Back to the water...tuning up the engines

        November 26, 2012 

Bill and I have been here at Dog River Marina since November 8th.  If you have noticed a big gap in the blogs it is because there is not much to tell while we are working on the boat. We have new bottom paint that makes Proud Lady ready for sea water. The engines are being fine tuned. Little things tightened like oil leaks fixed, new filters added, bolts tightened, new seals and rings. However, we are getting anxious to get back on the water again in fact so much that when the mechanic Ray did a sea trial today we felt like kids at Christmas expecting great things, but there is more to do on the engines not big jobs just little leaks. 

I took a couple of pictures while out in Mobile Bay.

A greedy seagull following to see if we have any food for him.

This if our wake behind the boat. Usually If we around other boats or houses we would go slow so that it wouldn't rock their dock or boat. But today following in our wake was a dolphin he would surface occasionally but I was never able to get his picture he is just under the surface near the left side.  I got so happy to see the dolphin that I yelled in Bill's ear. We were wearing our headphones he is at the helm with the mechanic Ray.

The excited yell did not seem to bother him because he did not acknowledge it so I had to tell him about the dolphin.

This picture I am standing on the back deck looking into the fly bridge, Bill on the left with his headphones on . Ray the mechanic at the right in the picture is riding along checking the engines at different speeds and temperatures. There are still oil and fuel leaks so more seals and tightening to do.

Here is Proud Lady sitting in her slip at the dock at Dog River. I scrubbed her decks and washed the cabin outside. Then, scrubbed the fenders. Then I repaired a scratch in her blue paint. The, oiled her teak in the fly bridge and mopped the floors. Proud Lady will be so pretty when she sets sail for Florida. I have read a book by Wm. Paul Young - "Cross Roads" it is very good another work of fiction that tells of The Fathers Love for us and about our relationship with Him. I have watched 2 Christmas movies Prancer is an older movie I paid 3 dollars for at the grocery store. "Christmas Miracle' a Thomas Kinkade movie it was good and entertaining. Bill and Ray are still working on the engine. 

Here is a picture of her messy bow, the ropes (called the anchor rode) The thimble was broke and the ropes old so we replaced them with new. Bill cut the 200 foot of old rode into sections, made new loops and now we have 2 sections of about 100 foot line if it were ever needed.  

These old fishing and crew boats sit across form us. On good days the fishermen go out early like about 5:00 am then return to port in the early afternoon. Some of the other Loopers here at the marina buy shrimp right off the boat. 

These are some beautiful palm trees at the entrance to the marina.

Here are the piers close to the marina looking onto Mobile Bay, there are all kinds of pelicans gulls and other birds "sitting on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away". That is another thing that amazes me. The tide, it rises and falls when we wake up early its low by this afternoon it was so high I had to use a step stool to get on and off the boat.  AMAZING! Well I have laundry to do so be blessed. Love ya, JOY