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Hello to all-
Kerm and I are happily cruising down the mighty Mississippi as I write this.
By way of catching you all up on what has been happening since my last post here is a short synopsis.
The Hauser family lost both Hank and Bunny in 2012 and we miss them very much. However, we were so fortunate to have such truly special people in our lives. Dad gave us the spunk to get out there and discover new places and things while Mom taught us to treasure everything we already had, especially our family. I dedicate this next adventure to both of them and I feel them on board with us.
We shipped The Belle up to Minnesota from Brunswick, GA when Mom was staying with Linda and then after Mom's death we lived with Linda for the winter. Kerm worked on boat parts and systems every day and we planned a major refit. We put 7000 miles on the Belle when we did our first Loop and some major maintenance and updating was in order.
Things we did for our next journey:
- Complete refinish of the upper deck, fixing bad spots and all new Awlgrip non skid paint.
- Installed new captain and crew chairs on upper deck
- Stripped and repainted mast, installed Linda's Weather Station, new LED spreader and anchor lights, and fixed Si-tex Radar unit. When re-installed, the mast was stepped on a new stainless steel plate which replaced rotting wood step. New stainless backing plates were also made and installed on the mast stay. Thanks, Dan.
- Stripped and refinished much of the teak on the exterior with SEMCO, giving the wood a hand rubbed natural finish. Thanks, Linda and Margie, for the elbow grease.
- Installed a new refrigerator
- Complete cleaning and painting of bilge and engine room.
- Purchased and installed a generator...huge deal for us. Thanks, brother Joe, for the assistance in procuring this wonderful addition to our home.
- Lots of engine work...Kerm will detail that. Thanks Joe Jr. for your invaluable assistance.
- Rewiring projects including all new flybridge wiring.
- Relocation of batteries, new cables and a beautiful new home for them. Also added another brand new AGM battery.
- New bottom paint
- New marine radio with AIS to show us other boat traffic, especially barges on the rivers.
- New propane system with alarms and controls so I don't blow up the Belle
- New window screens to keep out the No-See-Ums
- New hatchway to the upper deck and rebuilt hatches for all others-my personal favorite of Kerm's wood projects.
- Installed new horns and antennas.
- Rebuilt Bow pulpit
- Installed new alternator with all electronic controls
- Rewired AC system to outlets, none of which had proper grounds. Thanks, Cecil (brother-in-law) for your 'wire wisdom' and for finding that the whole grounding system of the boat was broken down.
- Re-bedded all stanchions and rails
- Replaced steering wheel on the flybridge
- Replaced exhaust thru hull fitting that was destroyed due to bad grounding and fiber glassed a new backing plate behind it
- Rebuilt swim platform and re-bedded all support fittings
- Discovered and rectified a dangerous fault in the main steering mechanism.
- Rebuilt toilet- I now know how to replace a Joker valve and believe me it's not funny.
- Added a safety bar by the lower helm station door so captain does not fall out underway.
- And many, many more. Kerm says there's a long way to go yet...I say let's get underway.
Thanks to everyone for help, advice, knowledge sharing and moral support.
Kerm and I spent the summer living aboard at Windmill Marina and we had a great time. Kerm was hired as the gardener and I took over for him when the Belle needed him more than the flowers did. I also helped out in the office and even had a chance to arrange flowers for Windmill's big Fall Party. (Now, when an opening comes up on on a MegaYacht somewhere in the Bahamas I'll have that skill on my resume!! ). Working at the marina and getting to know the folks there and other boaters on the docks made the summer special for us.
It was great to reconnect with family while we were in Minnesota and the Belle will never be up this way again so we are glad people had a chance to see her. The Fourth of July at Linda's was especially good since Mike got out from Portland for a visit.
Now it is time to move ahead and explore. Our plan is to head down the Mississippi, branch off at the Ohio and go down the Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile, AL. We will cross the Gulf from Apalachicola or Carrabelle and head down to Joe and Marie's in Cape Coral to visit and pick up Linda. Then across the Okeechobee waterway to the Atlantic side and down to Miami. Then to Bimini and the Exuma islands for the winter. Then....who knows...a second Loop sounds good to me.
I will try to blog as much as I can and I have included a link to our SPOT if you want to follow us on line.
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0771ZReqTF9jAQjL3Q1T02Oea6qy2ES7I
Until later.
Christie
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