We're in Minnesota for awhile but I'm still working the list. The books say that getting stuck out at night on the Mississippi is a possibility due to waiting times at the locks so we've decided to add a good spotlight. I did make a nice aluminum bracket for the bow pulpit but have changed my mind and will put it on a platform on the mast. I figure that the height should help to cut down glare and will give a better view out the sides and even aft which wouldn't be possible with a front mount light. The new light comes with a FM remote that will reduce the wiring bundle which would be a real bugger threading it through the boat.
The rear door has a small teak strip to open and close the door from the outside which is a real PIA so I went to my teak collection at the warehouse and found a nice grab rail that I will install on the out side of the door. Of course the rail was too long and I had to modify but hey, it didn't cost me a nickel. This will also be nice as we are a little light on something to grab onto in the back of the boat.
We pulled the lee cloths off of the boat to bring to the cities for laundering. They cleaned up just OK but quite a bit of the stitching came out and after looking at them they probably are on their last legs due to wear and fading. Torment du jour I think Chris would say.
I'm going to Greg's race shop today and see if I can't find a new screw on filter nipple for the Lehman as the old one is a bit worse for wear. It's a standard 3/4-16 as used on allot of British cars so if there is one in MN chances are we have one. Also, I've got some o-ring washers stashed somewhere that I can use to stop the oil leaks on the fuel injection unit.
I did bring a fuel sample back to the cities and will have someone look at it as the black flecks are driving me nuts. Also, there seems to be a aqua layer of something on the top when after the sample sets for awhile. Go figure.
Coming back to the Cities has also been great for replacing our stock of maintenance consumables such as electrical connectors, lubricants, batteries, bulbs, etc. If there is one thing that I would tell people that are considering the loop it would be, don't count on hardware stores or marine supply places anywhere. Plan like you are circumnavigating the globe nonstop.
We have also purchased new electronic charts for one of the Garmin chart plotters. Snagged a great deal on e-bay and saved about 60% off of the list price. We're also looking for paper charts for the next stage down to the Gulf. The paper is better for planning as you can see the big picture and some of them show all the anchorages and have notations for all the must see areas. There is a stretch coming up called Pickwick Lakes that is supposed to be one of the best parts of the loop so we don't want to miss a thing.
Just because we're not at the 'Belle' doesn't mean that we are away from water. We are staying with Chris's sister on the beautiful St. Croix and have managed to get some boating time in. These are our home waters and is my personal comfort place. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we also managed to get a couple of sailboat races in before the month is out. Either that or help on the sailing club committee boat that is commanded by our nephew Patrick O'.
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