March 25, 2012

Back in November we winterized the boat and moved into an apartment in Paducah to sit out the cold harsh part of the season. We purchased a 30'x60' tarp and covered the boat in its open slip. A covered slip was unavailable so this was our only alternative unless we wanted to change marinas completely. We were blessed with a much warmer and milder winter than we had anticipated. A very light snow fell only once over the winter and the temperature fell below freezing only a couple of times. Having the apartment was good for us so we could get away from the boat for a few months but Bill managed to come down two or three days a week to work on stuff and basically work on systems that needed some work.

Moving at the end of February was hectic as Bill didn't move as much stuff from the apartment back to the boat as he'd expected to do. Things and stuff were in disarray for about a week but we made it liveable and of course didn't miss a meal.

Since the move back onboard Bill has installed a new freshwater holding tank(bladder), new freshwater pump, new hot water heater, new head in v-berth bathroom, and new pump on master suite bathroom head. He also installed a new AM/FM/CD player in the Flybridge and got the old Hailer working again. The Hailer is primarily used as a notification device, much in the same way a loud speaker is used. It also is used as a sounding device when navigating the boat through foggy areas. We have radar to see our way through fog but the Hailer puts out an audible signal for other boaters in the area to let them know you are there in the area.

Had the A/C looked at the other day by a marine mechanic and he has a new thermostat on order. After he completes the A/C repair he's going to balance (syncronize) the engines so they will put out equal amounts of thrust at the same time. The other day, after getting the engines back in running order, we pulled over to the "pump out" dock and with the engines being out of sync we were all over the place. You'd have thought I was a drunken sailor. After pumping out we went out onto the big lake (Kentucky Lake) and played with the throttles and transmissions to get a feel for her (the boat)again. We don't know what changed but something has and that's why we're getting the engines sync'd again.

We still have some thinning out of unnecessary items and numerous maintenance items to do before we shove off this fall but we'll get there. I'm certain of that.

Oh, and I finally got the boat documented with the Coast Guard and Homeland Security. The privledge for documenting a vessel is not having to pay for annual registration fees, but, for whatever reason in Kentucky, you have to pay taxes on the boat as if you are a homeowner. The tax man is never far away.

Until our next blog entry we wish you fair skys and smooth sailing.

Bill & Joy