Spending money.
17 February 2009
• Fat Deer Cay, Florida
by Mike
Yesterday evening during one of our runs to and fro from Snoozer's dock there was a loud thump in the Seagull and the engine stopped. Although it started again immediately upon the first pull, it ran with an obvious thump that seemed to be coming from the lower gear housing. Barb and I discussed the matter and although I really like the engine, reliability and availability of parts has finally become an issue. Add to that the fact that more and more people who have been into the Caribbean have been telling us that with a six foot draft there will be places that we will want to visit that we won't be able to get very close to. We will have to anchor as much as a couple of miles off and we will want an outboard that will push the dingy a little faster than a couple of knots. So, we have decided to retire the Seagull to a backup role and buy a 4 hp outboard. The one stipulation that Barb has put on the matter is that she wants a new one so we won't be inheriting anyone else's problems. I can't argue with that, but it means more boat bucks down the drain and it is even more imperative that I get a job when we are back in Halifax to pay off the Visa bill and to build up the kitty so that we can also buy the new fridge that we have been talking about.
Last night the wind picked up to ten to fifteen knots which allowed the KISS to come into play. Good thing too as with all of the creature comfort stuff that we have aboard our electric bill is fairly high. I figure that we burn off about 5 Ahrs at anchor and more like 10 when we are underway, so we need the solar panel in action along with the wind generator. On a sunny day the panel will give us nearly four Amps but of course nothing at night and we need at least ten knots for the wind generator to kick into action but when it does at fifteen knots we'll get another five Amps from it. Last night the KISS was keeping abreast of the power consumption and if the wind maintains and the sun comes out today we should build back up the bank.
We got the Seagull working again for a brief period of time and I was actually entertaining the idea of delaying the purchase of a new outboard for a while, but then it crapped out again with the same problem, the prop spring that both holds the prop on the shaft and also acts as a cotter pin failed. So, that was the final straw. Off to the outboard dealer we went and found a Suzuki 2.5hp for $700 that is almost too much engine for the dingy and it doubles her speed at only half throttle. We also bought some provisions for the boat and for the Wednesday night do, but at a cost. We almost went to jail with our frustration with all the blue rinse folks that hang out at the grocery store as their daily social event. That wouldn't bother me except that they decide that they are going to have their "meeting" in a choke point in one of the food aisles. Barb and I both came close to helping them on to their next plane of existence.
Other than the run to shore for the dog and to go for a brief shop, today has been a day for relaxing. I can't even convince Barb to come exploring the mangroves in the dingy with the new engine. She would rather sit on deck with a G&T and read. Come to think about it, so would I, except substitute rum and water.
We are going to go out to a place called Hurricane's on the weekend with a couple that we have met only briefly in Charleston, and we have invited Snoozer to come with us. It promises to be fun! We tried to find them at the marina that they told us they are staying at but without success, so our reunion will have to wait until Sunday.
We have used the new Suzuki a couple of times by the evening, to get back to the boat with the provisions, to try it out in the anchorage and "zoom" about, and then to take Peri in for his evening walk, and the the motor is substantially and improvement on the Seagull from a drive perspective, to say nothing of the fact that it is new and has a 3 year warranty. Tomorrow or the next day we plan to take the dingy out of the creek into the ocean for a snorkel trip to the shallow portion of the reef. Hopefully we'll get some photos with the shallow water cameras that we bought when Kayt was here.
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