Smooth sailing UNTILL LOCK 15

We had been going great guns until we gassed up and headed for lock 15. We had already started the descending locks which were going well. We entered lock 15, got surprised by a gust of south westerly wind, and the engine died. I was doing my best to hold the bow when Al lost his line, jumped on the wall and struggled to hold us on the wall by the life lines. We were both in panic mode and holding on for dear life. We managed to get control of Ruth and were approached by the dock master asking what was wrong. He then helped us walk the boat out of the lock and tie up on the wall just before the lock. Al was in a state, me, not so much since I have no ideas about engines I figured it was all his department (smirk). He checked all the logical stuff and deduced the spark plugs were a bit grungy. A friend of the lockmaster kindly took Al to an automotive place for new plugs. Once they were changed things seemed improved. We decided to stay the night on the wall at lock 15, and try the engine on occasion to see if she was starting well. Dream Catcher II caught up to us and joined us on the wall. John and George we met as we were leaving Little Falls. They are 69 and 79 respectively and are seasoned sailors having made the trek from Michigan to the Bahamas several times.
Captain's Note:- "Note to self" Ruth needs some TLC once in a while!!! The plugs were bad, although the problem was tracked down to the points: she is now purring like a kitten. We are currently sitting 5 mins away from the final 5 locks that will take us down to the Hudson. We have made reservations at the marina at the Catskills for 2 days to have the mast put up! Ruth will be a sailboat again... & then to NYC.

9. Upgrades

Comments [2] | | More

Firstly many thanks to the family & friends who have fed us & acted as our personal taxi service!
Well we will be casting off the dock lines this morning after coffee & paying the marina bill & will be on our way. We will not be going far, but have made the decision to anchor out somewhere, & leave the comfort of land based things, such as baths, cars etc. The weather continues to be somewhat of a factor, with risks of thunderstorms & a continued southerly wind, so we will motor sail to Main Duck Island, & then make the jump to Oswego. With all the delays, we have managed to cross off almost everything on the to do list, (if that is possible), & are now waiting with pen & paper in hand to start a fix it list!!!!

9. Upgrades

Comments [4] | | More

WE'RE GOING TO THE DOGS

At least we're going somewhere.:) We are still in Collins Bay Marina. Since moving aboard just over 2 weeks ago, we have been crazy busy working and improving. Moving aboard opened our eyes to how much more we wanted to do to Ruth before we left behind tools, transportation and work space. Of course it's getting embarrassing, my family now doesn't believe we are ever going and my daughter is most anxious for us to be gone out of the house. I went to my former place of work this morning and everyone thought I had returned from the trip, I guess my tan and short boat hair style gave that impression, I had to confess we had not gone anywhere yet, but to keep watching the blog because weather permitting we hope departure will be early next week.
The most recent updates are the installation of a pressure washer on the deck for hosing the gunk off the anchor and chain. Al and I tackled a bimini which was completed this morning. Al is now working on securing the propane tanks on board. We are expecting guests by this afternoon and then a group of us is going to Raxx for crazy cheep rib night. My sister-in-law thinks we keep orchestrating our own send off parties, hey its summer and ya gotta party. We keep having send offs but we never leave.
What is the reason Al is eating out of a dog dish you say? Because we've gone to the dogs quite literally. In my experimental pressure cooking, a small stainless steel mixing bowl was required to cook a meatloaf in. Our pressure cooker is unusually small and my efforts to locate a small mixing bowl proved fruitless. Seems my time spent in occupational therapy while an inpatient has proved helpful, I problem solved myself right to the pet store and purchased a small stainless steel dog dish and whipped up the best dog dish meat loaf one ever tasted. Good enough that I have written an article to submit to Living Aboard for their What Works feature. I was so excited about the success of the meat loaf that the next night I tried a modified scalloped potato dish, Al is eating the leftovers the next day, right out of the dog dish, well at least he wasn't "in the dog house". Posted as well are pics of our do-it-yourself bimini. It was a shared project and we are still in love. Al took to the sewing machine like a pirate to a wench AAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

9. Upgrades

Comments [2] | | More