Miscellaneous ramblings

 











              Dan in boat uniform


                                                                                                      Shy Dan in airplane uniform


Another Christmas has passed on the Belle.  We had a house full with son Dan and his girlfriend Cari here for 4 days.  So 5 people on the Bell for 4 days.  I know now how all those boat people from Haiti feel.  No, it wasn't all that bad and it was great seeing Dan as it had been months since Chris had seen him and I think I had only seen him once since the summer.  He was a great help on the boat as he has had boats of his own and has mechanical / electrical savvy beyond his years.  Now if I could just get him to buy his own beer...

The big project for the week was installing a sea water wash down system.  In some cases we can use sea water to preserve our fresh water on board and in some cases it is actually better to use.  We can now spray off the anchor and chain as it is pulled up and dishes can also be washed if we are in a clean water area.  Washing and wetting down the teak decks before fish cleaning is best done with salt water as the salt is a wood preservative and lastly salt water fish should only be cleaned with salt water as fresh water will affect the taste. 

So, the sea water system install.  We didn't have an extra thru hull so as to have a dedicated system so I had to T into the head thru hull.  At the same time I added a strainer to the system because each time we pumped the head yucky stuff would come thru.  We were concerned that it would damage the toilet valves and it looked, well, yucky.  I mounted the pump under the vanity and while a bit Micky Mouse the switch is mounted on the front of the vanity.  It looks decent but in a perfect world it would be mounted in the DC switch panel.  No room.  The outlet for the water is deck mounted with a nifty dry break so no valve is required.  In the future I will add outlets up by the anchor and one at the back of the boat. Compromises.

                                                Not real pretty but when there is no room...

More later..
Kerm

Inverter in

The 1000 watt inverter is installed.  I didn't hard wire the A/C side permanently but it's done for now.  At some point I'll put in some dedicated outlets or wire it into the A/C system.  Our current A/C system is configured in a somewhat strange way so that would have to be redone before I could integrate the inverter.  I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze, pun intended..  As it is, everything seems to work fine and with the installation and we will be able to operate the ice maker and charge our computers while underway.  Like everything else the install was more work and costly than I thought. 

I'm attaching photos of the inverter in the engine room and the remote panel installed near all our other panels.  The photo shows the new generator panel,  the new transfer switch panel for the generator, a fire system activation switch and the inverter panel on the lower right.  The locations are probably not the most convenient but there was just no place else to put the stuff. 

                                       The existing A/C and D/C breakers are inside the door above

              And yes, the sound absorbing panels do need a coat of paint but that's for another day.

                                                                                                       CLEAN EH!

Fixing stuff that I didn't know was broken

 Kerm here,

The air conditioner fresh water pump has been a bit crabby lately.  It was taking longer and longer to prime and probably shouldn't need priming all the time anyway so I took it apart to see what was up.  For people that don't know about boat air conditioners there is a sea water pump that cools the condenser.  In a home unit there is a fan that does this job.  Using sea water keeps the units small making them easier to hide away in small compartments.

Anyway,  as I dug into the pump it became apparent the impeller and it's associated housing was well worn.  I just figured that I would get a rebuild kit and take 10 minutes to repair.  Nope.  The pump was obsolete.  Bring on more money.  The new pump arrived via UPS and of course the mounting and hose sizes were different.  OK, I can handle that.  New mountings were made up and while working on the plumbing one of the bronze fittings broke.  It had degraded from corrosion so badly that the wall thickness was about the thickness of a sheet of paper.  Yup, that would have sunk the boat.  So off to West Marine for parts.  It might be noted that the fitting was probably the only one below the water line that had not been replaced over the last 3 years.

OK, plumbing replaced, now the electrical.  Problem three, the old pump was NOT grounded.  Tesla was turning in his grave.  As I was hooking up the ground in the electrical box I noticed burned connectors and the associated outlet was cracked.  I keep spares of boxes and outlets as I am slowly replacing all of them in the boat with ground fault (GFI) units so I didn't have to go to the hardware store.  After all this the pump self primed and the air conditioner seem to be more efficient.

In the end I burned a day but found 3 things that could have either electrocuted someone that touched the pump, sunk the boat or burned it up.  I'm thinking it was time well spent.  

Before all the worry warts out there think we are going to hurt ourselves out here, rest at ease.  This pump was one of the last mechanical / electrical / propane things that has not been rebuilt, replaced, revised or eliminated.  I'm not about to get cocky but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

The adventure continues.  Today I'm installing the new inverter for the ice maker and when that's finished we're adding a salt water wash down pump for cleaning fish and spraying off muddy anchors. O' boy. 

Back in the saddle again

Kerm here,
Yea, back in FL.  After 10 days in the frozen north I'm glad to be back home on the Belle.  A couple  of hours after arriving on Sunday Chis and I went with her brother and his friends aboard a very nice Shamrock to watch a night Christmas boat parade.  Wow, some people really get into this boat decorating thing.  Hundreds if not thousands of lights, blow up Frosty and Santa... the whole nine yards. 

Chris was busy while I was gone.  She did some refinishing on the cap rails and a did great general clean up inside and outside the boat.  She also spent a bit of time at her brothers house helping him with a tile job and paintwork preparation in his screen porch. 

Yesterday we went shopping for fishing gear at Bass Pro Shop in Ft. Myers.  We purchased one new spinning rig, had new line put on 3 existing reels, a gaff and assorted bates.  We had a patient salesman who spent about a half hour with us explaining the ins and outs of catching mahi.  In the end all I can say is that no matter how many we catch it would probably be cheaper to hit the grocery store when we have a craving for fish.  Not as much fun but none the less...

After much discussion I relented and will be putting in a new inverter.  With it we will be able to make ice full time without the generator running.  Chris says that we need make sure there is enough ice to keep all the mahi we catch from spoiling and keeping the beer cold but I think she likes to hear a tinkle in her glass at about 4:00 every afternoon. The one we bought is a 1000 watt / 2000 watt surge unit with a remote.  More wiring, O' boy.

Today an old friend Ed McGuire from high school will be coming for a visit.  It will be fun talking about the 'old days' and gossiping about what we know about how some of our old classmates are doing.  We might also swig a couple of barley pops along the way.

As long as we are on the social theme,  Bill Collins and Missy are headed our way from Tarpon Springs on their way to the Keys.  Ruby and Jody aboard Misstickle are crossing about now and should be here in a few days. They were our boat buddies from the St. Croix all the way down the river system but stopped to go home for a 3 week visit up north.  Linda, Chris's sister will be here tomorrow.  She is a bit tired of the frozen north and will be spending the winter with us.  Great crew, great sister in law, great stainless steel polisher.  It's great having another hand on the boat, especially one that has boat sense and understands or at least knows when to ignore my off center sense of humor.   

Warning: this is not about warmth, sun or the Belle

Kerm here. 

The big thing about MN is supposed to be quality of life.  Yah, right,  something below 0 tonight and I think the high today was about 0.  Quality of life,  what a bunch of ...   But, after my visits today I did manage to pick up a few things for the boat and visit with the guys at Windmill Marina where Chis and I worked last summer.  All is well with everyone there and they kept asking if Chirs and I were coming back next summer.  Yah, right.

While sleeping in a real bed and not taking a shower in some hell hole really appeals to me,  I miss the Belle and Chris already but I'm planning my attack on the boat for when I get back.  Lists.

Note to self and other people that are thinking of doing the loop or extended cruising.  Sell or put in a lock box every thing you cherish.  Yes,  my pickup truck,  my beautiful pickup truck gained another wound, just like last time I stored it.   Seems it was being moved and the guy forgot to set the emergency brake and it backed into a Chris Craft.  The CC came out of it OK but the truck tailgate and the guy did not come out so well.  Seems he tried to make himself a human fender and did some damage to himself but still the truck needs a new tailgate.  He will eventually be OK but the truck will need a transplant.

Cape Coral Yacht Club - Our new home for a little while

 

Thursday, Dec 5


As Kerm mentioned in his post we decided against staying in Fort Myers Beach on one of their mooring balls.  We booked it up to Cape Coral and now we are at the Yacht Club here.  It is awesome...

The Office...nice people

Marina Slips with nice home across the canal

Good mix of power and sail in this marina...some Loopers-to-be,  too

It's a good thing when the junk floating by your slip is...coconuts

Handball court

Swimming Pool - heated

Sandy Beach

 "Cape House"   Joe and Marie's winter retreat (all native plants in their front and back yards attracting many butterflies)

Fishing Pier

Really Nice Beach

This is a very good spot and I'm happy with our decision to stay here for a while.  The weather has taken a turn for the good and I'm enjoying the warmth.  Kerm used Dan's free flight privileges and went to Minnesota for a visit with relatives, especially his Dad.  The temperature there today is -3 degrees.  I bet he comes home really soon...what do you think?? 

Joe's house is very close to the marina and it's a lovely spot.  I can see why he and Marie chose Cape Coral for their southern retreat.  Lots to do, traffic is not bad , great weather, many thrift stores and beautiful waters to explore.

Linda will be here next week and I'm so happy she can escape the brutal weather up north.  It will be fun gearing up for the Bahamas with her.

 

Signing off for now with hugs to all...

Christie

Nope, let's get out of here

 Kerm here,

We woke up after a good nights sleep at the mooring balls in Fort Myers Beach and it just didn't feel right for an extended stay.  Chris started doing research on a new target for our stay in this area while I prepped the Belle for departure.  We decided the city marina in Cape Coral would fit the bill and we headed out.  It was a beautiful day and we were able to put on shorts for the first time in what feels like weeks.  Finally Florida felt like Florida. 

After much discussion we decided to pay for a month at the marina.  It's cheaper than paying by the day if you are staying for week.  The marina is small but everything appears to be top notch and we have already met the nicest people.  Joe, Chris's brother who lives in Cape Coral came over and invited us to home for dinner and a sleep over.  Yes, a real bed.

While in Cape Coral we will start provisioning for the Bahamas and button up some projects on the Belle.  We will also be waiting to bring on Chris's sister Linda as our Bahamas crew.  Linda is already sick to death of snow shoveling in Minnesota and will be arriving mid-month.  She did three stretches with us on our last loop and for us it's nice having another person on board with boat sense.  She owns at least 3 boats of her own and races sailboats so I don't think we'll have to teach her how to tie a bowline.



 

Cape Haze Marina to Fort Myers Beach

Sadly, these condos in Cape Haze Marina were never finished...looks rather post-apocalyptic doesn't it?

Condos that were completed are very nice

Southern Belle looking good at the dock

Artsy view of the electric stanchions on the dock

We were underway by 9am (late for us) and saw this Osprey along the way

Boca Grande Swing Bridge. Clearance is 9ft. We needed an opening and Kerm powered up to get us there in time for the scheduled 10am opening

We were just in time

Captiva Pass

Pt. Ybel Light on the southernmost tip of Sanibel Island

Fort Myers Beach Bridge

There are several Coast Guard vessels here at the station...this one had guns!!

Look at the huge paint stall they have at Diversified Yacht Services...you could fit many Belles in there

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we traveled 43.7 miles from Cape Haze Marina to the mooring field at Fort Myers Beach.  The day was mostly overcast so we didn't get sunburned.  It also is not super warm...we are still chasing the hot weather.

We will probably stay here for a couple of days and then head up to Cape Coral to visit with brother Joe.  Linda (sister) will be coming down to join us for the Bahamas section on December 9.  She'll be coming in to Fort Myers and will be with us for the duration.

So far this trip we have traveled 2200 miles.  The Belle has safely transported us for almost 10,000 miles since we bought her.  Thank you Belle...and the crew behind her making it all work.   .  

Yea, Ft. Myers

Kerm here,

We made it to the mooring field at Ft. Myers Beach at about 3:00 today.  For the most part we are done with the Gulf of Mexico.  When we leave here we go through the Okeechobee Waterway, then down to Miami and across to the Bahamas.  Except for the shot between the Okeechobee outlet and Miami we're done with the ICW for awhile.  It's nice but after a few weeks,  boring.  Anyway we are here in Fort Myers Beach and Cape Coral a couple of weeks before heading out.

The boat ran well and, at one point, I had to 'fire wall' it to make a bridge opening and wow,  all the way to 9 MPH.  I felt like I was in the race car again.  

I think the alternator may need a smaller pulley as the charging system seems to work better as the RPM's go up over what we normally run.  Right now our cruise is at about 1850rpm.  Perhaps this new alternator needs a bit more to come onto its own.  Research.

We are still seeing less oil consumption this year.  I'm thinking that maybe we were babying the English lump too much and the oil rings were not getting enough exercise. 

Today I did something nasty.  I slowed way down to pass a sailboat as to not destroy their zen and did a nice hello wave.  They turned around with a smug look as to show their distaste for the stink boater.  So I did what any red-blooded American boy would do,  I nailed the throttle and made as big a wave as I could.  I regretted it.  What I should have done is turn around, get close and tell him to move his traveler up and let out some mainsheet as his main sail twist looked like crap.  Dang, why do I think about these things later...
  



 

No whining on this post...from Chris

Kerm had a tough day on the Belle as evidenced by his recent post. I, on the other hand, had a wonderful day.

We were fogged in at Sarasota so I made another apple crisp...this one turned out even better than the last one.

Can you smell it???

Fog cleared so we bugged out of Sarasota mid morning.  There were loads of wonderful homes to look at today.  Kerm and I both remember seeing this one under construction the last time we came by here.  Now, it's finished

And for sale by Sotheby's

Mangrove...nice home for birdies and reptiles

Blackburn Swing Bridge...lots of current through there making Capt nervy

Bird Nest...Carrie can you identify?

Modern house

These manufactured homes also got their piece of paradise...yay for them

Other nice homes 

Good day on the Belle and we are at Cape Haze Matina tonight.  Goofy marina that has showers, toilets, free ice, etc...all closed after 5pm. What??? Glad it was a cheap stay.  Kerm just said the cable tv dosen't work either...okay by me but he wanted to watch a holiday movie tonight.   That's all for now.

Christie

Easy days / hard days

 Kerm here,
Some days you can pack on 80 miles and feel like if there way more daylight you could pack on another 30 or 40 more and some days,like today, where we did 36.7 and it feels worse than crossing the Gulf.  OK, there were 7 bridges (5 had to go up and 2 were wide eyed close),  a gazillion no wake zones and Sunday big and small boat traffic but jeez we feel beat up like we were pushing the envelope.  We didn't leave until 10:00 and pulled into a marina at 2:45 and were never so glad to put our feet on terra firma. 

Tomorrow we are headed to Ft. Myers Beach where they have a mooring field.  40 miles, 2 bridges but only one has to open.  Still some no wake zones but most people will be back to work so I will not have to pontificate to Chris all day about how this or that person is breaking navigation rules.  The worst state for ignorance of right of way rules, most rude and just plain stupid has got to be Florida.  Second is MN but the boats are smaller there so, well, whatever.  So, tomorrow and all the rest of the days in FL I will take a deep breath when someone try's to attack the 'Belle'.  I just hope that I don't pass out when they come in multiple waves (no pun intended).

Kerm

Fogged in at Sarasota mooring field

 Kerm here,

It's always difficult to know if one should leave in the fog.  Will it improve or will it turn to pea soup.  I guess we're victims of our past.  In one case to prove a point Chris and I were having lunch at the Crab Shack in New Port Richy having cruised over with our 27' walkaround 'Harry' and I looked west and told Chris that it looks like the town is on fire.  Chris said that is not fire smoke but fog.  I said " lets get the hell out of here while we can".  Bad decision.  We couldn't see the front of the boat and I was forced to use the GPS as a guide.  Bad decision.  Two things, 1.  charts are not all that accurate for precision navigation and 2. the offset between what the chart says and the accuracy of an individual GPS unit can be several feet off.  At times the cruising line on a chart can be behind a buoy that you are supposed to be in front of.  Long story short we almost hit a larger boat and swore we would never do it again.  So here we sit in Sarasota.  If you survive stupid you are obligated to learn by it.

I miss 'Harry' but that's a story for another time.