Still beautiful
12/10/2008, Stuart, Florida

Work on the boat is progressing albeit slowly.

One of the 8 batteries on board has tested defective, so I drove up to Ft.Pierce to exchange it for a new one.

The riggers have arrived and are in the process of re-assembling our mast c/w the new rear stay which will be used as the antennae for our new Single Side Band (SSB) radio.

The radio has been tested and a radio antennae tuner has been installed. We await a customized mahogany enclosure to be built to allow for the radio installation.

Stainless Steel bows have been ordered to accommodate the solar panels on top of the bimini.

The entire bottom of the boat has been scraped and sanded, primed and painted with anti-fouling paint which contains a biocide to minimize algae growth. I was surprised to learn that the paint costs $400 USD per gallon, and we'll use seven gallons.

The prop has been polished and painted with another special covering to prevent barnacle build-up as has the bow thruster.

Louise has completed an initial cleaning of the exterior of the boat, but will wait until after the mast has been installed before completing her final assault on the deck.

We are living in a lovely home 3 blocks from the marina which we share with the owner, Peter Adams, who is a professional golfer who spends his summers in Connecticut, and winters in Florida.

The house across the street is currently for sale, and with the real estate market in Florida in turmoil, the asking price for a 3 bedroom home c/w 7 appliances, 2 bathrooms, and double car garage is $120K.

Louise and I are going to view it tomorrow.

Comments [1]

Beautiful and hot!
12/07/2008, Stuart, Florida

We're getting settled and have started cleaning and reassembing the boat. What appeared clean was in fact filthy once water was applied.

It seems that southern Florida has a fine, black ash in the air as a result of burning sugar cane.

Louise was thankful for the pressure-washer on board.

All the decks are now clean, and the exterior canvas (bimini and dodger) are installed.

We drove up to Melbourne, Florida this morning to purchase a sea drogue, and also found an unused Para-tech 18' sea anchor for $50.

Having just bought one on ebay for $800, I couldn't resist. You can never have enough safety equipment on board.

We also met many of the members of the SSCA and have decided to join this merry band of world cruisers.

Our son arrives in Fort Lauderdale in three days, and if things work out correctly, we hope to have everything ready to go within 7-10 days.

Comments [0]

Sunny and hot!
12/06/2008, Stuart Florida

A busy two days with one evening in Macon, Georgia and a fine meal in the historic downtown, then an early morning start to Albany, Georgia to pick up our new watermaker (bought on Ebay) and another seven hour drive through the sunshine to arrive in Stuart at 4pm, just enough time to visit the boat and find our new accommodation, a rental house near the marina.

The boat looked in great shape with everything clean and dry and sparkling new countertops (Thank you Beneteau).

Lat night we celebrated our arrival with a wonderful meal at our local favourite restaurant and were in bed by nine.

I'm sitting in the kitchen bar of our new home using the Wifi, and enjoying the view of our backyard full of palms and blooming flowers.

It's going to be a great holiday!

glen

Comments [1]