Happy May everyone!  I wanted to provide the update now for the month of May as we have landed at a new location but first, let's update you with everything that happened once we arrived in Marathon. 

We had been to Marathon before however, it was by car and we passed on by because we didn't see it from the water side and really didnt understand how much of a gem this place really is.  Also, it has a very sticky bottom and you don't want to leave!

Upon entering the Boot Key Harbor, we ran into some people we knew from back home and they left several months ago and were prepaing to leave that morning to continue their cruising adventures.  So we said hello and wished them well.  Exchanged phone #'s and she gave me all of the info for the harbor, things to do and places to check out.  They never stayed in the mooring field so they didn't have feedback to provide us.  A few hours later, they sent a text saying there were on their way back as their engine died and they were not able to travel.  They made it 5 miles before that happened so we helped them come back into the harbor on a ball while they figured out what they were going to do.

Join us for the Sh*tshow that we can sometime have.  This is our 1st experience grabbing a ball and well we didn't exactly know how to do this and lost the boat hook.  Called on the radio for assistance to get on the ball and someone was able to assist us.  Once on the ball, we shook out the nerves and tension and went to the office to check in.  Found out it was cheaper to stay for the month rather than just a 2 1/2  weeks.  Since we needed the dinghy docks for the dog, that just made sense for us.  What an active marina this is.  There is something going on every day, you can get mail, do laundry, have a long shower and free bike rentals, they have a project room and place to sit and relax and watch tv and eat ice cream in the hot afternoon.

So since we were going to be staying the month, it was time to get settled and ready to live. We picked up the mess from everything that fell while we were heeled over on one side.  Started laundry and emtpied trash and tried to figure out what our new normal is.  Turns out our new normal is starting our day around noon and finishing it at 3pm so we can socialize with people and have some fun.  

So things that needed to be repaired while we had access was the following: contact sailrite for repair parts needed for the sewing machine, repair the Jib sail, figure out the issue with the generator, order new batteries and fix the ice machine.  Those were the major items for us to tackle.  There were a slew of other small items which obviously I can't remember so they must have been minor. 

Where do we even begin with the issues that we had?  We also finally received the final bill for the engine install that was more that what was expected.  It caused a little pain to make that payment but we knew it was coming and were mostly ready for it.  What we weren't prepared for was all of the other items that broke and the expense that came along with getting them fixed. 

Within a day of grabbing the ball is when the issue with the generator started, the batteries shortly after.  After doing some research, phoning a friend and doing countless hours of testing we came to the following conclusion. First, the generator took several weeks to get sorted out and that will be detailed in just a minute.  Once we realized that the generator is not working and able to charge the batteries and knowing that there was no way we had enough solar on board to charge the batteries and that we could only allow them to drop to 50% and the amount of engery required, this was going to be an issue.  We were left with the only option of running the engine to charge the batteries.  That lasted about a day or so before the 1st battery died and luickily we had an extra battery on board to replace the one that wasn't working.  About another day or so, the rest of the bank died.  Now what do we do and how or where can we get batteries, what kind, do we go to lithium now?  

Of course no one has the batteries that we need and they needed to be ordered from someplace.  We did a temporary stop gap to help us.  We spent $200 on 2 new 12 volt batteries and didn't care about taking them down below their charging state as this was just going to be a short lived thing.  So off in an uber and off to Advanced auto we got, pick up 2 batteries and take them back, removed all of the old ones and connected the 2 new ones, charged and we are back in business however, we had to leave the engine on every couple of hours to charge.  Our 1st night, we completely shut down the boat to everything that was not essential. New bedtime routine.. unplug and shut down the boat before bed!  We ordered our new battery bank with Epoch batteries.  We ordered with them for various reasons and we will go into full detail with that once we release the viedo install in a few weeks.  

In the meantime, we are diagnosing the generator and changing all items as we go thru.  New fuel filters both inside and outside the generator, changed raycor filter, checked all connecting wires and discovered no voltage to the fuel shutoff solenoid and found the back of the solenoid was bulged and bad, order 2 new solenoid from amazon and they both went bad as soon as they were installed so we replaced with factory OEM part. Found a broken wire in the back of the genie after looking at the skematics, replaced the broken wire and by passed all safeties so we can run until the new solenoid was in and replaced.  Then started perfectly and works fine. This entire process took several weeks to get the generator restarted. 

Changed the oil in both the generator and the main engine so they are good to go now.  The new Epoch Batteries are installed and working fine and taking a full charge and we are able to run the AC at night to sleep and still have plenty left over in morning. 

We did try to have a little fun while we were in marathon and took the dinghy out to Sombero Reef for some snorkeling, did several beach days with the puppies, drift dinghy raft on the full moon, and rented a car for the day to do a road trip in the keys... again, stay tuned for that video to come out as well.

Time to preapre to leave Marathon.  Got a hole in the dinghy while in the dinghy channel.  No idea what we hit or how it happened since there isn't anything there.  So one more repair before leaving.  So far, it's holding.... 

We finally left Marathon and made our way to Rodriguez Key for a sleep and were going to try and stay the next day to do some snorkeling in Key Largo at Pennacamp. At some point duriing the route from Marathon to Rodriguez Key... we lost the autopilot. That didn't quite work out as well as we had hoped. Nancy was seasick and it turned out to just be a down day for all aboard.  Now the auto pilot wasn't working it gives us time to figure out that new issue. Andy was able to figure it out along with several phone calls to Raymarine for assistance and determined it was the ACU 400 that does not have voltage to the clutch side of the unit.  So a new one of those is now required which means when we can get to a place to pick up a new unit and replace is in order.  Most likely in West Palm.  In the meantime, movies and food and relaxing which is not something that we have been able to do in a while. We left the next morning and anchored outside of No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne.  What a cute little place!  There is a state park, beaches, hiking trails, restaurants, bars, fuel and water there.  Definatley a great place to stay while waiting for a weather wiindow to cross over to the bahamas.  

We left Key Biscane and anchored in Lake Worth at West Palm Beach  for the next few days while we fix the new set of issues... So wish us some luck that June will be better.  It's getting expensive out here.  I would say that  if you have a budget to cruise, you need to be resourceful in your funds and figure out what can and can't be done and try if at all possible to leave with more than you think you will needed because you will need it!

Here's to another month on the water and hoping it doesn't get too crazy out here. Let's fix these items that are broken and move on to our next ports of call.  In the meantime, coffee and breakfast are in order while I am typing out this novel and doing laundry.  I hope to wash the boat and clean the cockpit. There is also some fun planned in here as well if we can fit it in.  Looks to be a great place for the puppies as well. 

This month is exciting.  So much is planned as we attempt to get ready to leave. Notices were given on the 1st for our 30 days for the RV park, the RV was sold and the notice to vacate for the stroage unit.  

Andy placed the knee wall into the Aft head... ok Andy didn't do it... his son did.  But hey, progress is progess.  Nancy has one more week of work and then we are full blown mode to leave, contingent on the engine running and as of today... it's not.... This engine was smaller that the Frankenstien (a Perkins 4.236) so we had to add some new stringers and the now the prop shaft doesn't fit... If it's not one thing, its another. In any event, we will continue on with projects to get the boat ready, empty the storage unit, rv and make the final runs to the contrainer to keep what we want and get this boat ready to go... should have more info in a week on the engine.  

Hooray!  The engine is running!  This was a rough time as we needed more parts to get this engine secured and working.  The gauge cluster is now in so that is good.  Final items to be installed and sea trail is now scheduled to see if there is any adjustments needed to the prop for pitch and any other adjustments.

Nancy was not able to make the sea trial on the 10th but watched the boat go out and come back in from the marina on webcam.  Wow, can she fly now! At least that is what it looked like. Sea trial revealed that we needed to adjust the prop some so off it went to be re-aligned and adjusted for pitch.  Have we mentioned how much more quiet this engine is?  Also, the isotherm freezer is broken, luckily we had room in the portables for the food in the main freezer.  Once the freezer is back and working we can fill it.

Final trip but north but it wouldn't be a stop without stopping at the freezer for some delicious steamed shrimp.  We are exhausted and the container is a hot mess but that is a later problem for us to deal with.  We need to keep going and get back to the boat.  

The warranty repair on the freezer is done and we are now ready to fill this bad boy up.  Final non-perishables were purchased from both Sams & costco.  Picked up meat, chicken, lunch meat, cheese ~ all to be broken down into smaller packages and placed into the freezer. I had to play tetrus to get it all to fit in there and I may have purchaed too much... so once again, we are eating what I couldn't fit... I mean really, is that a problem, I don't think so!

Boat was emtpied of anything that could be washed. Towels, blankets, pillow covers, cushion covers, sheets, etc.  I went the laundry mat and got everything wash, folded and brought back to the boat to put away.  The puppies are happy once I get the boat back to order. They didn't like I how just took off everything.  

Final run for liquor and fuel, both gas and diesel to fill the cans so we can leave. Also, walmart and Publix run for more items needed.  Final produce run will be next week before we leave the dock.  

Of course after, I purchased all of the freezer food, it's not freezing so we forced the warranty to do a full replacement because we didn't have any way to move the food and return the freezer for more warranty work with us leaving and no ETA for the repair. Tetrus again with the new freezer.  I got most of it to fit back in but not all...

The girls are coming down from college so we can take them on a day sail now that the engine is running.  We would like to get a least one shake down cruise done to see what is broken and what needs to be fixed so we can determine if we can still leave on the 25th or if we have to wait a week.

Kids are here and we are heading out on a day sail with them.  The plan is to drop anchor and that is where we will stay for the next week to get some full systems testing done.  That way if something happens we still have a week at the dock to do repairs.  Not really how we wanted this to happen but it is what it is.  

Shake down cruise ~ where do I begin.... All of the kids got sick and weren't having a good time at all.  We just about lost the dinghy as the block broke from the davits, the sunbrella protection on the jib was shredded. I even think the dogs were kind of feeling squishy.  After about 4 hours, we came back and dropped the anchor for our new home for the week so we can finish testing the batteries, solar and everything else.  Made a list of what needed to be fixed and broke during that cruise.  

D~Day - we are up at 6am as we leave Clearwater and planned stops for overnight in Venice and Marco Island before arriving at Marathon (or so we thought). 

Venice ~ Super tight anchorage and some shift sand in the channel so be careful if you are attempting to go thru there. Anchored at dusk, quick dinner and to bed for the night, we planned on getting up at 3:30am as the next was going to be a long one

Marco Islandd ~ great anchorage, lots of room and plenty of depth.  Wish could have stayed here longer.  Looks like a fun little place to stay for a couple of days.  Will do that when we come back along the gulf coast.

Marathon ~ Well we thought we were going to Marathon but our buddy boat had other plans to go to another anchorage and not Book Key where we assumed we were going.  We attempted to follow him but the water was too shallow and we just couldn't get the achor to set so after about 4 attempts we headed back out the channel and into the bay where we dropped the achor for the eveing.  By then it was very late, no sleep from either of us, we hadn't eaten all day and it was super rolly that we were getting sick but the desire to sleep was more.  

The next morning, we got ahold of the city marina for a mooring ball within Boot Key Mooring Field so we can have some calm water, cook, sleep, and get the dogs off the boat since they haven't been off in 3 days.  Plus we have a slew of items that are no longer working and somewhere along the way got broken.

So what will May bring us?  Stay tunded to follow the adventures and journey!

Well here we are about 8 weeks left before we are ready to go... pending a running engine and sea trial.  In the meantime, here are the updates, we didn't record much because we were limited on time.

2nd ~ Today we installed the ceiling panels to cover up the installation.  Wow that was a bigger job than palnned. This took several weekends to complete as we did both heads as well as the salon.  We had some assistance from our friend, Colin with Sailing Bliss and the boy the following weekend.

8th ~ Nancy installed curtains as well to the salon which actually helps to keep the boat cooler during the day and provides privacy in the evening.  We also have moved onto hte boat permanetly as well.  

22nd ~ Today we brought all of the chain off the boat and painted in 20 foot increments.  Once dried we put the chain back on the boat.

23rd ~ 1st provision run for freezer but not a full run yet.  Also picked up the last of our meds for our medical kit as well. 

29th ~ Made another run up to "Plan B" to begin the process of empting the storage unit..  Plants seem to be doing well and property is in good condition. 

Plus in additon to all of that, Andy started the plumbing and got the granite counter top installed, along with the sink and drain and also installed the shower this month too.  Tomorrow we will give 30 day notices to the RV park, storage unti land Marina so we can leave by the end of month. Nancy also gave notice to work and will be making her last day April 11th.

Next month is going to be super crazy busy.

1st ~ Time is flying by and it's time that we get moving on completing some of these projects.  As of today, there is still no working engine.  So we are still proceeding with getting progress done on the boat and acting like we are getting ready to leave so we can start our sea trial and shake downs once the engine is in.  Today I made the effort to completely empty and re-organize the galley storage, provision boxes on the floor as well as the food storage under our settee and get a complete inventory of what we have, what is going to expire and needs to be eaten 1st.  This process took me a whole 4 days to complete beause I was doing it after work then something would come up and stop me or I couldn't finish but after 4 days it was all done and organized.  

3rd ~ Andy is up to his shennigan's again... This time he installed a sub wolfer and some speakers to the cockpit. All just because he could!  We needed music to listen to while underway.  Not sure how this is a priorty item but it was...

8th  ~ Andy completed the plumbing and electrial connections to the washer!  Yay! I can actually wash clothes on the boat in the washing machine now.  I can dry them as well but then the time is 4 hours for one loan because it's ventless drying and takes a hot minute to do one load but hey, at least I can wash in 30 min and hang the clothes on the lifelines with pins and we are all good.

We also got our mantus bridle in today too that we ordered from the St Pete boat show that we went to a few weeks ago.  So happy to have this as we will need it for anchoring.  

15th ~ I finally was able to put up the curtains tht we needed for privacy in the salon. A little something can make such a huge difference

23rd ~ Back up to Plan B for a drop off from the storage unit so no work done on the boat.  Clearing out part of the land for parking and fire pit and removing fallen trees is the task for the day.

Hopefully we can make some better progress next month.... And oh, before you ask.... no the engine is not working yet.  It's been dropped in but we need all kinds of stuff, like mounting rails to start off because the newer engine is smaller so it's doesn't fit properly but appartently this is not a urgent problem for the mechanic to deal with at the moment so we are doing our best to be patient for the time being.