Running in Circles but no longer Stuck in the Mud

This week has been spent taking one step back for every two forward, or visa verse! But the water level has risen a bit so we are no longer sitting in the mud while in our slip, it's nice to feel the boat rocking with the breeze.

We ordered gasket material for our portholes and a rebuild kit (mainly for the gaskets) for the dinghy motor, both items took longer than promised to get in.... and the gasket material was the wrong stuff. That wouldn't have been so bad but we forgot to bring the map when we went to pick up the gasket material in West Melbourne and took a very scenic, circuitous route to get there, our 45 minute task turned into an over 2 hour trip. I got a case of the giggles over the whole situation as it nearly replicated one I went through a few weeks ago trying to get into the local Goodwill store, not as easy a feat as it sounds.

Bill put in most of our 110v outlets, they still have to be wired and so we are now on the hunt for less costly marine grade wire. Every field has its' own specifications for these things, usually with good reason, but that does make it more difficult for DIYers.

We remeasured the sails, in hopes that we might be able to find some newer replacements.... thought we'd found some on the very southern end of Merritt Island, but they were nearly as old as ours and would have required too much work to retrofit.... oh well, we'll just keep our ears and eyes open. One recommendation was that we buy new, Chinese made sails as they are about the price of American made used ones. Not sure if we'll go that route though.

I found some book covers at the aforementioned Goodwill store (after I finally navigated their entrance) that, with minor alterations should work for porthole covers... there's something to be said for privacy... though I have to admit that I prefer the light they let in, so I'm not working too quickly to get the covers made!

Last night Harbor Square Marina had a hot dog cookout and pot luck. About 30 of us liveaboards showed up and there were a LOT of goodies to pick from! It was a fun evening and we enjoyed getting to meet some of the folks that are our neighbors here.

The photo is of Boots, the boat cat, desperately looking for land! Keeping my fingers crossed that the upcoming week is a bit more productive and entertaining!!

Slowly, but surely getting ready to sail!

Each day finds us just a bit further along the path to actually sailing! The second half of this week we pulled out and replaced the bad house batteries, created a first aid kit, organized the head, finished storing the off-season linens and clothing, gave Bill a much needed haircut, put the new carburetor on the dinghy motor and marked/measured the boom gallows so we can take it in tomorrow to be welded.
We also found a Rope shop with all kinds of fun and functional stuff, all we bought this time was bungee cording to make port light curtains but next time we'll be buying replacement lines for a few sails. Just down the road from the rope shop was a small flea market... imagine our surprise at finding a 30' long 5/8" double braid dock line for $5.... he came down to $4 for us! At the same market we got about $40 of candy for $15, all in all a GREAT shopping trip! Whew... I'm exhausted just from listing it all!

To relax from all the hard labor, we took Iron Jack out on Saturday for a 3 hour tour (hum the Gilligan's Island theme song here) that really lasted just 3 hours! I got my first lesson at steering the boat with a sail up. The wind was mild enough that Bill thought I could handle it if we only put up the roller furling Genoa... and no, I did NOT run her aground!! Didn't stray too far but I did take her under the bridge while under sail. Yippee!! Yes, I know this sounds kindergartenish to the salts among you but just try to remember back to your early days on the water.

Another Busy Week on the S/V Iron Jack

This past week Bill and I went on two buying trips... on Friday we drove south to Palm Bay where we bought a nice, little-used, 3.5 horse, Mercury engine for our dinghy. It needs a new carburetor but Bill found one on ebay and it should be arriving early next week. That should save time when I have to go anywhere in the dinghy as my rowing skills are less than stellar!
Saturday we crossed the state where we stopped in Cortez to pick up our new-to-us boom gallows which is going to save Bill from knocking his noggin every time he goes into the cabin or out on deck!
While on Florida's west coast, I looked at a few houses in the Bradenton area. A couple of them looked like good deals but none of them screamed "Buy me, now" at me.
We stopped at the Regatta Point Marina and had lunch with fellow Sailmonster.com members WoBaby (Lisa) and SoNJSailor. Good food with good folk, who could ask for more?
After lunch we headed back east, making a stop at Fred's (Bill's brother) house in Orlando to drop off a few cans of Wolf brand chili... it seems that it isn't available in this part of the country! Since it's Fred's favorite brand, we decided that he was more than welcome to what we had. Stopped in Cocoa for dinner at a Mexican restaurant, it was very good and only slightly different from the Tex-Mex we are used to.
Sunday was a quiet day, Bill spent most of his time on another boat in the marina helping the owner do some engine work. I spent most of my time continuing to cram too much stuff in too little space. We also trial fitted the new boom gallows... with a few minor alterations and a little welding it should do a great job!
Monday, Bill and I pulled a role reversal.... he packed his stuff away in the starboard lockers and drawers while I went out on a buying excursion for provisions, one of which was a TV antenna with amplifier.... Bill went out and attached it to the signal flag halyard, hoping that the height would give us good reception. Turns out that the best place for it was on the deck right by the port hatch... we are now using the steel hull of Iron Jack as a giant antenna... whatever works!
Tuesday my car had to go into the shop where the right front wheel hub and bearings were replaced in record time for a reasonable price... WOW is the car quiet now! After getting back to the boat Bill cut down our new boom gallows to fit and it is sitting in place so that we can be sure it's perfect before we make it permanent.

Today was a BIG DAY for me... I had my first go at tiller steering Iron Jack. Took her down the canal to the Indian River and under the nearby bridge, turned around and came back to the marina entrance where I handed the tiller back to Bill so he could put her back in the slip. I wasn't ready for that experience quite yet... and may not be for some time. My last experience with tiller steering was MANY years ago on a MUCH smaller boat (12' Boston Whaler).

A Week on the S/V Iron Jack

We arrived at the S/V Iron Jack Wednesday, 01/04/2012, and was it ever a sight for sore eyes, home at last! Then began the fun…. Bill began the arduous labor of trying to get power and water flowing while Jeanne began the pack mule - like labor of schlepping much too much stuff from vehicles and trailer. There is only so much space inside this 39’ vessel and since in our universe no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time we’ve begun sorting and giving away the excess.
Thursday we began cleaning water tanks adding bleach and then flushing them. No problem, except that some of the valves, access ports and pump switches were less then easy to find. We did finish 2 tanks today and there are only 3 more to go. After that it will be time to find and clean the fuel tanks. There’s been quite a bit of sorting and condensing of galley items done today… the overflow gets taken to the lending library table in the laundry room from whence they magically disappear, hopefully to another galley where the goodies will be given a good home.

Spending a few days getting to know the surrounding area, found a nice little non-chain coffee shop for breakfast and coffee, not much luck in the lunch and supper departments though, all chains, so far… we need to get the galley in order so we can eat in rather than out all the time. Oh well, it gets closer every day …. Then going out for a meal will be fun again!

While Jeanne has been working at paring down and stowing things in the cabin Bill has been doing more of the outside labor, some rust touch up, a little engine work, pulling out to have the bottom inspected (couldn’t be done in the slip because we are sitting on the bottom), that sort of thing. He has also fired up the stove… 3 little burners are glowing and creating heat to make coffee and hot chocolate and maybe, someday a meal.. WooHoo

Bill‘s brother, Fred was kind enough to store and deliver to us our “ new to us” Avon redstart inflatable dinghy. The 3 guys (Fred’s friend, George came along for the ride) started to inflate the new ‘toy’ and could not figure out how to install the floor boards. One of them decide that reading the instruction manual might be a good idea. Much easier if you read the manual before trying to assemble for the first time. Jeanne was the first to row around the marina to make sure there were no leaks. SHE SURVIVED despite rowing around in circles and wavering paths. Then brother Fred tried and last but not least it was Bill’s turn. No one fell in or got wet trying to board the boat on the boarding ladder. Score one for the team!
Bill and Fred then removed the weird staysail boom we have and stored it temporarily on top of our trailer, that left room to hoist the dinghy and install it on foredeck. Gosh, we almost look like we know what we are doing.

We did finally finish cleaning and flushing all the water tanks and have 2 tanks filled with fresh water. Next on the agenda is to hook up the aft 50 gallon to the main feeder line, find an 8 to 10 gallon water heater that will work off the engine waste heat and 110 vac and plumb it into the system....Life goes on for the wanna be cruisers....:)