11/20/2009, Swansboro Dudley's Marina
BRUCE RIGGS, ATOMIC ENGINE EXPERT PHONE # 252-241-2153 LOCATED IN SWANSBORO NC
Well Bruce (71 years young) our wonderful Mechanic did his magic with the bomb. It was all done in-situ, with about 1/2inch to spare. He removed the head, & then removed all the valves one by one, cleaned them & the guides & replaced all the valve springs, with the new type recomended by Moyer Marine. To say they were a bitch to get in would be an under statement. They are about 1/2" longer & made with Stainless Steel, (NOTE to Moyer Marine a special tool to squeeze them might be in order) poor Bruce, his fingers took a beating trying to get them in. He took away the head & cleaned & polished it before replacing it. We were blown away by his professionalism & the very modest price, we would have no hesitation in recomending him to anyone who ventures this way & needs work on their Atomic.
We will be here another day or two, to do a few more thing around the boat, before going on. Anyone who needs a good cheap Marina should stop at Dudley's Marina, swansboro. They have fuel, power, showers, a great fishing & Marine store, & a courtesy van All for 75 cents a foot.
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Comments [3]
Best of thoughts and wishes.
11/18/2009, Dudley's Marina
Jennifer's Update
Well, we spent 6 lovely days in Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC waiting out effects of Ida. The marina is run by Mary a great woman with the help of Brent and his wife Michelle (who we didn't get to meet as she was away). Ishmael got to catch up with us so it was really great to finally meet Kathy, George, Ben and Kooper. We met them on Sailblogs and we have been blogging back and forth so it was a pleasure to meet them in person/dog. We also hooked up with some other couples who needed to wait out better weather. The marina offers a great club house, so we gathered most evenings for cocktails, we organized one pot lock and on Saturday night I made a huge stew (everyone contributed veggies etc) and Kathy made a salad. I got into my joke telling and as usual I screwed them up and laughed sooooo hard. Any way as our home friends Sue and Jim have said, my time on the boat has done nothing for my lame joke telling. I had told Sue and Jim that we saw cotton fields in Belhaven, it looked like a field of snow, then I segued into saying" it was a shame that Charlie Pride wouldn't take Tylenol for a headache. He said he'd never pick cotton again"....groan. I did make up a joke tho, Kathy on Ishmael thought I had too much time on my hands. I said, "people on sail boats are the happiest people because you often see them luffing" I can hear Sue and Jim groan all the way from Kingston.
Jane from Last Dance wanted to learn to knit so Kathy and I decided we could teach her but in order to do that the sisterhood needed to do a road trip to "the Wal-Mart". Bob and Al went with us because they needed a west marine fix. At the Wal-Mart Jane got needles and wool for a beginner scarf and Kathy got supplies also. I got baby yarn/wool to make an umbilical cord hat (see Picasa link)for a baby gift I need to send home. We stopped at Wine and Words (Kiley the kind of place I could see you, Alison and Gareth running) for a late lunch. The food was great, highly recommend a stop there. The sisterhood was anxious to get back to start the stitch n bitch session. We also had to work around the pot luck preparation. So long story short, Kathy and I had a hoot getting Jane started. Jane is the youngest almost 70 year old woman I've ever met. We had great chat, minimal bitching and Jane was well on her way to creating a scarf. I worked on the umbilical cord hat and Kathy worked on a knitted afghan. Saturday night we all shared a combined stew. I regret now not haven gotten a pic of us with all our new friends. Jane/Bob- Last Dance, Karen/Richard, -Trefoil, Donna/Dick - Ninkasi, Phil/Nikki- Ajaya, John, Nanette, Storm, Gale, Tarpon- Notice 2.
We headed out on Sunday morning it was sad saying bye to Mary et al. We travelled along with Ishmael and Ninkasi and we hooked out in Broad Creek for the night. Monday night we stayed at Portside Marina and shared a shrimp feast with Caesar salad. Phil, Nikki, Donna and Dick stopped by as they were tied up at the Sanitary Restaurant (sure hope it was). Tuesday morning we were up at 6 and travelling by 7. We were making good headway when Al thought our engine was sounding out of sorts. Well Ruth went down hard this time. Soooooooo another long story short, we are in Dudley marina in Swansboro, NC, Al is consulting with the mechanic as we speak, he reminds me of my brother John (hope he charges me like a sister). I hear $50 an hour which is cheap, & 75cents a foot for the slip. So we are here until the repair is done. So major knitting time for me. It will also give me time to work on my boat wish list.
Yes that's what I said. I have made the decision that I am not a sailor. I totally love living on a boat and being on water, but a sailor I am not. And along with the bad stuff (engine break downs etc) the universe sends you some gifts. Like palm trees, warmer weather, porpoises and penguins, and yarn (sheep). So my life is a good balance. After a month on the boat I started thinking we may need something bigger, and most recently I've upgraded to wanting a trawler. I know, all you sailors out there are aghast. But it has become evident that my reaction time is not good or safe and I lack strength and dexterity for reefing on sheets etc. Also in the past Al was used to crew helping him on larger boats and he is starting to feel the stress and angst of single handed sailing. So, since I can drive a car we think I could manage a trawler which would make travelling equally as pleasurable for Al. Also we have had the pleasure of touring a few and it would be nice to have more space and real room to have visitors. So we have agreed to give Ruth a year but once we get to Florida we will scout around for our new condo on water > There are good deals to be found with time and patience. And we have lots of time and don't need to be in a rush. I'll get Al to post out latest pictures to Picasa so do have a look. We were met at Morehead City by dozens of Dolpins/Porpoises, & we have them swimming around the boat here at the Marina, a very exciting thing. Also ladies be sure to see my new Sperry's (the official boating shoe) I call them my new Ra"sperry's", you'll see why. They are comfortable and you don't need socks, and as Kathy said the soles won't mark up my new trawler.( ah but to dream)
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We're in Surf City with R-Hope who went to dinner two nights ago with Jane and Bob from Last Dance. This cruising world sure is small.
11/17/2009, Dudley's Marina Swansboro
Jennifer will be updating the blog, but in the mean time we have engine problems. We lost compression in #1 cylinder just before getting to Swansboro. It seems we may have a valve spring gone bad, we have someone coming to look at it tomorrow. The marina is nice & cheap 75cents a foot, power, wifi, showers & a car, so we will be ok as we maybe here for a few days!
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Steve
Jennifer
