see Graceland) and were aiming for Grand Harbor the next day.
Decided to layover for a couple of days to re-provision and complete some projects.
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| Southern Belle and other Loopers at Grand Harbor |
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Anchored in Wolf Island, Tennessee
Sunday, October 20
We are fogged in for the time being in this nice anchorage. Fog is a common problem at this time of year as air temperatures at night fall faster than the temps of the water. The fog usually burns off fairly quickly so I'll try to get this blog entry done before the captain "pulls the chocks".
The last time we anchored here, with Passport and other Looper friends, we were serenaded by a calliope on a boat called 'Annie' that joined us in the anchorage. It was a fun time. Remember, John and Mary? Last night we were treated to a magnificent harvest moon rise featuring the biggest, most brilliant orange moon I've ever seen. Pictures did not turn out so you will have to take my word for it.
It was very cold last night and we were happy to be able to crack up the generator and turn on the heater this morning to take the chill off. That generator is a miracle! Our poor dinghy, Tinkerbelle, is showing the cold shrivels...
We will enter Pickwick Lake today. A beautiful area packed with great little coves and nooks for anchoring out. We have to stop at the marina, Grand Harbor, to pick up some boat things we ordered and to take on some fresh water. I also plan to get some of their packaged Barbeque ribs. Delicious and easy to prepare on board.
Our ice machine has been officially christened "Passport" which is totally fitting, as Mary and John used to share their precious lumps with me. We think of our dear boat buddies often and now you will be honored on a regular basis.
That's it for now. The motor has just been turned on and I have my pre-departure duties to perform.
Love to all
Christe
We are fogged in for the time being in this nice anchorage. Fog is a common problem at this time of year as air temperatures at night fall faster than the temps of the water. The fog usually burns off fairly quickly so I'll try to get this blog entry done before the captain "pulls the chocks".
The last time we anchored here, with Passport and other Looper friends, we were serenaded by a calliope on a boat called 'Annie' that joined us in the anchorage. It was a fun time. Remember, John and Mary? Last night we were treated to a magnificent harvest moon rise featuring the biggest, most brilliant orange moon I've ever seen. Pictures did not turn out so you will have to take my word for it.
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| Wolf Island |
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| Quite a bit of current in this anchorage |
It was very cold last night and we were happy to be able to crack up the generator and turn on the heater this morning to take the chill off. That generator is a miracle! Our poor dinghy, Tinkerbelle, is showing the cold shrivels...
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| Dinghy goose bumps |
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| Poor little thing...we are heading south, I promise |
We will enter Pickwick Lake today. A beautiful area packed with great little coves and nooks for anchoring out. We have to stop at the marina, Grand Harbor, to pick up some boat things we ordered and to take on some fresh water. I also plan to get some of their packaged Barbeque ribs. Delicious and easy to prepare on board.
Our ice machine has been officially christened "Passport" which is totally fitting, as Mary and John used to share their precious lumps with me. We think of our dear boat buddies often and now you will be honored on a regular basis.
That's it for now. The motor has just been turned on and I have my pre-departure duties to perform.
Love to all
Christe
Friday, October 18, 2013
Concrete people are mixed up and set in their ways
Kerm here,
After doing this stuff for almost 3 years we have a pretty much a set way of doing things and deviating from our norms creates some discomfort for both us and in the case yesterday and today we pissed off a group we were cruising with. Perhaps we are so set in our ways that we have become blind to others. Anyway, we became the main anchor for 5 boats with only one other anchor set from another boat that had less chain than you would hold a garbage can cover on and then when asked about scope, well, o' dear. If the wind would have changed we would have had a mess but everything worked out. And, and then they slept in. We broke up the group with starting our engine at 8:30 and really pissed them off because it was too early. Cripes, we generally are gone 2 hours earlier. I don't blame them. We are just different types of boaters. Their chatter on their fleet channel about us was not kind and perhaps a bit of a low blow but what the hell everybody that knows me knows that I want people to like me but don't give a rats a** if they don't. Enough of this crap let's move on.
Even with our late start we had a great day. Beautiful scenery, no locks, no wind to speak of and easy navigation. What a gift the Land Between the Lakes is for our country. And, so close to the mid-west, I wish I would have known about this earlier in life as this is where I would have taken many vacations.
All engine room checks were right on the money this morning. No oil to add for the second day, the packing for the shaft is finally dripping the correct amount and zero algae in the fuel filters. All the work might just be paying off.
Chris here,
What Kerm said above is right on. The folks we met were very nice people we just have a different style of cruising.
It was a wonderful day on Kentucky Lake. The scenery is great and the water is easy to navigate. Here are some pictures I took today...
I bought a new camera in a Walmart in Benton...don't know what state that is but we were in a rush because you only get 2 hours for the courtesy car. I do know they popped the bad news that it was a dry county...and I need a new bottle of Jamison. We did slam down a All American breakfast at the Waffle House across the street. Important things must be attended to! I think the camera is okay.
Another item...
You folks on land don't realize what a mess a screwed up prescription can be...
I thought I had our pills all figured out but when I sat down the other day to fill all the pill containers, lo and behold, I realized I had not picked up Kerm's bottle before we left. Huge failure on my part. To rectify it required numerous phone calls...figuring out where said pills should be sent to and alerting the marina up ahead to be aware we were coming along to pick up the medication. Holy cow... what a production.
On a lighter note here is a new addition to our crew...
This little machine does not have a name yet but it is a wonderful addition to our equipment. Put water in, turn on the button and...
Another thing that land based organisms take for granted...frozen water.
Names for our little ice maker can be submitted to this blog and we will adopt the one we like best...no prizes, no rules, just your opportunity to be praised routinely, in absentia, as we thank the machine for splitting out cubes.
Tonight we are in Cuba Landing, a nice little local marina that also accommodates Loopers. We traveled 52.1 miles today and plan to have pork loin, mashed spuds and fresh green beans for dinner.
Now that I have a camera I will be blogging more regularly.
Take care all
Christie
After doing this stuff for almost 3 years we have a pretty much a set way of doing things and deviating from our norms creates some discomfort for both us and in the case yesterday and today we pissed off a group we were cruising with. Perhaps we are so set in our ways that we have become blind to others. Anyway, we became the main anchor for 5 boats with only one other anchor set from another boat that had less chain than you would hold a garbage can cover on and then when asked about scope, well, o' dear. If the wind would have changed we would have had a mess but everything worked out. And, and then they slept in. We broke up the group with starting our engine at 8:30 and really pissed them off because it was too early. Cripes, we generally are gone 2 hours earlier. I don't blame them. We are just different types of boaters. Their chatter on their fleet channel about us was not kind and perhaps a bit of a low blow but what the hell everybody that knows me knows that I want people to like me but don't give a rats a** if they don't. Enough of this crap let's move on.
Even with our late start we had a great day. Beautiful scenery, no locks, no wind to speak of and easy navigation. What a gift the Land Between the Lakes is for our country. And, so close to the mid-west, I wish I would have known about this earlier in life as this is where I would have taken many vacations.
All engine room checks were right on the money this morning. No oil to add for the second day, the packing for the shaft is finally dripping the correct amount and zero algae in the fuel filters. All the work might just be paying off.
Chris here,
What Kerm said above is right on. The folks we met were very nice people we just have a different style of cruising.
It was a wonderful day on Kentucky Lake. The scenery is great and the water is easy to navigate. Here are some pictures I took today...
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| pretty shoreline |
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| Nice calm water |
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| My Captain |
I bought a new camera in a Walmart in Benton...don't know what state that is but we were in a rush because you only get 2 hours for the courtesy car. I do know they popped the bad news that it was a dry county...and I need a new bottle of Jamison. We did slam down a All American breakfast at the Waffle House across the street. Important things must be attended to! I think the camera is okay.
Another item...
You folks on land don't realize what a mess a screwed up prescription can be...
I thought I had our pills all figured out but when I sat down the other day to fill all the pill containers, lo and behold, I realized I had not picked up Kerm's bottle before we left. Huge failure on my part. To rectify it required numerous phone calls...figuring out where said pills should be sent to and alerting the marina up ahead to be aware we were coming along to pick up the medication. Holy cow... what a production.
On a lighter note here is a new addition to our crew...
This little machine does not have a name yet but it is a wonderful addition to our equipment. Put water in, turn on the button and...
Another thing that land based organisms take for granted...frozen water.
Names for our little ice maker can be submitted to this blog and we will adopt the one we like best...no prizes, no rules, just your opportunity to be praised routinely, in absentia, as we thank the machine for splitting out cubes.
 |
| ICE !! |
Now that I have a camera I will be blogging more regularly.
Take care all
Christie
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Kerm here.
Ya know, some days you travel a zillion miles and at the end of the day you think this is the greatest and other days you get your butt kicked running a just a few miles. Today was one of those days. BUT, in the end the nutso days have stories and the smooth days blend into the background.
If you read Chris's blog she did a Readers Digest version of the day. I won't go into everything else but poor Misstickle, the boat traveling with us, had problems overheating and had to stop somewhere in Paducah. I'm thinking that they may have pulled up to a maintenance facility for tow boats in the Paducah cut.. We saw them missing and called them on the radio and they said to push on as they had the situation under control but would not be able to catch up. In retrospect, we should have turned around but they were fairly adamant that we push on.
We are due for R and R. We're thinking that we may go further up the lakes and find a nice cove and just hang out for a few days. Well, after buying a new camera, fresh veggies and meat. We'll keep you posted on what's going on when we know ourselves.
Other stuff. sister Mary and Cecil were going to visit us down here in the lakes but something came up. We were looking forward to their visit. O' well. Son Dan may have a break in his jet training due to simulator schedules so he may visit for awhile. Good, as I think there is a programming change that needs to be done on the voltage regulator.
I'm going to bed.
Ya know, some days you travel a zillion miles and at the end of the day you think this is the greatest and other days you get your butt kicked running a just a few miles. Today was one of those days. BUT, in the end the nutso days have stories and the smooth days blend into the background.
If you read Chris's blog she did a Readers Digest version of the day. I won't go into everything else but poor Misstickle, the boat traveling with us, had problems overheating and had to stop somewhere in Paducah. I'm thinking that they may have pulled up to a maintenance facility for tow boats in the Paducah cut.. We saw them missing and called them on the radio and they said to push on as they had the situation under control but would not be able to catch up. In retrospect, we should have turned around but they were fairly adamant that we push on.
We are due for R and R. We're thinking that we may go further up the lakes and find a nice cove and just hang out for a few days. Well, after buying a new camera, fresh veggies and meat. We'll keep you posted on what's going on when we know ourselves.
Other stuff. sister Mary and Cecil were going to visit us down here in the lakes but something came up. We were looking forward to their visit. O' well. Son Dan may have a break in his jet training due to simulator schedules so he may visit for awhile. Good, as I think there is a programming change that needs to be done on the voltage regulator.
I'm going to bed.
Phew
What a day!!
We were told the wickets were down at lock #52...wrong
We were told Paducah had a free city dock...wrong.
So we push ahead...
We were told the big lock at Kentucky Dam would be ready for us when we got there...wrong
We were told the Kentucky Dam Marina was easy to find...in the dark...WRONG.
All is well. We are tied up to a nice safe dock.
Good night ...I need a vodka tonic.
Christie
October 14 Up the Ohio
Kerm here,
It's up the Ohio today for a stop in Paducah, KY. After a good night sleep at an anchorage behind a wing dam we headed out at 6:30 with only 7 miles of the mighty Mississippi to go. While we averaged about 11.5 mph going with the current on the Miss we are now sitting at around 6 headed up the Ohio.
In Paducah we are meeting up with Bob Shapiro who we first met on the Erie Canal during our first loop. Bob lives in Paducah and we last saw him at Green Turtle Bay in Ky towards the end of our last loop. When Bob did the loop he did most of it on his own aboard his Mainship 39 called Dream Quest. For those that panic at the sight of a lock just think of Bob doing it nearly a hundred times on his own. The first thing I think about when I see these people do it on there own is, how do they take a pee or worse yet...
All was fine in the engine room this morning. I really think, other than the fuel penalty, the higher RPM's we have been running is better for the engine. Oil consumption is down and it just sounds better although diesels to me always sound like they are rattling themselves to pieces.
It's still cold in the morning so this morning Chris and I treated ourselves to an hour of generator time to provide electricity to the heating unit. Joe Riley, wipe that smile off your face. You see, at the marina Joe couldn't believe that we didn't have a generator and at every opportunity possible he kept on pitching the advantages of having one.
Chris here
Yes, the generator is proving to be a delight. We even made toast this morning which used to entail using the broiler in the propane stove. Now we just pop that bread in the electric toaster and slam bam...it's a miracle.
What a difference between today and yesterday cruising wise...flying down the Mississippi at 12 mph and now slogging up the Ohio at 6 mph against the current. Yesterday we traveled 112.5 miles and today we are aiming for 53.2 to get to Paducah. We heard good news, however, about Lock #52 which was reported earlier as having a huge delay of commercial traffic. The wickets are down...this means that the water level has risen enough to allow boat traffic to pass over the dam...no delays. YAY.
I am going to get a camera in Paducah. I know taking pictures with my phone is possible but I haven't been happy with the results amd I miss putting them in my blog entries as I used to. Luddite, Luddite.
Seeing Bob from Dream Quest will be fun...he was a very colorful character and we enjoyed his company. We have not run in to too many Loopers so far but I expect when we arrive at Pickwick Lake we will run into more Looper traffic.
Until later
Love to all
Christie
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Kerm here.
We're about 8 miles from the Ohio River cut off in an anchorage tucked between a wing dam and a highway bridge in about 8 feet of water with just a bit of current. The Manson anchor hooked right away and I'll feel as comfortable as I ever could get while on a hook. Which is to say I have two anchor alarms on and I will probably sleep in the salon tonight.
The mechanical stuff all ran fine. I set the gain down on the Garmin depth finder and it worked most of the day. Well, until I turned into the anchorage then it was panic to reboot. I will figure this thing out eventually but I consider it a contributing factor to my greying hair.
The valve cover has a leak that I cannot stop. Or at least not as of this morning. I think it's coming out of the hold down bolts so gooped the offending ones up this morning. I still haven't found the oil leak in the front. It wasn't there before we redid the injection pump but strangely I don't think that's where it's coming from.
I finally got the the packing gland just right as it leaks about a pint a day. I guess it just takes awhile to get it fine tuned.
I bled the injection pump this morning and no bubbles. Yea. The fuel filters are the absolute best at the end of the day that they have ever been. The fuel polishing system that I put in did the trick BUT I am not going to get cocky as algae can spring up at any time.
We are running the engine harder than we ever have in order to keep up with our dancing partner but after the injection stuff was redone it just feels right. Of course, the penalty is always fuel but at least we are closer to the Kentucky Lakes.
Strange. The volt gauge on the fly bridge goes from 14 volts to 12 volts as the day progresses. Son Dan may be joining up with us in the next couple of weeks for a short time and perhaps it's a programming problem with the regulator or something. I am not a Luddite but sometimes I like him to check over my shoulder before I start pushing buttons. OR would rather he pushed the buttons while I show the proper amount of amazement as it all works.
And lastly, we hit 13.9 SMPH today with the current and the old Lehman was at warp speed. The dilithium crystals were being depleted at an amazing rate and Scotty would be screaming " but captain I cannot deny the laws of physics". Actually we pumped her up to 1900 rpm's and if my race car vibrated like the Lehman I would go into the pits.
We're about 8 miles from the Ohio River cut off in an anchorage tucked between a wing dam and a highway bridge in about 8 feet of water with just a bit of current. The Manson anchor hooked right away and I'll feel as comfortable as I ever could get while on a hook. Which is to say I have two anchor alarms on and I will probably sleep in the salon tonight.
The mechanical stuff all ran fine. I set the gain down on the Garmin depth finder and it worked most of the day. Well, until I turned into the anchorage then it was panic to reboot. I will figure this thing out eventually but I consider it a contributing factor to my greying hair.
The valve cover has a leak that I cannot stop. Or at least not as of this morning. I think it's coming out of the hold down bolts so gooped the offending ones up this morning. I still haven't found the oil leak in the front. It wasn't there before we redid the injection pump but strangely I don't think that's where it's coming from.
I finally got the the packing gland just right as it leaks about a pint a day. I guess it just takes awhile to get it fine tuned.
I bled the injection pump this morning and no bubbles. Yea. The fuel filters are the absolute best at the end of the day that they have ever been. The fuel polishing system that I put in did the trick BUT I am not going to get cocky as algae can spring up at any time.
We are running the engine harder than we ever have in order to keep up with our dancing partner but after the injection stuff was redone it just feels right. Of course, the penalty is always fuel but at least we are closer to the Kentucky Lakes.
Strange. The volt gauge on the fly bridge goes from 14 volts to 12 volts as the day progresses. Son Dan may be joining up with us in the next couple of weeks for a short time and perhaps it's a programming problem with the regulator or something. I am not a Luddite but sometimes I like him to check over my shoulder before I start pushing buttons. OR would rather he pushed the buttons while I show the proper amount of amazement as it all works.
And lastly, we hit 13.9 SMPH today with the current and the old Lehman was at warp speed. The dilithium crystals were being depleted at an amazing rate and Scotty would be screaming " but captain I cannot deny the laws of physics". Actually we pumped her up to 1900 rpm's and if my race car vibrated like the Lehman I would go into the pits.
Rushing down the Mississippi
Sunday
You all may be snuggled up on the couch watching football this afternoon but the Southern Belle was on the River early. We have a huge mileage goal for today of 115 miles. That gets us to an overnight anchorage just before we leave the Mississippi and head up the Ohio River tomorrow.
Normally we don't put in so many miles but we are getting a huge push from the current and the anchorage we are heading to is supposed to be a good one. It is 1:40 right now and we have traveled 80 miles already. Weather is wonderful...sunny and clear.
Lots of barge traffic to contend with but we are still averaging 11.2 miles per hour which is not bad (our normal cruising speed is about 8mph).
As well as the regular tows we just passed a huge Army Corp of Engineers dredger. I think I got a picture. ..I'll post it if it's any good.
That's it for now
Christie
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Alton, Il
Sorry, camera is toast so no pictures. We'll try to pick one up tomorrow. Anyway, we have officially started our second loop as Alton is just below where the IL river comes in. We are still not sure a second loop completion is in the cards but at least we are on our way to somewhere warm.
Alton Marina is probably one of the nicest marinas on the loop. Everything floats. The swimming pool, all the offices, showers and rest rooms and even the fuel storage. Everything is a 10. It is obvious that a government grant was involved here as it does not appear to be financially feasible for a private concern by any stretch of the imagination. You can check it out on the internet.
In all my years involved with car racing, business trips and long distance road trips I never really saw America. Until now. I can't remember who said it but it goes something like this " now with all the interstate highways you can go from coast to coast without seeing anything". It's true. The vast areas of no populations, small hamlets and flocks of thousands of birds can only be seen from our waterway system. Most of the time there is no cell, no wifi, no marinas, nothing but beautiful scenery and wildlife. We seldom get board as around each bend chances are it's something to amaze.
8 days or so and counting to Grand Harbor on the lakes. This is where we will find a bay and relax. Yes, people who know me say that I never relax but there is something special about this area that actually slows me down... well, just a bit...
We're here through tomorrow and then the fun begins as there ain't much civilization between here and there for the next week. River anchorages (O' boy)... this would be a bad time to get off my blood pressure pills.
Kerm
Alton Marina is probably one of the nicest marinas on the loop. Everything floats. The swimming pool, all the offices, showers and rest rooms and even the fuel storage. Everything is a 10. It is obvious that a government grant was involved here as it does not appear to be financially feasible for a private concern by any stretch of the imagination. You can check it out on the internet.
In all my years involved with car racing, business trips and long distance road trips I never really saw America. Until now. I can't remember who said it but it goes something like this " now with all the interstate highways you can go from coast to coast without seeing anything". It's true. The vast areas of no populations, small hamlets and flocks of thousands of birds can only be seen from our waterway system. Most of the time there is no cell, no wifi, no marinas, nothing but beautiful scenery and wildlife. We seldom get board as around each bend chances are it's something to amaze.
8 days or so and counting to Grand Harbor on the lakes. This is where we will find a bay and relax. Yes, people who know me say that I never relax but there is something special about this area that actually slows me down... well, just a bit...
We're here through tomorrow and then the fun begins as there ain't much civilization between here and there for the next week. River anchorages (O' boy)... this would be a bad time to get off my blood pressure pills.
Kerm
Alton, IL, mechanical stuff
600 + miles. Wow. At Alton, IL Marina. Nice place. Hot tub (like I would use it), pool (like I would use it) and some of the nicest shower / bathrooms on the loop (I could use a shower).
OK, for the people that like my mechanical updates: oil consumption is at an all time low, temperature for water in the morning is at an all time high but still not 110 (perhaps a sticky thermostat) and new shaft packing seems to be settled in.
Up switch on windlass crapped out the other day. I had a choice to go with Lewmar (English) or Quick (Italian) and I went with the Italians when I bought it a coupe of years ago. I kept on thinking Lucas with Lewmar. Anyway, one switch last year and another now. I'm going to buy Lewmar switches to repace what I have. Hell, they are probably all made in China now anyway. I did hook up a temporary momentary switch up there but Chris gave me the Micky Mouse hand signal upon seeing it.
Depth meters are still on furlough. The Raymarine is toast and the Garmin only works when you don't need it. Tomorrow I'm going to update the Garmin software and if that doesn't work I'll put a choke on the cable. Next I will pull the data cable away from others in the gangway and after that failure I will drink a 12 pack of Bud Light while looking on the internet to find out who the patron saint of depth meters is.
OH, and this is strange, the tach on the upper station goes nuts when I transmit on the radio and they are not even on the same DC circuit AND last spring I added a volt meter on the flybridge that shows the voltage going down all day as we travel. Now I'm guessing that you motor heads are thinking does this have anything to do with the flybridge Garmin. I don't know but right now a rock on a piece of twine looks pretty good.
Pat, in answer to your question, we are indeed running faster than normal. The current is helping a bit but whereas the old sweet spot was 1750 it is now 1825 RPM. Guess the rebuilt fuel injection stuff is more efficient. I also think I may have calculated the hull speed too conservative.
Kerm
OK, for the people that like my mechanical updates: oil consumption is at an all time low, temperature for water in the morning is at an all time high but still not 110 (perhaps a sticky thermostat) and new shaft packing seems to be settled in.
Up switch on windlass crapped out the other day. I had a choice to go with Lewmar (English) or Quick (Italian) and I went with the Italians when I bought it a coupe of years ago. I kept on thinking Lucas with Lewmar. Anyway, one switch last year and another now. I'm going to buy Lewmar switches to repace what I have. Hell, they are probably all made in China now anyway. I did hook up a temporary momentary switch up there but Chris gave me the Micky Mouse hand signal upon seeing it.
Depth meters are still on furlough. The Raymarine is toast and the Garmin only works when you don't need it. Tomorrow I'm going to update the Garmin software and if that doesn't work I'll put a choke on the cable. Next I will pull the data cable away from others in the gangway and after that failure I will drink a 12 pack of Bud Light while looking on the internet to find out who the patron saint of depth meters is.
OH, and this is strange, the tach on the upper station goes nuts when I transmit on the radio and they are not even on the same DC circuit AND last spring I added a volt meter on the flybridge that shows the voltage going down all day as we travel. Now I'm guessing that you motor heads are thinking does this have anything to do with the flybridge Garmin. I don't know but right now a rock on a piece of twine looks pretty good.
Pat, in answer to your question, we are indeed running faster than normal. The current is helping a bit but whereas the old sweet spot was 1750 it is now 1825 RPM. Guess the rebuilt fuel injection stuff is more efficient. I also think I may have calculated the hull speed too conservative.
Kerm
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Mechanical stuff
The boat seems to be running quite well but the depth meters are @#@%!!!. I'll try putting some chokes on the cables and perhaps pulling the cables away from other possible sources of RFI and see what happens. I'm tired of screwing with these things and will give them a couple more shots before I give what we used to call "the lindorfor stomp". You had to have been there to understand.
I put new packing in this spring and I can't get it loose enough to leak to spec's. We have a pressurized forward cutlass so there should be plenty of psi. so will tear that apart tomorrow before we leave and see if it's plugged from salt or sand residue in the heat exchanger. A lot of people do the loop without a clue of the most basic mechanical or electrical know how and seem to do just fine. Perhaps ignorance is bliss and the mechanical gremlins don't bother those people.
These last few days we have had mostly port ties in locks and docks. The Belle and I hates port dockings as the second you hit reverse the stern kicks out to the right as it has a mondo left hand prop. Hence the reason most modern trawlers have thrusters. Anyway, we did fine and perhaps someday I will get over my panic followed by a blood pressure spike when a port tie comes up. Chris knows that I have this problem and is patient when a port situation comes up. Apparently my hearing abilities go down as my blood pressure goes up.
Any one of the Joes, I'll try and call you tomorrow if we have cell. The idle was set by the fuel injection guy at 600 but I had a couple of situations today where when I put it in gear it almost died. I had to goose the throttle in neutral to clean it out. These things only happen in a lock or docking.
Kerm
I put new packing in this spring and I can't get it loose enough to leak to spec's. We have a pressurized forward cutlass so there should be plenty of psi. so will tear that apart tomorrow before we leave and see if it's plugged from salt or sand residue in the heat exchanger. A lot of people do the loop without a clue of the most basic mechanical or electrical know how and seem to do just fine. Perhaps ignorance is bliss and the mechanical gremlins don't bother those people.
These last few days we have had mostly port ties in locks and docks. The Belle and I hates port dockings as the second you hit reverse the stern kicks out to the right as it has a mondo left hand prop. Hence the reason most modern trawlers have thrusters. Anyway, we did fine and perhaps someday I will get over my panic followed by a blood pressure spike when a port tie comes up. Chris knows that I have this problem and is patient when a port situation comes up. Apparently my hearing abilities go down as my blood pressure goes up.
Any one of the Joes, I'll try and call you tomorrow if we have cell. The idle was set by the fuel injection guy at 600 but I had a couple of situations today where when I put it in gear it almost died. I had to goose the throttle in neutral to clean it out. These things only happen in a lock or docking.
Kerm
Departure and the first days
Tuesday, October 1
We started our new journey at 6:45am as
the sun was about to peak over Catfish Point. Bill from Hel'en High
Water and Ann & Dave (and Sophie) waved farewell. A lovely send off from Windmill Marina.
 |
| Our Empty Slip |
 |
| Goodbye Janet, Fred and Sarah |
 |
| Leaving D Dock |
 |
| Bill from Hel' N High Water |
 |
| Dave, Ann and Sophie |
 |
| One last look at the WMA gas dock and office... |
Our buddy boat,
Misstickle, putted out of Afton Marina right on time and we were off.
Beautiful cruise down to Prescott
saying goodbye to the Saint Croix River, a very special piece of
water to us for so many reasons.
 |
| Approaching Prescott Bridges |
 |
| Misstickle |
 |
| Goodbye, St. Croix |
Then a big left turn and on the Mississippi River to
Red Wing, Lake City, Lake Pepin, Winona and Wabasha to Alma,WI. for
our first night. We tied up to the town dock and it was very
comfortable except that the train tracks were about 30 feet from the
docks...very loud throughout the night but, even so, I slept well.
After a tiring day of 81.2 miles and 2 locks we closed up our initial
day.
Boat and crew working well.
Wednesday, October 2
Stayed at Lansing, IA tied to a wall.
We put in a long day of 87.5 miles and cleared 5 locks with an hour
and a half wait at one of the locks. Because of the delay we ended
up coming in to Lansing as the light was failing. Moments of concern
but all was went. We don't plan on any more night adventures.
Cute town and an awesome Quiktrip that
had fresh fruit and veggies.
 |
| and yes...Warren is still with us |
 |
| American Queen came by early this morning |
Thursday, October 3
Stayed at a free dock in Cassville,
WI., after a day of 57.1 miles and 2 locks. The docks were short,
plastic and flimsy but our night was spent without any rocking from
tow traffic or troubles of any kind. In fact, tow/barge traffic has
been minimal all along this stretch.
Fired up the generator and had all the
comforts of home on a free dock...that's what I'm talking about!!!
Friday, October 4
Stayed at Dubuque Marina, a lovely new
facility, after a very short day on the river (27 miles). Severe
weather was forecast so we ducked in early. Took a long, long shower
and did laundry. Shared cocktails with Looper acquaintances, Marc
and.Michelle, on Marc's Ark and many of their friends who boat on
this beautiful part of the Mississippi River.
Saturday, October 5
My camera has died. I will be taking
photos with my phone and hoping they will load into the blog easily.
We are making good progress. We found
out that Lock #17 is closing on October 7 so we'd like to clear it
before that. When locks close for maintenance it can cause a
bottleneck. If tows and barges are part of the jam up delays can be
extensive.
4:30 PM We just arrived at the free dock in Port Byron, IL making it a 82.3 mile and
2 lock day. We were very lucky with the locks...breezed right through. Today was quite dreary with rain and wind...we drove from inside almost all day.
We might go to Sneaky Pete's here in town for a cocktail.
until next time
Christie
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