Life in Fernandina

While waiting for the part for the dinghy engine to come in we have been riding our bikes around the town checking out the sights. I found this 1974 VW bus in Old Town. Not only was the painting on the bus great but I got to talk to the owner of the old bus. He also owns the Dog Star Tavern here in Fernandina Beach. I use to own a 1974 WV Bus just like this one (sans the unusual paint job). He says that it still runs good and he uses it as mobile advertising for his bar.

We also rode over to the civil war era fort, Fort Clinch, which is on the north end of the island. It was a great day for a ride, low 70’s and light clouds. The fort is in great shape and they use it as a reenactment fort one weekend every month so, the buildings are kept in good shape and there are lots of period items around the fort that make you feel like you are back in 1864 during the Civil War. Even the flag over the fort is contemporary to the time period. Some of the brick work was fascinating to see along with the various canons and rooms within the fort. I hope that you enjoy this little walk thru of the fort.

This shot was hard to get, I had to set the timer on the camer and then toss it into the air with just the right spin on the camera to get this shot. (-;

 Notice that the brick is two different colors; the lower was built before the civil war and the fort wasn't finished, after the union re-captures the fort they spend 2 years finishing the fort with bricks made in the north so, there are a different color and of a different size! 

Great brick work 

This area is under the outer corners of the fort.

The supply room (quarter masters area).

The stockaid with original ball and chains!

These are some good size guns and they lined the top walls of the fort.

This little cannon was in great shape.

Notice the flag, the stars are in a circle just as it was in 1864.

 

Outboard troubles

 

Now, just how much do you think can go wrong with a 2.5 HP outboard? This fairly new Suzuki 2.5 had given us great service right up until I flipped the dinghy last year going to the rescue of another boat. After that I had a bit of trouble with dirty gas (which an inline filter seemed to have cleared up but still, it didn’t run perfect. I tried the engine before we left Deaton Marine and it ran OK but down here, when I went to use it, the little beast wouldn’t run. So, off comes the carb again, all of the jets taken apart, cleaned and reassembled with little results. After about 2 hours of fiddling around I took the float needle valve out and found that the rubber tip of the valve had come loose! This is unheard of,,, in my 40+ years of working on engines I’ve never see this. I think that the ethanol in the marine gas might have ruined the rubber on the tip. Anyway we need another float needle valve so if any of you have the right one laying around on the kitchen counter, send it to us. ( ;

 

We will be in Fernandina Beach, Fl for the next few days while I find a replacement part. We are anchored just outside of the mooring field so the row in to the dock isn’t too bad. I think that I will find a lumberyard though, and build a new set of oars for the dinghy. These little dinky ones that it came with are about useless.

A rough 2 days

We left NC with a STRONG north wind coming off from the coast so, we hugged the coast all day with excellent results; fast sailing and very little waves. This lasted until the next day when the wind pulled around on the bow and through a mix up of intentions as night fell we edged way too far off shore just as the cold front came through. 40 miles off the coast, the wind built to a steady 25 right on the nose for the entire night and life became miserable, high waves, high wind and water everywhere. It was like living inside of a washing machine. The next morning the wind moved again around enough so that we could sail again but the left over large waves constantly sent a wave top into the cockpit. It was yucky. By about noon we had made the Fl boarder and decided to stop for the night at Fernandina Beach before going on our way south. Besides, they have a civil war era fort here that we haven’t seen before. Time for a break and to become tourists. (sorry, no pictures, too sea sick or to wet to use a camera)

Day on the ICW

We are about to go off shore from NC to Fl on our annual run to the sun. In the past we have had to run large parts of the ICW (the Inter Costal Waterway) because of bad weather. I’d rather do the trip on the outside of the coast for in 4 days you can do what takes 2 weeks to do on the inside. Today we went about 50 miles on the ICW from the Marine Corps. basin to Carolina beach bay anchorage, which is just above the south port shipping channel. I thought that I’d give you a diary of what a typical day is like,,, so, here it is.

Up at 6 AM coffee and breakfast then,

7 AM
Cold, still a bit dark and windy in the anchorage. Got the anchor up (really clean!) and headed out to the ICW. Passed the New River inlet, the tide pushed us around, which is bad for that means that we will get slowed down from the tide for the next few hours.

Tried to get the dog to go #2, no luck. It’s been 18 hrs for her so far.

Wind is from the aft, put the genoa out, 1kt boost in speed.

Passed, Chadwick bay, 65 foot high rise bridge ahead.

Sail boat “Elan” creeps under the bridge, because of an unusual high tide the clearance is only 63 feet.

Lots of shrimping going on in Turkey Bay and Evert Bay, I had to avoid several of them dragging their nets

Passed Alligator Bay, Waters bay and lots of expensive houses.

Missed the opening for the Surf City swing bridge and had to wait 40 minutes for the next opening. Anchored and did several maintenance projects while we waited.

Passed Beckys creek.

Sun comes out but still chilly. I’m wearing sweatshirt, vest, coat, stocking hat, and full foully gear.

Tide and wind in our favor, 1200 RPM and doing 7+ kts over the ground!

Wind is dropping, put up main and mizzen sails.

Tide goes slack

Tide against us as we passed Black Mud Channel

Passed by a large barge/dredge, pulling its pipes behind.

Passed Little Topsail Inlet, miles and miles of marsh land.

Passed Long point channel.

Waited 10 minutes at Figure Eight Island Bridge.

Wind switched to aft, pulled down main and mizzen sails

Passed Pages Creek, Howe Creek, Mason Inlet, wind from aft, shut off engine and sailed for next hour.

10 minute wait at the Wrightsville Beach Bridge. Passed Dicks Bay, Carolina inlet,

Bored

Read book and watched houses going by. Checked wave height at Carolina inlet, looks good!

Arrived in Carolina Beach Bay anchorage with dolphins on each side of the Snow Goose, dropped hook in 18 feet of water, moved dinghy from davits to deck in preparation of going offshore tomorrow.

 

Ready to leave

The weather hasn’t been very cooperative for us to leave, rain and high wind for the last 2 days. This set us back a day for I had a bit of maintenance work to do on the bow of the goose. So, early this morning I was out on the raft working on the bow of the Snow Goose.

I had to replace some rusted bolts on the spinnaker attachment point. It was a cold morning made even colder by the light misty rain that started right after I started into the job.

After that I went up the mast and did a rig inspection, everything looked OK. Finally, the dinghy was inflated and the propane tanks filled. Now, After 3+ long weeks, were ready to go. Tomorrow at first light we toss off the lines and head south. Next stop, in 500+ miles, Florida!

More boat work

The Alternator is in and producing a solid 120 amps of power! YEA! The macerator pump that empties our black water tank is now rebuilt and reinstalled.

whats left of the bolts that held the pump together

The last of the overhead panels in the forward berth are installed and yesterday we got the forward sails run up the roller furlers. Several lighting issues are repaired and many of the periodic maintenance items on the list are done. The reefing lines and lazy jacks are back on. A couple of more jobs to go and we will be ready for sea.

Both carts belong to us!

 

We also made the "BIG BUY" at the grocery store. My credit card is getting well used this week. Hope to leave on Monday or Tues for parts south.

The boat work begins.

 

The Snow Goose has a real 1 ¼ inch thick teak deck that, if not taken care of, can shrink and open up a seam and leak… which it has done over the summer. The water then gets into our overhead panels on the inside of the boat and discolors them. So, one of the first projects is to remove the bad panels and replace them. Fortunately, when we used Deaton’s pickup truck to but materials for the bathroom project at the Lowe’s store in New Bern and we also picked up 3 sheets of 4 x 8 foot white board that the overhead is made from. Back at the boat, all I had to do was:

 remove the grab bar above the couch, remove the speakers on each side of the boat,

and remove the wooden ceiling battens, the wooden edge trim and then the overhead panels.

Then, take down the insulation from the ceiling to try to locate the leaks.

Drag a hose over to the boat and run water on the deck for 10 minutes looking for the leak. Cut new panels and slowly reverse the process until we have our house back again.

Anna says "NO FUN!"

On another note concerning boat maintenance, I took a look in the bilge to find a slow leak in one of the freshwater hoses connections. Only to find that the black water discharge pump (poop tank) had the discharge hose un-connected! The hose clamp had rusted thru, broken apart and the hose had slipped off. If I’d started the macerator I’d have pumped Poo all over the inside of the boat. Worst was when I checked the pump I found that the two bolts that hold it together had corroded in two and the pump was coming apart!

This is a brand new pump that I installed last year. The last one lasted 11 years this one less than 1 year. My advice, think twice before buying Jabsco they’ve gone cheep on their materials but remained pricy on their pumps. Since I can’t buy the required bolts I will have make a new pair tomorrow. This is a good example of boat maintenance, you go to repair one little problem (no more that 3 minutes to tighten a clamp) and it turns into a ½ day long project. I guess that it beats shoveling snow though.

Bathroom rebuild

Were still at Deaton Marine for I’ve taken on a contracting job to rebuild the half bath that is off from the office area. Karen wants it to be both a bathroom and have a larger storage area than she currently has.  It’s a small area only 4 x 8 feet but in regards to the amount of work that it requires a small area is almost the same as a larger one, you still have to do all the same things to each: new walls, electrical, sub floor, tile floor, paint, trim, etc. On top of that there was no room for a conventional door so I built a pocket door into the wall. Here’s the pile of walls and junk that I ripped out. This is the pocket door framed. After the walls were in the electrical need to be redone and a now tile floor installed. Finally, the toilet, cabinet, shelf’s and trim go in and POOFF! We have a new bathroom/closet after 8 days of intense work while offshore in the Atlantic, a 5 day weather window perfect for sailing straight to the Bahamas slipped by. Oh well, the things that we do in our chase for the mighty dollar. Now it’s time to work on the goose.

We also went into New Bern for “art walk”. An evening where the art galleries stay open for your convince. Lots of great art around town and this interesting sign… not quite sure what it wants me to do.

Bathroom rebuild

 Were still at Deaton Marine for I’ve taken on a contracting job to rebuild the half bath that is off from the office area. Karen Deaton wants it to be both a bathroom and have a larger storage area than she currently has.  It’s a small area only 4 x 8 feet but in regards to the amount of work that it requires a small area is almost the same as a larger one, you still have to do all the same things to each: new walls, electrical, sub floor, tile floor, paint, trim, etc. On top of that there was no room for a conventional door so I built a pocket door into the wall.

Here’s the pile of walls and junk that I ripped out.

This is the pocket door frame in.

After the walls were in the electrical need to be redone and,,,

a new tile floor installed.

Finally, the toilet, cabinet, shelf’s and trim go in and POOFF!

 We have a new bathroom/closet after 8 days of intense work. Mean while, offshore in the Atlantic, a 5 day weather window perfect for sailing straight to the Bahamas slipped by. Oh well, the things that we do in our chase for the mighty dollar. Now, it’s time to work on the Snow Goose.

We also went into New Bern for “art walk”. An evening where the art galleries stay open for your convince. Lots of great art around town and this interesting sign… not quite sure what it wants me to do. (I think they did it just to confuse the tourists).

Ready for the water

The day has arrived, the Goose finally goes into the water today. She doesn’t look too bad with her freshly painted ports and black bottom.

I’ve been busy taking on a couple of contracting jobs for the marina. The travel lift had a problem that took more time to troubleshoot than it did to fix, but that is the norm when you are dealing with wiring harness gremlins. The other is a renovation of the second bathroom in the office. This will be a complete gut job from new sub-floor to ceiling. It will help out the cruising kitty but it also will take about 1 week to complete.

The other good news the new alternator arrived. YEA! The boat engine came with the standard alternator which after about 2 minutes of run time would only put out 40 amps (or less). This new one puts out 125 amps using a “smart” 3 stage external regulator. That should help a LOT with charging the house batteries on those cloudy days.

Back on board

We made it to the boat just after the hurricane had passed by and was heading north. We had two days of light intermittent rain and a bit of wind when we got here but nothing to write home about. The only real hardship we had was unloading our car, 'Rusty" in a light rain. Our good old Geo Metro "Rusty" made it down here even with a HUGE over load of 'stuff'. We had that 20 year old car packed to the gills and it still averaged 47 mpg!


some of the stuff we brought

The Snow Goose survived the hurricane and the summer sun with only a few deck leaks and a general musty smell to the cloths and bedding that we had left on board. Anna has been doing laundry for the last 4 days and I’ve been doing boat projects. The engine hatch and the battery compartment hatch both had rust issues and the floor of the cockpit had several rust spots that needed attention so I craned the main hatch over the side (since it is too heavy to carry down the ladder) and did a major repair of the steel cockpit.

Main hatch

 

  The teak deck required work too. Some of the rubber caulking had to be cut out and new rubber caulk installed into the groves.

The ports also had a rust issue and it took me two days to repair them. Salt water… YUCK! The Snow Goose should be ready to go back into the water on Monday and we plan to leave here about a week later if the weather cooperates. We are presently house sitting for a few days and Eddie has found a perfect place to sleep... I guess that she likes the company!

 

 

On another note, Brenda (in Brooklyn) also survived the hurricane with no damage and only a short power outage. She says though that "Life sucks without the subways trains running". Ah, but she's a New Yorker... Nuf said.