Troubadour Updates
07 February 2009 | Inlet Cove Marina, Ponce Inlet, Florida
Linda / Sunny 65

Dear Blog watchers, thanks for continuing to follow our progress as we prepare for our offshore voyage to the Caribbean. Please don't hesitate to add comments, or even drop us an e-mail. We love hearing from all of you, and right now, we don't have any restrictions on our internet downloads.
Inlet Cove Marina
We are still enjoying our life aboard Troubadour at Inlet Harbor Marina, in Ponce Inlet, Florida. There are only seven boats here. We are one of two Beneteau sailboats, the other five are all large power boats. James and Gorma (the cat) are the only other liveaboards, but soon he will move to Seattle for a new job. The other boaters show up on the weekends to go fishing. All week long, our car is the only one in the small parking lot. On Friday nights, the lot is full with all the captains and crew for the fishing boats. When they return on Saturday or Sunday evenings, they filet their catch of red fish, grouper, and dolphin, at the cleaning station just off our bow. It's fun to watch. We've already gotten a free handout of fresh grouper!
The clubhouse is fully equipped and we have established a routine of making dinner there while catching up on our favorite TV shows, like House. We have some new friends who have a power boat in the private dock two slips from us. Skip and Jane, and their pooch, Bella, have a lovely boat and are occasionally working on it. They are the kind of people who have said to us, "Let us know, if you every need anything." It's comforting to know that the boating community is a group of people who look out for each other.
If you are visiting Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Orlando or Cocoa Beach, we are within a one hour drive, so come see us! We are within 20 minutes of Port Orange and Daytona Beach.
The Weather
We are thankful the boat has a heater and air conditioner. The past few days we've had evenings in the 20's. (I know that none of you in Wisconsin feel even the least bit of sympathy for us!) Most days the temps are in the mid to high 60's. It's almost always sunny.
Troubadour Refit Updates
The refrigeration is working! We no longer need the Igloo Cooler, nor to buy ice every week!. With boat refrigeration you have to learn how to arrange your food items such that you keep your beer cool, and don't freeze your veggies and lettuce. Stacking the groceries becomes an art. So far we've mastered it.
There has been an unexpected delay, however, with our Perkins 85 hp diesel engine. After the water lift muffler was installed and the engine reassembled, the motor wouldn't start. All we heard was a heartbreaking click, click, click. Basically, nothing happened. The crank shaft wasn't cranking, the ignition wasn't igniting, the pistons weren't ... doing whatever pistons do. All the PB Blaster and Marvel Mystery Oil we tried wouldn't get it to start. After considering our options, rather than rebuild, we chose to order a factory remanufactured engine (Foley Engines). In preparation for it's installation, Chris had to remove and save the marine specific parts and replace the forward motor mounts.
As it goes with any boat, one project begets another. Our boat was designed so that if the engine had to be replaced it could be lifted out through the skylight on deck. This is convenient because the engine is in the center of the boat. It sits mostly below the cabin sole (floor), mounted to stringers. So... guess what? We need to remove our skylight. We don't know what to expect, but we do know it's best not to have too many expectations. It's a boat after all. We plan replace the existing wood support beam and frame with a custom fabricated aluminum one. This will all take place over the next couple of weeks. (We think.)
Other refit updates completed or in process now include replacing our block & tackle boom vang with a rigid vang from Garhauer; replacing all the running rigging (for you non-boaters, that's all the ropes); still shopping for a dinghy; repairing the coaming under the bimini where the survey indicated wet core; and polishing all the top side stainless steel (bow and stern pulpit, bimini supports, dinghy arch, stanchions, etc.). Bob delivered the custom made bent teak arch for our master suite which will cover exposed wood edges and sound-proofing foam where we cut out the wall dividing the two v-berths. Chris will round the edges with his router, we will stain it, and secure it in place..
One of our recent purchases was a sewing machine. It has been a breeze to use. Everything I learned from mom when I was making high school prom dresses, flooded back into my memory! (Thanks, Mom!) I easily replaced the worn off velcro on our mainsail cover, as well as repaired several torn sections. See the photo's for the before and after. I plan to make a boat awning, new winch covers, hatch covers and maybe even a stack pack with lazy jacks. (This set-up allows the main sail to fold on it's own into a pillow-case like cover when taking it down.) A word on Mack Pack: We talked to the guys at Mack Sails in person several times about buying their Mack Pack, we haven't completely decided, but we are looking into making our own.
There's more going on everyday. The good news is that the refit list is getting shorter, and we are looking forward to sailing soon!