Moving Aboard

We did it - we live on a boat! Yesterday was a long and eventful day. We had a rough start at the boat yard with work to wrap up but by early afternoon we were out on the waterway doing a "sea trial" with the mechanic, Hugh, on board. Martin says the boat has never run so well and efficiently. We definitely give 2 thumbs up for all the service we've gotten here, they really know their stuff.

I was absolutely thrilled that as soon as we were out of the marina itself, there were dolphins! One even swam right up in the wake of our boat - it was beautiful - they're so big! It didn't hang out though, Hugh explained, because we were going too slow and they like to jump in the wake if it's a big enough wave. How cool is that?

Then Martin paid for the past week's work (yikes) and we met the harbormaster, Joan, and got our keys. We have a bathroom/shower facility and free laundry - yay! (We don't have wifi but the library is nearby.)

We spent a good amount of time "swabbing the decks" and unpacking our things from the hotel. We hadn't been on the boat more than half an hour when a woman came by and introduced herself. She and her husband are living on a 50' trawler docked 3 boats down. They have spent a few months every year for the past several years traveling from Naples, down through the Keys and off to the Bahamas - no way!! Needless to say, we're excited to talk with them (since that is exactly what we hope to do as well). We are hoping to have a drink with them this evening. One of my biggest fears for the trip was being a bit isolated socially. Well so far this hasn't been a problem at all but of course we choose Naples because we had friends here. I'm excited that we're already meeting people at the marina. I can't wait to hear their stories. There is so much to learn.

Back to yesterday... Sue and Armando came over in the evening and we had a house-warming party. I can't imagine a better first night on the boat. We had celebratory tea and cookies. Then they offered to take us to Whole Paycheck (aka Whole Foods). It feels so good to have a kitchen with real food in it. We came back to a lovely evening of cheese and crackers and wine. The boat was warm and cozy, as was the company. A perfect evening!

This morning we awoke to our first full day aboard. Where is the soap? Did we pack razors? There's no bowl for the fruit? Today is a day to start unpacking, sort everything out and see what we still need to pick up. It is unseasonably cool here so it's a perfect day for staying inside and playing house. Martin has a loaf of bread baking, it's going to be a nice day.

Internet access update

Online in the Starbucks on 5th Av in Naples.  We got a Starbucks card each and can now get 2 hours a day access.  Only 1 purchase a month required, plus we'll get spam from AT&T occasionally.  That's what email filters were designed for, so I'm not anticipating a full inbox any time soon.  As both Steph and I have our favorite sanitized caffiene drink here, it's no real hardship.

The two hour limit is actually a good thing, as it will force us out into the bright light eventually.  If we really need more time, the library is just up the road.  Seeing as I have the heaviest laptop in  existance, I don't think I'll be going that often.

Intermittant Internet

Once we leave the hotel and board IGL, we're not sure what kind of Internet access we'll have.  We know we can find access because we can always come back to the hotel and drink coffee in the lobby while using their wireless.  If we can't get access from the boat, then our posts will become less frequent.  We are still going to write blogs every day, but may not post them up every day.  So, like today, there could be several posts going up at once.  If you haven't already, I recommend subscribing to the blog using an RSS reader (like iGoogle).  That way you can see the new posts as they occur, without having to stop by on the off chance.

I Got Lucky Update

On the hard, waiting for the travel lift

A lot of work has been done to Lucky over the last few days.  The port drive has been removed, fixed and replaced.  The props are back on.  The detail has been finished.  All the bits are back on the hard top.  The fuel sender has been calibrated and Lucky is in the water.  Of course, not everything went smoothly and the gory details follow.  For those uninterested in the techie details, look at the pretty pictures here and skip to the next post.

So last we left it, the port drive had water in the oil and no apparent entry point.  On Monday the technician came, dropped the drive and took it away.  Once the drive was dropped it was obvious there was a leak as there was a significant amount of salt crystals built up inside.  Yesterday the drive returned with the news.  An internal seal, one of two that seal the part of the drive that provides the vertical rotation, had torn.  In addition, the part of the drive that the large seal at the top seats on had pitted and was providing access for water as well.  So the seal was replaced and the bed refinished.  as the drive was being placed into Lucky, the tech noticed that the drive exhaust elbow had corrosion around one of the seals.  I was given the option to replace or ignore, but decided that I'd better bite the bullet now rather than be bitten later.  So that meant a day delay before the exhaust was replaced.  That happened today, first thing.  Then the drives were calibrated to each other.  Lucky was ready to be splashed.  There then followed a four hour delay while another boat was being placed on a rig to be trucked to Napa, California.  Bill, the owner, has been a sailor for 16 years but had decided that enough was enough.  He searched across the country for the boat he was looking for - a Tiara 35' open - and found one in Naples.  What are the odds?  Normally, placing a boat on a trailer should take less than an hour, but there were several causes for the delay.  All the barnacles needed to be scraped off (1 hour).  The trailer needed to be put in the correct position and made the correct length (another hour).  Unsuccessfully attempting to get the overall height below 15' (yet another hour).  Sigh.  So by the time Lucky could be lifted, it was already 2pm.  The yard closes at 4.  We were splashed at 3pm and the engines could finally be turned on.  There was a leak in the exhaust, this time at the engine exhaust elbow due to a slightly warped flange.  An hour of filing got it nearly flat enough, but not quite.  The tech will be back tomorrow morning with some magic paste that will seal the remaining tiny gap.  Fingers crossed we'll sea trial, find no issues with the drives and the joystick won't need recalibrating.

While the outside of Lucky gleams, the cockpit and helm are looking very shabby.  Between the planes flying overhead on final approach to Naples airport and mechanics tromping on and off, there's plenty of grime around.  She'll get one final "service wash" from the yard, but I'm sure Steph and I will be swabbing the decks in the next few days.  Down below needs a good clean as well.  We're both itching to move in and make her home.

Monday morning I had Carl (the yard manager) help me put the life raft on the hard top.  It's way too heavy for me.  Once back in its cradle I could get the rest of the stuff up there.  Radar, air horn, loudhailer and spot light.  I needed Steph's help for a couple of items as it took one person to hold the bolt while the other tightened the nut.  The spotlight and hailer still need to be wired back in, but that won't take more than a few hours.

One of the final things to calibrate was the fuel sender.  Its a float in the fuel tank that sends a signal to the helm so you get a reading off fuel remaining.  Quite important, really!  So we recalibrated.  Made more difficult by the lack of instructions, finally resolved with a download and printout.  Using the yard's calibrating sender didn't work as it would only go down to 6% on the gauge.  Using the fitted gauge got down to 2%.  Note to self - refuel at 10% or higher.

So Lucky is in the water and we're nearly finished in the yard.  I've found us a slip we can live aboard.  It's one block south of the yard, so we'll move Lucky there once all is done at the yard.  Can't wait!  I'll be able to make decent cup of tea, for one thing!  :-)

Happy Birthday to me!

Armando, Sue, Steph, Martin, Sean and Lousie at dinner

Yesterday was my 44th birthday.  I'm not much of a birthday person, but every one around me is, so I got cards and presents.  Thank you Anne for the persimmon cookies!  I'm saving them until we're on Lucky and then we shall have tea and cookies as a celebration!  Steph bought me scone mix.  Sue got me clotted cream.  We already have the jam.  So scones and tea will be on the menu later this week as well.  Yum!  Sean and Louise were in town, fresh off their "trawler school" and full of nautical tales.  They came over to the yard at lunchtime and we spent an enjoyable afternoon wandering the waterfront.  Sue and Armando joined us later in the afternoon and were given the full tour of "The Bus".  Having spent 2 years living in an RV, they were especially impressed.  We had to leave Sean and Louise early evening so they could teach a class, but we arranged to have dinner later that night at Olive Garden, one of the few restaurants open after 9 in Naples.  Much to Steph and my delight, they had Martini & Rosso Asti Spumante on the wine list.  Greg, stop rolling your eyes!  As an added bonus, I was able to stop all singing at lunch and dinner.

Getting Things Done

Monday was a busy, industrious day. Martin went to Lucky and began reinstalling the hardware back to the top of the boat. He also found a marina where we can stay as live-aboards (not easy in Naples as most marinas have a 4 day/month live-aboard limit). And I had to find the local quilt shop (!) and buy a pair of shorts (I'm useless when it comes to reinstalling heavy objects on a boat anyway...) We have been using our folding bikes as transportation and they have worked out great. Yesterday, however, I was having doubts! I guessed the quilt shop to be about 7 miles away and thought a 14 mile bike ride would be perfect - get exercise and errands done at the same time. Taking to the open road rather than riding around town I realized that the bikes are pretty slow - okay, they have 16 inch tires, they don't exactly "burn rubber". To make a long story short, I felt like I had ridden to Georgia and back by the time I returned. I did a quick google pedometer check and realized I had underestimated my trip, and that my 14 mile ride really did feel like the 24 mile ride that it was. So now I'm questioning my own navigation skills as well...it may be a very long and meandering year ahead!

Sean and Louise arrived in the evening from Ft. Lauderdale where they were in trawler school. They live in their 40' Neoplan bus - touring around the US with their dog, 2 cats and fish (you can read their blog here). We had a great time with them in the evening and are looking forward to spending time on Tuesday with them as well.

Biking and Visiting

Today we rode our bikes to Mike and Jackie's house (old family friends from Leeds). It was a gorgeous day. We had a lovely brunch at their house, walked to the beach and saw the neighborhood alligator and her 8 babies (see pic) and listened to Mike play the keyboards for a bit. What a treat that was, he's a very talented musician! Mike gave Carole a call (Martin's Mom) so everyone got to say hello. Then we rode our bikes back home. (Note: the trip home was significantly shorter. I'm having some serious doubts about Martin's navigation skills after today ;-) Another wonderful day spent with friends!