Merry Christmas Post

Good news to report, the new fuel tanks and all related plumbing is complete !!!  What a challenging job !!!  One day Steve said "it's like trying to build a picnic table in a phone booth"... a particularly memorable weekend was spent figuring out how to access the port side vent tube to attach the new hose without disassembling the entire galley, as the fittings were out of reach.   After a fair amount of cursing and brainstorming, a McGyver type solution evolved and hose was installed. 

Once the tanks were in place, there was an incredible amount of plumbing, hoses, clamps, valves, and fittings to be installed, along with an uncountable number of trips to the hardware store.  Steve crawls in and out of the engine room many times a day, for sure the physically hardest job he's tackled in many years.  The two racor fuel filters are built into a fuel polishing system, so that we can now "polish" (removed impurities) from any "bad" diesel that might find its way into our tanks. 

 

This little drawing and all the "stuff" attached to the board is the hardware for the filter system, without the two filters yet attached.  It's amazing what Steve has designed and built.  In the south, algae grows even in "good" fuel if it is left untreated and sits for a while in the tanks.  We apparently inherited some old fuel when we bought the boat.  The "scuz" produced from the algae settles into the bottom of the tank and when rough seas are encountered, the scuz is stirred up, clogs the fuel filters, and can stall the engine.  With our new system, Steve can "polish" the fuel at the dock, or if this happens while we are running, he can isolate each filter, running on one, while working on the other. Up north, the cold winters do not allow the algae to grow, but in the warm climate it's very common.  With our old tanks, there was no access to get the fuel polished, and we had 30 years worth of scuz sitting in the bottom of our tanks ... looks like this. 

No more scuz for Shingebiss. 

 

While Steve works on the fuel system, I take care of activities of daily living and continue interior varnishing ... 3 coats Satin and 2 coats Gloss MinWax Helmsman Spar Urethane.  Our Roughwater interior has white walls, but all 33 doors and 27 drawers are solid teak, and all need to be stripped to bare wood and refinished, so I've got no shortage of material to work with.  There must have been some incredible teak forests in Taiwan 30 years ago as even the drawer sides, supports and wood in the engine room is teak.  The room divider that I tackled earlier this year turned out pretty good. 

 

 

The weather so far has been darn near perfect and we have fun occasionally too.  Harbortown Marina is a great place to hang out and we like little Fort Pierce, a very non touristy Florida town.  There's over 300 slips here and it's a very busy place.  We've learned that the marina is owned by an investor from Minnesota, he is pouring money into improvements, and we suppose will eventually sell it ... and then the price will go up.  For now it's a reasonable place to stay and work on the boat.  The marina had it's 15 minutes of fame this past summer when AARRR Booty, a treasure hunting boat docked right across from us, hauled up $350,000 of gold treasure right outside the Fort Pierce Inlet.  The find included 80 feet of gold chain and coins from Peru dated from the 1700's.  This part of Florida is called the Treasure Coast, true for them.  You can google the boat name to see some of the treasure. 

 

Alot of the cruisers we met last year are here again gathering each afternoon for happy hour and sunset. 

 

The Marina, with affiliated boat repair company, throws a party once a month.  In November they served steak and shrimp to 150 of us, along with the pot luck dishes brought by the boaters it was quite a feast. 

 

For Thanksgiving, we had a traditional dinner in the shelter you see above and will do the same for Christmas.  Bill Esch, long time friend from MN who has lived in Fort Lauderdale for many years drives his Harley up to see us occasionally and we are always glad to see him. 

 

On Saturdays we go to the wonderful Fort Pierce Farmers Market downtown on the waterfront for produce, seafood, bakery, breakfast, music and browse the great art fair.

 

When the wind blows we often head out to the inlet to check out the waves and marvel at the skilled kite boarders.  I caught this one about 30 feet in the air, upside down.  It's mesmerizing to watch them and it looks like so much fun.  I  don't think either of us is going to try it, however.

 

We enjoy having friends over for dinner (and cards or dominoes).  Jerry and Marty are a cruising couple we met on the Great Loop who cruise Florida each winter.  They stopped by Harbortown for a couple of nights and we served Bang Bang Shrimp.  Marty is an accomplished cruising writer and has had her articles published in Lakeland Boating, Southern Boating, BOAT US magazine and Passagemaker. Google Marty Richardson.

 

 

 Our son, Dan, came down to visit in early December, so we took some time off from working and played a little.  He is a disc golfer and we found a great course where he played 18 holes and I walked and took pics.   

 

 

We got out for a dinghy ride.

 

Swam in the ocean, even I went in, the water was pretty warm for this time of year.

 

and in the pool...

 

... ate seafood at the Harborview, marina restaurant.

 

Heathcote Gardens is a small botanical garden in Fort Pierce, so we thought we'd have a visit.  The garden was lovely, but the real gem is the world class display of over 50 bonsai plants, most of them have been in training since the 1970's and 80's.  I took a picture of just about everyone of them, because each one is so unique.  Here's a couple of them. 

 

 

 

One of our 70 gallon aluminum water tanks sprung a leak.  The water tanks are under our two aft stateroom beds, easy to pull out.   

Steve took it up to a local metal fabricator, who told him that it was likely not the original tank, appeared to be a "backyard" weld job, and though they could try to patch it up, there were no guarantees.  So ... it couldn't be fixed.  We opted to go with plastic as a replacement. We hoped we could find one at Marine Liquidators, an amazing place down the road, 2 huge rooms where they "liquidate" excess boat parts that they have purchased from boat manufacturers who no longer need them.  It's always a first stop when shopping for boat parts.  The wall on the right is all plastic tanks, alas, none of them the right size.  The left wall is all bimini tops.

 

 

  We ordered a new tank off the internet and Steve is going to add a site gauge, so we will know when the water is about to run out.  I am now offically calling this boat a "restoration" project".  We know, we know, all boats are alot of work, BOAT (Break Out Another Thousand), hole in the water into which one throws money, etc.etc.  It does require a heck of alot of determination and dedication to "live the dream".  We have our moments of doubt and pain, but can't see ourselves doing anything but this ... thank goodness Steve can do all the work, otherwise we could never afford this.  We still have our eyes on the Abacos (in the Bahamas) this season, targeting mid January as departure and that will make it all worthwhile. 

 

Unfortunately, Steve didn't get the fuel system completely up and ready for a test run until Dan had already left us, but we did take 'er out last week for a short ICW cruise and all was well.  Felt great to be moving. 

 

Well, this was a long narration, thanks for sticking with it.   I'm enjoying writing it, just wish I had travels, not repairs to report.  Thanks to all of ya that encouraged me to start it up again.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all !!!



Project Progess Report

 One of the first projects was to put our new settee, upolstery by Liz, in place.  Back home, Steve had built the cabinet to enclose our wonderful frig, so he installed that.  Big improvements for our interior. 

 Steve designed our new aluminum fuel tanks over the summer and we had them fabricated in a small shop about 2 hours away.  Once we got almost everything else out of the van, we went to pick them up.  There are four tanks, 54 gallons each, to replace the two old tanks. 





 First step is to cut out the old tanks.  A pump built into the old fuel system transferred the remaining fuel from the starboard tank into the port tank, but the "bottom of the barrel" had to be pumped out by hand through the deck fill.  Nigel took it off our hands and filtered it to use in his boat. 

Steve was admittedly a little nervous about sawing through the tanks, even though he had solid information that any remaining diesel would not ignite. but the time came, so he started cutting.  Crazy job, sawed the tank into four pieces and one by one, they came out the front floor hatch.  It was a dirty, messy, sweaty job in a small space.  Here's one of the tank sections and you can see the rust that necessitated replacing them. 



He prepped the surfaces where the first set of tanks would sit.  They won't fit through our doors, but came in through our big side windows, just like the frig did last fall....

 ... and with only inches to spare, down into the engine room.  The tanks were designed by Steve to fit precisely into this hatch.  To go into the much bigger main hatches, he would've had to move the engine.  This route, only had to move the generator. 

 Wriggling it into place, even I got to help.  Fittings had to be manuvered under bundles of wires and the tank had to be braced up and then dropped exactly onto the bunks and cribbing that had been coated with 3M 5200.  Here she is, tank number ONE, proudly in place. 

As you can see, it is a pretty roomy engine room, especially compared to the one Steve used to work in.  The second starboard tank is now also in place and some of what seems to be about a million fittings have been placed.  Today Steve pumped the fuel back over and into the new tank, which already has a working fuel gauge !!!  He's ready to start cutting on the port tank out. 

I have started my most challenging varnish job to date.  Last season I stripped, sanded, and varnished the column on the right of the picture below.  Like alot of the copious interior teak, this piece was so dirty that the grain of the wood could not even be seen.  I have tackled the railing and tiny spindles that ring this small peninsula that separates our galley from our salon.  There are 30 spindles, and it is putzy, putzy, so I do a bit each day. 

We do play a little bit too, and will cover that in next post. 

Back to Harbortown

We had a great summer back in Minnesota. Along with seeing friends and family and enjoying our home, we did some really fun "bucketlist" stuff.  Saw the tall ships come into Duluth, went hot air ballooning (Liz only), paddleboarded, and rode on Segways.  One of our highlights was getting to play Harbor Host to Fred and Linda aboard their Great Harbor 37, Young America.  Not too many cruising boats make their way all the way up the Mississippi, so we were delighted that they did.  It was great to see them again and catch up on all their latest adventures.  Here's Young America cruising by our house on their way back downstream. 

 We got out in our 15' Boston Whaler a few times.  Here is our son Dan and his lovely dog, Aga, enjoying a perfect Minnesota summer day.

 Of course, there was plenty of boat projects along with home maintenence and gardening to do.We spent alot of time on our deck, watching the water, barges, tow boats and pleasure craft go by. 

 In October it was time to return to Shingebiss with van packed again to the roof ... this time we had to take the middle seats out to fit it all.  Stopped in Tennesee to see Jack and Nan and caught up with Brent and Susan at Green Turtle Bay.  Susan is an artist, she painted us a picture of our Roughwater last winter.  Just had to share this painting she did of abandoned boats in Georgetown, SC.  It's really amazing in person.

The boat was stored at Glades Boat Storage on the Okechobee Waterway.  Glades is not a marina, it is a boatyard and there is a difference.  Snowbirds store their boats for the summer, then have them moved into the DIY yard to get them ready for launching.  Steve sanded and painted new antifouling paint on the bottom.  Notice the old Chris Craft next to us. It was very hot, we spent half the day working, and the other half recovering. 

They allow you to live aboard in the yard, climbing up a 10' ladder to get on and off, with one 110v cord to run frig, and a few essentials.  There are some boaters there who have been building and/or restoring boats while living there for months to years.  Yikes !!  Here is Dirk, a refinishing expert and professional captain showing me how to sand the rust off a stainless steel strip on the hull of the boat.  Loaded with rust, I learned a new skill and it looks great now. 

 After a week in the yard, even Lucy was gazing at the waterway, wanting to get going.

 We got launched early one morning.  There's only a dock for a couple boats, so most folks fire it up and go.  We had a two day journey upstream on the Calusahatchee River, across Lake Okeechobee, downstream on the St. Lucie River, and north on the Atlantic Intracoastal to our temporary home in Fort Pierce. 

 

 We spent one night at Indiantown Marina, plugged into full power (and air conditioning).  It was a lovely cruise until we exited the St. Lucie Lock the next day and suddenly lost power.  For almost an hour, Steve tried everything he could think of to get us going again.  This Osprey put up a squawk as we drifted into his shoreline.

 This had NEVER happened with our old Mainship so I was trying not to "awfulize" when suddenly she started up again.  We were limping along, as she just wasn't sounding right, so we pulled into the fuel dock at American Marine to do more thinking and trouble shooting.  Steve had our fuel needs calculated to come into Harbortown almost empty because the biggest project this winter is to replace the fuel tanks.  The dipstick gauge was showing we had at least 40 gallons left, but it sure seemed to be out of fuel .... and oh, the generator wouldn't run either, same symptoms.  So we took on 30 gallons of diesel and voila !!!   All is well !!!  The boat gods were with us as we broke down below the lock rather than above, and then managed to actually get to that fuel dock without a tow.  Better late than never, we pulled into our new slip at Harbortown.  Our friend, Nigel, was here to meet us, he was the first person we met here last year, but most of the other snowbirds haven't arrived yet.  Last winter, Nigel and his first mate, Elizabeth, sailed their 41' sailboat all the way to Antigua/St. Kitts, so he's got plenty of sea stories to share.

The next day Nigel loaned us his van and we drove 2 hours back to the Glades to get our van.  We had been on the go since we left MN so took a couple of days to regroup and rest up.  Last night we took a swim in the pool, went up to the bar/restaurant to listen to steel drum musician and strolled the docks.  Today, I blogged and Steve started his first project, installing the refrigerator cabinet that he built back in MN.  There won't be any cruising news for a while, but I'll blog each week on what we've been up to as we continue "livin' the dream". 

First Roughwater Post


18 months out of the blogosphere, but I've decided to get back into blogging our cruising adventures. After selling the Mainship 34 in April of 2012, we began our serious search for a Roughwater 41. We knew it was the only boat within our price range that would satisfy our boat wish list ... but they are not that common, only made from mid 1970's to mid 1980's and almost all of them are on the west coast.  In June of 2012, we found our new boat on Craigslist (?!?), flew to Florida, had the boat surveyed, closed the deal, and cruised her to Indiantown Marina on the Ochechobee Waterway to be put on the hard for the remainder of the summer (hurricane season).  We returned home and spent the next three months studying the numerous photos we had taken, ordering boat parts and dreaming of our return.  October 1, we loaded the van  to the roof and drove down.  Within a few days we were safely tucked into a slip at Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce and then the fun (ie. work) began.  The complete list of projects we completed by the New Year are too numerous to list, we worked 8-10 hours a day, 7 days a week, a labor of love most of the time. I decided to forgo the blog thinking no one would want to read about motor mounts, shaft straightening, marine toilets, curtains, and alot of varnishing.  We spent our spare time commiserating, eating, laughing, and playing cards with Brett and Susan.  These fun folks are from MN, and had recently purchased their first cruising boat, a 42' Jefferson, and were working on her in anticipation of doing the Great Loop, which they are now currently doing.  Here they are at the restaurant at the marina.

We ushered in 2013 by picking up BFF's Sue and Ron from the airport for a one month cruise.  Our new dinghy arrived, we bought davits and motor from a sailor in the marina and rigged it all up.  We set off for our "shake down cruise", west on the the Okeechobee Waterway, south to the Florida Keys for a month's stay and then back up the Atlantic Intracoastal to Harbortown ... sometimes called the "Little Florida Loop".  We had our fair share of issues, electrical, fuel, and others.  There were moments when Steve wished he had his old Mainship back ... this one is like starting over with every system, repair, and improvement.   But the weather was gorgeous and we were enjoying the room, storage, and comfort of the new boat and being able to have friends join us.  Here we are heading into Fort Myers, thanks to Looper friend Tom for taking this from his condo.  Ain't she lovely.

We hooked up to a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor in Marathon for a month.  It's a low cost way to enjoy this fun cruising town.  There are lots of sailboats headed for the Bahamas and Great Looper Trawlers enjoying the Florida winter, along with folks who live full time on their boats. 

We explored the island, rode in the dinghy and just enjoyed.  The last time we stayed in Marathon we were in a Marina, but wanted to see what it was like to spend a month on a ball.  On the Roughwater, no problem.  Sue and Ron went back to Miami airport via the Keys Shuttle and a week later Jack and Nan (readers may remember them as our Gibson 37 cruising buddies during our Great Loop) shuttled on down for a week long cruise back to Harbortown via the Atlantic Intracoastal.  First we all attended a Looper Gathering at Banana Bay in Marathon, an annual event, and had a great time reuniting with more looping friends.

Our cruise up the Keys and through the Miami/Fort Lauderdale megapolis was trouble free.  We discovered a new anchorage right across from downtown Miami called Miami Marine Stadium.  Here we are in the dinghy, going to see the abandoned stadium. 

Built in 1963 on a huge man made harbor on Virginia Key to host powerboat races and concerts on barges, the stadium was abandoned after 30 years following Hurricane Andrew and has really fallen into disrepair.  It is considered a Miami Landmark, however, and there is a movement afloat to restore and reopen it.  Meanwhile, the harbor remains a peaceful and popular place for an overnight anchorage with a great view of the Miami lights at night.

 

 

Back in Fort Pierce, we continued to enjoy this great Marina and town.  Our final adventure of the cruising season was driving to Tampa and boarding the Norwegian Dawn with all 5 of my sisters adult children and their spouses/SO's.  Our first time on a big cruise ship, organized by the "kids" so we could all be together while we are all still healthy.  

 

Here we are in our tiaras and formal wear.  Copied from facebook, this pic gets real blurry when I enlarge, but you get the idea.  We went to the western Carribean and had a blast.  In early April, we had the boat lifted and stored for the summer and returned to our home in MN.  Here she is coming out of the water at Glades Boat Storage on the Okeechobee Waterway.

 So that's a condensed version of our first season on the new boat.  Welcome back, thanks for reading, and please stay tuned.  Our cruising plans this season include going to the Bahamas, so we'll have some new adventures to share.