In West Palm Beach Heading to Bahamas Tomorrow

Renegade in the slip in Harbor Town Marina. Dirk took this shot from the top of the mast and it shows the finally completed decks

Well I guess by the heading you know that we left the Harbortown Marina in Merritt Island finally. Everything that we could stuff in got put on the boat and it was time to go. We pulled out on the 27^th and made a short trip down the ICW to Malabar and anchored in a new spot to us close to a small island right off the markers.

Very calm night and the only one anchored at Malabar

It was a calm beautiful night and after waking up, having coffee we took off with Vero Beach in our sights.



I was sitting on the best seat in the house



It was the place we would stay to wait out weather, do final provisioning for fresh fruits and veggies and get Butters to the vet for his Bahamas check up. There was a front that moved through so we decided to stay put for four days which allowed us to get a few things done and get back into cruising mode once again. Friday the 1^st we decided to leave to make it down to West Palm Beach in order to catch a weather window opening soon. The winds were still strong but since we were travelling on the inside it wouldn’t be too rough. As we came out of Vero you must make a turn under the bridge as soon as you hit the channel but there was a power boat going very slowly through the bridge and we decided rather than cut him off to turn north and turn around and drop in behind him. That was our plan at any rate. Once we got into the channel to turn we had a north wind bearing down on us and current pulling us toward the bridge. The channel is also very skinny through here so as we were making our turn the current and the wind caught us and took us not 3 feet past the channel marker, we were stuck. We tried to back out but the current was making it impossible. We thought about using our dinghy to pull us off but we were so close to the marker we may have hit it if we drifted more. So we bit the bullet and called Sea Tow. Sea Tow is basically AAA for boaters and we had been paying for it for almost 4 years and never used it before. Today was the day. Forty five minutes later he showed up, hooked up to us, pulled us back into the channel and safely away from the marker. It all took place in about 10 minutes. When we were filling out the paper work Dirk asked him how much it would have cost if we didn’t have them. Whew, it would have cost us $800.00, guess it pays to have it. Hope we don’t need to use them again though. Once we got underway again it got a bit rough even for the ICW. There were 1 to 2 foot waves with choppy white caps all around. It wasn’t bad because it was behind us and gave us a nice push. Needless to say we made up some of the time we spent sitting aground. We did have some dolphins visit a bit and we watched them for about 30 minutes before they became bored and left.

Catching dolphins out of the water is hard to do



Here I got one surfacing and one heading back under



We anchored south of the Jensen Beach bridge so we could have a bit of protection and had a comfortable nights sleep. Saturday was our day to travel the worst part of the ICW. This is a very popular location, lots and lots of boat traffic and too many timed bridges that you must be dead on to get right. This is also where we have had the rudest bridge tenders. This time it wasn’t so bad, only one managed to rub me wrong as I didn’t copy him the first time and he screamed at me the second time. So as we passed under the bridge I killed him with kindness, thanked him for the opening and wished him a wonderful day. There, take that.  As we left the last bridge the traffic was really bad. Large fishing boats blowing past us throwing us all over the place. We continued on around to Peanut Island and passed it to anchor in the south anchorage. We had our new friends Tanya and Dave on Dea Latis at the front of the anchorage and found a spot close to them. Later that evening we discussed plans for a crossing over sun downers. It looks like there will be a window opening on Tuesday/ Wednesday so our plan as of right now is to leave here about 4:00am on Tuesday morning and head over to Great Sale Cay. We are looking at about 100 mile trip and it should take us no more than 20 hours to do it. So hopefully the next blog you get from me is one telling you that we made it and we are not still in the states waiting on weather.

Back In The Water And Almost Ready To Go

The day after Christmas we returned to the boatyard in hopes that we could finish up last minute items and be ready to be dropped back in the water on the 29^th. I think it was the 29^th anyway. Right now the locks on the barge canal are having maintenance done and they are closed throughout the week with only 2 openings a day, one at 7am and one at 7pm. This time of year it means you are travelling it at night as the marina doesn’t open that early so you have to wait for the later one. They are however on demand on the weekends. So Friday around lunch time they put us in the slings and unblocked us.

 

We spent the day tossing stuff, giving stuff away to other yard people such as chairs given to us, step stools and step ladders. Basically cleaning up our spot so we wouldn’t be charged for them to do it. It was the first time in a long time that I felt the boat move and it was an odd feeling being in a cradle and drifting with the wind. Dirk spent the time grinding and painting the spots under the keel that had been sitting on the blocks, making sure all the thru hulls were exercised and greased. There were a couple that had a bit of sand in them from the sandblasting and they sounded crunchy. Engine systems were checked; anything that could cause a possible leak was checked and rechecked. We were to be dropped at around noon the following day so we settled in for the night. The next morning apparently the schedule opened up and they were able to splash us about 9.

Good for us as a front was headed our way with wind and rain and we wanted to make the almost hour trip back to the marina before it hit.  Once we got lowered in Dirk went below and checked all the thru hulls for any leaks, bone dry, he started up the engine and once we were certain all was good they released the slings and let us go. Our first order of business was to hit the fuel dock and fill our tanks in preparation of cruising. Close to $700.00 dollars later and not even full we called it good. That should be enough fuel to get us through a good part of our travels. The more we sail, the longer we can go without refills. It was a bit tricky getting into the fuel dock as the current and the wind were both against us. With the help of a couple people on the dock we got tied up. Once that was done we pulled away and headed for the bridge we needed to get through, with a call on the radio to the tender we were through in no time. We then had to sit turning circles to wait on the lock as they had traffic coming from the other side. Once it opened we headed in and positioned ourselves alongside the wall. This was my first lock to deal with and I was a bit nervous as I was handling the lines.

 

Apparently it’s an easy one to get through and as the doors opened and we exited, the winds decided to pick up to 23 knots and the clouds were rolling. All I kept saying was, “please hold off” please hold off” We made our way to the marina and had some friends waiting there to take our lines. Another boat had come in right next to our slip so it would make getting in a bit of a nail biter. It’s a skinny fairway to begin with, with one side being a row of trees; there’s a huge trawler on both sides of us and a finger pier you can’t get to till you are in the slip. I was able to get a rope to Chris who was on the dock and lucky for us the lady from the trawler came out and standing on her boat helped fend our bow sprit off. With the winds blowing from our side it was hard to get in straight and we ended up rubbing the piling on the starboard side. Better the piling then a boat. Oh well, it’s a bit of touch up to do on the varnish but it could have been worse. We were back thank goodness with no problems other than a small leak Dirk found somewhere in all the coupling, drip less, steering mess he had been working on. He tightened a few things down and that did the trick. At least something was easy. So now that we are back in the marina, we have been pounding out our to do list trying to get as much done as we can. The decks will be complete by this weekend, I will try to get the aft cap rail done with a final coat and start coating the drop in boards for the entry way.

 

We got the double doors done but when we travel we like the drop ins when we need to lock the boat up and use the drop in screen the rest of the time. Lots of cleaning and scrubbing has been done along with organizing and provisioning.

 

Our neighbor told us about a place right next to where we were in the boatyard that did plexi glass. Our two big hatches are so old and crazed. One has a red tint on it and leaks, the other had a major crack in it that last year we put a band aid on it by buying a very thin plexiglass piece and caulking it on. Most of the time they stayed covered due to the leaking. After pricing the size and thickness we needed and the fact that it would come in one big sheet and Dirk would have to make them we decided to put it off another season. After talking to this guy the other day we found out that we could get 2 hatches for less than what we would have paid for one and the guy would polish the edges and even match and drill the holes for us. It also came with a great tint that will help in the summer heat. I’m a happy camper.

We also got the new water maker in on Tuesday. It’s a DIY and basically comes with all the pieces parts and you have to put it together and install them. I’m not sure what the installation of it entailed because I decided to make a trip up to my sisters to drop off and pick up some needed items and to do a little house sitting. But it seems all systems are a go and after getting it started up, there were only a couple leaks that were corrected by a little tightening here and there.

 

I managed to fit all the cushions for the aft seating, dive gear and other odds and ends in the car and came back two days later. It was beautiful weather so I took the opportunity to finish up the decks. Yippie, I am finally done and they look fantastic. Now let’s see how long it last. Dirk had to climb the mast to replace the VHF antenna so he took the camera up with him and got a shot looking down. Pretty cool…

I have also started and finished up some other small odd and end varnishing. The last big project I have to do top side is to finish scraping and sanding the butterfly hatch so I can varnish it. I have been procrastinating on it but with everything else looking so nice it is screaming to be done.

Basically we are getting down to the wire here. Last minute projects are being done, spare parts are on order, lockers crammed with provisions and we are shooting to be out of here on the 25^th I think it is. We are paid up till the end of the month here so it gives us a few days to play around with. We still need to make one more trip back to the sister’s house to drop the car off and after that I will begin to feel I’m in cruise mode. Our plan is to travel the ICW for a couple days so we can check all our systems out and make sure it is all working well. After being on the hard for so long and all the work Dirk did with the shaft, stuffing box, and other assorted things we want to make sure there are no problems. We met another couple in the boatyard that just bought a catamaran and are planning on heading out the same time frame we are, so we will be in company. There is also another couple that I have been following for a couple years now as they fixed up their boat to travel and they docked down in Melborne for a while. They came up for a visit to meet and since this is the first trip over for them we gave them some pointers. They have left already travelling south and are probably headed the same direction as us so I'm sure we will meet up with them again. As we get closer to leaving I will keep you posted and then once again our spot will be active to show where we are. Till then I will leave you with a photo of Capt. Butters hanging out on the bow sprit.

We had to put a net up to keep him off as we are afraid he will slip in and there are too many gators in this marina that hang out too close to the boat.

Boatyard Work Just about complete

Didn’t realize it had been a month since I last posted our progress. Let’s just say we have been a bit busy. Where to start…..Well I am happy to report that the bottom continued to dry for another couple weeks after Tom our bottom guy had come to grind. He then returned and fared the bottom on one day, returned the next day and sanded it smooth. His job was done and now it would be left up to Dirk to do the rest. All we would need is some rain free days to start applying the 5 coats of barrier paint and 2 coats of black bottom paint. All in all we used 8 gallons of barrier paint and 3 gallons of Trinidad SR hard bottom paint. Several days later, and we have a bottom that looks as good as new. Dirk did a fabulous job on this as usual.

Tom fairing the bottom



Bottom done, just needing final sanding and paint

Dirk applying the first of 5 coats of the barrier paint



First coat of Bottom paint going on




Bottom job is done, along with the black boot stripes

In the meantime he had removed the old stuffing box and added a new PSS drip less box, plus he replaced the cutlass bearing, and replaced the shaft coupling. Just know that we hope he never has to do the shaft coupling again. Wow, what a pain, and 2 days to do it. It was so corroded in place that even when it was cut in half with an angle grinder it took two of us prying with a 5 ton puller. We actually broke an arm on the puller but after many choice words and threats it finally gave in and came off. Whew, fun fun, NOT…… While he was down in the same hole in the floor we replaced the exhaust hose from the engine. All 12 ½ feet of it. It is 3 ½ inches around and very thick which restricts it from bending much. We ended up feeding it in through the top hatch over the bed, into the floor area and up and under the bed to the rear of the boat. Yet another fun job you get to do while using 5 hands 3 feet and standing on your head all the same time. Believe me when I say, living on a boat is not all sun downers with pretty umbrellas and swaying in a hammock. It could happen but not often enough, at least not now. We are so ready to get back on the water and start heading south back to the Bahamas. But first, more work.

This doesn't look that big but trust me its 12 1/2 feet long and a bear to get put into place

If you read our blog when we first got Renegade you know how bad of shape the decks were in. We knew nothing of teak decks other than they leak. After doing some research and asking around we decided our best and easiest course of action was to scrap the decks of all the years of neglect and repeated coats of cetol. Pull out most of the existing caulking, re-caulk and apply some type of protective barrier. We had several people say to just let it gray. As much as the lazy part of me is screaming to do just that, the part of me that loves the rich tones of varnished and well cared for teak was what was calling us. So Dirk purchased a product called Teak Gard. It isn’t a varnish nor a sealer, it just gives the teak a nice look to it. You must clean the wood very well, apply 3 coats and it is suppose to last a season. Hummmmm What did we do wrong? Seems the high traffic areas wore off way too quickly and we were getting tiger striping going on. This season we discussed it and decided to go a different route to see if it would make a difference. More research, more questions and we have decided to apply what I spent so many months cursing. We decided to completely sand the decks down properly and apply the new Cetol they have now. It is called Marine Natural Teak and it’s not supposed to yellow like the old stuff. Dirk did the hard parts of sanding all the decks down, and what a mess that was. Still is, I finally caved and said I wouldn’t dust or wipe walls till we were out of the boatyard. I have gotten use to writing my notes in the wood dust, fiberglass dust that seems to carpet every horizontal surface I have down below. I have just about completed everything except the cabin top and one coat to the starboard side of the poop deck. (aft deck). I love the rich wood look it gives, it is a bit slick when wet so we need to be careful or put some good deck shoes on. We will see how well this holds up as we are just adding band aids right now. Our goal in the future is to have the decks removed and perhaps redone, but probably fiber glassed. We love the teak look but there is enough wood on the boat and it would solve so many other leak problems.

Not a very good shot but I will post one in the next blog when its complete. Here is the difference as we were working on it

Other projects have gotten completed such as, all the cap rails with the exception of the stern rail plus all the toe rails, (wood on the sides) has been done. Dirk redid the black boot stripe as the last time it was done it was done wrong and it was peeling off. Guess Renegade had blue boot stripes originally as that is what we uncovered. It was Dirks first attempt with rolling and tipping but it looks great and has a nice shine to it. For the non boaters it is the two black painted lines on the sides of the boat. The wheel finally got done, thank goodness. I was tired of looking at it and I hope I never have to redo it again.

The wheel, finally done.....

Christmas has come and gone, old man winter pokes his head in every so often just to remind us that the rest of the country is experiencing winter when we really have had a nice cold season so far. We spent the time with my sister and her family and Dirk took the opportunity to sew the new main and mizzen sail covers. I relaxed and helped cook Christmas Dinner which was mainly cooked by my brother in law. Christmas day was spent cooking, eating, eating and relaxing, sewing, and ummmm eating. Couldn’t help it, Standing rib roast with horseradish sauce, Yorkshire pudding, asparagus, corn casserole, and sweet potatoes. Dessert was key lime and pumpkin pie. Yummmm. The next morning I was met with fresh homemade scones with Devonshire cream made by the sister. We ended up leaving that day. Either that or we were gonna explode.



My sister and I

 

Dirk getting his Santa on




Christmas dinner, yummy



Homemade scones my sister baked. I love the fact that she loves to bake




Dirk's mom sent us a huge box of German goodies, time to hide this all around the boat so it will last.

So we came back to the boat on the 26^th and today the 28^th we are getting put into the slings around closing time in preparation of a Saturday launch. Dirk will do some final work under the boat where the keel was sitting on the blocks so we are busy busy. Trying to get the last of the big sanding projects done, cetol and varnish can be done anywhere. We decided our plan would be to head back up the canal back to Harbourtown Marina as we found a slip there that has a long enough finger pier for us. When we gave up our last slip someone grabbed it and they only have a few with a finger pier long enough for us. There we will finish up last minute stuff and continue to re provision the boat. I have started but found it was very difficult trying to organize when everything was torn apart. Caption Butters had his yearly exam done and had to be given a magic bullet so to say to have everything done. He is a very bad patient and for some reason has always hated the vet. This vet didn’t waste time and gave him a sedative which in itself can be a very traumatic experience. I was asked if he was part cougar as the scream he let out sounded as such. Once the sedative took effect his eyes were wide open but he allowed them to do anything they wanted. For a couple years he hasn’t had much done other than a visual inspection because he is such a bad patient. I had 3 year rabies shot done to save us trauma every year.  Every test that was needed for several years was finally done down to a temperature reading and he came back with a clean bill of health. His weight is always something we worry about as he is getting older and diabetes is not something I want to deal with in him. Everything checked out and we will continue to try and curb how much we feed him although the vet is surprised by how little we feed him. His weight is 19.5 lbs so he isn’t going hungry although we are strict about his food.

Butters doing what he does best

 Like I said we will go back to Harbourtown Marina, finish up some last minute task, re provision, and oh yeah I almost forgot…..Put in our new water maker. I will tell you more about it in the next blog but Santa decided that’s what we needed this year for Christmas. I’m not complaining. Till next time….

Still In The Boatyard

So life in the boatyard goes on and on, and on. Neighbors have gone and new ones have arrived. It’s a nice little community but one I would like to leave soon. There is one person here who has lived on their boat in the yard now for eight years from what I hear. I guess for some people, things take time……We have been busy, well should I say Dirk has been mainly busy. I have been busy but I quit when I have had enough to take a much needed shower where as Dirk keeps plugging away till the job of the day is done. Lately it has been very windy with north winds blowing sand all across the boatyard. Not fun when you’re trying to varnish or when you walk around most of the day crunching on sand. This tends to peg my fun meter very quickly. Tom our bottom guy has come and gone on several occasions to check the moisture in the hull. Last week he came by and decided it was time to grind. He tented the bottom of the boat as to keep the fiberglass dust contained and disappeared under it for several hours.



Renegade tented and ready for grinding



Tom coming out for a breather completely covered in fiberglass dust.

After he was done he did say he noted there were still areas of moisture that would need to dry longer. Not a problem, we have plenty to keep us busy. Here are some of the things we have been working on.

Before



After scraping and sanding but before recaulking



The center seat dissasembled and ready to be rebuilt



Center seat rebuilt and recaulked, just needing some finishing



The seating completed.

Our back seats still had years of old cetol built up on them as you can tell by the first photo. There is also a removable center section that can lift up so that you can get to the dinghy davits and off the back of the boat if needed. It had gotten so much water soaked into it that the seat was unsafe to sit on as it was collapsing. For safety we wedged a piece of wood in it and basically used it as a table. I spent a day taking the seat apart, separating all the teak pieces careful to label the back side so we would remember how to put it back together and cleaned all the old caulk and cetol from it. It took Dirk almost a whole day to reconstruct the seat, put it back together and re caulk it. I have to say though it looks great and to think we were just gonna trash it and replace it with a solid piece of wood. We really never see the wood as we have the very nice cushions that turns it into what I call the couch. Very comfy. 

Years of cetol to remove



You can see the wood grain once again

 The old pin boards and belaying pins, at least that's what I think they are called got removed stripped and now they shine like glass sitting next to the mast ready for ropes.

The wheel was removed and stripped. It wasn't in too bad of shape but when we were redoing everything else we want it all to match. Plus the finish is just so dark and yellowed that you cant see the beautiful teak wood grain. My fun meter was pegged on this project about an hour into it each time I worked on it. Getting into all those cracks and crevasses was not fun. I have yet to to any sanding on it but it is on my list to do.  

After scraping



After the gold was applied but before the varnish was applied on top



What a cold day this was and I had to stay perched on my step stool cause I was too short



Scroll work on port side complete. The blue tape doesnt stay...



Before and after

We also finished the scroll work on the bow of the boat. What a pain to scrape this. Dirk and I took turns with it. He did the final sanding, washing and I applied the gold paint. Took me several hours each side as I applied three coats to make sure it popped. Boy does it pop and we think it looks great.

We had a nice interruption in work one evening as we went and had dinner with an Italian couple we met 2 years ago in Beaufort N. Carolina in the boat yard. This was the first time they had been back to the states and their boat since they left. Now with a baby they have decided to cruise this season and made it to Titusville the other evening. We drove the 30 minutes north and met up with them. We only got to visit a couple hours as we were leaving town the next day and they were heading south for warmer weather. We are hoping next season to do some travelling with them. Great to see them once again. One thing about cruisers, we all travel in different directions but we always cross paths somewhere down the line. For Thanksgiving we headed to my sister’s house and Dirk took the stay sail with him to tackle the first of the new sail covers. He wanted to start with a small one, I say small but at 13 feet long it’s not too small. Thank goodness my sister has a large living room that can accommodate us and the mess we can make. 

Dirk busy sewing away



What a mess, thats all our junk

In a 24 hour period He managed to finish the sail and even had time to get all the components cut out for the spinnaker sock he is making. Me? I did some laundry, helped cook Thanksgiving dinner and relaxed.

Sometimes you just gotta….Today we made it back to the boat and the sail cover fits perfectly. Great job Dirk. I’m so glad he likes the sewing part because I hate it. One old nasty gray cover gone and only 2 more to go. To show how close we are to the port we see cruise ships come and go on a daily basis. Freedom of the Seas is one of the largest that dock here. This one is 1,112 feet long, I say that's a biggie. I can usually tell when its Sunday as that's the day she leaves. We can also tell when there is a north wind because we can smell the food they are cooking.

Since I have not posted many photos of Butters lately I have a couple to show what he has been up too.



Here we find him sleeping, well he looks pretty sacked out



Here he thinks he is being slick. The birds knew he was there the whole time but apparently didnt take him seriously

Its beginning to get colder with the evenings getting down to the mid 40's, day time is low 70's to mid 70's which makes it very nice to work in. Especially when the wind isn't blowing. I will post when we have more projects completed.