Prepping for a winter adventure

Patrick here,
I am Chris and Kerm's nephew, and have spent almost two weeks on board Southern Belle getting her prepped for the Exumas. In addition to being the ships lackey, I apparently have inherited the duties of blog updater!

Chris posing with the magic scrubbing compound

You can see reflections in the hull now!

The first thing I tackled was the dinghy. The vinyl was well covered in mildew, and the bottom felt like 20-grit sandpaper due to barnacles. Soap and scrubbing took care of that. Thanks to the full moon and northerly winds, we were blessed with an extremely high tide. We were able to pull the motor and lift the dinghy to the dock so we could scrape the bottom. Some acid and the rest of Chris's kitchen spatulas made for a relatively quick clean up. Cooking dinner has become slightly more difficult, but at least the dinghy looks new again.

Dan Wold (Chris and Kerm's son) visited us over the past few days. He replaced the sink drain and surveyed just about everything else on the boat. I got a crash course in radar technology. Dan also fixed a low-idle gremlin in the dinghy motor.

Kerm repairing the transom

The offending bulkhead is at top center

Kerm has spent nearly two weeks replacing a bulkhead in the transom. Water slowly saturated the wood and turned it all to mush. Replacing it required us to unbolt the swim platform (starboard side) and remove/plug a through-hull fitting 1" above the water line. Holes in boats are never a good thing... But, after many many many coats of epoxy and fiberglass, the hull has been shored up, and parts are back in place. Good job, Kerm!

What else... The top of the anchor has been painted bright red so it will be visible in the murky depths. The radios have been rewired so they can act as an intercom between the upstairs and down, as well as control the PA speaker on the bow. Replaced the dinghy seat with a cooler (for keeping our gear dry). Chris and I took a day off and went to Ft. Pierce to get my Local Boaters Option, as well as some boat part shopping.

I had no idea how much work it is to prep a boat for a winter of cruising - my hats off to all who venture offshore!

Sunset Bay Marina at night (time-lapse photo).

Southern Belle at night (time-lapse photo)

Broke, don't work

 I was cleaning the back bilge the other day and had a real shock.  The steering quadrant was broken and all I had to do was touch a steering cable and it fell off the quadrant.  Dang, I hate when that happens.  So another adventure we have.  The quadrant for this boat is no longer available and whatever we find to replace it will have to be custom AND modifications to the steering system will have to be made to fit the new piece.


The worst part about this is that it probably was preventable.  Mea clupa, last year I noticed that some of the thru hull valves were deteriorating probably from electrolysis and had to replace them.  The problem was that the grounding system in the boat had a broken wire.  This grounding system prevents or at least slows the electrolysis on metal parts.  Remember salt, metal and electricity don't mix.  Anyway, the ground wire was repaired and I checked to make sure all critical metal parts were grounded but I didn't even think to check the aluminum quadrant.  A further teaching moment, aluminum is the most sensitive metal to electrolysis which is why most quadrants today are made from stainless steel or bronze. And another teaching moment, the aluminum quadrant was attached to a stainless steel rudder post where the problem of dissimilar metals creates its own set of problems.  There were also stainless bolts holding the quadrant together that also 'rotted' out the aluminum.

So, a new bronze quadrant is being made but I'm going to have to move a few things around to get the steering cables to line up which involves some cutting, fitting and fiberglass work.  At the same time some fiberglass patch up work has already been done around the rudder post stanchion where the existing fiberglass was pulling away.  This was also probably due to the steel stanchion rusting from electrolysis.

While waiting for the new quadrant I'm also going through the complete steering system and fixing and /or replacing anything that could be suspect which means lots of chain and cable is going to be replaced.  When done this baby should steer like a new boat and we shouldn't have to worry about a thing for another 30 years.

Quadrant with broken cable tang on left and stripped out bolt on bottom left.

Steering stanchion before refurbishment.  Note on sides where fiberglass is broken away.

Refurbished and now to paint the rest of the compartment.

Yea, back at the boat

Kerm here

I had a nice drive down here to Stuart about a week ago.  Chris stayed back in the cities to take care of some financials and to nurse her leg that was badly bruised getting on Linda's sail boat.  On the way down I stopped in Cleveland to take care of some paperwork with son Dan and see his new apartment.  I also stopped in Atlanta to see cousin John and Cheryl. We did some sailing on Lake Lanier on our old J 24 sailboat that John bought from us about 20 years ago.  John and Cheryl are fantastic hosts and 'my' room has the best bed in the world.  Jeez, I sleep later there than anywhere. 

After 3 months away the Belle is a bit shabby.  The wood trim has discolored a bit and everything needs a good wash and wax.  The good news is that the bilge has no smells and there was just a bit of old boat smell in the cabin.  This, I believe is from the salt air slime that builds up on interior panels over a period of time.  Bring out the vinegar water and all will be good for awhile.  For now I'm going to leave the washing and concentrate on fixing and replacing projects.

Its been a good week for boat work.  I built a new hatch for the flybridge when I was in the cities and it fit perfect.  The old one was a sliding hatch that weighed a zillion pounds that slid on wood rails.  Especially when it was humid the thing was a bugger to move.  The new one is light weight and hinges up with the help of a gas shock like you would see for the tailgate on a SUV.  Currently there is a clear plastic top on the hatch but I'm going to put on some plastic tinting film that will probably reduce the appearance of scratches.  This project started the winter before last when I built and installed a new ring around the hatch opening so I'm glad this project is just about done.

Next.  I'm sure that anyone that has a home sees something that is broken or worn that never seems to get fixed and not a day or week goes by that you look at it and figure that you will get to it some day.  On the Belle there was one of these that drove me nuts but in this case I didn't think I had the skills to fix it and could not bare the ridiculous over the top cost of a pro doing it.  In this case the back door had a piece of trim that was broken off and each time I sat on the back deck that broken piece became a focal point.  At one point a couple of years ago I did have a pro look at it and he said that to do the project right the door would have to be disassembled and have a contoured blade made for a router to make up a new piece.  Another option would be to have a skilled wood carver made a piece. $$$ either way.  So I looked at it for another couple of years and then said screw it, I'll do it myself.
I cut out the bad section and glued in piece of teak that had the same outside dimensions and without having the proper carving tools I just started sanding away with sandpaper wrapped around different size round things found in my tool box.  In the end the project turned out so well that I'm now in the process of refinishing the whole outside of the door.  I'm posting a picture but there isn't much to see as the area looks just like the rest of the door.  Sometimes you get lucky...

Everyone is asking what our plans are for the winter.  We have no plans and we're sticking to it.  Just so long that it doesn't include gloves, long pants and windshield washer fluid.

                                    It's the contoured piece just this side of the keyhole

Not yet

After a great time at the cabin we came back to the Twin Cities for doctors appointments and Chris had to fill in as race crew on her sister #1's J 22 sailboat.  She was fill in as sister #3 sprained her ankle and couldn't walk let alone put up a spinnaker.  They had a couple of decent finishes yesterday but Chris (sister #2) fell on the dock and pretty well messed up her leg.  So now with 2 of 4 sisters down sister #1 has run out of sisters and may have to rely on daughters.  There are only 3 of them but with only 5 races left sister #1 just might make it to the end of the season.

Depending on what the saw bones say next week we will be headed back to FL soon.  We miss the Belle and my lists of to do's has probably grown beyond what I can do this winter.  The biggies are new electronics and auto pilot.  We have been using one of our old Garmin GPS units from our now long gone 'Harry" as a primary and the lower helm unit is being reserved for the Smithsonian exhibit on the early history of marine GPS units.  The radar is even older and kidding aside it still has vacuum tubes.  There are so many ways of doing the new electronics from bare bones to full on network systems that will even turn your coffee pot on in the morning.  We will probably go with a main unit that will have network capability and add abilities as time goes on.  And no, the coffee pot will not be networked.

The autopilot on an old boat like the Belle has it's special problems as the steering is chain drive.  Even when this boat was built in the mid 80's chain drive was out of date so most of the manufacturers don't even make the components to do the job.  Raymarine seems to be the only mainstream manufacturer that does but it is expensive and will take a bit of engineering and fabrication to make it all work.  The good part is that the Raymarine electronics should be able to network quite easily with the new Garmin GPS / hub that we are looking at.  This is important as we should be able to set multiple waypoints for a route on the GPS and the autopilot should be able to take the commands and follow through with steering adjustments.  Even tho both manufacturers say there stuff should be able to communicate with the others equipment it's not plug and play according to comments on the internet.  Again, I'm being dragged into the world of modern technology. 

Chris's big thing that she wants changed on the Belle is the addition of an enclosure for the flybridge to keep us from the cold, rain and /or wind.  They are pretty much standard on trawlers these days and are a nice deal as it would make the bridge much more usable when the weather would normally force us down to the lower helm where the view is poor. 

I just got a call from Tom at the marina and he checked on the boat this morning.  No smells and no water in the bilge was the report.  I like short reports.  I asked him what the weather was like and he said the conditioner in his boat was on.  Nuff said,  I want to go home...

Another boat

Kerm here,

We did buy a boat for the cabin.  It is a used but well taken care of 14' Lund with a trailer, a 15 hp Evenrude outboard and it also came with a boat lift.  We launched it in town yesterday and I took it back to the cabin for fishing expedition outfitting.  In the afternoon Chis and I took it out for a try a and after a bit caught a couple of nice northern pike that were just under 24".  The slot limit up here is that you can keep 3 per person up to 24" and must throw back up to 36" and then keep only one over 36".  My experience is that anything over 36" probably is not the greatest eating so we'll take 23 1/2's all day.

We threw both back.  The object of this trip was to test the boat out, have a pleasant afternoon together and not go out for meat.  That comes later.  Storms are predicted for today so Monday looks like our target day..

Books.  We need books.  Lot's of books.  Not that we would use it much but the TV satellite stuff up here is out of date so it doesn't work and the radio reception is very bad.  The only thing that comes in half decent is public radio and I can only handle some much of that in a day.  One of the nice things about cruising on the Belle is that nearly all marinas have book exchanges so we keep our shelves stocked with plenty of great reading material.  Right now we have 2 National Geograghics from 2008 and a dozen cook books. The next free day we will be going to Cook or Virginia looking for 2nd hand stores to stock up. 

We continue to work a little of this and that but it appears that the major work is all but done.  The roof and gutters have been cleaned but Chris still wants to go up there with moss killer to finish it up.  The deck looks like hell as the finish that dad put on there a few years ago is peeling.  Chris's latest plan is to scrape and sand the old finish off and let the deck go grey.  Perhaps do just a few boards per day. 

Breakfast.  I'm hungry.

Up north take 2

Kerm here,
Still up north and currently have no plans on when we will head back south.  There are still several projects that should be taken care of and I have not caught any fish yet.  Sister Mary came for a couple days along with her husband Cecil.  Cecil and I replaced another section of hand rail, beefed up a falling stringer under the deck and he and Chris got rid of a pile of old lumber in an area that we call the swamp.  A portion of the wood was burned in a wonderful bonfire last night and we probably have enough wood for a couple more fire nights.

 Last night we went over to cousin Janet's cabin and had cocktails before dinner.  She and her husband Norman have been up for most of the summer and will probably stay until fall when they will go back to their new retirement home in NC.  Cousin Bill Johnson came up on Monday to his cabin and has had great luck fishing out on his boat.  For us, we just fish from the shore on the point which has been non productive.  We need another boat as dad's boat, that is in storage, is too big to muscle around.  14 feet is all we need, something we can pull up on shore and doesn't require putting in the dock.

I also got the old Alice Chalmers tractor running yesterday.  It will be needed as we plan to fill some of the pot holes in the dirt road.  How that thing continues to run I will never know.  It has sat outside uncovered year after year for decades and still starts.  The same storm that took out Chris's fishing boat also blew a tree down on it and damaged the seat and one fender.  It just keeps looking worse and worse.  For people who know tractors, it is a WD model made some time in the late 40's or early 50s.  It has a tricycle front end and a hydraulic bucket with a manual dump.  At one time it was red but right now it's a combination of rust colors with spattering s of green moss.  

Another project that I have been working on is to clean out the storage shed.  Dad has been accumulating junk for years and it was to the point where it was hard to get to anything in there.  What does a guy want to do with 35 screwdrivers anyway?  Oh, and nails.  Coffee cans with nails, bottles of every shape and size with nails, plastic butter containers with nails, cardboard boxes with nails, new nails, rusty nails, used nails, railroad spikes...  Let me see, there is a manual cream separator in one corner.  I guess if we ever get a herd of cows it might come in handy.  3 ammo boxes from WWII, empty.  A spittoon made out of what looks like stainless steel.  Dad never touched a tobacco product in his whole life and I've never thought much of chew.  And the list goes on.    

We seldom go out the back door and today when I did I just put my hand on one of the rails and it fell apart.  As it is a safety item it looks like another trip to the lumber yard for some more treated wood.  I will say one thing about the projects up here,  yacht quality is not required.  This ain't the Hamptons.

A different paradise

Hello all, Kerm here,

We're up at the cabin about 50 miles south of Canada near Voyagers National Park in northern Minnesota.  Ah, to wear jeans and sweatshirts again.  70's during the day and 50's at night.  What a relief after the hot weather in Florida. 

This is indeed God's country up here.  This morning there is a slight fog on the lake and as calm as can be.  Later I'm going up to the point and cast for a bit in hopes of catching a sunny or maybe a bass if they are biting.  If nothing has the hunger to bit my hook so be it, as fish cleaning before breakfast is not my cup of tea. 

Today is a tourist day.  We will drive over to see Vermillion Falls, visit the park and probably eat lunch at Melgeorges Resort on Elephant Lake.  We'll bring the fishing rods perhaps wet a lure at the stops along the way.  Unless there is some sort of spectacular catch we'll throw them all back as I don't want those smelly things in my truck.  Tough duty, eh? 

We're boatless up here right now.  Chris's fishing boat was crushed by a falling tree a couple of years ago and with as much time as we spend up here it probably isn't worth it to buy a new one, although I'm keeping an eye on craigs list.  You never know. 

What visit to the cabin would be complete without doing maintenance.  Some people call these places a work farm.  The nice thing is that the quality of fit and finish does not have to match what we try to aim for on the Belle.  Yesterday we replaced some railings and supports for the deck and Chris thought it was a bit of overkill when I brought out the level.  Perhaps, but my sister and her husband are visiting here in a couple days and they are sure to inspect the work.  They know cabin quality but hey, level is level.

When we came up here a couple of days ago the first night temperatures fell into the low 40's and the house was below 60 when we woke up.  Burrrrr.  Nuf of that, start the furnace.  I have never liked starting that furnace,  Scares the hell out of me.  Ok, read the instructions,  call brother Greg to confirm the instructions and give it a light.  It doesn't light.  Call brother again.  It doesn't light.  Too embarrassed  to call brother again.  Re-read instructions.  It lights and furnace comes on.  Yea.  Furnace quits and fire alarm goes on.  Crap.  Call brother.  Troubleshoot.  The squirrel cage fan at the top of the furnace is jammed with the tail of a dead squirrel.  Does anyone see the irony here... squirrel cage fan, dead squirrel, get it?

So, pull out TWO dead cooked squirrels, reassemble and yea it works. Call brother.