It’s Been too Long

I wish I could say I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to post but I can’t. My last post on September 6th was too long ago.

So here I am sitting in a laundry in Deland Florida posting. I got back to Hontoon Island State Park just before Thanksgiving. And true to form I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise the third day back.

Prior to my return I was working on my boat at Acosta Creek Marina. I had pulled it from the water prior to heading up to Michigan for the summer. Now I was back and found the old tub to have survived Irma with just a little mildew in the pilot house. I had been away from May until November. This was the longest I had been separated from her.

So I put a new coat of bottom paint on, stripped and oiled about three quarters of the exterior teak and waxed and buffed out the hull. Acosta Creek is one of those great little family marinas Jane and Bob were great and 2 1/2 weeks I was back in the water.

Before I got to work on the boat is was visiting Berry and Denise in Ken-tuck-ee and prior to that visiting my sister Linda in Perrysburg Ohio.

After tearing down the Michigan outpost at Springhill  and my final unsuccessful attempt to do a rocket stove pizza oven I headed to Davison Michigan for time with Sam and his brother Walter. They were wrapping up the work on Sam’s “River Rat.”

Now comes a very interesting turning point. I somewhat tired of living in a tent for 4 months and going to Camp Walter to stay in the shop.

Could not help my self. I bought an $400 18 ft trailer to turn into an aluminum tent. I gutted it and this spring I will remodel it for one occupant.

Boy now I’m exhausted.

The laundry is almost finished and I need coffee.

Special shout out to Ron whose message on the blog prompted me to catch up. I looking forward to seeing him and his lovely bride in February.

This is Dr Brad standing by on 16.Stealling a quote from the Briny Bug.

” Go simple, go small, go now!”

Gates 7450

2/25/2017

Great morning! Breakfast at the BucknKats cafe. Big portions served with good coffee and that touch of love you get at the ole mom and pop.

Meanwhile back on the boat the gremlins were at work. Ready to go everything tied down new dinghy harness hooked up looking 😊. I hadn’t run the generator for three days and the batteries had run low😿. So fire up generator and wait about 30 minutes. Grooving after that, engine purring. Here we go🤠 Cowboy.

What’s that whining squeal? Must be that loose belt I figured I could fix in Sanford at the dock. The belt being a Gates 7450- Dammit oye vey Gevalt.

Two and a half hours I’m on my way.

Later that day I’m dropping the hook at Hontoon Dead River.. beautiful.

2/26/2017

Great day on the Hontoon. Sunny 75 degrees breezy the whole shebang. I went over to the state park to inquire about volunteer work in exchange for free dockage. Looking good. I will meet the volunteer coordinator tomorrow. Probably be able to get my car here with a few breaks and a good long bus ride.

Keep those 🤞 Fingers  crossed.

Dr Brad standing by on 16

Tune for the day is My Lover’s Prayer by Otis Redding. Dig it

Siempre Adelante

“Boating (Baseball) is 90% mental and the other half is physical”  Yogi Berra

I’ve been hanging in mobile throughout 2015 and have accomplished the boating tasks I set out to do. Things take awhile when the battle of the budget is joined. However it has been a verdant year and now I am ready for another stab at Florida. I hope to go south and go through the Okeechobee waterway to the east coast  and then up to Jacksonville.

Other boaters and my own experience tell  me that you can have a destination or a schedule but not both.

As I organize and reorganize, pack and unpack, make lists and remake lists, I think of the things I have accomplished this year.

With a pretty frugal budget I have :

Purchased a vehicle

Helped Joe Bru bring his boat from Columbus Mississippi to Mobile

Purchased a dinghy

Rebuilt Alternator

Did a bottom paint job and waxed the  hull

Visited my sister and her critters

and watched her win a few bucks at the casino.

Some of those winnings ended up on this boat

Refitted port side port lights

Painted wheelhouse roof

Cleaned up dash wiring

Repainted deck

Replaced counter top in head

Replaced carpet in wheelhouse

Built collapsible shelf in wheel house

New bimini from gifted old bimini

Painted engine room sole and engine

Installed four new 8 inch cleats

Took a trip to Dauphin Island

Took a trip to Biloxi

Lots of other little things like refinishing, cleaning, bolting, tightening, rewiring, and such.

On top of that I managed to put on 15 lbs. I am however still smart and good looking.

I saw my first alligator. She was staring at me about six feet from my boat.

 

Well…….

I hope to be leaving the first of the month.

Can’t sign off without …….

Mother Nature is so photogenic !

Standing by on 16

Dr Brad

Another Project Closer to Traveling On

A time comes when the old lady needs a new dress. Pulling and blocking the boat for a bottom job is something all boat lovers face every few years. Look closely at the bow just above the water line and see a little patch of tannin staining called a mustache. Does  it look like she’s smiling?

Well ,we block the old gal up and get to work. you can see my crème puff Ford “ Exploder” on the left

I found very few barnacles on the hull itself . You can see where the paint has sloughed off below the water line. I use bottom paint that is referred to as ablative. The word is from the Latin meaning remove or cut off.  The paint contains copper and this keeps the critters from living on the hull. It’s like DEET for a boat. The paint slowly comes off over time and keeps the hull smooth and efficient. Using this type of paint as opposed to non ablative is that ablative doesn’t build up and need heavy stripping and sanding after a few coats over the years. Also it is best for boats that travel as opposed to sit at the dock.

The first thing I did was wax the sides if the hull with a high speed buffer.

Looking where the ladder is you can see the area behind it shined.

Below is all the stuff needed to make the mess on the bottom. Paint thinner, paint, brushes and so on.

The piece below is called the skeg and is used to protect the rudder and propeller. This one is fiberglass covered white oak. I used some fiberglass to fix a few cracks I found and one can see the fiberglass cloth mess I made.

The worst part of the bottom was the running gear .This means the propeller, rudder and shaft. Any paint on these will be blown off by the force of the prop wash. See the anode in the center. There are anodes made of zinc on the rudder and shaft to prevent electrolysis of the bronze. The current generated by the ground wires on the boat dissolves the anodes and not the good stuff.

Don’t cover the anode with paint. It won’t work. Masking tape is god’s gift. The rudder has been wire brushed and sanded

The propeller looked like hell.

Looking to the left of the prop there is a flange bolted to the hull. I should have resealed this while the boat was out. Five days later I would be pulling the boat to fix a leak at that flange. Expensive memory problem. That’s all I saying about that !

Blood sweat and tears brought me to the end. Two coats of paint – about two gallons – of blue ablative and spraying the running gear with zinc paint I was good to go. The zinc paint is an experiment. Boaters have noted that barnacles don’t grow on zinc. So even though it will come off or be sacrificed at some point I decided to see how long it lasts. When the diver checks it out later this summer we will know. Notice on the bow the mustache is gone.

Tired and needing a drink

Back in the drink and I had a drink.

ain’t she a beauty…….

Some of the pictures I used are from my iPhone. I don’t like the quality and had trouble finding some good pictures to use. I think I just didn’t push or slide or talk or something to make them better.

I am still an unclaimed treasure in Mobile Alabama.

Dr Brad standing by on 16